giving liquid.
At times he wondered how he could accept it all so easily. Maybe it was because he’d grown up with the paranormal. Maybe it was because he’d been friends with Damek for years. Or maybe it was simply his personality.
He’d never spent much time complaining about what he didn’t have, instead making the best of what he did. Evie was much like him in that respect. At their core, they were both survivors.
They’d fallen into bed and made love until dawn sent them both to sleep.
Or at least it sent him to sleep. His last memory was of Evie looking down on him and smiling. She hadn’t seemed the least bit tired. Not like him.
He should have waited in the living room for Damek to return home, but his need for Evie was too great. They’d barely remembered to drink the blood as Damek had instructed. It was strange to realize that his lust for Evie outweighed the bloodlust.
He’d known when both Sonia and Damek had returned and when they’re retired to their bedroom for the day.
Having him and Evie there had to be cramping the other couple’s lifestyle, even though neither of them had done or said anything to suggest such a thing.
They should probably move out tonight or at least talk to Damek about the possibility. Craig didn’t want to do anything that might jeopardize Evie’s safety.
He ran his fingers over her bare arm, loving the smoothness of her skin. She was an enigma in many ways, even though he felt as though he knew her better than anyone else in her life ever had. He liked that about her. She had layers to peel back and explore.
“You seriously can’t be considering having sex again.” She pushed her dark hair out of her face, her voice sleepy and slightly disgruntled. “Because I may not walk for a week as it is.”
Craig grinned, knowing she was teasing him. Their new healing powers as vampires allowed them both to recover quickly. “That’s not what you were saying last night.”
She laughed and poked him in the stomach. “A gentleman wouldn’t remind me of that.”
“I never said I was a gentleman, now did I?”
Evie grinned. “I guess not.” She nestled against him. “What time is it?”
He didn’t even have to think about it.
“Five minutes past sunset.”
“We should get up.”
“Soon.” Craig wanted to stay like this as long as possible. When it was just him and Evie, life somehow made sense. “Tell me more about yourself?”
He felt her tense and modified his request. “About your art? How did you get started?”
The hand she’d rested on his stomach began to move, her fingers making circles on his skin. “I’ve always drawn, always doodled, ever since I was a kid. My favorite toy was crayons and paper. Maybe because they were cheap, I always seemed to have some.”
His heart ached as he imagined a much younger Evie quietly drawing.
Alone.
“One of my foster mothers gave me some colored pencils when I was about twelve and I became obsessed. I was lucky enough to attend a school with a good art program for a couple of years.
That really helped me develop. I discovered pastels, water colors, oils and acrylics. I scrounged supplies and worked whenever I could.”
Evie tilted her head back. “What about you? Tell me about your childhood? When did you discover your love of computers?”
Craig smiled down at her, captured her wayward hand and brought it to his mouth. He kissed her palm and held it over his heart. “I was always computer mad. We didn’t have much money when I was growing up. Mom worked two jobs constantly to put a roof over our heads.”
“You didn’t come from money?”
Craig could hear the surprise in her tone and realized there was a lot they didn’t know about one another.
“Far from it.” He let the memories take him back. “But that didn’t matter.
Mom was always smiling, always making the best out of things. She did janitorial work at several office buildings, and when she discovered some old computer equipment being thrown out she asked if she could have it. They said she could so she brought it home, figuring Quinn and Chrissten might be able to use it for school, but it was broken. I took everything apart and built one good system out of the parts.”
“That’s impressive.”
Craig shrugged. “Like you with art, it came naturally to me. She brought home more computer equipment and parts when she found them and I scoured the garbage bins in the richer neighborhoods for more. I enjoyed the challenge.”
“What happened to your mom?”
Evie’s soft question made his heart ache.
His mother had been still so young when she’d died.
“She got sick but didn’t go to the doctor. No time and crappy health insurance. By the time we figured out something was really wrong it was too late. The cancer had spread.”
“I’m so sorry.” Evie lifted herself up on one arm so she was looking down on him.
He shrugged. “Me too, but life isn’t always fair.” He touched her cheek, running the pad of his finger over it.
“You’d know that better than most. I never doubted that my mother loved me.
That’s more than a lot of people get.
Plus, I had Quinn and Chrissten. We pulled together and made things work.”
Evie could only wonder at that kind of closeness. Most of the people she’d known would have looked out for themselves at a time of crisis. It made her respect Quinn and Chrissten even more knowing they’d automatically taken care of their younger brother when their mother died. She could only imagine the kinds of bonds that living through such an event would forge.
She’d only had the most superficial of personal connections. Sure, she’d lived in a few decent foster homes, but they were always temporary and lasted only as long as the families got paid and the foster kids weren’t too much trouble.
“Were you ever close to any of your foster parents?” Craig’s soft question pulled her out of her thoughts.
“There was one woman, the one who gave me the colored pencils.” She’d never spoken about this to anyone. “The home was in a decent neighborhood and the school was the best I’d ever attended. There was always enough food and I had clean clothes. They came from the thrift store, but it was good quality.
She taught me how to look for labels and to shop at the thrift stores nearer the upscale neighborhoods.” Evie laughed.
“She used to say that only rich people threw out good stuff.”
Craig brushed his hand over her head and let it settle at her nape. “What happened?”
“I was there two years.” They’d been the best two years of her short life.
“I was beginning to think I was going to stay there, you know?” The dark memories still hurt after all these years.
“She found out she was pregnant. They were so happy. My foster father had never paid much attention to me, but that all changed. I was suddenly in the way.”
“Fuck.” There was such anger in Craig’s voice and it was all for her. It made it easier to finish telling her story.
“Yeah, you know what comes next.
They fought a lot and finally my foster mom came to me and told me I’d be moving. She’d been crying and felt bad, but she didn’t fight hard enough to keep me there. She gave me up just like everyone else in my life has.”
Craig pulled her down until their faces were only an inch apart. “I’ll never give you up.”
His promise sent a shiver of longing through her even as she struggled not to believe it. He said that now, but if it came down to a choice between her or his family, she didn’t hold out any hope of being the winner. That’s just the way life was.
Craig kissed her, moving his mouth softly against hers. She sighed and gave herself up to the passion that simmered constantly between them. She’d tried to hold herself back from him, but it was impossible. There was just too much passion, too much everything.