Lilith's Shadow Ch. 09

"April. Stefan, the woman's name is April."

"That's what I meant. April will pick you up from school and bring you home."

"I know, Stefan." Olivia stated matter of factually, "You guys are vampires, and you only go out at night."

"Right...and remember you can't tell anyone."

"I remember."

"Alright. Mommy and I have to go on a business trip and we will be back as soon as we can, ok."

By now, Olivia's eyes were drifting close, "Alright, well hurry up and..." Her speech faded as she fell into a deep sleep.

When we closed the door to their room, I turned to Stefan, "What did you do to her?"

"I suggested to her that she was tired, that's all."

"Tomorrow she's not going to know whether us visiting was a dream or reality."

"It got her to stop asking questions didn't it?"

I laughed, "Questions that you will have to make up for as soon as this is over. You'll have to hire someone named April to overlook our children while they go to school during the day now."

"You sure you don't want to do it?"

I reached out and grabbed his shirt by the collar, pulling him close to me I said, "You don't have to worry about that."

He simply smiled down at me, his gray eyes twinkling, "Why not?"

I leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Because I'm the only woman who'll ever have what you need."

I watched as his cheeks tinged a bit and he ran his hands down my back, drawing out tingles as he did. "Is that right?"

I nipped at his ear just once and answered, "Absolutely."

His hands went up my back and to the nape of my neck, squeezing gently. This caused a shiver to caress my spine. He exhaled, his breath warm on my neck, "That means you should consider yourself lucky."

I smiled, seemingly to have forgotten about not being in our own home. He leaned in and gently placed a kiss on the right side of my neck. I licked my lips, "I know."

"So, that means we should get back down stairs so that we don't end up making out in her house."

"Like hormonal sick teenagers."

"Right."

I turned around and could feel his eyes roaming my body as I walked down the stairs. I smiled at the thoughts he allowed me to feel and see flowing through his mind. The one thing I absolutely loved was our ability to communicate telepathically with one another. The longer we were together the stronger our abilities became.

It was almost as if we were merging into two parts of one being. I was tickled when he spoke softly, "Tu es amor meus."

"Ita Vero." My mind communicated back to him.

I could feel the warmth and appreciation flow through his mind at one simple word.

Stefan:

Reciprocation is a beautiful thing when it's found; when you absolutely, one hundred percent want to be with the one person you are meant to be with. I found myself on the receiving end of this as I spoke to Odilia while she descended the stairs. There is nothing more prideful for a husband than for him to get a confirmation from the woman he loved.

As we finally ended up in the living room where Jill was putting the cards away on a top shelf of the hallway closet, I grabbed our coats from the coat rack and made sure Odilia was in hers before I put on mine.

"How did it go?" Jill asked as she came into the living room where we stood.

"Alright." Odilia responded

"I know they asked about going home."

"Of course and we told them that we couldn't get them home but at this time because of a business trip."

"And what did you tell them about Junior?"

"He's at home with the nanny."

"The nanny?"

"That's Stefan's doing right there." Odilia replied, pointing a finger at me.

I raised my hands in a quandary. "What did you expect me to tell them that he was kidnapped by a shadow demon? Or would you rather I just started at the beginning of how mommy ended up turned?"

Jill nodded, "Yeah, they'd be having nightmares for days."

"Exactly and that's something we want to prevent." I stated honestly.

Jill sighed, accepting my decision. "You did the right thing Stefan. It's better to have them think that than it does to tell them what really happened."

I put my hand on my wife's back, "There is still some more preparation I need to do before leaving tomorrow night."

"Ok," She stated her tone soft. "Jill."

Jill glanced up at her, "Yes?"

"Thank you."

Jill smiled, "You're welcome."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my check book. Writing a check out to her for the amount we'd agreed upon for her to use on anything the kids needed or she needed, I handed the check to her. She tucked it into her left jean pocket. "Thank you. I will make sure they are well taken care of."

Odilia reached out and gave her a hug. I watched as Jill wrapped her in an equally tighter hug. According to Odilia, she and Jill had been best friends since high school. Jill had been there when she'd lost both parents right after graduating high school. They'd taken a flight to Hawaii and the plane had crashed due to the engines malfunctioning halfway through the flight. I appreciated Jill because I appreciated how much she did for Odilia and how loyal of a friend she was to her.

I knew that Odilia thought of her as a sister and this spoke a lot. "I know they're in good hands. While you take care of them don't forget about yourself." Odilia stated as she let go of Jill. I cleared my throat, taking my wife's palm in my hand. "Thank you." I stated as we were about to take our leave.

"You're welcome and I love you guys." She stated, her gaze never leaving Odilia's.

Odilia smiled, "We love you too Jill. We'll be back before you know it."

It was then I saw the tear in Jill's eye as we vanished from her living room.