Maurice Ch. 10

I sat down at the table with her and in a very nice way told her that she needed to stop gossiping about her employees. When she denied doing any such thing, I repeated to her the various conversations that I heard over the past hour.

"Now, this is a place of work and not your living room, please act like the professional that you are supposed to be." I said and then I left not giving her a chance to respond.

That day was just as slow as the day that Regina and I didn't see each other but the difference was that I would be seeing her in a few hours.

*************

The end of week 3

The gossip at the office had decreased significantly. No one read my notes or made comments about whether I was getting laid or not and I had started leaving my door open again. It seemed hard to believe that we were coming up on the end of our third week already. We spent every evening together with him spending the weekend at my house and no, I still hadn't said anything about how I felt about him. I hadn't even told Annie and was surprised that she hadn't asked.

Maurice was going to be in town one more week and I had to decide what I was going to do. I had already let the office manager know that I had to take a leave of absence which she granted without a fight. I guess she felt bad about the invasion of privacy and gossiping about my private life.

That third week was.... Phenomenal. We watched television and he took me to the house that he had built. The only room decorated was the bedroom and it didn't escape my notice that it was done in colors similar to the ones at my house. Deep down I knew what that meant but I made no comment.

The house was huge but beautiful; my little house could have fit in it four times! Some of the evenings were spent in shopping for furniture for the house. It always amused me how we were often discounted when we walked into the high priced stores simply because neither of us looked like we had money- I didn't have money but Maurice did.

One place, an art gallery threatened to call the police if we didn't leave.

"Go ahead and call them." Maurice said refusing to leave.

"Maurice let's go!" I said visualizing myself sitting in jail for trespassing or whatever charge they came up with.

"No love, we're waiting for the police." he replied.

Several minutes later the police arrived and asked for the manager who started talking a mile a minute while pointing at us. Maurice looked at the group totally unconcerned when they approached us.

"Sir, the manager says that you and the lady are loitering." The police officer said.

"No sir we are not." Maurice replied politely, "the young lady and I are here to buy some artwork for a home that I just had built."

"Can I see your ID please?"

"Of course!" Maurice said as he took out his wallet.

"You too ma'am."

This was nuts! All we had to do was leave but as I found out Maurice wanted to make a point.

The officer took Maurice's ID first.

"Maurice Delgado." he said, "You're from New Orleans?"

"Yes, I'm here on business."

He took my ID next, "You live here?"

"Yes."

"Wait here." He said and walked off with our identification

He came back a few minutes later very red faced and handed our identification back to us.

"Mr. Delgado, I apologize to you and the lady for the inconvenience....."

"Wait a minute!" the manager said heatedly, "why are you apologizing to them?"

"Mr. Ames is it?" the officer said, "This is Maurice Delgado."

"I don't care who he is! He was asked to leave and he refused!"

"This is the Maurice Delgado who is one of the investors in the new mall."

"I don......"

And then he stopped as recognition dawned.

"Mr. Delgado, I apologize......"

I didn't hear the rest of what he said because Maurice took my hand and led me out of the gallery.

"Why didn't we just leave?" I asked, "There are other galleries."

"I wanted to make a point." he replied, "from now on he'll think twice about how he treats people and besides, what if I was poor but loved to look at beautiful paintings? Who is he to deny me or anyone else that opportunity?"

I saw his point and admired the fact that he stood up for what he believed. I also realized that this was something that he did whenever the need arose. Me? I would have left and wouldn't have ever shopped there again but Maurice was right, that wouldn't have changed anything.

By the end of the weekend, the house was furnished, the things just had to be delivered and the pictures hung. I have to admit that it was fun shopping like that and I like decorating. At one point I made the comment that he needed to make the decisions as it was his house. He didn't say much other than to say that he liked my selections and was more than satisfied with them.

********

There was only one thing left to do; she had to verbally accept me. Was I worried about it? No, it was only a matter of time. She already loved me; I knew that without her having to say it. As I've said before, I had to let her figure things out when she was ready. The trip back to New Orleans was a little over a week away and I was already beginning to worry about how she would react to being back there.

I would find out a day or two later that she was worried about it too. I'm not even sure how it came up, we were talking about something completely unrelated and she just blurted it out.

"Delgado, I'm scared to go back there."

It was made as a simple statement made without tears or hysterics, there was no mention of her not going; she wouldn't do that to Annie or her brothers. I really didn't know how to take away her fear. I could tell her until I was blue in the face that there was no danger to her but she wouldn't believe it until she saw it for herself but I had to try.

"Sweetheart there is nothing there to harm you."

"How do you know?" she asked, "maybe the Lannisters are waiting for me."

"They aren't." I told her, "I've been watching them and they have no further interest in you."

She didn't look convinced.

"If I thought for one second that you were in danger I wouldn't have left you alone for those six months, I would gave been here whether you wanted me to be or not."

Of course I knew what was happening with her even though I wasn't there and I really had and was keeping an eye on the Lannisters, they really didn't have any interest in her. Gradually she began to relax as what I said sunk in, New Orleans would never be her favorite place but it would no longer terrify her either.

Did you notice anything? Remember how she would act when she was afraid? She would become belligerent and rude, there was none of that; she knew that I could and would keep her safe.

*******

New Orleans.

I really don't want to go back there but I will. I had come to know Maurice as a man of his word, when I told him that I was afraid he didn't patronize me and make empty promises. He quietly assured me that I would be safe and that he wouldn't let anything happen to me.

He did have a point, Micah was dead and he was the only reason for their interest in me. That didn't mean that I wasn't nervous, I was and would be but I wasn't frightened. Frightened or nervous, I wasn't looking forward to this trip.

As I'm sure you guessed by now, I had become very comfortable with Maurice and found him very easy to talk to. He had always been that way but I in my stubbornness and fear hadn't noticed until the past few weeks. I also knew that the ball was now in my court. He had shown me in every non verbal way that he loved me and only verbalized it a few days ago so when was I going to fess up and tell him how I felt about him? I honestly didn't know.

My last day of work before the trip was on Wednesday. As I mentioned before it's my slowest day of the week and it was a good day to get my replacement up to speed. That night was going to be the first time that I was going to stay with Maurice at his house. Was I nervous? No not really and if I was it had nothing to do with him.

He picked me up after work and drove me to my house so that I could pack for the trip. While I did that he went through the fridge and got rid of anything that would be spoiled by the time I got back but somehow it felt like more than that. I had the distinct feeling that I wouldn't be living here anymore. That feeling was confirmed when I packed the picture of my family before we went to New Orleans the first time. I also packed the quilt that I was working on telling myself that it would give me something to do while I was on the plane and in New Orleans while we waited for Annie and Gremlin's baby to be born... yes I realize that I was in denial but give a girl a break! I went from wanting to be rid of Delgado to sleeping with him in less than two weeks surely that counts as progress doesn't it?

*******

Her fears about going back to New Orleans seems to have been allayed for the moment as she was now thinking about something else, she was saying goodbye to her house. I let her take her time as we had no place to be and dinner would keep.

I emptied the trash and took the perishables from the refrigerator out to the trash and then warded it so that animals couldn't get into it, I would also ward the house when we left. What would happen to it? Nothing, it's her house to do with as she wishes. Actually, I could see us spending some time here, it was cozy and I think that we both had very pleasant memories of the time that we spent here.

By the time I got back into the house Regina was downstairs and there was a large suitcase sitting at the bottom of the stairs.

"Are you ready?" I asked.

********

I'm really leaving this house! I knew it with a certainty that I couldn't understand. Was I scared? No. Nervous? Yes but not in a bad way. Excited? Yes because I was going to see Annie and my brothers again plus meet my soon to be sister in laws and not to mention the new baby.

I had just made it down the stairs with my suitcase when Maurice came in from outside and asked me I was ready, it was a question that had more than one meaning but the answer was yes to everything that the question entailed.

"I'm ready." I replied as I realized that I really didn't know much about his vampirism. It was mostly because I didn't ask and partly because he didn't want to push it. As always he was waiting for me to decide when I wanted to hear about it. I had actually thought about doing research on my own and then asked myself why I would do that if I had the real thing? Tonight I would start asking questions and hope that I wouldn't offend him at least not too much.

This time he drove a more sensible car, a Honda something or another. One of the neighbors who had become friendly with Maurice asked him about the Lamborghini.

"I needed something a little more practical this time." Maurice replied.

"That sure is one sweet car!" Dean-that was the neighbor's name replied.

"It is at that." Maurice replied, "Perhaps we could take out for a little spin."

"You mean take it out on the road?"

"I mean exactly that." Maurice told a surprised Dean, "I'll be around in the next day or so."

Dean's face lit up, he was our neighborhood go to man when there was an issue with our cars and for him to have a chance to ride in a car like Maurice's thrilled him to no end.

Maurice put my suitcase in the car as I looked at my house for what I thought was the last time. Until Maurice came it was just a house and nothing more. Don't get me wrong, I loved my house and had a good time decorating it but it didn't begin to feel like a home until Maurice started spending the evenings and nights there with me and now I was leaving it.

*******

I helped Regina into the car after putting her suitcase in the trunk. She knows even if she hasn't verbalized it, she knows that she won't live here again. The drive to our home was quiet, she had things on her mind and I had the feeling that she was beginning to have questions. I encouraged her to ask me anything and I do mean anything it's the only way to clear up any fallacies or misconceptions of what I am.

We were almost home when the first question was asked.

"Do you really drink blood?"

"Yes but I don't bite someone to get it unless I'm in dire straights." And so it went. Once the flood gates opened...

Once inside of the house, I carried her bag up to the bedroom with her following close behind me. Part of me wanted to drop on my knees and ask her to marry me but another part of me knew that the timing was all wrong. I had to let her get acclimated to being with me and besides she hadn't even admitted to loving me yet but it was coming and soon.

I showed her where she could put her things and asked if she was hungry. I can do many things but cooking isn't one of them so we settled on Chinese take out. While we waited for the food to be delivered, I encouraged her to ask as many questions as she could think of.

By the time our food arrived I realized that Regina new next to nothing about vampires. That surprised me given how Annie loved supernatural lore and had even believed quite a bit of it even before she married Gremlin. In a way Regina's ignorance of my kind was a blessing, there were a few preconceived notions but the biggest one, that we were all like Micah Lannister had been dispelled. What I told her was that as in humans there are many types of us, some good and some not so good.

The rest of the evening passed quickly as we talked about my lifestyle and Annie.

"He took blood from her?" she asked.

"Yes, like I took some from you but he took a bit more."

"And she drank his too?"

"Yes."

I could see the wheels spinning as she thought about what I had just told her.

"But.... Annie will never die?"

"Annie is now immortal but she isn't a vampire." I assured her.

"So......"

And she changed the subject.

********

There was a lot that I didn't know such as there are vampires who don't drink blood but live off of other peoples emotions. Maurice called them emotional vampires.... It made me wonder about some of my clients and coworkers. He also told me that there was a type of vampire called rogues who were male vampires who had given up any hope of finding their mates and became nothing more than vicious animals.

"Those I kill on sight." he said.

"Can't they go back to being as they were?"

"No they can't but sometimes one of them will take a human woman in the hopes that she is his mate."

"He thinks she can change him back." I said understanding.

"Exactly and to my knowledge it has never been successful."

Then he told me about the hunters.

"They hunt us and have since we came into being." he explained, "they can be very dangerous especially the ones that we call the zealots."

This world of his was a very dangerous place but so was the world I lived in and the truth of it was, I lived in his world for years, I just wasn't aware of it. Annie made a conscious choice to live in Gremlin's world because she loved him; did I love Maurice enough to make the same choice?

By the end of the evening I had completed vampire 101 and I found that I wasn't as nervous about going to New Orleans. Don't get me wrong, I was still nervous and I probably would be any time we I mean I returned there, yes I know that I said we...

After dinner I brushed my teeth and got ready for bed like I did when I was at home when I knew that I wasn't going out. Maurice was dressed as comfortably as I was, sweat pants, tee shirt and flip flops both of us ready for a relaxing evening at home....

Home.

I was already thinking of this as home. As I thought about that I remembered the smile that Maurice gave me when we made our deal. He knew what was going to happen! He knew that I needed to see him outside of New Orleans and that I needed to get to know him on a more personal level. Was he successful? I would have to say yes, I'm here aren't I and I've admitted to myself that I love him. Am I going to tell him soon? Maybe.

*******

She belongs here and she knows it and blast it all to hell, it's time to end this dance and to start a new one.

"Regina." I said from behind her, "we have to talk."

"I thought we were talking." she replied.

"We are but not about what we really need to talk about." I replied.

She looked at me and knew where this was leading.

"I love you and you know this to be true." I said, "I have done everything in my power with the exception of compelling you to prove this to you, it's time to define our relationship."

She didn't say anything so I continued.

"I had this house built for us; I left it undecorated because I wanted to decorate it with you."

I paused again to give her a chance to speak.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" I asked as I began to question the wisdom of pushing her a little.

"I.... I love you too." she said as if she was afraid to say it, maybe she was.

Finally! It's out in the open and we can progress. I walked over to her and kissed her, she had to answer one... well two more questions.

"Regina, will you accept me as your mate?"

*******

I guess I have to fess up sooner than I thought I would. I still had a few days left on our agreement but what would it have changed? Nothing. So when he gave his pitch I decided to come clean. When he asked me if I would accept him as my mate, I got the feeling that he already knew the answer long before I did but he had to hear me say it.

The look on his face when I told him that I loved him made me feel guilty for not telling him sooner but for whatever reason I couldn't. Now about the mating thing, I knew what was involved and as I said earlier, he lives in a dangerous world but so did I. did I want to do this?

"Yes." I said and as soon as I said it I felt a weight that I didn't know I was carrying leave my shoulders. I didn't know what I thought would happen but it wasn't that. I felt.... Relieved. I was no longer alone in either big bad world.

******

I wanted to run over to her, throw her on the bed and make love to her but we weren't done yet.

"Do you understand that this is irrevocable?" I asked, "You cannot mate with me and then change your mind."

"I..... "tHere's no divorce? Ever?" she asked.

"Not ever." I replied, "The only way that we will be separated is if one of us dies and even then it isn't a permanent separation."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I mean that if one of us dies, the other will die soon afterwards and we will meet on the other side."

"But you can't die." she said.

"Not easily, but the chances of someone killing me are next to nil," I said " and once we mate you'll be as Annie is."

"What else?" she asked.

I told her that we would have to move from time to time because people would notice that we weren't aging.

"The genetics reason only works for a while."

"What about my job?" she asked.

I knew that it would come up and I had an answer.

"You can work if you like." I said, "I want you to be happy and if working make you happy then I have no issue with it."

Two hours later I had answered all of her questions including the one about children. I won't lie to you and say that I thought about children of my own because I hadn't. It was one of those things that I decided not to worry about especially since I hadn't found my mate and that's exactly what I told her. Now that I found her did I want children? I did but if for some reason there were no children then I would be just as content.

I left her sitting on the bed while I went to get the ring that I bought weeks before. Was I afraid that she'd say no? Not really because she was already my mate in the only way that really mattered. The human engagement and wedding were for her and even if she said no to the wedding, I would still add her name to my accounts as my wife.