Home sweet home

"The Dark Stranger"

© VeGirl 2014

+18 alert for all you sensitive people out there that might get offended easily.

* * * * *

"We're going home? But I thought we needed to stay down here?" I stutter, feeling stupid.

"Not that home, princess."

My face clouds up at the sound of that word. "Don't call me that," I mutter.

His face brightens up with a teasing smile. "I'm talking about our house here."

I'm sure I look just as confused as I feel. "We're not going to stay here?" I gesture around us in this gorgeous foyer of this palace-like house.

All he does is shaking his head slowly, still smiling. That smile makes me forget everything; all the people around us and all the potential danger surrounding us. My stomach drops and there is a tingling flutter replacing it. He braids our fingers together and pulls my hand. "Come."

Surprised I follow one step behind him, as we wave goodbye to everybody, walk down the impressive stairway and then get out the door. I am amazed over the fresh air and the blue sky over our heads, and I try to understand where we are. How could I not have known that this amazing landscape was here? I have been in these surroundings with my granny countless times.

'Stop thinking so hard' I hear in my head. 'Just relax and enjoy the surroundings.'

I try to do as he tells me; surrounding us are trees and meadows filled with beautiful flowers. The smell of Jasmine is almost overwhelming and as I look carefully I notice bushes everywhere, filled with white fragranced flowers. I smile as I finally figure the weird jasmine scent that surrounds him, which I haven't been able to figure out earlier.

"This is beautiful," I breathe and looked around in these unbelievable setting as we get into the car again. "How can this exist here, why is it so totally different than the dry land on the other side of the tunnel?"

Vincent snickers. "This is another realm."

I furrow my brows and watch silently as he drives us along a path, barely wide enough for his car to fit. My mouth is hanging open as I look around.

The path is lined with huge pine trees and when I glance into the woods that look like a scene from Hansel and Gretel. I can see paths leading to small houses along the way, no gingerbread-houses though. After quite a while, approximately a mile or so, we turn into a driveway next to a small house, and I gasp. "I recognize this, it was in my dream."

Vincent smiles at me. "I know."

My mouth is hanging open and as we exit the car and walk in through the gate. A wave of vertigo runs through me and suddenly it is as if I've walked here thousand times. I close my eyes and notice that I know where everything is. I amuse myself by turning my head with my eyes still closed, as I open them I know exactly what my eyes meet when the lids open.

I gasp several times in amazement. The smell of Jasmine is strong and I know it has to do with the bush standing by the corner of the house. There is another one in the backyard, I know it instinctively.

"I want to sit in the garden swing in the back of the house," I say breathless all of a sudden and I watch a mishmash of emotions flicker by in Vincent's eyes, and then he smiles.

"Yes you do."

I look wideeyed at him. "I used to do that...?" It is a question or perhaps I just need to get it affirmed.

"Yes, you did," he says softly and looks affectionate at me. "Come, let's get in." He tugs my hand as I look around me in amazed fascination.

As we stand in the doorway, memories wash over me. I know this place like the back of my hand. This is home. I remember now. I turn towards Vincent with tears in my eyes.

"Welcome home," he says softly and my tears start to stream down. "Come here baby." He wraps me in his strong arms while my chest is hurting from both sadness and happiness.

Every emotion in my life is mixed in one as memories swirl around in every corner of this cottage. I can see myself standing beside Vincent as he prepare dinner, and I can see us running around laughing, or snuggling on the couch in front of the fireplace.

"Is everything coming back?" he asks softly? "All the memories?"

All I can do is nod.

He wipes my tears away with the pad of his thumbs and plant soft kisses on my cheeks. It takes a long while before the shock is leaving me and I can look around us again. "It looks like I remember it."

"Yeah I haven't changed it, but..." He releases me for a fraction to flick a switch on the wall. I've upped it; electricity!" He smiles wide and I laugh through my tearstruck eyelids. It is a loud laugh that makes this rollercoaster of a day seem like an adventure.

"I've been watching the emotional journey you've gone through today, and it's just made me ache for you." His eyes are blaring with hunger and that sets my body on fire immediately. "And... you've been thinking about that imaginary dungeon all day..." His voice shows all the emotions I feel; the strain, the dry mouth, the pounding within, and the raw hunger.

My stomach drops and there is a burning ache inside it. His words have made expectation tingle and my body is lit on fire, begging to be touched. I can't believe how receptant my body is to him and how big my desire is. Passion totally overpower us as we kiss, and hands hungry seeks each other's body. It might be a result of this stressful day with all the magical entities that makes it feel like I can't wait another second for our bodies to be joined, and we end up desperately kissing each other on the fur in front of the fireplace in this house.

With a huger that threatens to engulf us, we throw ourselves over each other to satiate the need for closeness. The two hundred years apart still hasn't gripped my conscience yet, but the intimacy of our life together here has returned with full speed ahead and it doesn't take long until we are primally naked and climax together.

Vincent slumps down on top of me, breathing as if he's just finished a sprint. In the middle of my post-orgiastic bliss I feel him plant featherlight kisses along my neck. "I'm so sorry, my angel."

I barely make out the angst words in my swirl of sensations and fatigue.

What did he say?

"I'm sorry I couldn't wait a second longer, baby," he murmurs, the guilt is showing through clearly between his words. "You deserve so much more."

'Wait a minute.' I am too tired to speak, but the thoughts make him stop and listen. 'Are you really apologizing for taking me through pure bliss?' I wait for some kind of answer that never comes, but suddenly I feel him withdraw and lift me in his arms, like a bride that cross the threshold for the first time.

But she usually isn't halfnaked, right?

I am too worn out to care, and I can barely keep my eyes open as he carry me through the house and soon am I lying down on a soft bed while he removes the rest of our clothes and sweeps us both in soft cottonsheets.

* * *

When I wake up the next morning everything feels perfectly normal, just like home, but I am startled when I open my eyes and don't recognize the surroundings. Vincent is still breathing deep on my neck; wrapped around me like a protective cocoon. It takes a few moments to process what happened the day before and I almost shake my head to the impossibilities that this saga is.

How true could it be that a new world is opening up in such close proximity of this house where I have lived for so long?

But I can't deny that this is familiar to me. Through the leaded panes, sunrays bright up the room, shining lights on familiar photos on the wall, and things on the mantelpiece that are strangely familiar to me. An old box in dark wood with brass handles, a pocket watch, a white ceramic angel, an iPod, a...

Wait a minute!

A smile brakes out on my face.

"What a beautiful sight in the morning." Vincent's voice makes me flinch; I haven't noticed him waking up. "What are you smiling about?"

I giggle. "About the fine collection of antiquities on the mantelpiece, there is one thing that doesn't really belong there," I say playfully.

He looks over there and realization makes him smile. "Oh, you mean the pocket watch; yeah it usually lays on the nightstand," he teases and laughs when he sees me gawking humoristic.

Then a tingling laugh that I don't really recognize erupts from me. I look surprised at him and then I laugh again. "What is this?" I giggle. "I don't recognize my laughter."

"I do."

"What, I used to giggle like a little schoolgirl?"

"Well, like an uptight little princess..."

"We'd, better get back to our other life then..." I say with wide eyes. "...because I'm not interested in turning into that."

He snickers and pulls me closer into him. "I don't think you have to worry about that," he mumbles while kissing me along the neck. "You will never be the same you were when I came here to get you."

That distracts focus from the blissful kisses. "Was I here when you found me?" I gesture around us. "No, you said something about the monastery?"

He smiles and takes a deep breath. "Yes, I did my best to tend to you wounds, but I was caught and killed when you were fully healed again."

"Killed?"

With a smile he snickers. "It was a quite different time then. It's no surprise that you don't remember that."

"But how... You came back. How, CPR?"

He laughs and wrapped himself tighter around me. "Yeah, something like that... magically."

"And I was here then?" Once again I gesture around us.

"No, you weren't here. You and I bought this house together." His tone of voice was careful and he spoke slowly. "I searched for a very long time before I finally found you, and then it took some time to get close to you, my love. I thought you'd remember me from the monastery, but you didn't. I had already changed so much."

I turned around to be able to watch his face. His exquisite eyes were filled with compassion and love. "But finally you took a chance on me." He smiled.

"Obviously..." I returned his smile. "I'm a smart girl."

"Yes you are." He kissed me lightly. "We'll get into the rest of the story later." He snickered and started to place featherlight kisses along my neck. "I'll better stop, or we will never get out of this bed."

I snicker. "So are we off to fight dragons today in this never-never land?" I ask cocky.

"Sort of, I thought we might visit Esme."

"Esme is here?"

"Yes, she lives just down the road."

I narrow my eyes. "Good, I have a few things I need to tell that girl!" My tone is firm, but Vincent just chuckles and turn around in bed until he hovers over me.

"Yeah she has some issues that girl, but she can wait. I have some things that need to be done first." He wiggles his brows and it is no doubt in my mind what he refer to and I have no objections. I was still amazed by his ability to get me all fired up by a simple look.

Never have I met a guy who can kiss like Vincent could; his lips are like a little piece of heaven and I think about how I never want to part from him.

He brakes off the kiss. "Perhaps you should change into something other than those jeans today." He suggests.

"What, are you telling me that they haven't entered the twentyfirst century down here?"

"No, I just prefer you in a dress, so I can turn you over and..."

I gasp as passion takes me over, but start to giggle again. I smack my hand over my mouth to hide the strange sounding girly giggle.

"Perhaps we need to think of something else, at least when we're in public. We need some kind of stop word." He laughs.

"Yeah, I think we should agree on 'more'." I tease him. "Or it could be; 'please more'."

He presses his lips together in a certain displeased face and I giggle, which results in him tickling me till I can hardly breathe. "Please more!" I yelp with the last air in my lungs and sporting a huge smile.

He stops and narrows his eyes on me. "You're a bad girl!"

I nod with a wide smile.

.