Page 86 of Perfectly Perfect Pixie

“Stubborn vampire,” Peaches huffed, flying near me.

“No more stubborn than my pixie, beloved,” I easily replied.

Laughing, Peaches opened his door. Being on bonded land, it was beyond unnecessary to lock it. No one got onto Peaches’s property without his knowledge.

Flittering about, Peaches hurried to a nearby closet. He had a pile of blankets and sheets in his arms when he suddenly stopped, eyes trained on the wooden floor. I was just beginning to ask what was wrong when Peaches turned to me. His constipated expression had me confused.

“Are you opposed to sleeping underground?”

“I sleep underground every day.” I had no idea where Peaches was going with this. His cottage didn’t have a basement, and to my knowledge, there wasn’t a cellar either.

“No, no. I know that. What I meant was, are you okay with sleeping in the dirt? I can lay some blankets down so you wouldn’t directly be on the dirt, but you’d still be underground. I think that would be safer.”

I did too but still didn’t see how that could happen. “I am not opposed to the idea, but unless you’ve done some extensive remodeling since the last time I was here, I fail to see how my opposition is of any consequence.”

Dropping the blankets on the couch, Peaches grinned. “You forget what I am, Lucroy. I’m a nature pixie. Just stand over there and give me a minute.”

Still confused, I did as Peaches asked. Only I didn’t stand. I sat in a nearby chair. Peaches lifted into the air, head tilted down and arms loose at his sides. Golden-yellow pixie dust filled the room. For a few seconds, everything was quiet. Then, the sounds of rustling filled my ears. The floorboards in the middle of the living room twisted and popped, coming loose as the ground below them shifted.

Unable to remain seated, I walked to the edge of the activity, staring into the rectangular hole being created right before my eyes. Roots shifted, pulling at the dirt before wrapping around the walls, creating wooden barricades and holding the ground back.

Flying over his handiwork, Peaches’s gaze flicked from me to the hole and back again. With a final nod, he said, “I think it’s big enough for us. What do you think?”

What did I think?I thought Muriel was right. I was the luckiest vampire in the entire world. My beloved was amazing.

Holding out my arms, Peaches readily flew into them. I kissed his forehead, my lips trailing to the tips of his pointed ears, lingering on the skin below his ear lobe and nibbling my way down his neck. The area I’d previously fed was healed, just the way it should be.

“I believe, sweet Peaches, that I have a wonderous beloved. I never thought my second life could be filled with . . . this.” It was difficult to put into words. Words didn’t seem grand enough to express what Peaches truly meant to me.

Pulling away, an embarrassed flush lit Peaches’s cheeks. Grabbing a thick blanket, Peaches flew into the rectangular coffin he’d created in the earth. He then hustled off to his bedroom and brought back two pillows.

“There,” he said with pride. “I think that should do it. I know it’s not fancy like your place, but it should be safe. We can put the boards back over the top, and I’ll still cover the windows in the house.” With a gentle push, Peaches nudged me toward the opening. “Go on, get in there. I wanna take a shower, and then I’ll crawl in with you.”

“There’s no need for you to sleep in this hole with me.”

Peaches was a creature of the day. Sunlight fairly radiated from him. He should not be relegated to some dark, underground hole.

With a dramatic eye roll, Peaches pushed me again. Had I not wanted to move, he could not have forced me. “Quit saying stupid things and get down in there. As if I’d sleep anywhere else in this cottage while you’re in it. Nowhere would be as comfortable as laying with you. Go on.”

Doing as directed, I easily climbed into the space Peaches had carved out for me. The dirt was comfortable enough and reminded me of my earlier decades when I’d first been turned. Laying a blanket over me, Peaches stared down at me from above. The hazy glow of sunrise was beginning to lighten the space. He looked ethereal—all golden-blond hair lit from behind, surrounded by sparkling pixie dust, wings fluttering.

But it was Peaches’s smile that truly melted my heart. That contented gaze and grin that spoke more than words ever could.

“I’ll be back soon. I just want to clean off a bit first.” And with those words, Peaches vanished from my visual field. I heard the distant sound of water turning on. Sitting up, I managed to shuffle out of my pants and what remained of my torn shirt. I should have asked to shower with Peaches, but I doubted he would have allowed that. Deep in my vampiric soul, I knew the sun was no longer the enemy it once was. I was not foolish enough to believe us friends. The sun had not pulled back its wrath for my sake. If anything, the sun had taken pity on one of its most loyal subjects, allowing Peaches the joy of sharing his life with the one he’d chosen, the one he loved, without the danger of sunlit death waiting around every unshaded corner.

No, the sun hadn’t slacked its anger for me. It had done so for a pixie named Peaches.

ChapterThirty-Three

PEACHES

Ididn’t have the innate ability to tell time like Lucroy did. My life didn’t depend on being able to tell when the sun was up or down. Still, as I lay there, sprawled out across Lucroy’s cool body, I could feel evening creeping in.

We’d slept the day away. I’d awakened periodically, as had Lucroy. When woken, I’d stayed alert longer than him. It was still amazing he’d woken at all. Even the oldest vampires couldn’t be roused during the height of the sun. It gave me hope I’d never planned on allowing wings to fly.

Lucroy didn’t breathe while he was asleep. He didn’t need to breathe while awake either, but he did. It was strange, lying there, listening to the slow beat of a heart that would soon depend on my blood and mine alone. Would I be enough? I didn’t know. All I knew was that I was determined to try. Lucroy and I hadn’t bonded completely, but I’d already agreed and had no regrets.

“So smooth,” I whispered, unaware if Lucroy was awake or not. I didn’t think so. We’d both been exhausted. Running my fingers along his chest, I marveled at the smooth, pale skin. Lucroy’s nipples were barely blush-pink. When he fed, his skin flushed, but it remained pale. I wondered, if he lived as long as Nirgal, would his skin become as translucent? Would I one day be able to see my blood flow through Lucroy’s veins? The thought didn’t disturb me as much as I thought it should.

---