He groaned, and his hands found my shoulders and tried to push me away. His eyes were tightly shut, his face looked as if he were being torn apart by some agonising pain.
It was incredibly difficult to let him push me away, but I managed somehow. Satisfaction grew inside me as I appreciated the depth of his desire, but it seemed wrong to force the issue when he was fighting so hard to be a good man. I rolled over onto my side and watched as his breathing became less harsh and erratic and his eyes eventually opened and he turned to lay on his side, his head propped up in one hand. He watched me with a gentle smile on his beautiful face.
"Thank you," he whispered.
"I can't say it's a pleasure," I grumbled, blushing slightly.
He reached out and touched my face, running his fingers from my temple to my jaw. I smiled back at him, this man who had become so achingly precious to me.
The kitten chose that second to leap onto the bed and start wailing for her breakfast. Angus shook his head ruefully.
"Mina, you are becoming something of a pest." I laughed at the incongruity of this large, powerful man talking to a white scrap of a kitten.
The cat mewled pitifully. Angus sighed heavily.
"Breakfast?"
"Please." Mina wailed in unison. "Kitten says yes, too," I translated.
"Right, then. I'll see you downstairs." Mina trotted after him, while I hopped out of bed and made my way to the bathroom. Ten minutes later I stepped out of the shower and wrapped myself in a big fluffy towel, and padded through to the bedroom, where I dug jeans and a shirt out of my bag and dressed hurriedly. Mina was still eating when I walked into the kitchen, and Angus was stirring scrambled eggs in a frying pan. He looked over at me and smiled. I blushed and smiled back.
"I'll make toast," I offered, and he pointed to the toaster with a spatula.
"Bread's in the fridge."
"Why?"
"I don't know. It's as good a place as any, I suppose. Keeps it out of the way."
"Weird," I teased him. "Even for a vampire."
He grinned at me. The phone rang then, an intrusion in our little scene of domestic bliss. Angus pressed the answer button and then the speakerphone function, and turned back to stirring the eggs.
"Hello?" It was Mark.
"Hey Mark, how is everything out there?" It was good to hear his voice again.
"Bloody hot. How's Mina?"
"Your cat's fine, Mark," Angus said dryly.
"Good. Well, this is just a courtesy call to let you guys know that everything's fine here, and that Mum is as happy as a pig in poo. She's being hit on by some greasy chap and she's loving it." He chuckled. "Who knows, we might end up with a stepfather called Pedro."