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14
Irving
Time flew by for Irving as quickly as he could flap his leather wings. Sage became busy with the Christmas holiday, saying she was determined to make it a special one for Harper after everything she’d been through. Things between the two seemed to be going well, though his only clue that their relationship had been tense before was Sage’s own words on the subject. According to Sage, her daughter had decided on going to nursing school after graduation. Irving insisted on paying for the girl's education. Sage was hesitant to accept his help, but, given her financial situation, she eventually relented. Irving had also threatened to flick her lights off and on forever if she refused his support.
Compulsions and irrelevant worries continued to plague Irving, as they always had. Increasingly, however, he was finding it easier to cope with them. Having Sage in his life was the best thing that he could have ever hoped for. In the evenings and weekends, he would whisk himself away to her house, where the two of them would make love and indulge in intelligent conversation. Often, Sage would share pictures of the gardens she'd planted and maintained, as well as those that she was planning for the spring, for both private and public properties. Her work was exquisite and inspired Irving to begin potting plants that he could transfer to the gardens of the Church and Chapel properly when the weather allowed it.
.
"My my, brother of mine, you certainly have been busy," Cameron remarked one evening. Irving sat serenely on an antique bench, puffing on the end of a cigar. "Your motivation for this sudden change, albeit a remarkable one, was no doubt to please the mortal woman?"
"Her name is Sage, Cameron," Irving stated. "You might try calling her that from now on."
"But of course," Cameron replied. "I dare say I could get used to this arrangement between the two of you. Do you plan on turning her?"
The nonchalance with which his brother made the suggestion caused Irving to choke on his cigar smoke. "How could you bring that up so casually? You know my stance when it comes to subjecting a human to such a pitiable existence."
"Right, but what if she wants it?" Cameron said. "If her love for you runs as untamed as your love for her, she might embrace the curse if it would mean spending an eternity with you."
An ash dripped from Irving's cigar. He watched as the embers melt a small patch of snow at his feet. He'd never imagined a mortal would invite an opportunity to be a vampire, especially after learning of the consequences. “She wants to take our relationship slowly,” Irving explained. “I’m not about to scare her away by asking her to let me drink her blood, though I won’t deny fantasizing about it often.” While partaking in drinking human blood could be a ghastly endeavor, it can also be rapturous and sensual, if both parties and willing. That part at least, is depicted accurately in movies.
“Well if at some point she decides to join you in vampirism, she is welcome to live in this place with us. There are plenty of caskets to go around,” Cameron remarked.
“Right,” Irving responded vacantly. “I’m sure she’d find that a wonderful Christmas present.” Secretly, there was a part of Irving that wanted Sage to become immortal. The thought of losing her to age was agonizing. But, he knew it was unfair to ask her to give up all the wonders of being human just for him.
He sighed, glancing at his watch. Sage usually returned from her job around six every evening. This time, instead of venturing to her house, he would invite her to come to the funeral home, where he would show her his plants.
Irving smiled as he imagined covering Sage’s eyes and leading her to the small greenhouse he’d erected. She would laugh her marvelous laugh and follow him, completely (in both the literal and figurative sense) in the dark as to what Irving was going to unveil. Then, when he swooped his hands away, she would gasp and bask in the glory of the newly planted peonies and coneflowers. Irving had even gone to the extent of building a small gazebo in the middle of the back lot, where one could sit and admire the property. He knew it would be breathtaking when the seasons changed.
As it so happened, the scene played out similarly to how Irving imagined it. Sage arrived just as he’d asked. Before allowing herself to be blinded by his ice cold hands, she apologized for her dirt covered clothes. She revealed that sometimes she forgot she was wearing her work attire. The state of her garb in no way concerned Irving. To him, Sage was always radiant.
Just as he’d predicted, Sage was beside herself with glee when she saw the work Irving had put into his gardening. “Do you like it?” he asked.
“It’s gorgeous,” Sage said before getting misty-eyed. “Before meeting you I thought this Christmas was going to be the worst yet and its turned out to be the most magical Christmas I’ve ever had. Thanks to you.”
In response, he led her out to the gazebo to gaze out at the darkening sky. He wrapped his arms around her to keep her warm, hoping the fact that he was wearing his coat kept the coolness of his own body from seeping into her. She snuggled back against him, unperturbed if his temperature was noticeable. After taking a long peaceful moment to admire the refreshed enclosure, Sage turned her eyes to Irving. Brown and glittering, they held a yearning Irving knew too well. It drove him mad how much she enjoyed being intimate. The sounds she made together with her warmth had Irving throbbing for more. Sage’s passion held no bounds. When she wanted him, she knew just how to get him.
Snatching his tie suddenly, Sage tugged Irving’s head down to her level. She kissed him intensely, slipping her tongue past his lips and moving it rhythmically with his. Every part of Irving’s body became stiff as she raked her fingers through his hair and started raining kisses along his jaw and down the column of his throat.. For a moment, she seemed ready to strip him bare right then and there, never mind the cold, but she pulled her head back from his and gazed up at him with sparkling, hungry eyes.
“The greenhouse is warmer,” she murmured.
He nodded. “You’re correct, it is.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and let her lips hover close to his. “Take me there.”
Not needing to be told twice, he gripped her backside and lifted her off her feet. She wrapped her legs around his waist and began kissing him again as he turned and walked them both back to the shelter of the greenhouse. Once inside the small building, he set her on an open spot on one of the countertops. Her hands dove for the buttons of his waistcoat and she began to undo them quickly. His shirt was attacked with an equal fervor that he couldn’t quite believe.
“Do you know how sexy you are?” she asked while sliding her hands beneath his shirt.
Irving shuddered as he felt the warmth of her touch trail down his chest. His breath staggered as he attempted a response. “I-I can’t see my reflection. I don’t know what I look like.”
“That makes it all the better,” Sage whispered. She pushed his shirt past his shoulders and then went for his belt and slacks as she licked at the contours of his chest, making him shudder.
“Sage, what’s gotten into you?” he asked in breathless wonder.
She gazed up at him with a devilish grin. “Do you not like it? It seems like you do.”
A gasp slipped from him when she boldly cupped the front of his pants. Indeed, he was already hard, her aggressiveness and eagerness exciting him.
