(Sorry, the pic was as close as I could find.)

Aria's POV

As the Lycans left through the sliding glass doors, I glimpsed the ever-darkening evening sky and felt a touch of longing for the places I used to explore unbothered by warring species. The trees in the distance beyond the other building of the hotel that was facing us looked like black lace against the deep blue velvet of a sky littered with priceless diamonds of all shapes and sizes. It was breathtaking.

The smile on my face faded as I turned and found Richard pacing the room. "Richard, what's wrong?" I asked as I sat down on the foot of the bed.

He stopped before me and ran his fingers through his hair. "Why did you do that Aria? He may have been able to help us...help you. Oh God, this is all insane."

"So you are angered that I defended the fact that you're a human? Why would I even want help from such a closed-minded person like that anyway?" I stood and took his face in my hands, my gaze meeting his. "When you close your mind off to the world, you tend to miss out on all the options you have. Do you see now?" What I could see was his eyes had become trained on my lips. I looked down to his as well, then dropped my hands and stood back a step.

Moving around me, he sat down on the bed looking a bit weary from all the day's excitement. "Aria, with the government against you, we can't afford to turn everyone away over such things, okay? We gotta figure out where to keep you safe and with whom." Reaching out he took my hands in his. "Letting this go with Roarke, maybe the best thing we can do for now. I am more than willing to let it slide...once only." Bending his neck, Richard rested his forehead on my hands.

"Oh, I will let it slide. But he will remain beneath me as a beta at least for a day or two. To teach him a lesson. It's what I had planned. I'm not that heartless."In the mirror above the dresser, his eyes met mine and I smiled." At least that's how the saying goes..." I added casually. "But it is not the Lycans or werewolves we need to worry ourselves with."

Holding onto his hands, I sat down at his side my legs baring slightly with the move of the fabric as I sat at his side. "It's the vampires. There is one that leads many behind the scenes that is extremely old. I know this because I have seen him when I passed through the atmosphere of this planet before, and his gravity pull is still virtually the same. He is still alive and moving among others of his kind, which is rare for one of his age. Usually, they go into the underground. So those around him, do not know his true age. Unless he found a way to shield his power, even from me. But don't worry too much. I can still kill them all off easily if it comes down to it."

He took his hands from mine as he got back up to pace, blowing out some pent up breath. "You mean to tell me you knew about the supernaturals? That you had been watching this planet that long?" Seeming agitated, he stopped dead in his tracks and started studying me. "You know what? I'll be right back." Before I could say a word, he left the bedroom and I heard the door to the suite open and slam shut.

As I sat there at the end of the bed, I thought about how Richard was taking all of this. By my side, we had the world against us. It was a lot to take in, so I couldn't blame him for slamming the suite door. The odd thing, to me, was that I wanted to put my balled-up fist through something too. Though was it odd? Not anymore. Raising my fist in the air to eye level, I studied it. Strange, how making a fist can sometimes feel so good.

30 minutes later...

Richard Weston's POV

The catty bags made it difficult to unlock the door despite it just being a card swipe lock. Pushing inside, I closed the door behind me with the heel of my black boot.

Aria had stayed on the foot of the bed surprisingly. I figured she might want to go and watch some TV to relax.

Passing by her, I headed straight into the bathroom and hung up the bag on the wall in order to remove what I had bought for her at the gift shop. Setting the bag into one of the many cubbies in the walls, I grabbed up a smaller bag for myself and walked back out of the bathroom and over to the bed. "We are going to forget how messed up things are for a while. There are clothes in the bathroom for you to change into, for what we are going to do. While you are getting changed in there, I'll be doing the same out here, okay?" She looked up at me with questions in her beautiful brown eyes but said nothing.

Slowly she got up and looked back at me once, then moved into the bathroom, closing the door. Quickly I removed my boots and socks, then took off my shirt and jeans. Grabbing up the small bag I pulled out a pair of swimming trunks. Sliding my boxers off, I bent over again and pulled on the long black trunks. They weren't the best, but they'd do.

Just as my gaze shifted to the bathroom, Aria came out in a classic midnight black swimsuit with a black front trying robe covering it. Ahh yeah... She wore my favorite one... Seeing her sexy long legs bared was enough to get me stiff. Shifting in my swimming trunks, I stepped past her into the bathroom and grabbed up a few towels.  Placing my hand at the small of her back I smiled down at her. She almost looked a bit lost. "I don't know about this clothing Richard, it clings to my skin so much."

Chuckling, I led her to the door and took her outside. "It's supposed to be that way. So it doesn't fall off." She nodded, and slowly I walked her over toward the sounds of splashing water.

The two buildings had an Olympic sized pool set with palm trees at each end and exotic flowers. It was truly lovely. Especially since the pool was also lit up with underwater lights so as not to bother the sleep of the people in the rooms above at night, and it was getting dark. Several adults were joking and playing in the water without a care in the world.

Leading her over to a couple of lounge chairs, I finally noticed her eyeing my body. Before I got more of a tent in my swimming trunks, I set down the towel and ran toward the water diving in gracefully. To water engulfed my body, refreshing me. Turning around, I called out to her, "Come on in! It feels fantastic!"

For a second, I saw her eyes go blank and I knew she was searching Annie's memories again. Slowly she untied the black robe and let it drop to the concrete. I just know my jaw dropped. I knew she'd look great in that bathing suit, but Holy Shit! It was all a basic black, but there was a cross-crossing cord that held the cloth of her cleavage together and ended at her belly button. Both side panels were the same criss-cross design, as was the piece that spread down her spine to just above the crack of her ass. Running fast, she arched her body and dove into the water behind me. How the hell did she do that in human form? Laughing, she swam away from me but I was determined to catch her and throw her. But then I saw the most incredible thing as I got a hold of her. Aria's head dipped back with laughter as I held her and her eyes were reflecting the stars above us. Literally.