The door swung open again, Henley was frowning at me.

"Last chance."

I bit my lip, struggling. I'd never done any of this. My partners were purely for the pursuit of pleasure, never emotional yet with Henley, I couldn't turn away. He was something that was unrelenting and I didn't mind that at all.

His hand rolled, urging me to say it. He seemed to think it was easy but for someone that's never had to expose themselves in such a way, it wasn't. Still, I didn't want to lose him.

"I want more."

"So do I. I want you to say more. Come on Claudia."

"I want you."

"More."

Henley smiled that boyish and charming smile that was a pure killer for me.

"I want you to become a vampire for me."

"You don't want to give it up to become a human?"

"Not an option."

"I know, sadly."

Pulling me into the room, Henley flicked the door shut with his foot and began to undo the buttons of my shirt.

"But if you could, would you?"

Leaning against the tiled wall, I shook my head as I looked up at him.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Because our lives together would be short. I want forever."

A soft laugh escaped as Henley looked down at me. That look of love and lust, a hooded gaze that was filled with desire.

My fingers dragged over the warm skin. Henley continued to make his way through my clothes, leaving me naked and ready for another round with him against the wall. This time there would be no running away, no rushed gratification.

At least, that's the way that I thought it would be. It seemed that Henley was in the shower to clean himself, not for misbehavior. Did he not understand what showering with another person was all about? Every time I tried to lead us to that path, he smirked and pulled my hands away. There was no hiding the fact that he wanted something, it was glaringly obvious. It was like the bastard was teasing me.

When the water was turned off, I was stunned.

"Are you mad?"

"No, just wanting to avoid an accident."

Wrapping the towel around his waist, Henley opened the door and looked back at me.

"You know, water, soap, distracted in the moment. I'd rather spend hours with you on the bed, not in the hospital. Not sure about you though, you seem rather intent on standing in the shower."

Henley walked out of the bathroom. Grabbing a towel, I dried myself off as I followed him to the bed. After pulling back the linen, Henley tossed the towel to the metal pole footboard frame. Then he laid on the bed, stretched his arms back behind his head and got a smug smile on his face. He thought he was king shit, smarter than everyone and better than them too. I smiled sweetly because I had one little treat for him, something that would wipe that bastard smile off his gorgeous face.

Tossing the towel aside, I crawled over the bed between his legs. Lowering to his body, I slid my tongue up the shaft, earning a soft groan of ecstasy. Ensuring that he was watching; I went lower again and this time I let the fangs grow. His eyes widened and that miscreant smile was gone.

"Claudia," He rasped.

The fangs subsided as I licked the tip.

"Yeah?"

With a teasing chuckle, I crawled over his body.

"You weren't scared, were you?"

"Always."

He wrapped his arms around me, holding my body tight to his.

"You know I wouldn't do that, right?"

There was silence, I looked into his eyes and saw someone that was lost.

"It's okay to be scared."

"I'm not scared, I just don't want you to bite me there. It might become sore and then I'll be out of action for a while."

"How true."

Henley traced his fingers over my jaw, slowly making his way to my lips. His gaze was firmly fixed to my fangs as he ran the pad of his finger over the tip. When the sharp point broke the skin, he flinched slightly but didn't pull away. A drop of blood fell onto my lip, Henley looked at it and then his eyes rose to mine.

The scent of his blood was extraordinary. I wanted to taste that one little drop but I was also wary of it. Tasting blood from a live source without the intention of death was dangerous. Many vampires did it and there were never any issues but they weren't me. As a member of the royal court, I was supposed to drink from bags or in social situations, glasses. A life on the land did not give me such opportunities. I could not drag a refrigerator around behind me so, I live fed.

Alaric knew that hunters fed in such a way and accepted it because there wasn't much of a choice. Of course, he was not a happy king and often said to me if the public found out, he'd deny all knowledge of it. I happily informed him that his precious public were live feeders anyway and the only reason they might have stopped was that he'd taken their meals and put them into the giant zoo he'd created. Alaric did not like my assessment and as he always did, he shot me a scowl and grumped his way out of the room.

I wiped the blood away, seeing a slight and momentary frown enter Henley's face.

"Is something wrong?"

"When I live feed, it ends in death. I do not want to consume your blood."

"Oh, okay."

The murmured words were filled with hesitation, I could see the fear on his face.

"I have control. You saw me wipe the blood away. Am I attacking you? I could smell the blood and I still can. You don't need to fear me."

"Then why do you look at the plate as if it's your saving grace?"

"Because during the highest peak of sex, it is common for vampires to bite each other as a way of increasing pleasure. When you have completed the transformation, it is something that we can do but right now, it's not ideal."

Henley accepted the statement, leaning to the nightstand to get the plate for me. When the building shook with what sounded like an explosion, it fell from his hand and landed somewhere under the bed. It was the least of my issues at the moment, something was far worse on the horizon.

"What was that?"

"It sounds like we're under attack. Get dressed."

Because it would only be a few minutes, maybe seconds before the guards started banging on the door.