"They're Cuban," he said, handing me a box of thick cigars. "Have one."

I glanced at the vampire in front of me. My master. The one who had offered me his blood and changed my life. For the better? Absolutely not, but I had lived for centuries and seen industries rise and inventions develop. It was an exciting time to be alive, and I had no intention of dying yet. So, I accepted the tobacco roll and sniffed it. It smelled good.

"I talked to your brother," I said as I took a few steps back and lowered myself into a chair, disrespectfully placing my feet on his desk. "Why are you doing all this?"

Anthony raised one of his eyebrows—he was damn sexy, and he knew I thought so. His eyes stared at my polished shoes resting on some of his documents.  "We have our reasons," he muttered.

I reached forward and snatched the lighter from his hand before he had a chance to react. "If you want me back, Master, you need to tell me more than that."  I lit the cigar and savored the rough smoke filling my mouth. This was heaven. This was my new addiction, I thought, rolling it between my fingers and studying the ember.

"You just said your husband told you everything."

"He's no longer my husband; I want a divorce, or whatever I have to do to break the bond."

I saw Anthony tilt his head slightly back as he studied me with a swirling glass of cognac in his hand. "May I ask why?"

"Because we hate each other."

"No, you don't," he sighed, emptying the glass. "He loves you so much that it distorts his mind. He needs to think more rationally—but instead, he withers from jealousy."

"Still? I've been gone for eighty years."

"Yes, but when you left us, that was the last nail in the coffin." He stood up and pushed my legs off the desk as he walked closer to me. "He's broken."

I sat up straight and pulled my legs in. "So, do you understand why I need this divorce?"

I watched Anthony lick his lips, and a thoughtful crease deepened between his eyebrows. "It will kill him," he whispered.

I took a deep breath and leaned forward to rest my face in my hands. "Then I have to leave you again, Anthony. I can't stay here, not like this."

"How so?" he asked dryly, forcing my head up to meet his eyes.

"You force me to live like a dog on a tight leash, ordered around by his master's slightest hint—depending on his mood, of course," I spat, meeting his gaze without caring about his reaction. "You order me around like I'm an emotionless tool, and Luis plays with my feelings, trying to wring out the last drop, as if I'm a wet damn rag."

"I have plans," he said after a moment of silence, rubbing his thumb across my chin. "You have no reason to trust me, but this time I promise you things will be different."

I widened my eyes and stared into his, trying to understand. "Why? Why is everything different now?"

"We're going back to France."

"Sounds like a bad plan. They hate you over there."

He laughed as he released me and leaned back to sit on his desk again. "Yes, but we're going to take care of them."

"We?" I laughed. "You rarely leave the comfort of our home."

He sighed and waved his hand dismissively. "You have a group of vampires who can help you; let them do the dirty work for you."

I laughed dryly this time as I looked at him and put my feet back on the desk—right beside him. "Like you."  He nodded a few times, refilled his glass, and downed it in one go.

"You'll be in charge of my security team."

"A security team? And what exactly are we supposed to do?"

He licked his lips and set the glass down beside my feet. "Secure buildings, oversee the goods. Handle threats."

"Same as always, then," I muttered, inhaling the rich smoke.

"No. This is going to be different, Theodore; the scope of this is going to be immense."

I couldn't believe him; did he think I wanted power? He should have known me better than that. Since when did I care about titles and all that crap? My feet fell to the floor, and I quickly stood up, grabbing the collar of his white shirt and staring into his eyes. "That's not what I need," I whispered, my face close to his. "You have to offer me something better."

A smile spread across his lips as they moved closer to mine. I held my breath and waited, but nothing happened.  "Your confidence is astounding," he muttered bitterly, his fragrant breath making my skin tingle. "Maybe I made a mistake coming back to get you."

"You need me, and now you have to prove my worth," I hissed.

His hand grasped mine and moved it from his collar as he leaned back. I studied him as he busied himself smoothing out every wrinkle I had created in the fabric.  "I'll bring the divorce papers to your room at midnight," he said, sighing deeply. "I hope it's worth it, clockmaker, because we're going to unleash hell."

"Nothing could be worse than this."

"Are you sure?" he laughed. "You should prepare yourself—Luis isn't pleasant when he's upset."

I lay restlessly in bed, tossing and turning as I desperately tried to find sleep. But the night was heavy, and the silence was almost deafening.

Finally, I heard the door to my room creak open with a soft groan and then click shut with a soft, almost muffled sound. His perfume reached me immediately, a heavy, spicy scent that filled the air and seized my senses. It was overwhelming, almost invasive, and with each breath I took, I carried his presence with me. I perked up my ears, straining to hear every step he took, every movement he made.

I heard a stack of papers land with a dull sound on the desk—a hard, sudden action—but then... nothing. He didn't move. Instead, he stood beside my bed, just a few inches from me in the small, claustrophobic room. The silence grew, as if the whole world had come to a halt. I could feel his gaze, even though I didn't dare to open my eyes. It was as if his presence sucked all the air out of the room, demanding all attention without saying a single word.

Minutes ticked by slowly, and I could almost feel time struggling to move forward. With each passing second, my restlessness grew, coiling like a snake under my skin. Why was he still here? What the hell did he want?  After a tense wait, I heard Anthony move toward the foot of the bed, but instead of opening the door to leave, I felt the mattress sink down. My pulse quickened in my chest as he slowly moved up my body, and when his face hovered above mine, I chose to open my eyes and stare blankly into his, but he said nothing.  I saw hesitation in his eyes, a feeling I had never seen in him despite all the years we had spent together.

I immediately knew what he wanted; I felt it. For the first time, he had let me into his innermost thoughts and feelings.  So why was he hesitating? He was so close yet so far away.  I gathered my courage and let my fingers slide up along his tense arms, which rested on either side of me, up over his elbows and toward his shoulders. When my hands finally rested at the nape of his neck, I lifted my body from the mattress while gently pushing him down to bring his lips closer to mine.  That was all it took.  His lips descended onto mine, capturing them between his. I drew a quick breath, and as my back left the mattress, he took the opportunity to wrap his arms around my startled body, pressing heavily down on me. My hands finally moved up into his hair, and I savored the feeling of his hard body over mine. Everything inside me was on fire.

His hands wandered over my body as he frustratedly pulled off the clothing that got in his way.

"Anthony," I whispered, trying to catch his eyes with mine, but he ignored me.

I felt a tension pulsing from him, the worry that he was making a mistake, and also a sense of frustration that everything was moving too slowly. He had waited so long.  When he growled irritably at the knot in my pajama pants, I knew it was time to switch roles, and with a smile on my lips, I pushed him down onto the bed and straddled his astonished body.  We didn't say a word; it wasn't necessary.

My hands worked quickly, and I soon had all his clothes off. I couldn't help but pause and admire his body, lying still and waiting for me. His eyes carefully studied me, and once again, I felt his uncertainty.  To calm him, I lightly dragged my fingertips across his bare torso, taking in every inch of him.

"Theodore," he murmured, but I wouldn't let him say more, as I longed to feel his lips against mine again.

His mouth left mine after a long, passionate kiss and gently moved down my neck. I could feel his fangs growing in his mouth, lightly scratching my skin at the same spot where Luis had once marked me on our wedding night. A thought penetrated my mind, his thought. He wanted to bite me, but it wasn't the hunger for blood that drove him; it was the thought of making me his forever.  I took a quick breath and placed both hands on his shoulders to create some space between us. I needed to see him in the eyes; I needed to know what he was thinking.

"Theodore," he whispered with a voice full of desire and longing, "if you want to break your bond, we need to create a new one."

I looked into his otherwise icy eyes and raised a hand to caress his cheek. "Is that what you want?" I whispered, "or is that what you feel you have to do?"

He chuckled softly at my question, "It's what I've wanted since the first moment I saw you in your pathetic human form."

I nodded slightly; his words didn't surprise me. We had circled around our feelings for centuries, but I could hardly believe that we would finally have each other. It was now or never. I instinctively ran my fingers over Luis's mark and nodded, "You know that's what I want."

The hesitation in his eyes was replaced by a hunger I had never seen before, his lips moving along my neck, and when he found the right spot, I felt his teeth sink into my skin. The euphoria that spread through my body was indescribable; a wave of energy more powerful than any orgasm washed over me with every sip he took.

Then it was my turn.

Every inch of my body wanted him, in more than one way, and before I let my teeth sink into him, I guided his pulsing hardness between my legs with pleading eyes. A smile spread across his lips, and I didn't need to ask him again.

The sensation was unlike anything I had ever felt, a feeling of pain and pleasure at the same time. A feeling I knew I would crave as soon as we stopped. My fingers dug into his back. My lips moved quickly over his shoulder and up his neck, and when his full length was deep inside me, I let my teeth bury themselves in his skin.  A low groan escaped Anthony's lips, and with every sip I took, he moved faster until we were both shaking with desire.

His endless power flowed into me, and I felt the bond with Luis fade more and more until it was completely nonexistent.  When I had drunk enough, he took my lips in his, our bodies moved rhythmically, and the room filled with our quick breaths until I could hold back no longer and felt the desire to say the words that had always been an unspoken veil on my lips.

"I love you."

At that moment, the door to the room swung open, and Anthony flew off my body, staring at the furious brother standing in the doorway.  Our naked bodies were exposed in the light from the hallway, and Luis's twisted face was shadowed by the darkness in my room.

He took a staggering step forward, his hand pressed against the nonexistent mark I had once given him. A flicker of pain crossed his face, but there was something that overshadowed it all. Hatred.

"Luis," Anthony commanded in a stern voice, "leave us!"

But his younger brother stood his ground, shaking more and more with the anger that built up as he became aware of the situation.  "So you finally took him from me," he spat between clenched teeth.

"Luis," Anthony warned, "go to your room; we'll discuss this later."

"Discuss what exactly?" he laughed bitterly, "you've never liked to share."

Anthony's frustration grew with every word Luis uttered, and I could see that he was close to shoving him out of the room and locking the door behind us.

"Luis..." I started, but his gaze made me stop.

"You know we're just pawns in his little game, darling," he growled. "He doesn't love you; all he cares about is power."

"Luis," Anthony warned once again, but his brother wasn't listening.

"Everything you touch turns to ash, dear big brother, and soon it will be your little clockmaster's turn to die."

Those were his last words. I watched helplessly as a frail body stepped up behind him, and before I could react, two long blades flashed in the darkness and slid through the pulsing neck of my ex-husband. I watched in horror as he's head fell to the floor with a thud. Seconds later, his body turned to ash, and there wasn't a single trace left of the man I had once loved.

In shock, I stared at Marianne, who without a word looked me straight in the eyes, and a moment later, she was gone.

The room fell into an unsettling silence, and my eyes moved to Anthony. He stood motionless at the edge of the bed, his face showing no signs of what he was thinking or feeling.

"She was protecting me."

He nodded quietly, but the words that left his lips made the blood freeze in my body. "I'll take care of her."  Then he left the room with long strides.

The coming days could only be compared to a living hell. Anthony sat locked away in his study, refusing to speak to anyone. Marianne was missing, and both Lumiere and I had been ordered not to leave the house. I couldn't help but worry about her, but at the same time, I couldn't shake the thought of what she and Lumiere had talked about while I was in London. He had asked her to keep an eye on Luis, and she had always been extremely overprotective of me in his presence, but I couldn't understand why.

The days dragged on. The new bond with Anthony made me long for him in a terrifying way, and I could also feel his emotions much more intensely than before. He was suffering in a similar way to me; that was obvious.

Everyone treated me differently now. I was more powerful, but I would have done anything to undo it. I didn't miss Luis's bitter laughter, but he deserved a better end than this, and my heart ached when I thought of him.

Lumiere told me to give Anthony time. Time to mourn his brother, but a nagging feeling made me believe that Anthony suspected I was part of the planning of the murder. To ease my anxiety, I had decided to clear everything up with him, but as I stood outside his room, doubt began to grow.  With my forehead pressed against the thick oak door, I tried to gather myself.

My feelings must have pulsed through the wood and straight into his heart, for suddenly the door opened, and I fell right into his arms. We stood there for a while, and I reveled in the scent that enveloped me as our new bond instantly grew stronger.

"I know you weren't involved," he whispered, running his fingers through my hair. "She loves you, and she wanted to protect you." His honesty surprised me, but I gladly accepted every word. "But that said, I can't accept her in our family anymore. She can stay in the basement with the other scum, but if I ever see her again, I will kill her."

I nodded briefly but said nothing. When his hand moved to my chin and he lifted my face to meet my eyes, I saw the deep sorrow reflected in his gaze.  "You regret everything," I gasped as the realization hit me.

"Not everything," he replied shortly, stroking my lips with his thumb. "But things will change. Our new bond cannot be undone, but it also cannot be made official."

"Okay," I mumbled, feeling my legs almost buckle beneath me. "So what happens now?"

"I am your creator, as I always have been, and you work for me, just like before," he answered coldly.

"So what happened was a one-time occurrence," I muttered bitterly.

"My bed is yours if you want it," he replied emotionlessly, and I couldn't help but wonder if it was more than just an offer. His emotions were locked away deep within him again, but somewhere inside, there was still a glimmer of uncertainty and longing for me. "Pack your things; we're moving back to France in three days," he continued, his hands still resting on my body.

I nodded briefly, unwilling to leave him. The realization that our bond would make everything so much worse tormented me, but I would take all I could have. A part of him was finally mine; even if it was just at night when we were alone, I would settle for that.

Determined, I took his face in my hands and pressed my lips against his. Our shared power vibrated between us, urging us to continue, but neither of us took the step to do more than that.  With a sad smile, I took a step back and looked up into his icy eyes, searching for the smallest sign of feeling in his body.

"I'm here if you need me," I murmured quietly, then I left him to his grieving or whatever the hell he was doing during the day.  With every step I took, I longed more and more for the darkness of night when I would finally get to see him again and show him just how much I loved him.