My heart was pounding as every part of her body pressed up against mine. Soft, surprising since she was what she was. Warm, if not from her own heat, then from her close proximity to me.

Some small, still functioning part of my mind struggled to catch my attention, but I ignored it. This felt good, no, better than good. There was no reason not to have her, at least not that I could think of. Why had I tried so hard to avoid this? She clearly had no objections, and it was not as if she could not stop me if she changed her mind.

Why the hell not?

My hand wandered over her back and then back up to wind in her lengthy dark hair. My other hand was useless, holding the lantern away from us so we would not be lit on fire.

Finally, some awareness pushed through pushed through. I was reminded where we were, in the middle of the training yard turned execution field, standing next to the ashy remains of three bloodsuckers.

Monsters, all three, but for my part I would give them the respect due former humans, even if they did not deserve it.

I released her, and she looked a bit confused, as if she was having trouble comprehending what had happened. Good. I didn't want to be the only one so off-balance.

"Come with me," I stated and extended my hand to her. I was curious to see if she would start pushing her weight around or follow my lead.

She place her hand in mine and I began to pull her along. There was no resistance and it felt like nothing so much as walking with another human. She did not even feel cool, because she quickly warmed where our skin met.

Maybe, deep under whatever mystic ties that bound her into the creature she now was, the human woman still lived.

We walked back to the house and I doused the lantern and hung it back on the wall where I had found it. She quietly watched.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked, soft brown eyes studying my face.

"No idea," I admitted. Her lips curled into a smile. My only goal had been to get her away from the dead bloodsuckers' remains and continue where we left off. Now that we weren't there, I realized I didn't have any further plans.

But I could improvise. Catching her lips again, I pushed her up against the wall. She made a low sound that only encouraged my hands to further exploration over her clothing, running along her sides and down her hips to grasp her ass. Heart pounding, my mind was focused on that one thing that drove me, finding satisfaction for my progressively growing interest in her.

Where I could take her that had more privacy than this hallway? Definitely not to my hall full of humans or to her chambers with her lurking guards. The crack of the door broke through the fog that was consuming my mind.

I jumped away from her, breaking contact and surreptitiously adjusted myself.

"Oh! Oh. Sorry, Mistress." I turned my attention to the person who had interrupted us, caught between impatience and the sort of embarrassment that reminded me of a long ago time when I had been caught making out with Melissa by my father. She had turned adorably red and refused to look at either of us.

Like Melissa's face had been, Carter's also flushed and he was looking anywhere but at Vienne and I. My own discomfort faded into pity since he looked as if he would happily chew through his own leg to escape the situation.

I couldn't read what Vienne was thinking, though. There were no signs of embarrassment, and I wondered if vampires were even capable of blushing. Rather, she seemed amused on some level as per usual, with a trace of an underlying frustration. "Nothing to apologize for, Carter. If anything, we've had way too many apologies as of late. You were simply walking the halls as you are at perfect liberty to do, think no more of it."

"Mistress," he said and he hurried away as if a bloodsucker were chasing him.

Still, it was too late. The spell was broken. I glanced back at Vienne, as enticing as ever. Had I really been about to screw a vampire?

There was no question. That had been exactly what I had been about to do, and worse, I still wanted to, even if it was dangerous and probably all kinds of wrong. She was so damn attractive, her face was flawless and her body had curves that my hands itched to wander again, more. My heart continued to beat so loudly I could hear it in my ears. Blood rushed everywhere but my brain, judging by the lightness that seemed to be overtaking my thoughts.

She was watching me, making no move to close the distance between us. "What are you thinking?"

What was I thinking? "I..."

Her smile faltered. Had she read my momentary conflict on my face? "I know you think me a monster, but I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to do with me, Jamie. It's like your blood, I may want it, but I don't need it. I can live without any of it." She smirked at me, as if to demonstrate her indifference.

The uncomfortable feeling that I could lose something I barely had and wanted to keep hit me hard. I struggled to think of a way to reverse what she clearly was thinking. "Vienne, it's not that."

Her expression barely softened. She raised an eyebrow.

"I do want you."

"Most men do. I am rather attractive," she agreed, her voice flat and factual.

What was I supposed to say to that?

She did not give me time to figure out the answer. "It's fine, Jamie. I'm not going to have you punished for this." She straightened her back. "Regardless, it's late, and you're a human, so you need sleep. You should get to bed, I've kept you up far too late already. Goodnight, Jamie."

She smiled confidently, but I wondered how true it was. She tried to walk past me, but I moved forward and grabbed her wrist.

While she could have easily pulled free from my grasp, she did not, letting me stop her from moving away from me. She looked over her shoulder to meet my eyes.

"Not long ago, I hated all of you. Bloodsuckers killed my family, so I killed them. I didn't think there was anything left inside any of you besides bloodlust."

She continued watching me seriously, not teasing or aggravating to ease the tension like she usually would.

"But I know there's more to you than just a bloodsucking monster, or just a beautiful face." A smile began to form in the corner of her lip, gentler than her usual grins and smirks. I was relieved. She drove me crazy, but I didn't want to hurt her. "I wasn't lying when I said that you've won me over. You've done things I don't like. You've said things that made me furious."

That smirk returned, but I couldn't even feel annoyed at her.

"You've driven me nearly crazy."

She full on grinned as she turned towards me, but it faded with her next words. "I think I'm afraid of you."

"What?" Sure, I had staked her, but Tiberius had been correct. There was little hope I could have succeeded if she had not given me have the chance.

She inhaled deeply, whether for habit or show I did not know. "I've never had such an interest in anyone, and right from the first. And I know I'm going to lose you some day, Jamie, and the closer we get, the less I think I'll be able to cope when the time comes. I'm very good at distracting myself, but with you it's different. I'm afraid it's more than a mere obsession, in truth." She closed her eyes. "I've never been so tempted to turn a human in my life."

I did not know how to respond. She knew I did not want to become a bloodsucker, and I was not going to change my opinion on that, even for her.

She opened her eyes again. "I'm not going to. I've never turned a human, and I will never turn you against your will, no matter how much I don't want to lose you."

I nodded. I suddenly wanted to ask how it was done because all I had ever heard was human rumours, but she spoke again.

"I just want to enjoy my time with you for as long as I have it."

"So do I."

Her eyes flickered to my face. "Will you come with me?"

It was a choice, but barely, because I already knew what I wanted.

I would follow Vienne.