The Last of the Red-Hot Vampires

'I know.' He kissed me once, a kiss that spoke volumes, yet left me wanting so much more. 'My sweet little virtue. Are you through being a martyr? Would you like to go home?'

'I can leave?' I clutched him even tighter, overjoyed to find the darkness inside of him was gone. 'You've got your soul back. It worked?'

'Of course it worked. You are my Beloved,' he said dryly. 'Your selfless act completed the Joining, returning my soul. In addition, your brave—albeit foolish, and never again to be attempted without first receiving approval from me—act saved the Court. The mare have a few things to say about the method of your madness, but after a little pressure by the sovereign, they have rewarded your bravery by granting you full membership in the Court, as well as anticipating the exculpation you would present on my behalf.'

'The sovereign?' I gazed into his eyes, basking in the glow of love and happiness that shone there. 'The sovereign who never makes an appearance showed up?'

'Yes. The mare weren't going to grant you a full reprieve, but the sovereign pointed out that you had earned it with your selfless act.'

My jaw dropped a little. 'You saw the sovereign? What does he…she…what does it look like?'

Theo laughed, gently closing my mouth as he pulled me after him toward a bright portal of light that sat in the very center of the rocks. 'Yes, I saw the sovereign. We were all sworn to secrecy, though, so I can't tell you any details.'

'Theo!' I smacked him on the arm.

'Well…I suppose it won't hurt to tell you that the sovereign has been known to keep an eye on things by pretending to be someone holding a minor position in the Court.'

'Who?' I asked, my mind rapidly going over every face I could remember there. 'Is it someone we know? Terrin? Gabriel? No, they're not minor. How about the dapifer? Oh! I know, it was that officious little man who introduced the mare. I'm right, aren't I?'

Theo just laughed, and kissed me.

'It's not him? What about the messenger girl, the one who rode around on the pink bike? The woman selling bread in the square? One of the people who sat around the well and gossiped?'

Theo didn't answer, just pulling me into the portal.

'Dammit, Theo, I insist as your Beloved that you tell me!'

'No.'

'Well, at least tell me why the sovereign, evidently completely out of the blue, decided to make itself known and intervene.'

'Think of it this way, sweetling—you have all of eternity to use your womanly wiles to persuade me into telling you about it,' he answered, a wicked glint in his eye as he pulled me into a kiss that I knew would melt my socks off, not to mention drive all thoughts from my mind but the joy he brought me.

I was right. As his mouth took possession of mine, his tongue swept aside my irritation to send me spiraling into the familiar well of ecstasy.

You're hungry, I said, feeling the burning need inside of him.

Yes. For you.

It took an effort, but I managed to pull my mouth from him, looking around with wonder. We were in a familiar room, the one we'd been sent to while waiting for the hearing.

'You're a man of many talents,' I said, my voice muffled as he pulled my shirt off.

'Oh yes, and you've just begun to tap the surface of them.' He paused in pulling off my clothes when my stomach gave a rude growl. 'Would you prefer to eat first?'

'Yes,' I answered, kicking off my shoes, pants, and underwear before striking a seductive pose on the bed. 'I'd like to eat you first, then you can nibble on me. Sound fair to you?'

'Oh, yes.' His eyes burned black with desire as he ripped his own clothes off, his body positively burning as he lowered his length to me. 'I couldn't have survived without you, you know.'

'That's a sweet sentiment,' I murmured between kisses, my hands busily stroking his back and sides, reacquainting myself with his deliciously silk-covered steely muscles, my toes all but curling with ecstasy as his kisses moved to the spot behind my ear that had me shivering with anticipation.

It's also the literal truth. Dark Ones—even redeemed Dark Ones—cannot live without their Beloveds. So you see, sweetling, I just couldn't allow you to sacrifice yourself that way. Something had to be done.

His penis nudged those parts of me that were pleasurably anticipating its arrival, the tight burn of arousal causing my knees to slide up around his hips. His teeth pierced my flesh at the same time he penetrated me, our bodies, minds, and souls merged into one burning conflagration of love.

The meaning of his words sank in as I drifted down from a climax that went beyond the merely sexual. Theo had flipped us over so that I was resting on him, my heart beating against his, sharing one rhythm. I lifted my head from his damp chest to look up at his face, propping myself up on an elbow to look at him. 'Are you saying that you got the sovereign to intervene? You managed to not only figure out who the sovereign was pretending to be, but you convinced him…her…whatever, to help us? You faced almost insurmountable odds to do all that, and you seriously believe you are not going to tell me everything about it, in the most excruciating detail?'

His smile was lazy, filled with smug masculine satisfaction. 'You haven't sufficiently persuaded me to tell you, sweetling.'

I sat up on him, pulling one hand behind my back, the other tracing a line down his damp chest. His eyes opened, the banked fires of desire beginning to smolder again as I slid down his legs.

I smiled as his penis twitched in anticipation. 'Then I guess I'll just have to try harder, won't I?'

The fingers of the hand behind my back grew cold from the snowball that was forming in my palm.