Genny watched from the shadows as Atticus rode his horse into the clearing. She couldn't tear her gaze away from his magnificent form as he sat tall in the saddle with his shoulders thrust back proudly. He may never become king, but he most certainly looked like one and he would become the strongest of their kind one day. Even at his young age power radiated from him in a vibrant ray that lit him from the inside out.

His head turned in her direction; she felt it when his eyes latched upon her. The way his stare burned into her caused her toes to curl and for a second she had that same strange sensation of her heart beating in her chest. She couldn't move as he slipped from the saddle and landed upon the ground without a sound.

Genny slid away from the tree she had been standing by and walked toward him. Her body hummed with excitement as she stopped before him and tilted her head back to look into his striking eyes. She barely felt the brush of his fingers against her face before he wrapped his hand around the back of her head and bent to kiss her. Relief swept through her when his lips touched against hers. Everything that was wrong in her life faded away as every part of her became centered upon him.

He pulled her another step closer, her mouth opened to his when his tongue brushed over her lips. The corded muscles in his arms bunched when her hands curled into his forearms. She needed something to try and keep her grounded as his touch caused everything within her to soar higher than the treetops. With him, she had discovered a happiness she'd never thought she'd find in this often harsh and brutal world. His tongue stroked the excitement within her to higher levels, his arm around her waist pressed her more firmly against him.

It felt like a piece of her was taken away when he pulled away from her and rested his forehead against hers. His eyes, darkened by desire, were a deep forest green as they searched her face with reverence. They'd only been apart for ten hours but it had seemed like days and it was only getting harder and harder to be away from him. Closing her eyes, she leaned into his touch as his thumb rubbed her cheek.

"Come," he said.

Taking hold of her hand, he led her over to his horse. He rested his hands on her hips, lifted her up and placed her on the back of the horse so that she was sitting sideways in the saddle. He gave her a mischievous grin as he pulled her bunched tunic down toward her ankles. His hand sliding over her exposed skin made her body quake when he briefly caressed her leg before covering her up. He placed his foot into the stirrup and swung into the saddle behind her.

She hadn't been on a horse often but when he pulled her into his arms and settled her in his lap, she decided it was something she would like to do a lot more often. Curling against him, her head rested on his chest as he gathered the reins and nudged the horse forward. The sun flickering through the leaves warmed her, or perhaps it was him that caused her body to heat so much that her clothes felt increasingly confining as they made their way through the forest. The sound of the birds chirruping amongst the trees caused a feeling of peace to steal through her.

It was so strangely tranquil, something that her life never was. Even if it couldn't last, for now she could pretend that it was only the two of them in the world and that nothing else would ever intrude upon them. It was an amazing fantasy, one that she decided to indulge in as they moved further into areas of the forest that she'd never explored before.

***

Atticus rested his chin on top of her head when she curled trustingly within his arms. Her sweeping lashes fell down to brush against her cheek as she rested her head on his chest. He couldn't help but smile when he spotted the ribbon he'd bought her tied in her hair. He forgot about his conversation with Merle and lost himself to the feel of her lithe body pressed against his. It didn't matter what his cousin and the others thought, all that mattered was her.

"It's beautiful out here," she murmured.

"It is," he agreed as he led Drago across the stream and through the thickening trees.

"Sometimes I think it would be great to go into the woods and get lost amongst the trees forever."

"Why would you think that?"

She shrugged but the rigidity of her body belied the dismissive gesture. "I don't know, I love nature and think it would be an adventure."

He stared down at her but she didn't lift her eyes to look at him. There was something so sad about her suddenly that he couldn't stop himself from reaching out and caressing her cheek in an attempt to soothe her. "Genny is there something the matter?"

She glanced up at him and gave him a tremulous smile. "No."

He stared at her but her gaze was already focused on something else. "Tell me something about yourself that I would never be able to guess," he said in an attempt to bring the happiness back to her eyes.

"You already know so much."

"Tell me something I don't know."

Her mouth twisted thoughtfully as she pondered his question. "I can read and write," she finally said. "My mother had a lover years ago who was a scribe. He took a liking to me, and I think he was looking for a way to keep me entertained, so he taught me."

This revelation astounded him; there were aristocrats that didn't have the skill required to do either. "There's not many who know how," he murmured.

"I enjoy it," she whispered. "I write every day."

"And what do you write about?"

She finally looked at him again. "I simply write about my day."

"Am I in these writings?" he teased.

She smiled at him as she rose up and pressed her lips briefly against his. "Maybe," she replied with a sassy smile.

"Maybe? Maybe?" Unable to resist her playful demeanor he tickled her just beneath her ribcage. She let out a little squeal and squirmed in his arms in an attempt to avoid his persistent fingers. He'd never tickled anyone before in his life, but he would tickle her every day for the rest of hers if it made her laugh with such joy. He couldn't help but smile as her tinkling laughter rang through the forest and she pleaded with him to stop.

She grabbed hold of his hands and flattened them against her ribs so that he couldn't make a move against her again. It would be so easy to free himself from her grasp but he remained still against her. Her laughter drifted away and her head tilted back to look at him. Her hair had loosened from her movements; straggling strands of it now fell free to frame her angular face. All merriment faded as desire lanced through him so swiftly that for a second it took everything he had not to pull her from the saddle and lay her down on the forest floor right here and now.

He knew she sensed his mood, he could see it in the smoky haze of passion clouding her eyes. "I think I'll have to read it to see what you've said about me," he said in a hoarse voice.

Another burst of laughter escaped her as she shook her head. "I don't think so. Tell me something about you now."

"What would you like to know?"

She impishly tapped her chin but a serious look came over her face when she met his eyes again. "Have you ever killed a human before?"

Her words were spoken in a conspiring tone even though they were alone in the woods. "Not in this lifetime," he told her with a wink. "Though I had a hand in a human life being lost in order to save Merle from death. I did not enjoy that incident though and never want to experience it again."

She rested her hand tenderly against his cheek. "I'm sorry that happened but it sounds like you did what had to be done."

He turned his lips into her palm and kissed her. "I did. And what of you Genny, have you ever killed a human?"

"No! Of course not!" she blurted.

He kissed the tip of her nose and focused on the woods ahead of them in order to try and distract himself from the temptation nestled within his arms. The faith she had in him rattled him even more than his growing feelings for her did. Her floral scent filled his nostrils; he savored in it as his eyes fell on the blue vein running through her slender neck. Without warning, his mouth filled with saliva and his fangs lengthened. He hadn't been rocked with the craving for blood so forcefully, and with such a loss of control, since he was a child. The overwhelming urge to taste her, to have her blood fill his mouth, to have it fill him hit him hard.

He shifted his hold on her as he tried to shake his sudden thirst. It was an insane notion, no vampire ever wanted something like that to occur. Drawn closer by her enticing scent, he bowed his head further down. The out of control feeling consuming him was something that he'd thought he would hate, yet he relished in it as his hand stroked her waist.

"Genny," he whispered.

There was a dreamy expression on her face when she tilted her head back to look up at him. Her eyes widened, he didn't know what she saw when she looked at him but if he looked as out of control as he felt, then his hunger was evident in his fangs and reddened eyes. She came out of his arms and sat up straighter in the saddle.

"Atticus, what's wrong?"

He pulled the reins up, halting Drago so that he could attempt to regain control of himself. He wasn't sure that was going to be possible though as his aching fangs pressed against the inside of his mouth. His muscles began to shake; he'd never experienced anything like the sensations tearing through him right now. He didn't know what was going on but he had to get away from her before he did something that she might end up hating him for.

The thought of her turning against him made his stomach turn. Adjusting his hold on her, he moved her out of his lap and made sure she was securely settled before swinging out of the saddle. "Atticus?"

"I need a minute," he told her. He walked over to the closest tree and rested his forearm against it. His head bowed; the bark bit into his skin as he fought to get his fangs to retract. He'd never had so much trouble getting his body to obey his commands before. Her approach caused a twig to crack but though all he wanted was to turn around and take hold of her, he couldn't bring himself to move.

"What is wrong?"

He almost knocked away the hand she rested on his arm. All it did was arouse his appetite even further, but though he grabbed hold of her hand with the intention of removing it from him, he found his fingers wrapping around hers. Something primitive inside of him was completely unraveling; she was going to be his downfall and yet as he felt her skin against his, he realized she was also his savior.

"You affect me so strangely," he murmured.

Her night colored eyes were troubled as her head tilted to the side. "Is it in a bad way?"

He didn't know how to answer that question. This lack of control couldn't be good for anyone around him and yet she made him feel a thousand times more powerful than what he was. When he was with her, he felt like he could do anything. "No," he whispered. "I don't think it could ever be in a bad way Genny."

She appeared doubtful as her eyes were still questioning upon his. Her body appeared to brace for the final blow as her shoulders thrust back, her face became distant, and her lips pressed together. She was rigid in his grasp when he tugged her closer to him.

"Never in a bad way," he whispered.

"Atticus…" her voice trailed off when he placed his hand against her neck.

He pressed his lips to her forehead. "I could hold you forever," he murmured against her ear.

His lips moved over the thin column of her throat. He tasted the sweetness of her skin as he kissed her from her ear to her collarbone. A small moan escaped her lips, her hands dug into his flesh where they rested against his hips. She turned her head to allow him better access to her neck. She wouldn't have made the gesture if she'd had any idea what she did to him, what he wanted from her. His lips paused over her vein; he fought the urge to sink his fangs into her vulnerable flesh. Though her heart didn't pump blood through her body like a human's did, there was still blood within her, blood that was driving him crazier than any human's could.

"And I'm dying to know what your blood tastes like," he told her.

A jolt went through her body as she pulled back to stare up at him. Her eyes searched his face and her mouth parted in surprise. He could well imagine she was horrified and unsettled by what he'd just said, he would have been. If anyone had said it to him, he would have walked out, or killed them if they tried to do it. He'd had to tell her though; it would be impossible to keep it hidden from her. Even now, his fangs were extended and throbbing. He'd fed last night but hunger burned through his veins as relentlessly as lava streaming downhill from an erupting volcano.

His fingers slid over the silken flesh of her throat. "I've never…" she shook her head; her eyes darted briefly away before coming back to him.

"It's not what we do, I know," he assured her. "But I want it so badly from you that I'm having a difficult time controlling it." Her vein kept him mesmerized as his fingers rested against it. "It's all I want."

He'd expected fear in her eyes when he met them again but there was no fear; there was only curiosity, and a hunger that more than matched his own. "Then do it."

"You don't know what you're asking for."

"I don't," she agreed. "But I know it's something that I can give to you that will bring you pleasure, and that's all I need to know."

His fingers slid away from her throat, his eyes remained locked on hers. The excitement thrumming through him caused the hair on his arms to stand up. Not even when he'd been about to lay with his first woman had he been this aroused by the prospect of what was to come, and there was nothing sexual about this.

She'd given him permission, yet he hesitated. He sensed there was something more to this, something completely irrevocable. Even with the weight of that realization pressing upon him, his fangs ached to slip into her skin and he could feel his self-control wavering. It didn't matter if there was no going back after this. It was Genny that he would be experiencing this with, and he found himself already bound to her in some intrinsic way.

Her hands moved away from his hips, they caressed up and down his sides before slipping around to his back. The heat of her gaze continued to hold his as her fingers curled into his clothing and skin. Unable to resist, he smoothed her hair back from her face and kissed her tenderly. It took everything he had to go slow but his body screamed for her blood. Her natural scent became stronger with her need as she pressed her body flush against his.

This isn't what vampires do, he thought again. She'd be able to find him anywhere afterward, be able to track him through her blood inside of him, but even as he thought it he realized that he didn't care. Her lips were warm against his skin, her mouth hot as she placed a kiss to his shoulder. The pressure of her fangs against his flesh caused a jolt to go through him. They scraped against him but didn't break his skin. His fingers curled into her thick hair as he realized she was fighting with the same urges driving him.

What he would have killed another for trying to take from him, he found himself saying instead to her, "Do it."

There was a second of hesitation and then her fangs pierced his skin. His body reacted as if it had been hit by a bolt of lightning. He jerked against her, his grip on her intensified. The flow of his blood entering her system was more erotic and profound than any sexual act he'd ever had with a woman. Nothing had ever given him as much satisfaction as the sensation of her feeding from him and gaining nourishment did. He could feel the pleasure she took from him as she bit deeper and a small mewl escaped her.

He bowed his head, his lips pulled back as his mouth rested against her throat. There was no hesitation, not anymore, as he sank his fangs into her enticing flesh. In that moment there was nothing in the world except for the two of them, nothing except for her and the joy of her blood filling him. It strengthened him in ways he'd never dreamed possible, in ways that no human's ever had. He could feel the power of it seeping through his body and pulsing through his veins.

With her was where he belonged, where he would always belong. She was his now.