As she slept, Remi carried Sophie to his bed, laid her down, and crawled in beside her. The clock on the nightstand told him that dawn was approaching, as the black metal blinds, timed to lower a few hours prior to the rising of the sun, began to descend, sealing the apartment in darkness.

Propping himself up on his elbow, he ran his fingers through her hair, and her eyes fluttered open.

“You need more rest.”

“I’m not tired anymore. Tell me again that my nightmare is over, Remi. Tell me I’m free. Tell me I’m yours.”

“It is over, and you’re free. You’re mine, and I’m yours, chér.”

“You called me that in my dreams.”

He smiled at her, leaning down to place a kiss on her lips. She opened, allowing him to slide his tongue over hers, and she moaned into his mouth, as she urged him closer to her.

“It’s the mating. Do you feel the energy? We need to complete it.”

“Yes, I feel it. It’s like my body’s on fire for you, Remi.”

“We have to be quick. The day is coming. I wish we had more time, because I wanna lay you down, explore every curve of your body… each crest and hollow. I wanna learn what makes you shiver and groan from what I’m doing to you… discover all of your secrets with my fingers... tongue… and cock. And once I’ve found them, I’ll give you pleasure until the only word to come from your mouth is my name. It’s all you’ll know and the only thing you’ll need. I’m gonna make sure of it.”

She reached out, tracing his lips with her finger.

“Will you bathe me?”

“You wanna take a shower?”

“I want you to clean me, Remi. Wash away the filth of all the bodies that have touched mine before you.”

“Oui,” he whispered, taking her hand in his.

He led her into the bathroom and turned on the spray. She closed the door and slid the straps of her dress off her shoulders. She pushed it down over her hips, and it fell onto the tile floor.

“I wanna burn it,” she said, staring at the garment, as she shoved her panties to her ankles. “I wanna have a ceremony to honor Marcel and light that thing up. He’s with his daughter Deirdre now. Maybe he’ll see the fire we build from Heaven.”

“Oui, chér. He will.”

He let his gaze roam over the softness of her body, seeing her underlying strength. Despite what she’d gone through, she was standing in front of him, naked, unafraid and asking him to touch her.

“Come.”

He opened the door, and she walked inside the shower, which was flowing warm and full blast. He stepped in and went to her, gathering her in his arms. He held her to him, letting the water sluice over them both.

“If you wanna cry, you can, Sophie. It’s okay.”

“I don’t want to,” she said, burying her face in the crook of his shoulder. “I’m not sad. I’m finally happy.”

“Me, too.”

They held each other a long while, and then Remi eased away. He took the milk soap in his hand and mixed it with some water, working it into a lather that covered both of his hands, while Sophie moved out from under the spray. Water poured from her hair, running in jagged rivulets down her body.

He watched, as a drop hung on each of the tips of her nipples, before falling to the floor and sliding into the drain. Ignoring the demanding urges of his cock, hard since the moment he laid eyes on her, he wanted and needed to care for Sophie first.

With a start, he realized that she had taken the preeminent place in his mind, even above himself. He looked at her again, surprised and glad at the thought.

“Are you hungry?”

“Should I be?”

“Oui.” He slid his hands from hers, up her arms, and to her shoulders. “Very. I was when I was first turned.”

“I’m not. That bag must’ve filled me up.”

“Good. I’m about to fill you up, too.”

She lifted her arms, leaning forward against him, pressing her breasts to his chest, and his hands glided down over her ribs, to the flare of her hips. After making more suds, he rubbed her back, from her nape to her round cheeks, giving them a slight squeeze when his palms covered them.

Leaning back, Sophie let the spray douse her body and shed her of the grime.

Their eyes met, and then his gaze dropped to her chest and back up to her face. She nodded, and he placed the soap back in the holder. He lifted her breasts in his palms, weighing them. He felt her eyes on him and flicked his to hers with an arched brow.

“Do you like them?”

“I’m holding myself back, chér. You’re exquisite. I don’t know how I’m gonna handle washing you below your navel.”

Smiling, she whispered, “Make sure you’re thorough.”

“I want to use my tongue.” Sophie shivered, and her scent grew stronger and headier in the moisture of the shower. “You like my idea?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Guiding her to the wall, he dropped to his knees, hooked her leg over his shoulder, and dove to take what he wanted—to taste her and drink her nectar. Her clit was plump, ripe, and ready for him. Slipping his tongue between her lips, he groaned at the sweetness pouring into his mouth. Using his thumb and index finger, he spread her open wide to gorge on all of her pussy.

“Aahh!” She plunged her fingers into his hair, holding him to her. She cried, “Don’t stop!” as if he had any plans to end his feasting before he was done.

Her thighs trembled. He sucked harder and was rewarded with more of her juices, flowing to cover his tongue and then slide down his throat.

“Mmmm,” he moaned. “More, Sophie.”

Two of the fingers of his other hand drifted up the inside of her leg, and when he touched her core, she grabbed his wrist and urged it upwards, thrusting them into her.

“Oh, God! It’s so good!”

Remi teased her with gentle touches inward and out.

“Harder! Please!”

At her cry, he pummeled her at vampire speed, as her wails grew in volume.

“Yes! God! Yes!”

A moment later, she shouted her orgasm, an unintelligible mix of words, groans, and cries. Standing up, Remi took her by the sides of her head, slanting his mouth over hers, taking her in a caress of passion of their tongues dancing and searching for the other. He jerked when she grasped his cock in her hands, working him up and down with both of them.

Concentrating on not coming as she looked at him, he ended the kiss and stared into her eyes, pools of simmering heat mirroring his desire.

“Sophie… I need….”

“Me, too. Please….”

With an upturn of her head, she reached for him to go back to her, and he dipped down, joining their lips. Desire flooded his veins, and his control was at an end. He had to be inside her, his cock and his fangs.

Taking her into his arms, he lifted her up, as she circled hers around his neck and her legs loosely about his waist. When he slipped his tip through her lips, her wetness coating his dick, he shivered.

Then, with a groan, he pressed inside of her.

“Merde!” he shouted, as a burst of electricity shot throughout his body.

Sophie tightened her legs, pulling him closer to sink deeper inside her. Her walls clamped down around him, hugging him in her heat, holding him.

“It’s lifting from me. The pain. Everything.”

“Bien!”

He eased his cock in and out at a measured pace, lengthening the sensations of their intimate union.

“Remi,” she sighed.

It was the most beautiful thing he’d ever heard—his mate, calling his name.

He popped his hips firmer and faster, gripping her to him, as his fangs lowered. Sophie swept her hair to the side and leaned forward to his neck, as hers grazed over his skin.

A rushing went through him, as he sank his fangs through her flesh, and Sophie bit into him a moment later. When her blood flowed into his mouth, her life flashed before him like a celluloid film, each event a stretched square of a frozen moment in time, before it fell away. One after the other, they came, and he vowed to himself to keep her safe, protect her, and love her for the rest of their lives.

Then the vision dropped to the recollections, stacked haphazardly, resembling a messy deck of cards. An ember lit in the center, slowly growing, turning them black and making them curl in on themselves.

Unable to hold back any longer, Remi lifted his head and shouted as he came.

They looked at each other, lost in the miracle that had brought them together... forever.