The next day, Adrian and Lavinia returned from their hearing at the Directive’s headquarters famished and looking forward to holing up in their bedroom for several hours, or better yet, days. If Adrian had it his way, the rest of the world would forget they even existed.

“There’s a culinary feast waiting for you,” Adrian said when Lavinia commented that she could eat a whole cow.

He had ordered a smorgasbord he intended for her to eat in bed while he ate her. He also couldn’t wait to introduce Lavinia to his extensive collection of silk ropes, but his phone rang the moment they stepped inside the house.

Automatically, his finger went to turn off the cell phone, but Lavinia stopped him.

“Who is it?” she asked.

“Just Lando. I can talk to him later.” He leaned to kiss her.

Lavinia put a finger against his mouth. “It might be important.”

“Whatever it is, it can wait,” he said, stubbornly pressing his lips against her finger.

“Do you remember what happened the last time we didn’t answer our cell phones?” she said, even more stubborn than him.

He groaned. “Okay, okay.” In the meantime, the call had gone to voice mail. “See? It wasn’t important.”

“Call him back so we can go upstairs,” she insisted.

Adrian shook his head in frustration. “Only because I want this to be over with.”

Lando answered on the first ring. “I need to tell you something—”

“I’m busy at the moment,” Adrian answered, and Lavinia rolled her eyes. He pinched her nipple through her sweater, making her gasp and giggle at the same time.

“It’s very important,” Lando insisted. “You’ll want to know what I found.”

“We’ll come visit you in a few days,” Adrian said, then shook his head. “Let’s make it a week, then days. Fifteen days top.”

“It’s about your bloodmate,” Lando said.

That stopped Adrian’s heart. “What about her?”

“This is not a conversation to have on the phone.” Lando’s voice sounded cheerful, which confused Adrian.

His mind had already concocted several scenarios, none of which would make him laugh. “Come over now.” He hung up, wondering what his friend could’ve possibly found that was so important, it couldn’t wait.

Lando took less than half an hour to arrive, which in Rome during commuting time was as fast as the speed of light. Yet, to Adrian, it seemed like a year. He yanked the door open as soon as he heard footsteps stopping outside.

“What is it?” Adrian demanded without preliminary greetings.

“It’s nice to see you, too,” Lando said with a big smile, pointing at the foyer. “Are you going to let me in?” he asked a moment later.

Adrian stepped aside. “Please, come in,” he managed to utter under his breath.

Lavinia stood at the arched entrance to the sitting room. “Hi,” she said, offering her hand to Lando.

“You must be Lavinia,” Lando said in his smooth tone, which immediately annoyed Adrian, making him wish he had not opened the door. “I’m Count Lando Carenzi, but please it’s just Lando to you, my dear.”

“You said it was urgent,” Adrian reminded him, moving to Lavinia’s side and possessively pulling her to him. His fangs pressed against his gums.

Lando raised an eyebrow and gave Adrian an amused glance before turning his attention to Lavinia once again. “My dear Lavinia, it’s an honor to meet you.”

“Thank you,” she said, gently squeezing Adrian’s hand, which he’d pressed against her hip.

Don’t be a caveman, she thought, projecting her smile in his mind.

I can’t help it, he replied.

“So?” Adrian said, staring at Lando.

“Can we sit?” Lando asked, his gaze cutting to the settees behind Lavinia.

“By all means.” Adrian opened his arm in a gesture of welcome. He was one word away from losing his patience.

Lando waited for Lavinia to lower herself onto the silk divan before taking the opposite chair.

Adrian sat by Lavinia. “What did you find?” he asked in a stern tone.

No barking, Lavinia thought.

I'm a study in civility. Adrian wound his arm around her back.

Lando’s eyes lit as he answered, “The most beautiful news.”

Adrian waved his hand, motioning for his friend to go on.

“I was rereading a few of the notes in the Satan Archives—”

Satan Archives? Lavinia asked via the mental link.

I’ll explain later. Adrian patted her shoulder.

“And there’s that passage I’ve told you about that I’ve been struggling to decipher for some time.” Lando continued. “It mentioned the words progeny and bloodmate. Remember?” he asked Adrian before turning to Lavinia. “But the calligraphy is corrupted, and an entire sentence is missing.” He paused for a moment. At the sight of the hard glint in Adrian’s eyes, he said, “The night of the gala, I met with the librarian and mentioned that note to him, asking if he knew anything about bloodmates’ progeny…”

“And?” Adrian asked when his blood brother looked first at him, then at Lavinia, without adding a word.

“It turns out that the librarian has been researching about the Vampire’s Thirst for years and, unbeknownst to me, he knows a great deal about the topic.” Lando’s smile grew large as he paused one more time.

Before Adrian threatened him with bodily harm, Lando resumed talking. “He showed me several passages from texts as ancient as the Satan Archives, and they all agree on one point: bloodmates can procreate.” Wearing a satisfied grin, Lando tilted his head and crossed his arms over his chest.

Bloodmates can procreate, Adrian repeated the words in his mind.

Adrian… did I understand correctly? From the look of her, Lavinia’s jaw almost dropped.

“Is it true?” Adrian asked Lando. His heart had stopped beating, and he could hardly breathe.

“Only one way to find out, my friend,” Lando answered with a joyous laugh. He stood and bowed to Lavinia. “I’ll leave you two to ponder the news.” Reaching into his jacket pocket, he retrieved a business card. “I’m sure you’ll have plenty of questions when the shock of the news wears out. You know where to find me. If you want to talk with the librarian, here is his card.”

Lando saw himself out without Adrian being the wiser. He only had eyes for Lavinia, who smiled at him with the most beautiful expression on her face.

“We could have a baby Adrian, you and I,” she whispered, her eyes filling with moisture.

“Or a baby Lavinia,” he said, wiping her joyful tears with his thumb.

“A baby—” She shook her head. “Can you believe it?”

Adrian laughed. “Not in a million years.”

Lavinia’s expression darkened all of a sudden. “But what kind of a baby will it be? I am a half-breed and you a vampire—”

“As Lando said, there’s only one way to find out, isn’t there?” Adrian took her in his arms and kissed her soundly. “I’d say to give it a good try and see what happens.”

“You are a wise man—” Lavinia chuckled.

“I intend to be thorough in our efforts. We’ll start here and make love on every surface in this house, just to be sure.” His fingers deftly unbuttoned her blouse, uncovering a purple lace bra with the crisscross pattern he so liked.

“I agree with your plan wholeheartedly.” Lavinia pushed against his touch, her nipples hardening against the lace.

True to his word, Adrian gave her a slow tour of the house that ended in the bedroom several hours later, where they finally fed each other in the most pleasurable way, while kissing and nibbling.

“I love you, my little, feisty wolf,” Adrian whispered against the swell of her breasts after taking his fill.

“I love you, my big, gentle vampire.”

Lavinia’s throaty moan was all he needed to ignite his passion again.

“Forever mine,” he said, licking the small pricks on her soft flesh. “As I am forever yours.”