It was decided that we all needed a break from what would be happening soon enough and put the maps away. Everyone went their way to explore the big home that we had been invited into, feeling somewhat free from all worries, even if it was just for this one night.

I was standing on the second story balcony of a bedroom that I had wandered into, looking out over a city that I had only seen in a photo of in the history books in school. The reality was nothing like that of the charcoal pages. It was a marvelous sight to take in with my own eyes. I could hear music coming from a distance and I could vaguely see normals moving about the streets that were lit by tall black street lamps. The streets themselves looked like layers of brick. They were cobblestone, only much different from what you see back where I came from; these seemed never ending. I could smell the smoke coming from the smokestacks that shot to the tops of the misshapen buildings in the distances, and it was all extremely majestic compared to the horrors that lay below.

“It is beautiful, is it not?” Martin asked in a soft voice from behind me.

“How much beauty can there really be, with so much evil hiding here,” I replied without turning around.

“Can you not see past it?” he whispered, laying his hands lightly on my shoulders.

“I can see what the normals see. The false layers on the surface.” I leaned back just enough to feel his chest touching my back. “Does London know about the breeders?”

“Some, I think. But none speak of us for fear that we might hear,” he replied as his hands moved down my sides and around my waist.

“I wanted so bad to hate you. I thought you betrayed me. That’s why I left with them. I drank from my brother and left him for dead. It was Rebecca who told me that it was your plan, and that you would have me kill my whole family if I stayed.” I took a deep breath, holding back the tears, as he held me and listened. “I felt like such a fool when I found out the truth.” Then I did start to cry.

“You have nothing to be ashamed of. They were made for trickery, and have done their jobs well. I was attacked that night when I woke. The moment I stepped out of the crypt, my head was covered and I was beat so bad I could hardly move. I limp because of the way the three men broke my legs and tied me to the earth to meet the sun. By fate alone I pulled one arm free and saved myself by pulling my body into a small cave that belonged to a mother coyote and her three pups. We had a small disagreement, but in the end, she allowed my dead remains to rest throughout the waking day. She left me intact and was gone with her pups when I woke the next night. I lay there for three more nights before I was able to make it back and find you gone. I knew in my heart that they had taken you, but knew it within my soul when you were not there.”

“How do we continue now? I’m not the same girl that you fell in love with, Martin.”

“No, you are not,” he said, turning me around to face him. “You are a woman that stands on her own, and I love you even more. I loved you from afar months before I could no longer stay away, Renee. And the heart grows fonder no matter what you have done in the time that we have been apart. Nothing can ever change how I feel about you.”

He kissed me and I felt my body melt against his as his mouth explored mine and, for the first time in my life, I wanted a man to take me in the way that a man takes his bride. I wrapped my arms around his back, running them up, feeling the coolness of his flesh under his shirt as he mimicked my moves. I began pushing him backwards toward the bedroom and off of the balcony. Once we were inside the room, I stepped back and began unbuttoning my shirt. He stepped up to me, and gently moved my hands to my side, then finished what I had started.  I raised my hand to cover my scars and he grabbed it and slowly shook his head.

“You have no need to hide yourself from me. You are the most perfect thing that I have ever seen.”

“Then you, good sir, are blind as a bat,” I smiled, blushing as much as a breeder could.

“So wonderful to be nocturnal, we can use our hands much better when we cannot use our eyes,” he smiled back, running his hands under my breasts, causing me to catch my breath and hold it.

“I have to tell you something before we can go further.” I pushed my body into his, laying my face into the softness of his neck and stopping his hands from moving over the most tender part of my breast.

“I know about Enrique,” he whispered against the top of my head as he laid a gentle kiss. “Had you and your people not already made him pay, I would have done so myself.”

“I’m not pure anymore,” I replied, burying my face deeper into his chest.

“You cannot think on things such as that anymore my love,” he said, reaching into his pants pocket. “Do you remember this?” Then he handed me the gold ring that once sat in the little golden box that he had once given me, back in our beginning.

“Of course, I remember,” I wiped the tear from my cheek, while moving it around in my fingers.

He took the ring from my trembling hand, stepped back and got down on one knee. “I told you then that I would not give you this until you were ready. So, now I ask you, My Lady…are you ready to be my bride? Will you have me as your mate for the rest of our unnatural lives?”

I know my body was shaking as he slid the ring onto my finger. My world was moving so fast that I never recalled saying the word, “yes”. The next thing I knew we were locked in a heated embrace and Martin was backing me toward the bed. My heart was beating like a butterfly in flight, yet I wanted more. His hands felt like silk as they moved across my bare back and his solid chest pressed into my breasts as if wanting to meld.

When Martin lay me on the bed and stood looking down at me, I felt like getting up and running. The fear of knowing he was well advanced in the art of making love and I had absolutely no knowledge scared me to death. As if reading my thoughts, he leaned down, running his hand over my stomach and waist and whispered. “I will be gentle, My Lady.”

“I’m so afraid right now,” I spoke as he lay down next to me. “Through everything I have been through, you frighten me the most.”

“I fear you as well,” he kissed my brow. “I fear you will enslave me with your love,” he then kissed the tip of my nose. “I fear I will die if I were to ever lose you again.” He then locked his lips to mine and my anxiety floated away.

His lips moved from my quivering mouth as he kissed his way down my neck. I could feel the uncontrollable spasms as his hand moved under my breast and down to the top of my pants. My hands roamed his muscular back as his mouth worked my breast and his hand pushed my pants down over my hips. It was the most erotic thing that had ever happened to me and I loved every second of it. He stood so fast that it made me jump, but then he reached down and pulled my pants from my body. That had me rolling to my side and bringing my knees up a bit. I was no child but I was a woman that had little to offer in the way of pleasing a man. Martin then did something that had me wanting to turn my head; he slid his pants down and, right before my eyes witnessed his full beauty, I did indeed lower my eyes.

Martin smiled as he slid back down beside me, pushing one of my legs down so he could lay his in between mine. We needed no words. I knew he knew my situation so I allowed him to show me the way.

Chapter Four

I know that our passion was brought to life that night in a way that I never thought possible. When I woke in his arms the next night, with him looking down into my eyes, I knew that we would be attached for eternity. “How long have you been awake?” I asked, running my hand across his hairless chest.

“Long enough to witness life come back into your beautiful body,” he smiled, kissing me on the forehead.