"Do I have the word Charmer tattooed on my forehead or something?"

"What?" Adrian's whisper was no louder than mine, but the touch of his breath on my ear sent shivers of delight down my arms.

I leaned closer to Adrian, so we wouldn't interrupt Gigli from chastising a recalcitrant sylph. "Why is it that everyone we meet seems to know I'm a Charmer just by looking at me? Is there some sort of mark on me that I've never seen before? How do they know?"

"Members of the immortal world see things differently than mortals," he answered, his lips brushing the curve of my ear.

I fought the need to turn my head and kiss him until his fangs dropped, contenting myself with nibbling on his earlobe as I mumbled, "Yeah, but Seal isn't an immortal."

"He has submerged himself in our world long enough that he sees things as we do," Gigli answered, having shooed the flighty sylph out a door. It didn't close all the way, the pulsing throb of the music drifting in to wrap around us. A shock of electricity zapped through me at the sound, sending my heart racing as my libido shifted into overdrive.

Gigli gave us the eye. "If you two would like a room, I would be happy to oblige. Other than that and the plane tickets, there is little more I can do for you."

The alacrity with which both Adrian and I stood up at her offer, not to mention the wave of desire that washed over me as his scent teased my nose, gave ample evidence to the fact that although Adrian might have every confidence in my ward-drawing skills, I had a long way to go yet.

"Ward's fading. Need charm book," I gasped, never taking my eyes off the blazing blue of Adrian's eyes. I clutched the small green book when it was placed in my hand, following him when he grabbed my wrist and dragged me toward a side door.

"Room?" he asked Gigli.

"Seventeen is free, or if you'd prefer, I can let you have the presidential suite. It has a hot tub."

"We'll take it," Adrian yelled as he hauled me out the door into another hall, Gigli's laughter trailing behind us.

This hallway was different from the other; the walls here were lined with what looked on first inspection to be your standard erotic photography, but as I stood before one picture while Adrian opened a door marked Präsidentensuite, I realized that the three participants in the picture were transparent, and one seemed to have an extra set of arms.

"Is that what a poltergeiiiiiiii—"

The door to the presidential suite slammed closed behind me as Adrian literally tossed me onto the huge bed that dominated the room.

"Are you ready for me? Tell me you're ready, Hasi," Adrian demanded, his voice rough and deep as he tossed his satchel and coat onto a nearby chair, quickly pulling off his boots and sweater.

I ripped my jacket and sweater over my head in one move, frantically squirming my way out of my jeans and shoes as he peeled off his pants. "I was ready hours ago. Come to me now, my wild stallion!"

"Stallion, eh?" he asked, falling into my waiting arms, his body hot and hard and wildly aroused. He slid to the side, his hands skimming down my breasts and belly. "You think me a stud now?"

"Oh, yes, you're a wonderful stud, a manly stud, my stud," I cried, wrapping my arms around him and trying to pull him back onto me where I wanted him.

"If I am to play stallion to your mare, we must do this properly," he growled, winding an arm around my waist.

His mind filled mine with images of what he intended to do, stirring my desire to a fevered pitch as he flipped me over, pulling me up onto my knees.

"You don't think you're going to… oh my God, you are!"

Adrian spread my legs, positioned himself, and thrust hard into me, all in one swift move. I hadn't lied, I was more than ready for him, but the force of his invasion coupled with the unusual angle, and the arousal he felt that spilled into me, sent me spiraling into an immediate orgasm. I was aware of his fingers biting hard into my hips as he pounded into me, acknowledged and matched the blast of need and desire that swept through him, but it was all I could do to stay on my knees and not collapse with the strength of the pleasure that his touch brought.

"Is this what you wanted?" he growled, leaning over my back to nip my ear, his voice as erotic a touch on my skin as his heated flesh.

"I want you," I gasped, my body humming like a top. Within him, the darkness was chased away by the brilliant warmth of our joining. Wave after wave of ecstasy swept him, catching me in its wake, merging me with him until we were caught together, unable to separate. "I don't care how we do this, I just want you. I will always want you."

His shout of exultation rang in my ears as he pulsed deep within my still quivering flesh. I collapsed under his weight, sated within an inch of my life, and yet already wanting him again. Despite the wonder of the moment, despite the overwhelming joy we had shared, something seemed to be missing, something hadn't been right. "You didn't bite me! You didn't feed off me!"

He pulled himself from my body, leaving me more than just bereft over his withdrawal—my heart threatened to shatter at the fact that he no longer wanted to bond with me in the most elemental way a Dark One could.

"Hasi, Hasi," he murmured, pulling me into his arms as he stood. "Do you really believe I no longer need you? You are my life, my breath, the blood that runs in my veins. I could not exist without you."

"Then why…" I started to ask, feeling the truth in what he said, but confused by his actions.

"What we did only took the edge off our hunger. Now begins the main course." He laid me down on a thick white pelt that served as a carpet before a small fireplace. I glanced around the room as he knelt to make a fire with wood stacked neatly nearby. Skylights showed the moon and stars flickering between occasional clouds, the room itself lit by candles scattered on several small tables. The bed and a long couch were the only other furniture in the room.

I turned my attention to the wonderful play of muscles in Adrian's bare back as he lit the fire, smiling as I realized his mind was filled with a wicked intent that I wholeheartedly endorsed. "The main course, hmmm? I'm positively famished, so I think you should let me go first."

"I believe that can be negotiated," he answered, turning to me with a smile that made my heart lurch. The firelight gilded the smooth, warm brown of his skin, kissing his hair until it glowed more red than brown. His eyes were dark, so dark I couldn't tell their color, but even without touching him, I could feel the passion in him, the depth of emotion that he felt for me.

"I love you," I said without thinking.

He blinked.

"And what's more, you love me."

His nostrils flared… in an adorable way.

I smiled. "I can feel your emotions, and I'm not even touching you. Looks like you were right about my brain healing itself bit by bit."

"Hasi," he said, then stopped. I didn't need to open myself to him to recognize the regret in his eyes.

"No," I said, pushing him onto his back. "I don't want to hear anything about you not surviving your encounter with Saer. I don't want you being noble and selfless. I want you to love me as much as I love you, Adrian."

Despair lapped at the lingering arousal that still filled him. He closed his eyes against the pain, and I kissed him, part of my heart contracting with the knowledge that he sincerely believed we had no future. The need to force an admission of love from him warred with the desire to show him just what it meant to love someone. In the end, I decided to accept what he was willing to give me, and leave the worry about our future for another time.