The tone in his voice, more than his words, had her knees trembling. Fane wrapped an arm around her waist to help support her. And when she looked up at him, she saw the satisfied smirk on his face and tried to push away. He refused to let her budge even a centimeter.

“Is it such a bad thing to have me love your body, in whatever state it is in?” he asked her, his voice still thick with desire.

Jacque huffed. “No. It’s just how entitled you sounded. It gets on my nerves.”

He smiled at her. “You are just as entitled to me. You have the very same rights in regards to me that I have to you. Does that make it better?”

Jacque pushed back to look him up and down. Her mate’s form was something to behold. “I suppose it helps,” she sniffed stubbornly.

He chuckled. “Stubborn, stubborn, female.” Fane leaned down and pressed a tender kiss to her lips. “I wouldn’t have you any other way, you know?”

She nodded.

“Now,” he said stepping back and looking her up and down the way she’d just done to him. “Let’s get back to the new developments. Are those going to stick around after our child is born?”

Jacque’s jaw dropped open. He would never cease to amaze her. He’d been bold before they’d bonded, but since they’d mated and married, he’d given bold a whole new meaning.

“We’re going to be searching for a vampire coven tomorrow. And you’re worried about whether my girls are going to stay this size?”

Fane looked completely baffled as to why this surprised her. “Beloved, the world could be burning to the ground and I would still have thoughts about your amazing, sexy, mine body.”

“Mine body? That doesn’t even make sense.”

He shrugged. “When I think about your body sometimes all I can think is…mine.”

She let out a groan. “I will never understand the way your mind works.”

“That’s okay,” he assured her. “All you have to do is understand that when I do this,” —Fane pulled her close and leaned down and nipped her skin where his mark was on her neck— “it means I need you—now.”

She gasped at the intimate contact. “I can try to remember that,” she answered breathlessly.

“Good. Now go get ready for bed. We need to get some rest. Five a.m. will come all too soon.”

Jacque ignored his bossy tone and pretended to herself that it was totally her idea to get ready for bed. “Freaking Neanderthal,” she muttered under her breath.

“I don’t consider that an insult, mate,” he called out to her.

Jacque shot him an un-ladylike gesture but couldn’t stop the smile when she heard him say, “Even doing that makes me desire you more.”

“Does everything I do turn you on?” she asked silently.

He seemed to be thinking about it and she waited as she brushed her teeth and washed her face. Finally he answered her. “Yes.”

Costin pulled Sally closer to him as they lay in their bed. Peri had been kind enough to take them back to the Serbia mansion, though they had a room in the Romania mansion as well. Decebel had wanted to talk to Drake and Costin about the mission and Costin, of course, wanted Sally close by.

“Whatchya thinking about?” Sally asked him as he ran his hand up and down her arm.

“That things are going to get messy very fast.”

“Is that pun intended?”

He smiled. “Actually no, though it is very fitting.”

He heard the hesitation in her breath as she started to speak but then paused.

“What is it, Sally Mine?” Costin asked her gently.

“Are you afraid? I mean, this isn’t just one enemy. It’s…well,…we don’t even know how many vampires are out there. You know? How can we fight something so big?”

“Well, as the saying goes—one vampire at a time.”

She sighed. “Guess that’s all we can do.”

“I can give you some small comfort.” Costin rolled until his body blanketed hers. “We won’t be fighting alone. Just like with all the other battles we’ve been in, we will have those we trust and love around us.”

The sweet smile she graced him with caused his heart to stutter, just as it always did when she smiled at him.

“You’re right. At least we aren’t facing this on our own, nor are any of the others alone. Thank you for reminding me of that.” Sally lifted her chin while her eyes made it clear that she wanted him to meet her halfway. Costin never was one to deny his mate. He leaned down the rest of the way and pressed his lips to hers. His wolf rumbled at the contact and took comfort from the touch and scent of their mate.

He understood Sally’s fear and, truth be told, he was afraid, but he couldn’t just stand by when such horrible things were happening to innocent children. When there were people as kind and pure as his mate in the world, Costin couldn’t fathom how evil like the vampires could be allowed to continue to exist. But since it was partly up to him, he’d do his best to ensure that they wouldn’t be existing much longer.

But that hunt would wait until tomorrow. He had one more night with his mate before they had to dive into the darkness of blood and death. Tonight he would wrap her in his love and remind her that she is protected and cherished, and, perhaps, the memory of this night would get them through the more painful ones sure to come.

Vasile watched the flames from the fireplace cast dancing shadows across the walls. He and his mate had retired to the library after everyone had gone their separate ways after the meeting. He was restless and she refused to go to their room without him. Stubborn female, he thought, knowing she’d hear his thought.

She chuckled and patted his leg. “If the situation was reversed, and it was I who couldn’t sleep, you wouldn’t leave me alone either. You are not so innocent, Alpha of mine.”

Vasile leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead, breathing in her comforting scent. Even after two centuries, she was a breath of fresh air to him. Just as she had been the first time she’d ever stood her ground, refusing to stay and talk with him when he’d asked it of her. Okay, maybe not asked, it was more of an order. Vasile smiled at the memory of his mate, standing before him so confident and fierce, telling him and the two wolves with him that they could wait for her parents but that she had somewhere to be. He’d been at a loss for words when she’d defied him, but he wouldn’t have had her any other way.