I should have been sore, but when I woke, I was far from it. I opened my eyes and stretched experimentally. Not even my hip complained.

"Are you feeling better?" David asked as he sat up in bed, wide screen laptop on his legs. He closed his browser before I could see what he was up to and set it aside.

"Suspiciously," I answered, forehead furrowed. The back of my throat felt dry and a metallic taste remained on my tongue.

"I had to give you quite a bit of blood." He leaned over and kissed me lightly. Nausea bloomed at the mention of blood. I was going to have to get used to that. "I see you are yourself again."

I pushed myself into a sitting position next to him. "Was I not?"

He smiled. "The medication Patrick gave you had a few side effects."

Uh oh. "What did I do?"

"You told me I'm gorgeous," he said with a smile.

"True. You are," I replied. If he could have blushed, he would have. "Anything truly embarrassing?"

"Firstly, men are not 'gorgeous'. We are handsome, at best. Secondly, not embarrassing, just entertaining," he finished. Oh, God. No more drugs for me, I'd rather be in pain than loopy. I'd better drop the subject before I learned something I didn't want to know.

"What were you doing?" I nodded to his laptop and changing the subject.

"Working," he replied, but refused to look me in the eye. He is a poor liar, but if he didn't want me to know, I wasn't going to push it. I'll just snoop later - a daylight opportunity. He pressed a button on one of the bedside remotes and a flat screen TV rose up from the foot board. Cool. "What should we watch?" he asked as he tucked me under his arm.

I looked at the clock; it was 2AM. I doubted there was anything worth watching at 2AM. "Give me that," I said as I grabbed the remote. Actually, he let me take the remote as he tucked me under his arm. I rested my head against his shoulder as I scrolled through the channels. It looked like he might have every channel being broadcast. I settled on a made-for-TV movie about microbes from space infecting people and taking over their bodies. We were just like an old married couple, sitting in bed watching TV. He laughed as I commented on the stupidity of the movie. Contentment circled through the bond.

Near the end of the movie, David slid something onto my wrist. I looked down. His ID bracelet dangled loosely. "Thank you," I said, surprise in my voice.

"You are as much an O'Hara now as I am," he replied. "And you have earned it."

Speaking of O'Haras. "So this wedding..."

"Yes."

"Are you in it?" I had a hard time believing he wasn't, but I wanted to know in what capacity.

"Of course. I am the best man." I wanted to ask if his date was the maid of honor 100 years ago, but decided that would be tacky. Oh, but I wanted to know. Maybe I'd ask Emma later.

"So, what's it like? Does a priest do it? How long is the ceremony?"

He sighed before kissing my forehead. "Ah, your curious mind. It is not like any other vampire weddings. Most vampires wed for money or power, while Emma and Lee wed for love. It will have much in common with the traditional human ceremonies, but with a few vampiric embellishments. The officiant is a good friend of mine, actually. A vampire who has taken the online courses needed to become a priest. He lives in the south." A pretty rare bird if they are bringing in people from that far away. "The ceremony will be short."

"Who will be there?" I asked. Was it too much to hope for it to be a small family affair?

"Many of the vampire elite will be there. Other kings and queens, along with some of the oldest vampires. And, of course, their dates, should they bring one." Great. Surrounded by vampires in unfamiliar territory. "Our family has a sort of celebrity status among the vampire community, we are unique. Many will be there to gawk."

As if I asked for it, I got a flash of the wedding reception. I was surrounded by vampires dressed to the nines. Some were dancing, some were simply talking. In the corner, a line of humans dressed in black were standing in a line, each wearing a red tag. "What's with the humans in the corner?" Before he could get over his surprise and actually answer me, I saw it, mere seconds away. They're dinner. "Oh, ew. Ew, ew, ew."

"Could you always see that far in advance?" he asked.

I had to think about it. Most of my long term visions were in dream form, but seeing a month and a half ahead is not unheard of. "It's not common, but it happens. What's weird is seeing your answer to my question seconds before you actually answered me." Usually, the visions that happen so close to the actual event are more of the life-saving kind, not something so inconsequential.

He looked concerned. "Have you noticed any other changes?" he asked.

I had to think about that, too. "I suppose. A lot more of them are first person. I mean, my medium is me lately. Before I met you, that had never happened."

"Your gift is growing," he said proudly.

Like my 'gift' as he called it was hitting puberty. Next it was going to sprout hips and get an attitude. I smiled to myself at the image I was getting from that. "I guess."

"Why?" he asked. I had no idea. I just shrugged my shoulders. "Let's try something. You could not formerly summon visions, correct?"

"Right."

"But after having large quantities of my blood after you were attacked at your office, you could."

"Yes." I didn't need to be psychic to know where this was going. "OK, what should I focus on?"

"Something small. Something that will be occurring soon." He grabbed my hand, his thumb rubbing circles on my palm.

"OK." I closed my eyes and relaxed. What did I do last time to will these visions? I focused on nothing in particular until it came. "I got something." I'm just wasn't sure what it was. I was looking at a man I didn't know. He is a smaller man, with a halo of strawberry blonde hair and kind eyes. He was standing behind a bar pouring a pitcher of beer, smiling at my medium. He slid the beer toward her, and instead of taking it for herself, she carried it to another table and set it in front of a group of ogling guys. I swore I heard one of the guys said something to the effect of 'nice tits'. He had a thick southern accent.

"What did you see?"

"Umm…a woman who works at a bar, maybe? She's serving drinks to rednecks."

He looked slightly confused, but accepted my answer. "Let's try again."

We repeated the exercise several times before I tired. "Alright, let's give this a rest. We don't want to use it all up and miss something important." I wasn't even sure if that was possible, but I wasn't willing to take the chance. I looked at the clock again; it was almost 5AM. David would be awake for about 3 more hours before the sun rose. "I need to get home. I should check on Moose and I need to teach tomorrow."

"I will drive you home, but first…" He leaned in and kissed me deeply, rolling me onto my back. My entire body tingled with anticipation. "…I will make you scream with pleasure tonight, as promised." He pulled my tank top off before kissing me again and again. I was practically panting with anticipation as he licked my collarbone, working his way down my body. He stopped to nuzzle my breasts, nipping them lightly with his fangs, which made my body shiver and tense in delight. I reached up to grab him, to pull him toward my lips, but he seized my wrists and held them near my head before I could touch him. "Patience." I whimpered as he went back to what he was doing, tickling and kissing the soft spots on my inner hips. He slowly pulled the pajama shorts down, teasing them off of me inch by inch. Without my permission, my hand reached toward him again. Again, he grabbed my wrists, holding them against the mattress near my head. He licked just behind my ear before he whispered, "You are so impatient."

I moved fast, turning my head and stealing a kiss before he could move away. I bucked my body up, pressing it against his as I wrapped my legs around his still clothed form. "You're going to have to tie me down, I can't help it," I said breathlessly.

I reached up for another kiss, but he dodged it at the last second. "I can do that." In a flash, cold air briefly replaced his body, before he returned to straddling me again, this time completely nude. He had grabbed several of his ties. He wound one around my wrist, through his mission-style headboard, and around my other wrist, securing my hands. "Where was I?" He ran his feather-light fingers up and down my torso several times, each time sending a wave of lust through me. I moaned as he went back to kissing my hips, working his way toward my center but never actually getting there.

I couldn't take any more. "Please," I begged eagerly. "Now, please."

"Please what? What do you want?" He was gently rubbing my nipple with one hand and my clit with another. If he was trying to raise my heart rate well into the 200's, it was working.

"Everything. Fuck me."

He smiled as he worked his way down my body again, licking the inside of my thigh. "Everything? Do you want me to touch you?" I didn't think I could speak, so I just nodded. I moaned as he slowly worked a finger in me, rubbing me down from the inside. "Do you want me to suck you?" I nodded again, more emphatically. I gasped when he replaced his long finger with his mouth. I grunted as he nipped at my clit with his fangs. He slowly licked me a few times before he stopped to ask, "Do you want me to bite you?"

"Yes." I could barely get the word out, I was panting so hard. The anticipation was killing me. He started kissing back up my torso, to my belly button, past my breast, and up to my neck. My body arched in response to each kiss. He turned my head and licked my collarbone. "As you wish." As the same time be bit my neck, he entered me. And, true to his word, he made me scream. I wrapped my legs around his as he rhythmically pulsed in and out of me. I reared my body in unison with his thrusts as he started to moan my name. I screamed his name as I climaxed, his climax coming shortly after. I didn't think I could move if I tried.

I was enjoying the aftershocks as he untied my hands and kissed me deeply. He rolled me onto my side and wrapped his arm around my stomach, pressing his rock-hard body into my back. He pushed one of my legs up and entered me again, this time slower and gentler. We rocked in unison until we both came again, then we just laid there, completely satisfied.

"Should I take you home now?" he asked as he played with a lock of my hair, wrapping it around his fingers.

I sighed. I really did not want to move. "Probably," I replied. He kissed my shoulder before sliding out of bed. I wiggled out after him, making my way to the bathroom to clean myself up. When I emerged, he was completely dressed and back on his computer. I stopped in my tracks when I remembered I really didn't have anything to wear. I looked around the room for my black dress. It was most likely bloody, but infinitely better than going home in the nude. It wasn't in the bedroom, that's for sure. "Where's my dress?"

"Emma took it to be dry cleaned when she left." Crap. Now I didn't have anything to wear. "The two bottom drawers in that dresser and half the closet is yours. Pick what you like." I opened the topmost of those drawer to find pajama sets similar to the one that was now strewn about the bedroom, along with sexy and everyday lingerie sets. I grabbed a sage green bra and the matching panties and slid them on. Next I opened my bottom drawer, which was filled with jeans and sweaters. I looked at the labels before choosing anything.

"Seven for All Mankind? Joe's Jeans?" I looked at the sweaters. "These are all designer, David. How much did you spend?"

He was unfazed by my question. "I sent Emma shopping with my credit card. She loved shopping for you."

There was over $1000 worth of clothes in just that one drawer. I grabbed some jeans without looking at the labels and slipped them on. "Oh, wow." These jeans were to die for. They were soft to the touch and hugged my body in all the right spots. I ran my hands up and down my thighs, just so I could feel them some more.

"You like them?" David was watching me with amused curiosity.

"These are the best pair of jeans I've ever worn," I replied. At my size, finding jeans that didn't fit at least somewhere was a feat. If the waist was comfortable, then they were too tight in the hips. If the hips were comfortable, I most likely was going to need a belt. Not to mention, at only 5'2", most jeans were too long by a half a foot. But not these, these were absolutely perfect.

I slid on the black cashmere sweater and did the same thing. "Oh wow."

"I will tell her you like her choices," He said, smiling. He set the computer aside and stood again, his hands brushing his clothes smooth. It was quite possibly the most human thing I had ever seen him do.

That thought triggered another vision, but I wasn't so sure it was something that was going to happen. It felt more like a memory, like a homemade movie. I saw man, a vampire, pat his pockets before opening the door. He had dark hair and slight features and had been quite a bit older than me when he was turned, maybe 30 or 35. My medium had seen the same humanity in him as I had seen in David seconds earlier. It was just a second's worth. "Huh."

David looked back at me. "See something?"

"Yea, but…" I was trying to make sense of it. I couldn't imagine I was seeing the past, a memory. If so, who's memory was I tapping in to? I didn't think it could be a coincidence, me seeing visions of someone thinking the same thing I had just been thinking.

"What did you see?"

I didn't want him, or anyone for that matter, knowing how much my visions are changing. "Nothing important. Just a guy opening a door. Pointless." If my quirk was getting stronger, I was becoming a more desirable acquisition in some people's eyes. That was the last thing I wanted. I couldn't let anyone know.

"You are worried," he said, either reading my face or my emotions. He furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at me, a slight touch of that Irish brogue coming back. If he knew how that melted me, he's use it all the time.

Damn bond. "Yea, I guess I'm just worried about what they mean. I know I am getting them for a reason, I just can't imagine what that is."

It was a vague echo of the real reason, but he bought it. "Whatever it is, we will face it together."

I followed him out the door and to the kitchen. My shoes had been delivered at some point and they were sitting on the kitchen counter, along with my cell phone and ID. I dropped the shoes to the floor and slid them on, then grabbed the cell phone and license and slid them into my back pocket. My pashmina was hanging over the chair, so I draped it over my shoulders. David grabbed a heavy leather bomber jacket of his out of the closet and slid it over my arms. It was huge on me, obviously, but it smelled just like him, and I loved that. He took a pea coat out of the closet and slid it on before ushering me out the door and toward the elevator.

I turned on the seat heaters in his car and settled into the warmth. "What did you do with Simon?" I whispered as I watched Lansing go by through the window.

"I killed him," David answered dispassionately.

Phew. I did not want to stay on his radar. It occurred to me that I was a horrible human being wishing another one dead, but I was willing to be a horrible person if it kept me among the living. "What about the Weres?"

"Dead" he answered again. He was equally disinterested in their fate. It was the same tone I'd get if I had asked him the time.

I felt bad for their families, but would rather it was them than me. "How did they know where I was all the time?" I asked, the real question coming out. If I had some GPS system on me, I wanted to know about it now.

"I do not know," he replied, completely shutting down and going silent for the rest of the ride home. I could see his brooding face as we passed lamp posts along the street. When we pulled into my driveway, his funky mood hadn't yet lifted.

I grabbed his hand after he shifted into park. "Hey, what's wrong?"

He intertwined his long fingers in mine and kissed the back of my hand. "I am afraid for you. My world is not good for you."

I unbuckled my seat belt and slid over the gearshift and into his lap. At my size in a car this roomy, the maneuver was actually very easy. I straddled him and pulled his face into mine. "I like to think its fate, us being together." My visions had sent me to him, to protect him. I need to believe that I get my visions for a reason.

I slunk into his chest, pressing my forehead into his neck as he wrapped his arms around me. "Let's hope that is true. Let's hope fate has more planned for you," he said quietly. I could hear his words rumbling in his chest.

He kissed my hair before he opened his door and pulled me out of the car with him, setting me down on the driveway. He walked me up to the front steps, waiting patiently for me to go inside. I tried the front door—locked. I patted my pockets, but I remembered I never handed David my keys. I know Sydney had a spare key somewhere out here, she frequently forgot her keys if she didn't have to drive anywhere. I just didn't know where she stashed it. "Do you want me to break in?" David was watching me with amusement.

"No, just give me a second." I closed my eyes and concentrated on Sydney, standing here. It took several seconds, but finally it came. I got a flash of Sydney, grabbing a key from the top of the door frame and unlocking the door. "Ah!" I reached for the key, but Sydney was several inches taller than me. I just couldn't reach. Being able to summon visions could really come in handy, if only I could perfect it somehow.

David slid the key down from its hiding spot, eying me suspiciously. "It took you that long to remember where you hid the key?"

"Syd hid it, not me," I replied. He handed me the key so I could unlock the door, eyes wide. I unlocked the door and handed the key back to him so he could put it back. He just held it in his hand, watching me. "Put it back, she's going to need it tomorrow night," I said. Finally, he slid it back where he had gotten it. I pulled his stunned face down to mine and kissed him. "Bye. Love you."

"And I you," he managed to whisper before I closed the door.

My first order of business was to check on Moose. He was still in the same position he had been in when I left, still breathing deep and steady. I tilted his head slightly so I could look at the gash on his face. It looked remarkably better than it had, just a scab. I pulled the blanket down to expose his chest. Most of the small cuts were completely healed at this point, leaving just the particularly bad ones unhealed. I traced the one on his shoulder with my finger. It was downright hot. Fever hot.

"If you wanted to touch me, all you had to do was ask." Moose said, quirky smile covering his lips. I jumped back, startled when he spoke. I thought he was fast asleep.

"Dammit, Moose. You scared me!" I held my hand to my chest, feeling my heart beat out of control.

He grabbed my other hand and held it to his chest. He laughed. "I surprised the psychic? Now there's a feat." I cringed slightly as he used that particular term.

My phone buzzed in my back pocket. I didn't need foresight to see who it was. I pulled the phone out; David had already texted me. What scared you? Should I come back?

It's OK, Moose snuck up on me. Sleep tight, I texted back.

I dropped my phone on the coffee table. "How are you feeling?" I asked him.

"Better, thanks," he replied as he struggled to sit up without tweaking anything.

He was still holding my hand to his chest. I pulled it back and stood. "Well, I'm not kicking you out or anything, but you can go home whenever you want. The threat's over."

This had caught his attention. "How? When?" I explained what had happened in all its gory detail. I was surprised with myself how steadily I could explain what Simon and the Weres had done to me. My voice was firm, but my heart rate jumped when I told him about the whip. I looked at my hands; I couldn't look him in the eye. He sat up, pulling me down on the couch next to him. "How are you?"

"OK," I said, eyes still focused on my hands. At least, I thought I was. Simon couldn't hurt me again. I should be fine, relieved even, now that it was over.

"Are you sure?" he asked gently.

I thought about how I had given up at the end. The nightmare had convinced me that if David hadn't come yet, he wasn't going to. I thought Simon was going to keep torturing me until I gave in. He would take me away from my work and Sydney and lock me up in some dungeon. I was ready to just die. A tear slid down my face. "No."

He wrapped the blanket around my shoulders and pulled me into a hug. "Shhh, Mac. It's OK. He's gone, no one's going to hurt you again."

I shook my head as more tears started sliding down my face. I had a feeling that statement was completely untrue. No amount of vampire blood could heal this kind of pain. I was hoping that David had already fallen asleep for the day, he didn't need to feel this too.

Once the floodgates were open, I couldn't stop the tears. I almost laughed as I realized I was having a mental breakdown, which just made me cry harder. I curled into a ball and laid my head on the couch. Moose sat next to me, rubbing my back as I sobbed. I sobbed until I didn't have any more tears, when I closed my eyes and turned inward. I could hear as Sydney came down the stairs. I could hear her shoes, which meant she was dressed and ready to go to work. I could also hear the exact moment she noticed me balled up on the couch; her footsteps sped in my direction. "Sloane?" Her voice was frantic and worried. I cringed internally; I didn't want to ever hear her voice like that.

"Shh, I don't know if she's finally asleep." I could hear Moose's whisper much more clearly than I could hear Sydney's voice. His voice was also worried, but not nearly as frantic.

"What happened?" I could feel Sydney's hand brush against my hair. "Sloane, are you awake?"

I couldn't find my voice to answer. After waiting for a response and not getting one, they must have deemed me asleep. Moose answered, telling Sydney the PG version of what had happened. Thankfully, he left the parts about the whip and the switch out of it, leaving the torture in the abstract. "I'll stay with her today."

Sydney took a shaky breath, letting it out slowly. "I'll try and come home early today so you can take off. She has to teach today, too."

"Don't worry about it, and I know. I'll figure something out if she's not feeling up to it." I promised myself I was going to teach today. I couldn't let this ruin my life. "Can you show me which one is her room before you go?"

Moose slid my shoes off before he picked me up, blanket and all, like I was a small child. Sure, I'm relatively light for a person, only 100 pounds, but I should have been more of a burden to him. He hoisted me up, leaning my head against his shoulder like I weighed no more than a sack of potatoes. I could feel the ascent as we climbed the stairs, the motion allowing me to count each one. Thirteen steps. I heard a door creak open and Sydney whisper, "she sleeps on the right side."

There was a weird double sided echo as Moose whispered. "Will you pull the quilt down?" After a second of rustling, Moose set me down in the freezing bed. Compared to him, the room temperature sheets were a shock. I shivered before curling back up into a ball. I could feel the bed indent as someone sat on the edge of the bed; I assumed it to be Moose when he started stroking my back again. The exhaustion and turmoil were catching up to me. I matched my breathing to the rhythm of Moose's hand, falling asleep in no time.