A/N: While I have enjoyed creating the blood bond to Eric because I think it adds more tension to this story, I want to reiterate that this story plot is not a 'romance' between an OC and Eric. I have never described it as such. This story is a work in progress and I don't have all the details planned out. But, I don't want some to read it and expect that Seren and Eric will now become a romantic pair because she is dreaming of him and they are joined together by that marriage ceremony. I think that I have done a good job of describing some of the inner most thoughts of Eric and Seren. And from what I have written about Eric's motives, it's pretty clear that he doesn't have those kind of feelings for her. I don't want to make him out as a total villain because he is a vampire and I don't think it's fair to judge him by human standards. He doesn't think like a human or have human emotions. He and Seren have been entwined in a contest of wills. Eric went through with the marriage ceremony in order to remove her from Russell's primary control and prevent her from being used against him. True, he does feel an obligation to her for saving his and Pam's lives, but not killing her in a fight between himself and Russell evens the score in his mind, along with claiming her in order to keep other vampires away from her. Using his blood on Seren is also a means of controlling her. Would he have let Pam do that if Seren's blood didn't have such an effect on him? I don't know since I didn't write it that way. But, her blood is like fairy blood and it's been amped up by Claudine with that little jolt of light. And we know what fairy blood does to vampires, so maybe we shouldn't judge Eric so harshly.

I admit to knowing zilch about the game of craps. I did some research and if I made mistakes, forgive me.

Chapter 26

Luck be a Lady

Eric and Seren stepped into the gaming area of the casino. A barrage of lights and sounds assailed their senses. Mostly humans cavorted among the games of chance in which the house always held the edge. Vampires were not usually known for taking such risks. Eric cast his eyes to Seren. She was wearing a deep purple dress that flowed over her form like silk, only subtly hinting at that nubile body beneath. Although, most people assumed his tastes ran to the trashy side of the spectrum, the truth lied somewhere in the middle between sleazy and innocent. The only provocative aspect of the dress was the degree to which the neckline plunged. The emerald was on full display and nestled between Seren's breasts. Seren had moderately aged herself to appear as the twenty-one years of age that her fake ID stated she was. Once again, her forgery of an ID fooled everyone. He was sure that Seren had an arsenal of fake identifications complete with different faces with which she could disappear into the masses of humanity without a trace. For, how could you find someone when they could alter their physical appearance and appear in any guise?

Instead of binding her with his blood, Russell had chosen to threaten her parents. In Eric's view that had been a mistake. She would never forgive Russell for that. Eric wondered how Seren had come into Russell's possession. He doubted that Seren's parents had simply handed over their only daughter. He had not asked Seren because she was so close-mouthed with her secrets and viewed any knowledge about her as a possible weapon that could be used against her.

He could feel her excitement. It was like a bottle of bees that were buzzing in a effort to escape. They paused a moment in the center of the floor and Seren turned in a circle. She took in the spectacle in front of her and gave him a genuine smile. Most humans weren't aware that the Nevada vampires controlled a huge chunk of Las Vegas casinos. They were in the flagship casino of their coalition.

"Where to?" asked Eric.

It was her show and he was letting her run it.

"Are we going to gently ease in or make a big splash?" asked Seren.

"Your choice," replied Eric.

Seren gave a wicked smile and said, "Let's get down to business, then. I was never one for too much foreplay."

Taking his arm in hers, she led the way to the craps tables. She watched the play on several tables and finally chose a high wager table. Seren laid down $5,000.00 and asked for change. The boxman gave her a quick inspection and sized her up as a novice. He paused a second in his busy job and gave her a smile. It was the smile of a crocodile that was sizing up his next meal. Seren took her place at the craps table and waited for her turn to roll the dice. She placed mild pass and come bets on the other shooters since she disliked betting against anyone.

Eric was curious and asked, "Why craps? Why not roulette?"

Seren lowered her voice and replied, "Because I can't manipulate the outcome of roulette, since I can't physically touch anything. I could play blackjack or poker, but it would take too long to win. Craps is fast paced and I know just how to maximize the bets."

She gave him that wicked smile again and added, "Plus, it's a game of pure chance. No one is supposed to be to cheat at it."

Even though they were in the middle of a crowd around the table, they were given more than enough elbow room. Vampires never had to worry about being crowded. His senses were on high alert since he disliked being in such a sea of humanity. He watched his surroundings with a keen eye.

Finally, Seren's turn came. The stickman looked her over appreciatively and passed several dice to her.

"New shooter," he called out.

Seren looking every bit the hesitant and inexperienced gamer, selected a pair of dice. She placed a $5,000 pass line bet, the maximum allowed. This garnered a few whispers among the other participants and watchers. The other players sized her up as the pretty trophy date of a rich vampire and bet against her. Eric almost smiled at their folly. Seren threw the dice and they bounced against the far wall and tumbled and turned on the table. When the dice landed in a perfect seven, several audible groans could be heard.

"The lady wins," proclaimed the stickman and the dealer passed her winnings to her.

Seren called out, "$5,000 hard eight, please."

That caused the boxman to raise an eyebrow. That was not a beginner bet and the house paid out 9:1 odds. He placed her bet and Seren rolled the dice. She rolled a perfect pair of fours. Now, there was a stirring of excitement and electricity around the table. A buzzing of whispers erupted.

"$5,000 hard eight again," said Seren.

The other players scrambled to make their bets and Seren tossed the dice across the table. There was a hush of silence as those dice skittered and rolled and when they landed in another perfect set of fours, excited cheering began. A shooter with a hot streak was playing and nothing in the game of craps was more exciting, at least, that's what Eric surmised as he observed the play. Eric noticed a glance pass between the casino employees on the table. When Seren picked up her dice again, she gave him a confident smile.

"High horn bet, $5000, please," she called out.

That caused a flurry of excited comments and the noise drew the interest of others who turned to see what the commotion was about. The boxman now stared as Seren. A normal shooter didn't make such a bet. The odds of the shooter making such a roll were low and in the house's favor. But, if she did make such a roll, the rewards matched the risk that she took. He placed her bet and, like everyone else around the table, he watched her with a look of concentration on his face. Seren took the dice and threw them out and Eric wondered how many pairs of eyes watched with bated breath. When the dice stopped tumbling, a pair of sixes stared into the boxman's stunned eyes. A loud hooting erupted and several onlookers slapped Seren on the shoulders, at least, until they realized that she was his date. The boxman whispered something to the dealer on his left. The dealer left the table and the boxman stared at Eric, now. The other dealer passed a mound of chips to Seren. A 12 horn bet paid 30:1 odds, but a high horn bet doubled that. It was at this moment that a man appeared at this side.

"Excuse me, Sir, but the manager would like to have a word with you," he said.

Seren turned her eyes to him and asked, "Is there a problem?"

"No, Miss," the man said with a smile. "Please, continue to play."

Seren stared at Eric and, as his unofficial bodyguard, he knew that she did not like them being separated. However, he didn't feel that he was in danger and this was what he had been waiting for. He gave her a nod and followed the man off the gaming floor. They went into a company elevator and rode it to the top floor. The man led Eric to an office and opened the door for him. Inside, Eric saw a modern and masculine office of black leather and chrome. There was a very large picture window that displayed a sweeping and panoramic view of the colorful lights of the strip. Sitting at the desk in front of this window, was Felipe de Castro. He rose from his desk and gave Eric an intense study. Felipe was several inches shorter than himself with dark, curly hair. He wore a crisply tailored suit in black. The pants creases were so sharp that Eric thought that they might be able to slice bread. Felipe's dark brown eyes stared into his eyes for a moment and then he smiled.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you," said Felipe.

"The pleasure is all mine," politely responded Eric.

Felipe gave him another little smile and said, "I'm sure it is since your little pet is taking me to the cleaners downstairs."

At that moment, his phone rang and he held up a finger to Eric and answered it. A frown passed over his face as he listened to whoever was speaking.

He turned his eyes back to Eric and said into the phone, "Cover the bet."

Felipe hung up and motioned to a large flat screen television on the wall of his office. He punched a few buttons on his desktop computer and an image of the gaming table that Seren was on came into focus.

"Your date just asked to increase the betting limit on the table to ten thousand," he said. "She just placed another high horn bet."

Eric and Felipe watched the screen as Seren made her roll. When they saw jumping and cheering around the table, Eric knew that Seren was still winning.

Eric smiled and said, "She has the magic touch."

"I don't know how she is doing it, but I know she is cheating," replied Felipe.

"Prove it," said Eric.

Felipe studied the screen for another moment and then shrugged. He turned back to Eric.

"You brought her here to get my attention," he said. "You have it. What do you want?"

"I only wanted to meet you, since I'm aware that you have had your differences with Russell Edgington," replied Eric.

Felipe smiled and said, "Not the happy son-in-law? Oh, I know who your little date is."

He stared at the screen and manipulated another button and the camera zoomed in on Seren.

"I always wondered why Russell was so interested in a human," he replied. "But when I heard that you had made her your consort, I knew that there must be something special about her."

Felipe gazed at the screen and added, "I just never imagined that she would waltz in here and attempt to take me out by bankrupting me."

"I'm sure that you have plenty of loot to cover her winnings," replied Eric.

Felipe turned back to Eric and said, "Russell Edgington is a formidable adversary. I would never be foolish enough to wage open warfare with him."

"Neither would I," replied Eric.

"Then, we might have more to discuss," said Felipe. "Come to my home tomorrow evening. I'll throw a party for you and your lucky consort."

Eric nodded and started to turn away, but Felipe interrupted him.

"I know that she is underage. I could legally withhold those winnings," he said. "But, I do admire her moxie. Just keep her out of my casinos."

A Bargain is a Bargain

Eric poured Seren a glass of champagne and looked down on her. She was lying on her bed and literally rolling in some of her winnings. Most of her very impressive winnings were safely stored as a certified cashiers check and residing inside the hotel safe. But, Seren had wanted some of it in cash for this very purpose.

As she fluttered her hands through the money, she said, "Best. Birthday. Ever."

"I hope you enjoyed it because Felipe banned you from his casinos," said Eric with a smile.

"Sore loser," replied Seren.

Eric held the glass out to her. She sat up and gazed at the glass for a moment before taking it.

"You realize that you could be charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor," she said.

She took a sip and stared at him and said, "But, I'm sure that would be a very small crime when considered amongst all of your others."

"You make me sound terrible," replied Eric, sitting down. "Are you sure that you aren't judging me unfairly?"

Seren sat the glass down and stared at him coldly, saying, "No."

Before he could react and that was very quick for a vampire, she slapped him. When she began to reverse direction for a backhanded blow, he caught her hand. He held onto it and looked back at her.

"Once was enough, Darling," he said.

Seren pulled her hand out of his, but she didn't attempt to strike him again.

"Every time that I trust you, you take advantage of me," she said.

"If we are having an honest discussion, then let's stop telling lies," replied Eric. "You never trusted me. But, you did underestimate me. It's a result of being trained by a Russell who can't imagine that anyone would ever be a threat to him. That overconfidence is one of your few faults. You might be his prodigy and protege, but you are barely an adult. I'm a thousand years old and I didn't get to this age by being stupid."

Seren studied him and hesitantly asked, "Why did you really take Mason away from me?"

"Because Russell would never believe that we were a couple if you were still seeing that werewolf on the side," replied Eric. "And because he was a casualty waiting to happen. You can't even protect yourself. How could you ever have kept him from coming to harm? Letting him go was the only option. If you truly love him as much as you say, you would be strong enough to make that decision. Russell knew all along about him. If I hadn't have stepped up to deal with him that night, Russell would have handled Mason. You do realize what Russell would have done to him, don't you?"

A tear rolled down Seren's cheek and she whispered, "Yes."

"Making the hard decisions is a part of growing up. A painful part," said Eric.

The look in her eyes became hurt and she said, "I know what you have done to me. It took me a while to figure it out and I still don't know how you managed to accomplish it. I want to know why you did it."

"You need to accept some simple facts about yourself. Because of what you are, vampires will always want to possess you. And if they can't control you, they will destroy you as being something too dangerous to exist. Do you want to go back to Russell or do you want to be sold to the highest bidder?" asked Eric.

Seren trembled and Eric added, "I have made you untouchable to other vampires. By that ceremony and by my blood, I have declared that you are mine."

"So, this was for my own good?" she asked and he could still hear the edge of anger on her voice.

"Yes, it was," replied Eric. "No other vampire can touch you. I can sense when you are in trouble and protect you."

Seren looked away and said, "And the other things it does? Are those just fringe benefits?"

"My blood can create a sexual attraction," admitted Eric. "But, it can't make you do anything that you don't want to do. Even my blood can't make you fall in love with me against your will."

Eric petted her and softly said, "I'm not the villain that you think I am."

"Why do you even want me in that way? It's not like you can't find plenty of other diversions," said Seren.

Eric changed the subject and asked, "How often did Russell feed on you?"

"Almost never," replied Seren, confused at the new topic. "He tasted me when I first came to live with him because he was curious about how different from a regular shifter I would taste. But, that was the only time. He felt that feeding on me would negatively impact our relationship, plus I wasn't exactly his type."

That must be why Russell didn't realize just how delicious Seren really was, thought Eric. That sweet taste of hers would have been written off as resulting from her being an innocent child. Children were the most delicious of all humans, followed by virgins. But, children grow up and virgins get deflowered. Seren would always be so tantalizingly delicious. Since she detested being fed on, this would not exactly be welcome news for her.

Seren narrowed her eyes at him and said, "It's not really sex that you want is it? It's my blood."

He wasn't sure if that angered her or not. In order of desirability, it was blood first and sex second. Not that Seren wasn't sexually attractive, she was very much so, thought Eric. But, like she said, he could find sexual partners more than easily enough. Partners that he didn't have to worry about them trying to kill him.

"What is so special about my blood?" she asked. "Are you truly addicted to it?"

Eric wondered if he was. He wondered if it was a smart move to feed on her any more. If he never tasted her again, would he forget the taste of her blood on his tongue? And, if he admitted to her how much he desired her blood, would she use that power over him?

"I have fed on humans for a thousand years and none of them have tasted the way that you do," replied Eric.

"I'm not exactly human," said Seren.

Now, there was a little truth, thought Eric. Except, she wasn't human. Period. Not even a human hybrid.

"That is why you taste so exotic," said Eric. "So different."

"I don't like to be bitten," replied Seren.

Eric smoothed a strand of her hair, saying, "I know that's a lie. After three times, I can tell when someone is enjoying it."

"You're making it feel that way," said Seren.

"I glamour you enough so that the bite isn't painful, otherwise I would hurt you," said Eric.

"I thought you couldn't glamour me," said Seren, suspiciously.

"I can't against your will," replied Eric. "Subconsciously, you are making the choice to be glamoured, even if you don't realize it."

"Why should I allow you to bite me?" asked Seren. "From my point of view, I don't see any benefit to me."

"A more cordial working relationship between us?" offered Eric.

"Nope," said Seren.

"Because you like it?" said Eric.

"Still not good enough," replied Seren.

"I can take care of your other physical needs as well?" said Eric.

"Your blood still hasn't caused my resistance to weaken that far," replied Seren.

Eric studied her and decided to give her what she wanted the most.

"Because once Russell is eliminated, I will give you Mason back," said Eric. "Provided he still wants you and that you are discrete."

He could feel the turmoil inside her that she was keeping off her face.

"I thought you said that if I cared for him that I would let him go," said Seren.

"I still haven't changed my opinion of that," replied Eric. "A werewolf has no place among vampires. You will always be risking his life by continuing a relationship with him."

"Then, what am I do do?" asked Seren in anguish.

"Trust me to honor the gift of your blood, by granting you what you desire as long as it is within reason," replied Eric. "I would promise to not touch you sexually, unless it is by your choice, your conscious choice."

"Will you grant me my freedom once this is over?" asked Seren.

"No," said Eric. "I have already explained to you why that is not possible and why that would not be in your best interest. I know you are having a hard time believing me, but tethered to me is the safest place for you. However, I would not expect you to be my consort and would grant you as much freedom as possible."

Seren pressed her hands together and Eric reached out and took one.

Caressing it softly, he said, "We can talk more later."

As he got up, Seren asked, "Do you promise to take away the marriage bond?"

"Yes, of course," he replied.

"Can I change my mind if I agree to this?" asked Seren

"I will leave it within your power to cancel the bargain," replied Eric.

"Then, I...I agree," said Seren.

Eric could feel his fangs start to drop already. He sat back down on the bed and she shrank away from him. He inwardly sighed. It would still take a while for her to become used to this, even if he had correctly told her that she found it pleasurable. Perhaps, she just disliked being so intimately close to a vampire. But, a bargain is a bargain. He pulled her down and moved close to her.

He chastely kissed her on the cheek and said, "But, you must never allow another vampire to taste you."

"Not that I'm planning on that, but why?" asked Seren.

"Because they might guess what you are," replied Eric.

"And what's that?" asked Seren.

"Intoxicating," replied Eric as he dropped his fangs all the way.

As her eyes widened at that remark, he held her gaze and waited. Slowly, she turned her head and Eric felt a moment of triumph. He then bared his fangs and quickly bit her on the throat. He closed his eyes as her blood passed over his lips. Somehow, it tasted even better than the last time and he heard himself make little noises of delight. His hand softly caressed her as she relaxed and allowed him to take her sweet essence. Seren might have the temperament of a demon, he thought, but her blood tasted like pure angel. He entwined his fingers with hers and enjoyed this moment of being a vampire.