AN: Well, here is the next chapter as promised. I went without sleep to write this, so I hope it is to your liking. This chapter is full of Sydrian goodness. I do not own Vampire Academy/Bloodlines or the characters, Richelle Mead does.

"I'm sure. I'll be fine," I said giving him a slight smile. He gave me a brotherly hug and turned to head back towards the stairs. I stood at my door watching until he was out of sight.

Chapter 29

For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to go into my room. I just stood there staring at the door. I wrapped my arms around myself as if to fend off the chill I kept feeling as I replayed the way that Moroi had spoke to me, the way he had touched me.

Numbly, I turned towards Adrian's door. I had heard Eddie say that he had taken Adrian back to his room. No matter how scared I was of vampires at that moment, I knew that the only person who would be able to comfort me was just that, a vampire.

I don't remember crossing the few feet to his door and I don't remember knocking on it either. What I do remember is him opening the door. He was still wearing his tuxedo, but his jacket was off with his tie undone along with the first few buttons of his shirt. "Sage," he said, a hint of shock in his voice. I moved towards him collapsing into his embrace as my tears began to flow freely. He pulled me into his room and kicked the door shut behind him.

He held me like that for several minutes, murmuring softly to me and stroking my hair. As my sobs quieted, he placed a gentle hand on my chin and raised it so that our eyes met. His eyes were filled with so much concern and love. "Are you okay?" he asked me softly as he wiped away my tears.

I was lost in his eyes and I felt unable to breath. The only times I could remember ever feeling completely safe were when I was in Adrian's arms. "Are you?" I answered him with a question.

That was when I noticed the hand that he was stroking my cheek with. It was red and swollen. I moved back out of his embrace and took hold of his hand. He winced a little at my touch. "Is it broken?" I asked in horror at the fact that he would have hurt himself for me.

"It's okay Sage. Really," he breathed pulling his hand back. "I'm more concerned about you. If I had known that that was what he thought you were, I would have never let him near you," he said darkly. The memory of that Moroi's kiss on my neck sent another chill through my body.

Adrian moved closer to me placing one hand at my waist and cupping my cheek with the other. "No one will ever make that mistake about you again," he said fiercely. "I will make sure of it."

Seeing the passion in his eyes and feeling it in his words, I knew that he would do anything to protect me and at that moment that was all I needed. Giving in to the contact that my body was screaming for, I leaned into him gliding my hand into his hair and pulled him towards me.

Our lips met in a gentle and tender kiss. His hands slid to my bare back, pulling me closer. The kiss was similar to the last kiss we had ever shared. The one during that spirit dream, yet it felt like so much more. That prior kiss was goodbye, but this kiss was filled with so many promises of a future.

Breaking the kiss and stepping back, I tried to read the expression on Adrian's face. He seemed at a loss for words. He was staring at me with such awe and wonder, that I turned away as a blush crept up on my cheeks.

I took his injured hand in mine. "I think we should get some ice on this," I said moving him towards his couch. He let me lead him and remained silent as I got some ice from the mini-fridge. Wrapping the ice in a towel, I went back to sit on the couch beside Adrian and placed the ice on his hand.

We sat in silence for several minutes absently staring at the television that was currently playing "It's a Wonderful Life." I fidgeted with the slit of my dress, unsure of how to start a conversation after that kiss that we had shared. That was when I started hearing something that sounded faintly like fireworks.

I glanced over at Adrian with a questioning look. "It's a Christmas tradition at the resort," he said understanding the look I gave him. I knew that it was well past midnight and officially Christmas day, but I guess I hadn't thought about vampires really having Christmas traditions. He rose from the couch offering me his hand and led me to the balcony of his suite.

Stepping towards the railing, I watched the sky light up in awe. It was filled with green and red bursts of color creating a very festive display. The breeze was light, but the weather was still chilly enough to cause me to shiver. I felt as Adrian stepped up behind me draping his discarded tuxedo jacket over my shoulders. Grasping the edges of it, I pulled it closer around me and absently breathed in his scent.

He stood beside me with his hands on the railing gazing up at the fireworks. Turning slightly, I watched his profile as the sky continued to light up. He smiled as he caught me watching him out of the corner of his eye. Blushing faintly, I turned back towards the fireworks display.

As the fireworks continued, I became aware that he was watching me now. As I turned to him, he gave me a considering look and moved closer to me. Leaning in he brushed his lips against mine as he softly said, "Merry Christmas, Sage."

"Merry Christmas, Adrian," I murmured back before pressing my lips more firmly to his. It was as if we were in a fairy tale, kissing on a balcony with fireworks in the background. I lost myself completely in the taste of his lips on mine as I twined my hands in his hair pulling him in to deepen the kiss. His jacket had slipped from my shoulders and his hands were running along my spine sending shivers and causing me to gasp slightly as our lips parted and our tongues danced together.

Pulling back slightly to come up for air, he placed his forehead against mine keeping me close. His breathing was ragged and I know that mine matched his. When he chuckled softly, I gave him a questioning look as I raised my eyebrows. "I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop," he said. That was when we heard the door to his suite open. "And there it is," he added as he backed away from me glancing into the suite.

I realized now what he meant. I don't think there had been a time yet when we had shared an intimate moment and not been interrupted for one reason or another. As I glanced back into the suite, I saw Eddie, Jill, and Angeline coming in.

Jill came bounding out to the balcony. As Eddie and Angeline followed her, I could see that Eddie knew they had interrupted something. Adrian bent down and retrieved his jacket for me, placing it back over my shoulders. "Isn't it beautiful," Jill said to me gazing up at the fireworks display.

"It sure is," I replied trying to return her cheerfulness. She looked over at me and smiled. I think she was just glad to see that my prior state of shock had passed.

"So, who is ready for the secret Santa exchange," she continued excitedly.

"I for one am," Eddie replied with a smile. I knew he would have been ready for anything that Jill suggested.

"Well, I'm going to need to go get my gift," I said as we moved back into the suite. "Us too," Jill said gesturing between her and Angeline. I handed Adrian his jacket back as we moved towards the door.

"Eddie, would you mind helping me with mine," I asked. Even though a boxing set that included a training dummy was the perfect gift for Angeline, it certainly was not practical in size for me to carry back to their room.

Adrian seemed amused by me having to ask for help carrying my gift. "What the heck did you buy, Sage?" he asked with a smirk.

"You'll just have to wait and see once I give it to whomever it belongs to," I replied with a smile as I left with Eddie.

As Eddie followed me into my room he asked, "Are you okay now?" When I turned back to him, I noticed his prior look of concern back on his face again. "Adrian had told me what happened when I brought him back to his room," he continued. "I just wanted to let you know that none of us would ever let that happen to you."

I smiled at him remembering that feeling of how much I truly cared for all of them. "I know," I said. "And I'm fine. Really. It just took me by surprise. I went to see Adrian after you left and he was really comforting."

A knowing smile played on Eddie's lips. "I have a feeling he was more than comforting." I felt my cheeks heat with that telltale blush. Picking up Angeline's gift, he turned and carried it to their room.

Back in Eddie and Adrian's room, we gathered around the sitting area. Jill pulled me over to sit on the couch beside her. Angeline was already seated on Jill's other side. Adrian had brought over the two chairs that sat beside the beds for Eddie and him to sit in.

"Okay, everyone has their gift in front of them," Jill said giddily. "Who wants to go first?"

"Well, I say the person with the biggest gift should go first," Eddie said staring down Angeline's present from me.

"That sounds like a good idea," Jill replied. "We will open by size, going from biggest to smallest."

Angeline looked at the gift I gave her hesitantly. It was almost as if she was worried about what I could have possibly bought her. As she tore the wrapping off her gift, her eyes lit up. "No way!" she exclaimed. "This is so cool." She jumped up reaching across Jill and hugged me. It wasn't quite the reaction I had expected, but it was nice all the same. Everyone was laughing at how excited she had gotten. As she released me, I told her that she was to name the training dummy Sydney and never to ask me to train with her again. She waved off my comment as she continued to read the box regarding what all came in the set.

"Okay, it looks like Adrian is next," Jill said as she passed the next smallest package to him. "This one is from me," she added.

Adrian smiled at her as he took it and ripped the paper off. It was a very nice paint set with several tubes of colors and brushes. There were also a couple of blank canvas and a painter's palette. "Thanks Jailbait," he said with a smile as he came over and gave her a hug.

Angeline lifted up the next smallest package. "This is for you Eddie," she said as she passed it over to him. As he ripped the paper off, he revealed a long slender box. Opening the box, his eyes widened. Eddie pulled out a set of fairly lethal looking nunchucks. "These are awesome," he said as he continued to stare at them. It was almost as humorous of a reaction as Angeline's was. He moved around to Angeline pulling her up into a hug. "Thank you so much. I've always wanted a pair." Jill could not help the giggle she let out as she watched Eddie.

After Eddie regained his composure, he pulled out the next smallest gift and passed it to Jill. "This is for you," he said with a wide smile on his face. Jill took the present tearing the wrapping back to reveal a medium sized velvet box that would normally contain jewelry. She snapped the box open and sucked in a breath as she gazed at what was inside. She pulled out a delicate charm bracelet with two charms dangling from it. One of the charms was a sapphire dewdrop clearly representing her water element and the other was a little silver stake. "This is beautiful," she breathed. Reaching her arm across to Eddie, she looked at him under half lidded eyes, "Would you put it on for me?" Taking the bracelet, he gently clasped it around her wrist. Getting up she walked over to him, bending to give him a hug where he sat. They seemed to embrace longer than most casual hugs and I started feeling a little uncomfortable watching them. Adrian cleared his throat and Jill released Eddie whispering thank you in his ear before moving back to her seat on the couch.

"Well, after that great gift, I don't know how mine will ever be able to compare," Adrian said with a mischievous grin. Getting up and coming to sit on the arm of the couch next to me, he pulled a very small gift from his pocket and handed it to me. Taking his gift, I turned it over in my hand. It was clearly not in a box, whatever it was, and Adrian had obviously wrapped it himself. Not wanting to damage whatever was inside, I carefully opened the paper at the seams. As I looked down at his gift in my hands, I couldn't help the smile that played across my lips and I started to chuckle thinking about that day at Clarence's. "Come on, lets see," Jill pleaded next to me. To her dismay, I held up a keychain with a little eight ball dangling from it. She looked at it with confusion, but just shrugged seeing that I seemed to be pleased with it. I turned to Adrian pulling him down towards me in a hug. "If I knew you were going to be that grateful over a keychain, I would have got you two," he chuckled. I couldn't help but laugh into his shoulder at his comment.

"So who's up for a nightcap?" Jill asked. "I hear there is supposed to be some kind of party going on down in the spa."

"I'm in," said Eddie as he got up picking up his box and taking it over to stash it with his stuff. Angeline just shrugged in agreement and left taking her boxing set with her.

"Just let me get changed," said Eddie, "and I'll meet you guys at your room."

Jill looked expectantly at Adrian and me. "I didn't bring a bathing suit with me," I said.

"Oh. I guess I should have given you a heads up about the spa," she said with a sigh.

"That's okay," Adrian said. "I'll keep Sage company. You guys run along and have your fun."

"Are you sure?" Jill asked, reluctant to leave us behind.

"Yes," I said reassuringly. "I think I'm just going to go back to my room and relax on the balcony." Turning to Adrian I said, "If you want to go along with them, you don't have to keep me company."

By this time, Eddie had come back from the bathroom in his swimming trunks. "You ready to go get changed?" he asked Jill as he came to stand beside her.

Jill looked again towards Adrian to see if he wanted to go. "No, I'm good. I'm not really in a partying kind of mood anyways," Adrian said. Jill just shrugged and left with Eddie trailing behind her.

As I got up from the couch, Adrian stood as well. "Really Adrian, you don't have to keep me company if you don't want to," I said not wanting him to miss out on the party.

Now that we were alone, he moved closer to me. He reached out and ran the back of his hand down my bare arm until he reached my hand. "I want to spend time with you, Sage," he said with desire flickering in his eyes.

My body couldn't help the shudder that ran through it as I remembered our earlier kiss on his balcony. Trying to keep my composure, I took hold of his hand entwining our fingers together. "Well, when you put it that way, let's go back to my room then," I said as seductively as I could. He raised his eyebrows to my response, but said nothing as I led him to my room next door.

The door to my suite had just barely closed behind us before Adrian pulled me towards him placing a passionate kiss on my lips. Giving in to my desires, I kicked my shoes off and pulled him towards the couch. Not breaking our kiss, his hands continued to caress the skin that was left exposed by my dress as we moved.

It seemed like a great distance to get to the couch. When my legs finally bumped the edge of it, I released his lips gasping for air. My heart was racing and the desire burning in his emerald eyes was fueling the fire that was now burning deep inside me.

Adrian gently eased me down to the couch leaning over top of me on his elbows careful not to put all his weight on me. He softly placed butterfly kisses starting at my lips, running along my jaw line and then down my neck. A quiet moan escaped my mouth as I closed my eyes enjoying the feel of his lips on my skin. I felt his body shiver in response and then he slowly kissed his way back up to my ear, which only caused me to shiver as well.

My hands slid down the front of his chest as he kissed me. I started tugging on his shirt to free it from his pants. Then I slid my hands back up to the buttons. Pulling back from me slightly, he took hold of my hand to stop me. I watched the battle for self-control in his eyes as he looked down at me.

"You don't have to do this," he said breathlessly. "I won't make you do anything you don't want to." He looked so serious and I knew he was just being cautious. Taking some calming breaths I said, "I know and I'm not sure I'm ready for everything, but it seems a little unfair that I don't have any skin to touch as well."

Where he held my hand against his chest, I could feel his heart rate quicken from my response. Releasing my hand, he stared down at me with darkened eyes of desire as I unbuttoned his shirt. Leaning up together, I slid his shirt down his shoulders and back. He tossed it to the side and took me into his arms kissing me as if I were the only air he needed.

I ran my hands along his bare back trying to memorize every inch of skin, every moving muscle. I could feel him doing the same with mine as our tongues danced in a never-ending kiss.

I'm not exactly sure how long we caressed and kissed, but eventually we had to break apart as exhaustion took over. Somewhere during the melee of kissing, I had come to rest on top of him. I laid my head against his chest listening to his erratic heartbeat as we both tried to come down from the passionate high that we had been riding. He absently ran his hand along my thigh that was exposed from the slit in my dress.

Breaking the silence Adrian said, "You know, we never made it to the balcony." I couldn't help but laugh. I pushed up from him, so that I could look into his eyes. "Well, next time, I guess you will have to wait until we are at the balcony before you start kissing me."

He gave me a devilish grin to which I asked him, "What?"

"I just wanted to make sure that there was going to be a next time," he smirked.

Pulling him up from the couch, I led him out to the balcony. "Oh, there will definitely be a next time," I said seductively. Running my hands up his chest to his neck, I pulled him closer to me. "And I was thinking that now was a good time to start that next time."

He smiled against my lips. "Don't you think it is a little cold out here for this?" he asked between tender kisses as we stood on the balcony together in the early morning breeze. The sun was just starting to rise in the distance.

"All I know is that I never want this night to end," I said breathlessly against his lips.

Pulling me closer to him he said, "I promise that you may have as many nights like this as you want, but I do think it is time to go inside before you catch a cold." Thrilled by his promise, I decided I wouldn't push the fact that I rarely got sick because of my tattoo.

As he led me inside, he closed the glass doors and pulled the drapes across them. Turning towards me, I could see that he was struggling with having to leave this moment between us. I made the decision for him as I came closer resting my hand on his arm. "Stay," I said as I met his eyes.

Never breaking our gaze, he placed his hands at my waist. "Are you sure?"

A sudden wave of shyness hit me, so I dropped my gaze from his eyes and gave a slight nod. "It's just sleep and you have offered to stay with me before."

Cupping my cheek with one hand, he gently turned my face back to him and placed a soft kiss on my lips. Taking his hand, I backed up and climbed onto my bed. He slid his shoes off and climbed in after me. Pulling me towards him, I laid my head against his chest as he wrapped his arms around me.

I had not realized how tired I was until I was lying there in his embrace. I could feel him stroking my hair, as my eyelids drifted close. Before sleep completely consumed me, I could have sworn I heard him murmur, "I love you, Sydney."

I hope Sydney giving into her desires wasn't too OOC. Please R & R and let me know what you think. Thanks much! :)