Alex rolled over and stretched. Dusk was nearing, her favorite time of the day. As sunset approached, she became more excited, looking forward to seeing Ethan. She found herself, surprisingly, growing more and more fond of him. Rather than resenting him, as she once had, she welcomed him. He was loving and attentive, and she wanted him. For the first time, she understood Goren's intense attraction to Summer. Had she allowed herself to put aside her anger and her prejudice, she would have become attached to him much sooner and welcomed him more readily. Although she wondered how long it had been since she last saw Goren, and although she missed him, she waited eagerly for Ethan.
When the door opened and Ethan came into the room, she was ready for him. He seemed amused by her excitement, but he never belittled her for it. He welcomed her advances, and when he thought she was sated, he proved that she was not. He stayed with her through the night and, as dawn approached, he left her comfortably sleeping.
The intense drive that had engulfed her was beginning to abate and she was feeling more like herself. What remained most strongly was her love for Goren, followed by her attachment to Ethan. Her bitter resentment and her jealousy of Summer were gone. In their place came a contentment she had never known before. Although she remained the same person, so much about her had changed. She began to believe that being a denizen was the best thing that had ever happened to her...after her partner. Each day that passed left her missing him more, but Ethan helped her to deal with her longing, and she needed him.
The sun was high in the daytime sky and Eames slept deeply. The door to her room opened and closed, and she slept on. She shifted in her bed, moaning softly in her sleep, a response to her dreams, which were welcome since her conversion. Nightmares, it seemed, were a thing of her past. They had no place in her present.
Goren looked down at her, and he smiled as she dreamed. He sat lightly on the edge of the bed and reached out to touch her. She incorporated his touch into her dream, and although her eyes fluttered open and her face lit up with a smile, she remained in her dream. Her fangs remained extended as he continued to gently caress her. "Bobby," she whispered, still convinced he was a dream.
Reaching out, she lightly stroked the healing marks on his throat. He closed his eyes and softly groaned. His breathing quickened, and he leaned down to her, kissing her hard. She responded with abandon.
His teeth were beginning to change, but, although he was not yet far enough in the conversion process for his canines to have fully developed, he knew what he liked and he knew what he wanted. She gave it all to him. Although she had gained more control as her time with Ethan passed, and although it was midday, when her bloodlust was at its weakest, her deep passion for him surpassed both and she lost control. She did not know she had any reason to restrain, and he made no attempt to stop her.
He came around very slowly to find Summer resting in the bed beside him. He turned over to her, slid his arm around her and kissed her temple. She smiled at him, shaking her head. "You are impossible."
He gave her a sleepy grin. "What makes you say that?"
"Will you listen to me, my love? Really listen and do as I ask?"
He rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, okay. Yes."
She ran her fingers along his jawline, studying his face. "If you were not this far along in the process, and if I did not have the connection to you that I have, you would be dead. As it is, you have been unconscious for two days. You can not go to her again, Bobby. Not until the conversion is complete in you. Only then will you be able to handle being with her."
"It's been...a long time. You said she would gain more control over time, and it was noon."
Summer slowly shook her head. "Time of day seems to have no bearing on her passion for you. Although she was fully aware of you this time, she thought she was dreaming. When she is with you, all control seems to leave her. She will love you forever with a passion neither of you has ever felt before, but until you are fully converted, you are in danger."
"How long?"
"We have been through this before. Since few of the rules seem to apply to you, I cannot accurately predict...well, anything. Her conversion took place over months. Although you were already partially converted, even as close as you were to the point of no return, it still takes time to complete the process. Every time you are with her, she weakens you and thus it takes longer because you need time to recover."
"I miss her," he complained.
"I understand your impatience. I honestly do. But I will not lose you." She smiled, a tender loving smile, and she leaned closer to kiss him. "Obviously, I cannot leave you alone. I will not make the same mistake twice. Likewise, Ethan will remain with her."
"We need...babysitters?" he asked, his eyes bright with amusement.
She laughed softly in response to his amusement. "If that's what it takes. Jeremy and Gerard can run his stupid club until you are both fully denizen and you are no longer in danger from her."
Goren's expression changed. "Ethan reopened his club?"
"Weeks ago. After he closed Lager des Teufel, he switched his focus to Schatz des Teufel. He is in the process of selling the first club and purchasing a new one in Chelsea. Zeit des Teufel. Time of the Devil."
"He likes that devil motif."
She laughed again. "Not really, but his patrons do."
He stretched his long frame and settled his head against her chest, turning so he could see her face. "Summer, I...I still can't believe that Alex would harm me."
She poked him in the chest. "You are so stubborn. You are right in that she would never intentionally harm you. But..." She fell silent and studied his features. His expression was open, his eyes bright with desire. She touched his cheek, lightly caressing it. "Bobby, my love, please, listen to me. Listen carefully. When you and Alex come together, your passion is...explosive. You both lose control with each other. There is no way for you to hang onto it. You are bonded and thus are drawn to each other. Your love simply intensifies, well, everything."
His brow furrowed in confusion. "I thought...uh...being bonded... was the same thing..."
She smiled and shook her head. "Love is a separate entity from everything else. Ethan and Alex are bonded without necessarily feeling love, and I do love Ethan, though we are not bonded. But..."
"Whoa...wait a minute. Alex is bonded...to Ethan?"
She moistened her lips and slowly sat up, settling his head in her lap as she leaned back against the pillows in front of the headboard. She stroked his forehead. "There's so much to explain. You will learn over time how it all works. Alex is unique, and not just in your life. It has been a very long time since anyone was converted without consent. Ethan took on the responsibility of completing her full conversion, of getting her through the final transition and being responsible for her as a new denizen, until she learns our ways. We are bonded to the one who converts us, though it is a very different bond than the one you share with her. Ethan and Alex will always be close, but she will always be yours."
He listened to what she said, and he had no problem with Eames' relationship to Ethan. He shifted closer to her and rested his head against her abdomen. She smoothed her hand over his hair. "And what about us?" he asked, looking up at her.
She toyed with a stray curl. "What about us?"
"Do we have...that bond of conversion?"
Her eyes strayed over his face. He had such a loving heart, and she knew it could only bring good to him that he would now be able to open that heart up to others without the fear of being hurt. "Yes. That and more. I do not understand the connection we share, Bobby. I know that it is different than the bond you share with Alex. It is more and it is less. I don't know how to explain it."
"So...my bond with Alex..."
"It's almost as rare. You are bonded through passion, heart to heart. Your love intensifies everything."
He studied her face. "Tell me what you feel."
"I...I can't."
"Why not?"
"Bobby, your path is clear. You are destined to be with her."
"But...you said she also shares a bond with Ethan, and I share one with you. I know what I feel for Alex and where I stand with her. I want to know where I stand with you. I don't know about her, but...I know that I need you. My life...whatever it becomes...cannot be complete without both of you."
She leaned down and brushed her lips over his. "No one will ever force you to choose," she promised.
"How will Alex be with Ethan?"
"Much the way you are with me. When you are not available to her, she can—and will—go to Ethan. You will always be her primary lover, but she will seek out Ethan from time to time, as he will her."
He nodded, open and accepting of that arrangement. "And us, you and me?"
"It will be the same—and different. You and I have a unique relationship, and I simply don't know what to make of it. I don't know what to expect. Not even Daniel could give me any insight."
"You came to get me..."
"We. Ethan and I came to get you...because I knew you were in trouble again. I knew you were with her, though you still are not ready to handle her. She is closer to completing her transition, so she is calmer, until she is with you. Then she loses all control."
"And when I go through the transition?"
"You will be the same, though for you it may be more intense. Her conversion was prolonged and gentle. Yours has not been, so you may respond...with more passion."
"If I go to her...?"
"You won't."
"Then if she comes to me...I won't hurt her?"
"You can't hurt her. She is denizen. But she isn't likely to seek you out, either. She will be through her transition and back in control of herself."
He reached up and touched her cheek. His hand slid along her jaw, then wandered across her throat. He was pleased by her response. "How far did I set myself back?" he asked, his eyes watching the quickening of the pulse at her throat.
"I wish I had answers for your questions. Your strength has returned quickly this time. Perhaps it's not such a big setback. You are as close to transition as you have ever been. Any day now, you will hit the point of no return. I have been watching for it, expecting it. So stop wandering off and let me finish this so you will be denizen. Okay?"
He smiled and shifted to lay beside her in the bed. "Okay," he replied, kissing the side of her neck as he drew her to him.
She responded to his gentle touch, relaxing in his embrace. He was so close to passing the point of no return, she could almost feel it. His moods were no longer dark; he was no longer plagued by depression and regret. He was playful and happy, and she reveled those moods. Within the week, she guessed, if he behaved and caused himself no further setbacks, he would settle into his transitional phase, and he would be denizen.