!Warning: M (16+)-rated themes: Sexual content.

- XXII -

What had she done?

She had just killed an innocent young girl, only to satisfy her thirst. It had been wrong, an atrocity. She should have felt guilty, remorseful, devastated, but she didn't. All she felt was Viktor's cold, thin fingers as they slowly undressed her. Layer after layer of burgundy fabric fell to the floor until she stood there, naked, her milky white skin almost radiant in the dim light of the room, her raven hair falling to the middle of her back.

His hands now traveled up her slender sides, caressing, tracing the line of each rib underneath her skin and she couldn't help the slight shiver at his touch. How could a monster like Viktor stir such a feeling in her?

"Tell me, Amelia, did the child's blood taste better than the blood of beasts?" Viktor whispered against the back of her neck.

There was only one answer she could give to him.

"It did," she said between two heavy breaths, her voice hoarse.

His hands came to rest on her breasts.

"Better than the blood of the general then. Thomas, is it?" he asked in a dark tone, not revealing which answer he expected, while his touch drifted lower, caressing the curves of her hips. Amelia was so fragile, despite her vampire strength.

"Yes, better than his, too," she confirmed softly. Cloth rested between her back and Viktor's chest, but she could hear his heart beating swiftly.

"The taste, the feeling when I..." she let her hesitation linger in the air between them for a moment. "...had her. It was better than anything I've ever..."

Amelia trailed off, while Viktor's touch wandered lower.

"Well, let's see if it is better than this then," he whispered in her ear, his voice now completely disclosing his lust.

When he started to caress the most private parts of her body, she almost instantly came, aroused by his touch as much as her meal. She softly moaned, while the first waves of pleasure left her trembling in his arms.

"Amelia," he addressed her in a hoarse tone and she turned around, facing his piercing aquamarine gaze, reaching up to caress the line of his jaw and skull.

"I want you," he confessed. " I always have since our first meeting."

"I want you, too, Viktor," she said, her eyes still locked on his.

She kissed him gently, nipping at his lower lip, while starting to unbutton his shirt, each little motion meant to arouse him, draw him further under her power of seduction.

Motion blurred or maybe it was time itself, but they were tangled together on the bed. She was on top of him, kissing her way down from his neck to his chest. Her nails dug into the skin of his shoulders again. This time, without the fabric of his gown to protect his flesh, they left small crescent moon marks behind. He hissed under his breath, eyes wide – the blue nearly the colour of the sky they would never see again.

Before she could proceed further, however, he got a hold of her waist, and she allowed him to flip her over. He was on top of her now, kissing her passionately.

Amelia's head was spinning with pleasure, incapable of thinking beyond the moment. The atrocity of killing those little girls didn't come to her mind anymore, nor did the countless murders Viktor surely had committed in the past. She only thought of passion, of the sinful things they were doing right now.

He was the first man she had truly chosen for herself, without another man's decision, without coercion. She alone had decided that she wanted Viktor. It was within her power to give or deny him her body, she was aware of that now.

Thoughts clouded, pleasure blunting rationality as he gently parted her legs. Feeling him enter her slowly wrenched her from the half dream like state and the sensation of him completing her caused her to let out a low moan.

He smiled at her, the expression wicked, content that he was bringing her so much delight. When he started to move, she instantly moved with him, steady at first, savouring every movement like she had savoured every drop of the girl's blood. Then faster and faster until the wave of pleasure began to rise again, this time from deep, deep within her body. And when she thought she could no longer stand the tension, the surge broke down upon her, washing her away and sending her over the edge of ecstasy.

She cried out his name and clutched his back, her nails now piercing his skin, while her whole body trembled violently. The smell of the dark red, life-giving liquid that followed was too much for her senses to process and her mind went blank completely when she buried her fangs in his throat.

The sudden pain lifted him to the top of his own crest and he pressed her body tightly against his, moaning as he breathed in the soft, almost flowery scent of her hair. How perfect she was! Exactly how he wanted his mate to be like. Beautiful, strong, self-confident, passionate.

They sank onto the bed side by side then, panting, and he pulled a linen blanket over their bodies, while Amelia ran her fingers through the loose strands of his ash blonde hair. Giving her a satisfied smile, he gently stroked her cheek. At first she had attempted to persuade him not to drink from those children, hesitated to join him, but he knew from now on she would never again think twice about taking what she wanted. With the events of this night he finally had achieved his aim of making her his, of making her like him completely.