I wash my clothes while I wait for Billy. The meeting takes longer than I'd anticipated, but it's not surprising.

I decide to stay in the robe. Something tells me clothes will be a nuisance when Billy gets back.

A purple mark stains my skin in the crease of my breast. Billy's mark. I wonder how he restrained the desire to break the flesh and feed after pulling the blood close enough to the skin to form the hickey.

I try to distract myself, but the longer he's away, the more restless I feel. There's a longing I've never felt before, and the mark on my back feels like it's pulsing. I'm noticing those sensations more now that I know something is there, and it's connected to him.

Billy comes through the door three hours later. Neither one of us speaks. He just wraps his arms around me and draws me into the most mind-blowing kiss I've ever experienced. I pull away to breathe, and he buries his face in my neck.

"It almost hurt to be away from you today," he growls.

"I felt the same way. I missed you so much."

"Fucking torture."

He undoes the belt on my robe and slips his hands around my waist. When his fingers brush over his signet, I shiver.

"You don't stay behind anymore."

"I don't understand what's happening," I whisper. The effect he's having on me is unreal.

"It's our connection. We need to do something about it."

"Something?"

Billy pulls back with a smirk, but his eyes are dark. He lifts me and wraps my legs around his waist, then carries me into the bedroom.

Both of us are so revved up that we rush through getting Billy out of his clothes, but he doesn't bother taking off my robe. It's open. That's all he needs. He leaves a trail of open-mouth kisses down my entire body before he returns to my mouth, and our bodies connect. Billy captures my hands and holds them above my head, and I whine.

"What's that noise for, huh?"

"I wanna touch you."

He grins and lets go of my hands. I sink them into his hair and moan as he picks up speed.

It's not until we're both spent that I realize I don't feel the signet mark on my back anymore. I lay in his arms, snuggled against his chest.

"Billy?"

"Yes, delicious?"

I laugh. "Is that my new nickname?"

"Absolutely."

"Before… the mark on my back was warm. I don't feel it now."

"Turn over."

I turn onto my stomach. Billy pulls the robe from me, and a jolt of warmth goes through me as his fingers skim the small of my back.

"Felt that?"

"Yeah."

"It's still there. I'll have to do some research, but I think the mark, because it was put there the way that it was, it was like a beacon for us. Once we realized it, the beacon got stronger until we did something about it. We shouldn't be so overwhelmed by it anymore."

"You were overwhelmed?"

"Practically drowning."

He rolls me onto my side and kisses me again. It's less urgent, but no less intense as his tongue explores my mouth.

"You are so fucking sweet."

I smile. Something about his obsession with the way I taste makes me feel so wanted. He pushes me onto my back as he kisses lower down my body.

"Let's see if you taste that sweet everywhere."

My eyes roll back into my head as he continues his downward path.

The next few months are pure bliss. I moved in with Billy after two weeks. We can't stand to be apart for long, and I love sleeping in his arms. He was right about the mark. The longing for each other is less overwhelming, but it's still there. He says that's not the mark… it's just us. I believe him. We make love almost every night, and he feeds once a week. The feedings are almost as intimate as the sex. Especially when he practically makes out with me before piercing my neck.

He's been under a lot of stress this week with Anvil, and he looks tired. He's not sleeping well. Not that he needs as much sleep as I do, but he still needs sleep.

We get home, and he falls back onto the sofa.

"Billy, you need to feed."

"I did, three days ago."

"I know, but you're going to wear yourself out if you keep going like this."

I sit next to him on the sofa, and he brushes a thumb over my neck.

"What if I take you to bed, instead?"

"That would take even more energy," I say with a grin.

Billy stands and starts peeling off his suit as he walks to the bedroom.

"Come on."

"Billy…"

"I'll feed later. Come on.

Billy is gentler than usual. He's taking his time and exploring every inch of me like he hasn't done it fifty times already. His teeth graze over my pulse as he picks up his pace, and he falters. He lets out a loud breath.

"Billy… it's ok."

"No."

"Do it."

"Not now."

I pull his face from my neck and he stills.

"You obviously need to. Please, Billy."

He starts to move again and licks at my neck. When his fangs press in, my entire body trembles. He wraps an arm around my waist as he keeps moving, and his tongue presses against my neck. He growls as I come undone.

I don't even notice when he heals my neck, but I know he does. He's lying limp on top of me a few minutes later.

"I didn't think you could taste any better. That was…"

I put a finger to his lips, and he raises his head.

"Thank you," he says.

"No need to thank me. It is absolutely my pleasure."

I smirk, and he laughs. He knows I'm right.

"Mine, too. And I'll thank you if I want."

I run my fingers over his jaw. "I love you."

His eyes go dark, and his lips are on mine so fast and so hard that it takes my breath away.

"I've lived for so long, and I don't think I've ever felt this way about anyone."

His words hit me. "How long have you lived?"

He hums and mumbles under his breath, like he's thinking. "I don't remember exactly. About sixteen hundred years."

My eyes practically bug out of my head. "What?"

"I'm old, Desiree." He chuckles.

"I just… wow."

"Still love me?"

"Of course." I run my fingers through his hair. "It does raise a question though. What happens as I get older?"

"I'll take care of you." He kisses me gently. "We have time to think about that. Let's not do it now."

I nod, but now the question is burning in the back of my mind.