An hour later Kate is sitting on the front hood of her car, staring at the dark, empty field that borders the hotel. She should be on her way to the club to try and seduce this Conrad guy, instead she's wallowing in guilt and grief.

"I suspect that rum isn't doing anything," says a familiar voice.

She turns to look at Richie approaching her. His stride is quick, his swagger confident. As always he's dressed impeccably in a suit and she wonders if he's ever worn a pair of jeans in his life.

She takes another swig of the bottle. "Wrong. It's doing a fine job of getting me wasted," she lies.

"Yeah, right," he scoffs, stopping in front of her. "Liquor does nothing for you now, does it?"

His arrogance is infuriating but the last thing she wants is to rise to his taunts. Refusing to engage, she remains silent while setting the bottle aside.

He furrows his eyebrows, concerned. "What's wrong?"

She lies back on the car, staring up at the vast, starless sky. "Last week was Scott's birthday. I completely forgot. I didn't even remember until an hour ago." She closes her eyes. "No wonder he always felt so alone, like he didn't belong. I was a horrible sister to him."

"Are you kidding me with this shit?"

God, she really hated him, especially when he sounded like Seth. "I don't want to talk about this with you."

"Well, tough shit."

His hands glide down her calves, stopping at her ankles, wrapping his fingers around the bones. The unexpected intimacy sets off a billion fireworks throughout her body, making her quiver. Eyes still closed, she tells herself to calm down, to breathe, before her heart jumps out of her chest.

"You weren't a horrible sister. I saw you guys together, remember? It's obvious you guys loved each other, you were a real family."

"Then why isn't he here? Why did he choose vampires over me?"

"I don't know, Kate, there could be a million reasons. He was a teenager caught up in an extremely fucked up situation, it might have been the only thing that made sense at the time."

"I miss him so much. I've looked for him but I don't think he wants to be found."

"When he's ready to see you, he'll find you. Trust me."

"You don't know that. You don't even know him."

"I've been where he is. And I know, eventually, he'll want to come home."

She opens her eyes and finds Richie standing at the edge of the car, positioned between her legs. Her dress is hiked up, and maybe she should be more modest, but she's intoxicated under the piercing stare of his blue eyes. "Why did you choose to be a vampire?"

He gives her a bitter smile. "I didn't really have a choice. I was ready to die, to give up my life than be Santanico's bitch, but then I kept thinking about Seth and how he'd be trapped in that place. And even if he did get out, he'd be all alone or Santanico would kill him out of spite. I couldn't bear that."

Her heart aches for Richie, thinking about how difficult the choice must have been for him. After all this time, she can still sense his pain. He didn't choose to be a vampire for the power or immortality, he did it to keep his brother safe.

"The weird part is," Richie continues, his hands once again travelling up the length of her legs. "I don't even remember if I actually said yes to her. But I guess I must have."

"Santanico took everything from me. My dad, my brother, my whole life." She levels Richie with a keen stare. "I'm going to kill her. It's the only way I can move on."

He snakes his hands underneath her and gently brings her forward until she's sitting up. Face to face, he peers at her closely. "And what does moving on entail?"

"A normal life that doesn't involve vampires. College, maybe a boyfriend."

Jaw clenched, he leans in closer, his cold breath humming against her skin. "You really think it'll be that easy to slip back into normal?"

"Yes," she answers with determination.

"And here I thought the naive, gullible Kate was gone forever."

"Fuck you!"

"Ready and willing, Sunshine."

In one quick motion he pulls her forward along the hood of the car, closing his lips over hers. His tongue coaxes her mouth open, stroking her own; he doesn't just kiss, he explores, he savours, putting her senses on overdrive and leaving her body soaring under his touch, aching for more. Shit. She wraps her legs around his thighs for support, clinging to him as he kisses her with pure wanton lust that makes her blood boil with need and hunger and desire.

His hands are everywhere, grabbing her hair, lingering on her back, desperate, demanding, and she returns the gesture, her nails digging into the back of his neck.

God she wants him, she needs him, and she can't deny it - even if a part of her still hates him. All those lonely nights over the past three years, she'd imagined what it would be like to make love to him, how it would feel to have him inside her, and now her body is determined to find out if the reality matches her fantasies.

"Richie?" she murmurs as he sucks on the extremely sensitive corner where her neck meets her shoulder. Oh god. Every time he nips her skin, licks it, the sensation flows through her body like fire, gathering between her legs.

He doesn't respond, his fingers sliding up her thighs. He knows how to tease, to taunt, to make her writhe until she's a volatile mess of nerves and white-hot fluid. Her red lace panties glide down her legs under the expert touch of his hands.

Her fingers lace through his hair, gripping onto him tightly. "Richie?" she tries again.

His tone is agitated, filled with frustration. "Yeah?"

"I want to see you."

He pulls back to look at her, his eyes darkened with desire, her lipstick smudged over his lips. "I didn't realise I was invisible."

Out of breath, she gives him a shy smile. "I mean, I want to see you naked."

"Why?"

His suspicious tone takes her by surprise. "Because you're beautiful," she replies honestly. "And I want to touch you." Her hands span his chest, taking in the lean muscles hidden under the shirt. Under the penetrating force of his gaze, she removes his jacket and sets it beside her. He's stiff, rigid, and she wonders why he's so nervous. "You're acting like a virgin," she teases.

"I feel like one."

She casts him a curious glance. "Why?"

"I've never had sex with someone I love before."

She averts her eyes from his, focusing on his belt instead. His words echo in her head but she forces herself to ignore them.

"No response?" he taunts, covering her hand with his own when she tries to unzip his pants.

"What do you want from me?"

"Everything," he answers, confident, certain. Like he has a right to her body and soul.

"I can't give you that."

"You will."

"No," she persists. "I won't."

"Then this is enough for now." He nudges her back to lie down and she's staring up at him, caught between the heat of his hard body and the cold texture of the car beneath.

"You can play with me as much as you want, sunshine." His voice is a low raspy whisper, so seductive that her spine tingles with excitement. "But first I want to see you come."

Her breath catches in her throat, her body trembles with anticipation.

Holding her gaze, he hikes up the bottom of her dress. Long, lean fingers grip her thighs, pulling them apart. A sly smirk shapes his lips. "Promise you won't pass out this time?"

Her body instinctively jumps at the sensation of his mouth closing over the most intimate parts of her. She's wet, so wet as his tongue circles her clit, slow, fast, driving her crazy. One finger slides inside her, then another, hitting that ohgodohgodohgod... her hands lace through his hair, grabbing onto him as he continues his tender seduction. "Richie," she moans, quiet at first, and then louder and louder as the pressure builds within her body.

Pleasure is all she feels, her body a livewire of electricity, and then her orgasm hits. She's falling over the edge and it's nothing like she's experienced before, waves of pure ecstasy and release rippling through her even as his fingers continue to work her.

It's a long time before her heart slows down, before the fireworks finally stop. When she finally comes to her senses and opens her eyes, she finds him lying down next to her, watching her.

He cocks his eyebrow. "Still with me?"

She smiles, reaching down to unzip his pants. "Don't worry. I plan on returning the favour."

He returns her grin. "I fucking love you."

Her hands pause. "Look, you don't have to say that. I know what this is and I'm fine with it."

His body stiffens, and she can sense him getting angry. "And what is this, Kate?"

"Sex. That's all."

"Not for me it isn't."

She pulls away, sitting up. "Why do you have to make things difficult?"

"Because I want to be more than just a hook-up."

She scoots off the car. Slipping her underwear back on, she starts fixing her dress. As much as she doesn't want to break down in front of him, tears burn her eyes when she finally looks at him. "You're so offended at the thought of me using you for sex but you have no problem sharing me with your brother like I'm some kind of whore?"

"That's not-"

"No, don't you dare deny it! Seth told me your sick idea!" she interjects, shaking with rage. "You keep saying you love me but I don't believe you! I don't believe that your feelings are real. Because if you really loved me, you'd want me for yourself. The thought of you with other women, with Santanico, it makes me sick to my stomach! I hate it, I hate the idea of you fucking other women, loving them, kissing them, but you..." The lump in her throat hurts, her heart hurts. Her entire fucking body hurts. "Every time I think you can't hurt me anymore, you find a way." There's so much more she wants to say but she can't bear to look at him any longer. Swiping her tears, she turns around and walks away.