Ok, ok. Uncle! I know Chapter 17 was short and the bathroom thing was short changed, but believe me when I say I will be making it up to them. There is a method to my madness. I swear!

I had a lot of giggles writing and rewriting this chapter. At first I was picturing them all walking down the strip. Eric leading the pack, with Mattie, Sookie, Bill, and Pam in a "V" formation behind him, people stepping out of their way. I was listening to "Battle without Honor or Humanity" By Tomoyasu Hotei. It paints a picture that is both hilarious and way bad ass. But I digress....

It can't possibly be that bad. I love Vega$ too much for this trip to be melancholy. Eric will think of something. Right?

I do not own any of the characters from Southern Vampire Mysteries. They all belong to Charlaine Harris. Bless her for sharing them with us. Mattie is my very own.

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Chapter 18

When we emerged from the bathroom, all eyes were upon us. Mattie made a very obvious display of adjusting her skirt.

"Well don't you two look rosy." Pam seemed to delight in our extracurricular activities.

We were met at the airport by a long black limousine charged with taking us to check into our rooms. We were staying at one of Felipe's signature hotels on Las Vegas Boulevard. It was called "Maison de Prés" which was an obvious nod to the recent takeover of Louisiana.

The lobby was reminiscent of the French Quarter during the mid 19th century. Of course no expense was spared to create this illusion. There were many ornate statues littering the area and vines grew up most of the walls. I noticed numerous confederate flags strewn along the front desk. I was fairly certain this would make most tourists uneasy, but I was quite comfortable.

Eric took the lead as the five of us strolled into the casino. All eyes were on our little group as people stepped from our path. I hadn't really noticed before, but with the exception of Sookie, we were all dressed in black with obvious pallor to our skin. I am certain it was a daunting scene for the humans watching us.

We were allotted three rooms between us. I was happy to see Mattie and I would have a chance to be alone before we were scheduled to meet with the king. We still had things to discuss.

"We are expected upstairs in one hour. We will all meet back here at the elevators at that time." We all nodded at Eric and went our separate ways.

Mattie's first reaction when we unlocked our door was to run into the bedroom and jump on the bed. Funny.

I strolled around the room inspecting the accommodations. The suite was fairly large and decorated in much the same way as our home in Bon Temps. The outer living area had an over sized couch in front of a large wood mantled fireplace. There was a small bar in the corner with a miniature refrigerator stocked with water bottles and True Blood.

The bedroom contained a king sized bed with adjoining night tables. There was a sizable dresser on the opposite wall with a large flat screen TV hanging above it. Mattie took a shine to that. She had been begging for one in our room for sometime. I had always thought it would distract her from sleeping or making love. Based on recent events, maybe I should rethink it as a possible means of escape from her tantric advances.

"I like the colors in here baby. Do you think we could paint the walls in our room like this?" She was sitting on the edge of the bed now skimming her hands along the fluffy down comforter. I sat down next to her placing my hand over hers.

"If that would please you."

"Well what about you? You don't have an opinion do you? Most men don't, but it is your house."

"Our house." She smiled a shy little smile when I said that.

"Our house."

"It matters very little to me what color our bedroom walls are painted. I don't care if there isn't anything in there at all. The only thing I need in that room is you."

Those were words I meant with ever fiber of my being. Mattie leaned over to put her head on my shoulder, I kissed her softly on the top of her head.

"I love you."

"I love you too Bill."

Mattie rose from the bed and resumed her exploration, floating into the bathroom.

"Bill, come and see this bathroom. It's bigger than ours!"

It was in fact larger than our master bathroom. There were his and hers vanity sinks, a jacuzzi tub, and a toilet compartment just as we had. It was also festooned with plants. What set this room apart from ours was the very large oval shaped shower in the center of the room. There was no glass around it at all.

From the ceiling hung a large ring the size of the shower base itself. There were dozens of holes on the underneath of it. In the center of the ring hung two round, rain simulating shower heads. There were no handles or knobs at all. The bottom was raised off of the floor around the edge, sloping down gently to the center, creating a trough with a drain in the middle. On the far wall was an electronic keypad.

Ever the curious one, Mattie was pressing buttons all over the tiny panel. The center shower heads began to spurt out water. She pressed another button and the many tiny holes created a wall of water encompassing the entire shower. Her eyes went wide.

"Wow Bill, this is amazing! We are soooo giving this thing a test drive later."

I chuckled at her. She had a childlike quality about her that I very much enjoyed.

Once we discovered how to shut down the tropical rainfall in our bathroom, I started to unpack and change my shirt. Mattie had other ideas.

"Bill? We have 45 minutes to kill. Any idea what we could possibly do with all that time? She was looking at me coyly and walking in my direction, pulling her sweater over her head.

"We could unpack and get dressed so we are not late for our appointment?" I was trying to keep her at bay long enough to talk about other possible plans of action for our meeting later this evening.

"Awwww. You're no fun. Let me show you what I have in mind." She unzipped her skirt letting it fall gracefully to the floor.

She was twirling her fingers through my chest hair and assaulting my mouth with hers. I couldn't help myself, sliding my hands along her soft, supple breasts releasing them from her bra. I bent my head down, nipping along her neck.

"I knew I could talk you into relaxing a bit."

"Relaxing is not exactly the word I would use for this." She reached down to grab me through my pants.

"Yes, I can see that."

I kissed my way down her body, stopping to linger along the way. Kneeling down, I gave her a long lick through her lacy black panties. She was gripping my shoulders to brace herself while I began pulling them down over her hips. I was not prepared for what she would do next.

"Bill, stop."

She came down to the floor to join me.

"Let me."

Mattie continued to undress me until we were both lying naked together on the floor. She switched positions and took my hard length into her mouth, sucking it as deeply as it would go and then sliding all the way back up to the tip. She continued the motion many times while stroking me with her other hand. I let my hands wander about her body sampling every inch of her silky white skin.

She had brought me to the edge many times but always stopped long enough to look up into my eyes and tease me. The next time she tried that, I grabbed her upper arms and pulled her on top of me.

"You will not do that again woman!"

Her legs were straddling me now and I positioned myself to enter her, still holding her above me by the arms. I looked at her beautiful green eyes for a moment before I plunged her down onto me. I slid her body down my shaft as far as it would go and then pulling almost all of the way out. I repeated that several times, enjoying the sensation. She was shaking her head wildly when I let go of her arms.

Rough scratches marked my chest as she rode into her climax. Her breathing was labored and I could feel her spasming around me. She never lost her rhythm despite her obvious pleasure. She picked up her pace rocking back and forth. I couldn't help but empty myself into her.

We remained that way for quite some time, neither of us wanting to be separated from the other. When she lifted herself off to join me on the floor, I felt an ache of loss from deep in my chest. I wanted nothing more than to be close to her in every way possible.

Lying there in each others arms, I licked a single tear from her cheek.

"I don't want this to be the last time we are together like this."

"My darling, it will not be. We have done enough to secure our future. Watch me, follow my lead. We'll play our hand when the time is right."

We dressed swiftly and went to meet the others.

Our little group was escorted into a spacious suite on the top floor of the hotel. There were only a few vampires there and almost no humans at all. We should have known that Felipe would have kept them away being that he is fully aware of Sookie's gift. An oversight on our part.

The suite had a large outdoor balcony with an Olympic sized pool. Eric immediately stepped through to the outdoors, assessing our possible means of escape if the situation made a turn for the worse.

A small human waiter offered Mattie and Sookie a glass of red wine, while three willing human donors were presented to Pam, Eric, and myself. Sookie and Mattie both tried to mask looks of disgust. Eric and Pam politely declined and took the waiters alternate offer of bottled blood.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see several figures gliding over in our direction. I grabbed Mattie to me forcefully. Cocking her head to the side, I bit down into her neck. She gasped and moaned, instinctively writhing against me.

"I see you have brought your own refreshment Compton." Felipe was standing next to me while I licked my lips and cleaned the blood from Mattie's neck.

My companions stared intently at me awaiting my response. I could tell from the look in Eric's eyes that I had made a bold move in our favor, proving my ownership of Mattie in front of everyone. I had never been good at politics, but I had just made a bona fide politically savvy move. I felt like, what would Mattie have said, a "bad ass".

"I prefer her taste. Slayer blood is more potent than any I've ever had. It adds an air of danger to my feedings." My voice was cool and matter-of-fact, although my fangs were still fully extended.

Mattie was still rubbing her body up against me. I snapped my fingers and she immediately stopped, backing up to stand behind me. We had our own little tricks up our sleeve that Eric wasn't even aware of. I was not going to let this political bullshit get the best of me ever again. I would never allow anyone take her. If Felipe wanted her, he was going to have to get by me.

"May I?" I nodded and stepped to the side. Mattie moved forward and took Felipe's outstretched hand.

"Please my dear, don't be shy. I have been looking forward to meeting you. I have heard of your extraordinary affiliation with Mr. Compton and your employment with Sheriff Northman. I have never seen a slayer 'heel' quite the way you do. It proves my theory that all humans can be tamed, even the most dangerous variety."

Felipe walked around Mattie taking her in from all angles. I hid my disgust for him mentally fondling my mate.

"This ensemble is quite fetching. You look good enough to eat, yet you look aggressive and dangerous as well."

Eric had insisted Mattie wear that damn cat suit again. It clung seductively to her every curve, though it did make her look like a formidable opponent. I saw it as an asset and a weakness.

"You have indicated that Miss Von Teller is quite an attraction in Shreveport Sheriff Northman. I must see her in action."

Eric stepped toward the king, bowing gracefully.

"Your Majesty, I am confident she will happily oblige."

De Castro nodded and Eric motioned to Mattie and Pam. They both bowed slightly at Eric and then at the king. Everyone took a step back to grant them space.

They began to fight the normal choreographed fight I had seem them perform at Fangtasia. They had upped the stakes a bit and threw in some more dangerous moves I had not previously seen. Mattie stuck a stiletto heel through Pam's shoulder blade, gushing blood everywhere. Pam in turn ripped a large gash in Mattie's cheek, something I would surely have to heal for her. However, it was still apparent that they were restraining themselves.

"I am enthralled Sheriff, but let's see what she can do with an opponent she doesn't regularly practice with. Shall we?"

"Sebastian!" Felipe clapped his hands and a young looking, black haired male Vampire stepped forward.

Eric and I shot glances back and forth. We had feared the king would insist on this display. We were certain Mattie could handle the fight, but how damaged would she be? If she killed this Vampire, what punishment would she be given? There was no time to speculate as the situation began to unfold before us.

Mattie strode toward him, placing herself in her usual battle stance. She was more focused than I had ever seen her. Her opponent merely stared at her for a moment surveying her intently. He scoffed at her as if she was not worth his time. She laughed and flung herself at him like a lioness pouncing on her prey.

The battle erupted before us in a blaze of kicks and punches. Mattie was channeling her senses into a fireball of rage. Her eyes began glowing the most unearthly green as she clawed and bit her adversary ruthlessly. They struggled for quite some time with each other, rolling around on the floor flipping each other about like rag dolls.

Mattie gained the advantage long enough to kick herself up to her feet. She pulled two shiny daggers from her waist, cutting and slashing every inch of the vampires skin. Sebastian was bleeding profusely and weakening at a rapid pace. His anger at potential loss began to build and he lunged, knocking her back to the ground. He grabbed a hold of her arm and tore a gaping whole down to her bone, her scream ringing out into the night sky. He had pinned her down and was scratching at her face and chest, tearing through the vinyl and exposing her skin. It was more than I could bear.

"Your Majesty, is this not proof enough she can fight? If this is not stopped, she will die. She is no good to you dead."

It was a bold move for me to attempt to stop the fight. I was aware that I was out-of-line, but Mattie and I had a plan and I needed to keep my part of the bargain. She had certainly kept hers.

"Compton, that's enough." Eric growled at me. Felipe held up a hand to him.

"That won't be necessary Sheriff. There is nothing more I need to see."

De Castro waved his hand at the black haired vampire, but he didn't stop.

Mattie was screaming and holding her arms in front of her face while trying to kick him off of her. He had pinned her down in an awkward position and she was unable to free herself. It appeared our plan was starting to backfire on us when Mattie turned her head to me and smiled.

She knocked her head forward, sending him reeling back. Grabbing one of his arms, she knelt down and cracked it backwards over her knee. The vampire was screaming out in pain, but Mattie didn't show him any mercy. She let his arm flop down and ground her knee into the break. Her opponent was hissing at her loudly. She spat in his face.

Sebastian pulled his unbroken arm up. It looked as though he was wiping the spit from his face, but instead sent his fist up breaking Mattie's nose. She tossed her head back, blood spewing out of her nostrils. I knew he would attempt to catch some of it in his open mouth.

I ran toward them howling, ramming into her attacker and knocking him back into the pool. I stood there shielding her with my body. There was much violent energy running through my body.

"THAT'S ENOUGH! SHE IS MINE!"

The silence was deafening as Mattie slowly stood up next to me and bowed.

"Master."

I nodded back at her, pulling her as close to me as possible.

Two of De Castro's men were pulling her attacker from the pool, dragging him away leaving wet streaks on the concrete.

"Sebastian has committed a serious offense going against my orders. He has also wronged you. He will be punished. Consider your insubordination an equal trade."

"Thank you your Majesty." What Felipe had just done was very advantageous to our situation.

"I would like to offer Miss Von Teller a position here working for me. I have many enemies and her services are greatly needed." He was not directing himself at Eric any longer, but rather he was speaking directly to me. That was a very large plus.

"Your Majesty, as sure as I am that Matilda appreciates your offer and would serve you well, I do not wish to have her leave my side."

"I understand this Compton, she listens to you quite well. You may join her here." I could see this would take a bit more finagling.

"Being that we are so low in numbers in Louisiana, I would appreciate him remaining with me your majesty. His work has been beneficial to me." Eric was bound and determined to climb back up the totem pole to his spot above me. Normally it would have bothered me, but tonight it was welcome.

"Very well then. Arrangements will be made for Miss Von Teller to remain here with me." The king appeared impatient at this point. I was running out of options. There was nothing more I could do, but play our final card.

"I'm afraid that's not possible Sire. You see.....she is bound to me."