"How'd it go?" Franklin asked not looking up from his laptop as he lounged in the den. Tara smiled holding up a pair of lace panties and tossing them to the couch. Franklin picked them up and then turning at the waist got a good look at his partner. "Taking trophies now?"

Tara didn't answer getting a bottle of True Blood she looked over his shoulder at the laptop screen, "how's it going on your end?"

"Lesaron's keeping his underwear where it belongs, but I did find something interesting," he said cryptically pulling up a folder he had hiding behind another screen. "He's going to be the first human to host a vampire fundraiser, our client isn't all that pleased and like before we're supposed to be friendly and observe. "I trust you have a date?"

"You aren't coming in?"

"Not on this one. I'm going to be doing a little snooping since he insists that it's going to be hosted at his mansion perfect opportunity to find incriminating evidence."

"I might need a distraction from you."

Tara nodded blankly then started toward her bedroom. "You know for a human Maryanne's very…..zealous."

"It won't last," Franklin replied distractedly tapping at away at the keys slowly losing himself in his work again. Remembering a certain detail, "you're family," he started causing Tara to stop inside the door entrance, "they frequent these types of the functions don't they?"

Tara didn't turn, "they've been known to make an appearance," Godric believed in supporting the vampire community in every way they could. The fundraiser provided wayward vampires who were discarded and forgotten with homes and food that didn't alarm the public about the dangers of vampires. He would be there if her maker and her uncle weren't going to be, but she thought that was very unlikely when they rarely left their maker's side.

"Can you handle that?"

Tara was offended he needed to ask, but she understood.

"Why wouldn't I be?" she looked at him pointedly daring him to voice the reason.

He didn't his gaze focused on his screen now. That was good enough for Tara who closed her door and undressed to wash the smell of the evening away along with the dried crusted blood she left on her body after she finished educating Maryanne. The human surprised her and it wasn't all together bad. Ordering her around and being obeyed was something she understood albeit on the other spectrum never as the one giving the orders and the difference between the two were exponential. Pam never let her have control and she always felt out of control whenever she was with the blond to the point of absurd insanity. She hated it and yet that was how she lived until she finally ran away finally seeing a world where she wasn't living to do Pam's bidding or to remain her fool. Now, there was a chance after all the time past seeing her again left her anxious. How would that go? Would Pam have even noticed she was gone?

Her phone buzzed from a message.

Had a wonderful time last night.

Tossing the phone on the bed she headed for the shower to clear her head. She needed clarity and to be clean of distraction. Under the warm spray she managed the clean part, but the clarity eluded her. Drying off she saw the panties sitting on the bed waiting for her dangling from the disapproving fingertips of her maker.

"Pam."

The blond crossed her leg tilting her head at the wonderfully naked body of her progeny. She remembered the last time she saw that body. The last she was above it and it was on top of her and those lips and fingers guiding her to a sensational abyss of ecstasy.

Tara's phone buzzed again.

Brown and blue eyes went to the device with the offending sound. Pam like Franklin tossed the underwear aside and she picked up the phone reading the message aloud, "I woke thinking you were playing with nipples…I can't wait to see you gain."

Tara forced her legs to move. She couldn't hide her nervousness from Pam, the woman could feel it through their bond, which bothered her, but she ran in order to keep it. And the control she had felt hours before leaving Maryanne was surpassed by the discord warring in her body in seeing her maker. Remembering she wasn't the same desperate Tara that she was she turned her back on Pam unashamed of her nudity taking her time to choose her outfit even though in reality it wouldn't have taken long if Pam hadn't been her particular audience.

"You know how humans are," Tara shrugged sizing up a shirt before she put it back. "They fall in love quickly," she nodded to her phone gloating, "and that was after one night."

Pam pursed her lips while blue eyes narrowed at the muscles that flexed doing the most mundane tasks.

"So this is what you've been doing with your time? Godric wouldn't approve."

The blond knew what to say to make Tara react. The dark skinned vampire didn't show her alarm of course, but she felt a touch of shame in the blond before it was closed off unceremoniously. She smiled to herself, Tara learned a few tricks. She had to since it had taken her this long to find her when she finally decided her progeny should resign this little girl lost routine. She wanted to know what happened the night she left and Godric wanted his family together again under the condition that Pam treat her progeny better. She could abide by his orders because she loved him, but she wasn't sure how she felt about Tara. She didn't respect her decision to run and disappear it had angered her actually. How dare she leave without a word? Tara was Pam's and nothing could change that least of all distance or a human.

"What's her name?"

"You didn't come to talk about who I fuck and you sure as hell don't want the name of a human," Tara began to dress in earnest. "I'm not going back."

"Godric misses you," she said purposefully because while she had thought of Tara on occasion she hadn't truly thought it was because she missed her. Tara had been a fixture in her life before she vanished. The vampire was a part of her daily routine she couldn't enjoy anymore and maybe she missed her for that reason, but she felt Tara deserved to be punished for her insolence.

"I planned on seeing him soon," she hadn't really, but she didn't mind showing him what she had become at the very least he would be impressed even if Pam's impression of her hadn't changed. It was the way she looked at her as if she were still that confused vampire trying to discern real feelings and the feelings of their connection. Pam loved to toy with her a lot about that in the beginning. If Tara was honest there was still a very confused vampire trying to figure those feelings out. But she couldn't do it with Pam sitting on her bed in leather pants and a corset and stilettos.

"What about me?"

"You didn't miss me and I'm assuming Godric sent you. You've relayed his message. Now you can tell him that I'll see him soon."

Tara was dismissing her. Who the hell did she think she was? "Kill a few vampires partner with a nut job and you've got balls all of a sudden. Don't forget where you came from. Don't forget who owns you."

"You don't own me," the dark skinned woman said vehemently meaning it more than she thought she ever would. For the longest time she wanted to be Pam's alone. She wanted to be owned and encompassed by everything the woman stood for, but pulling away gave her enough clarity to realize how much of a fool she'd been. Pam wasn't worth it, she told herself even as she was fighting her arousal when the woman closed the space between them brushing against her purposefully.

"I own you Tara. You'll never be anyone else's as long as you're mine. You could prance in an open field of daisies and fuck everyone on earth, but at the end of the day there will be an empty space you won't be able to fuck shut—because that's where I'll be waiting for you to remember whose touch you can't erase."

Her progeny met her with gaze with an equally obstinate glare pulling away from the full red inviting lips of her maker, "you're fucking delusional."

Pam lurched from Tara's rejection, "as your maker I demand you kiss me."

She couldn't stop herself and soon Tara was trying to swallow her maker whole and Pam smiled into the onslaught. Lips caressed lips and tongues warred and were sucked until blood mingled with saliva and teeth nipped at full lips bringing a mix of pain to add to the pleasure.

Tara pulled away widening the space between them.

"Fuck," she breathed turning her back to Pam refusing to look at the winning smile or be blinded by the triumphant glimmer of her eyes.

"You're mine Tara."

"It must really burn you to have to pull a cheap move like that 'as your maker' bullshit to get me to want you," the progeny seethed.

Pam didn't answer because in her mind she had already won and she wouldn't let Tara's words ruin her victory. The blond told Tara what room they were staying at and it half surprised Tara to hear that they were a floor above them. Pam sauntered out of her room and the vampire didn't feel it was safe to collapse on her bed until after she heard the front door shut.