Author's note: Happy day! This chapter is full of a lot of great things, in my opinion. Well, and one or two not so great things. Please feel free to review and let me know what you think.

Happy reading!

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Do I look okay?" I asked for the tenth time as I brushed my hair away from my face.

"You look great." Adrian assured me. "It's just supper with my dad."

"Your dad, who is one of the royals who takes his position in life very seriously." I smoothed a hand over my blouse and watched as Adrian headed towards the door.

He helped me into my coat and then put on his own. "He's mostly full of hot air, honey. You'll be fine." He slipped an arm around my waist as he guided me out the door.

We didn't talk much. I took comfort in the warmth of his body close to mine. After a short walk, he stopped in front of a large house. There was a set of guardians standing outside the door. I caught a glimpse of another pair patrolling around the house. Adrian noticed them too, and it seemed he was a bit concerned.

We were ushered inside and were greeted by Nathan Ivashkov in the foyer. He held out a hand to his son, ignoring me for as long as possible. Then he turned to me and gave me a tight smile. "Miss Sage." He said before turning and walking into a sitting room. He didn't look back to see if we followed.

"Mom?" Adrian said when he saw a woman I didn't recognize.

"Hello, Adrian." She stood and walked toward him. "I've missed you so much." She pulled him into a hug and he hugged her back. I could see the resemblance in my fiancée.

He let go and I could see his eyes glistening slightly. "What are you doing here?"

"I have some friends in high places. They pulled a few strings and got me home for Christmas." She lifted up her pant leg slightly. "House arrest. And I suppose you noticed the guardians outside."

Adrian stepped back and held out a hand to me. "This is my fiancée Sydney."

"Sydney, hello. I'm Daniella."

"Lady Ivashkov, it's lovely to meet you."

"Daniella, please. And it's lovely to meet you, Sydney."

Nathan snorted and mumbled something that sounded like, "Fucking human."

Adrian glared at his father a moment and then turned back to his mother with a smile. "Even though it's only a short time, Mom, I'm glad you're here."

"I'm glad I'm here too."

Daniella was kind to me all through dinner. Nathan, on the other hand, went out of his way to be rude to me, going so far as to exclude me from the conversation. Adrian held my hand and worked hard to get me included again whenever that happened.

When the meal was finally over, Adrian hugged his mother tight to him and told her for the hundredth time how happy he was to see her.

"I'll come back before we leave. I promise."

"If I could leave…Maybe I can pull some more strings." She smiled through the tears falling down her cheeks.

He hugged her once more. "I'll be back."

She pulled me into an unexpected hug. "You take good care of him." She whispered to me.

"I plan on it." I patted her back awkwardly.

It started snowing as we made our way back to Adrian's apartment. He stopped and looked up at the sky, catching snowflakes on his tongue. He laughed. "This has turned into the best day ever."

I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, ignoring the few Moroi and dhampirs milling around on the road around us. He hugged me back, lifting me up and spinning me around.

"For anyone who cares, I love this woman!" He announced.

A few snickered. Mostly they ignored him.

I pressed a quick kiss to his lips and then stepped back. "You drank a little bit too much."

"Maybe just a smidge." He said with a laugh.

I tried to hide a yawn, but he saw it.

"Come on, I'll get you back. We'll play in the snow once we've had some sleep."

"That sounds great." I yawned again unashamedly.

A few minutes later, I peeled off my snow-dampened clothes and pulled on a pair of sweats and one of Adrian's shirts. I climbed into bed just as my fiancé walked in.

He handed me a cup of hot chocolate. "Here, honey. That will help warm you up."

"Thank you." I held the cup between my hands and sipped it, warming up my insides.

Adrian got in beside me with his own cup and leaned against the headboard. "So what did you think of my mom?"

"I liked her. I'm happy you got to see her."

"Me too." He sighed. "Wonder if they would let me pull those strings for our wedding."

"You can try." I sipped more of my hot chocolate. "She seemed tolerant of me."

"She's pretty tolerant, for the most part. I think though, like the rest of the Moroi, that no matter how much she likes you, you're still human. That makes her nervous. That makes the rest of them nervous."

"It shouldn't. I'm the breeder for more guardians."

"Takes two to tango, baby." He smirked at me. "I've told you, Rose has told you, and Jill has told you that we don't have to be part of this life. Our children don't have to be part of it. Don't ever, for one second, trivialize our love for each other and the lives that we create just for their benefit. Because it won't be. Our kids will be ours to train and raise as we see fit."

"You want them trained?"

"I think it would be in their best interest to train them in hand-to-hand combat. Just to be safe. I want them to know who they are. I don't want to pretend that they're human when they're not. They'll know better. And I want them to have a choice."

"To become fighters?" I asked softly.

"To make their own path. You and I didn't really get that for a long time, especially you." He put his cup on the table and stood. He undressed as he went on. "I don't want to control them. And I don't want to control you, honey. If you don't agree with this, then tell me."

"It makes sense." I replied, finishing my drink and setting it on the table. "I don't know. I just never pictured my children as fighters."

"Like I said, they don't have to be. But we shouldn't tell them they can't be."

I nodded and scooted down on the bed. "Are you coming to bed?"

"Of course." He jumped onto the mattress and pulled me close. He nipped at my neck with a growl. "Take your shirt off."

I giggled, "Why don't you take it off for me?"

He lifted my shirt off over my head.

I tangled my fingers in his hair.

He continued to bite and suck on my skin. I felt myself relax even more than I already was. I sighed and pulled his mouth up to mine. I flipped him onto his back. I smiled down at him nervously.

"What are you going to do?" He asked, that signature smirk in place.

I covered his mouth with mine. Our tongues danced together as I slid my hands up his chest. I tangled my fingers in his hair as I raised my mouth from his. "You have to tell me when to stop if I go too far."

He combed his fingers through my hair. "Don't worry, I will."

I lowered my mouth to his again, kissing him briefly. I planted feather-light kisses along his jaw. My kisses became more insistent as they moved down his neck and across his shoulder. I made my way back to his neck and he moaned when my lips brushed across his collarbone. I clamped my mouth down and sucked tentatively.

I'd never really done this before. I had kissed several inches of his body, but never had I been this brazen. I was always too nervous. But I knew the time was right. I knew this was what he wanted.

He moaned again and caressed my shoulder as I sucked harder. "God, Sydney." He sighed.

I removed my mouth and kissed the spot softly. I moved my mouth lower, smoothing my hands down his chest. I nibbled on his skin the way he'd done mine. He sighed. I found his hand and tangled our fingers together as I kissed every inch of him I could get to hungrily.

"Time to stop." He sighed.

I looked up from just above his navel. "Okay." I pressed one more kiss to his stomach. I sat back, not letting go of his hand. "I'm sorry." I said softly, looking at our joined hands. The tent his erection made in his pants caught my eye. "Do you need to go deal with that?"

"I'll be fine for a little bit longer. It might even go away on its own."

"You don't want it to, though." I stretched out beside him.

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, one of us should get at least a little satisfaction, right?"

He gave me a concerned look. "You mean you don't do it?"

I shook my head and looked away in embarrassment.

"Hey." He turned my face back to his. "You don't have to, but you should try it sometime. Not necessarily now, but, you know, eventually."

"We're going to be married in less than a year."

"Ten months can be excruciatingly long." He rolled into me and pressed a kiss to my neck. "I can give you a few pointers."

I giggled. "Maybe I can just figure a thing or two out. Or we can just, you know, give in."

"I don't want you to just give in." He leaned over me. "Unless you're ready." He kissed me. "If you haven't noticed, I am."

I could feel the pressure of his erection against my thigh. I kissed him, pulling him on top of me.

He rolled away. "No, not like this."

My heart sank. "I thought you said…" I sighed and rolled away. "Never mind."

"Sydney." He draped an arm over me and kissed my neck. "I want it to be perfect, unhurried."

"It doesn't have to be hurried tonight." I argued uncertainly.

"No, it doesn't." He stroked my arm. "But I'm not really prepared… I mean, I've brought girls here before…I'm bad at this." He pressed his eyes into my shoulder. "I'm sorry." He got out of bed.

I rolled over in time to see him walk out of the room. He slammed the bathroom door behind himself. I rolled back over and groaned into my pillow. I felt the tears stinging my eyes. I didn't want to let them fall. It was stupid. I berated myself as I pulled my shirt back on.

The bed shifted under his weight. I rolled over and watched as he turned out the light beside the bed and pulled the blanket over his shoulders. I moved behind him and wrapped an arm around him. I kissed his shoulder.

"I love you." I whispered. "I do. I'm the one who should apologize."

"No, not you."

"Why not me?" I kissed his shoulder again. "Hey, roll over and look at me."

He rolled onto his back. "I won't force you."

"You're not." I kissed him deeply.

"What do you want, Sydney?" He asked against my lips.

"I just want you to kiss me. Hold me. Touch me." I kissed him softly. "Let me feel loved."

He slipped his hands up my back and pulled me down. "Every day. I promise."

And then he kissed me, holding me close. I clung to him, moaning into his mouth. His hand slipped down my back and cupped my bottom. I moaned again, surprising myself.

He chuckled into my mouth and broke the kiss. "It's late."

"It's not like I don't want to never have sex with you."

"I know that."

"I want to. I really want to."

"I know that, too."

"So why did you stop?"

"I don't want it to be in this bed. I don't want it to be in this apartment. I don't want it to be here at Court." He pushed my hair away from my face with one hand. The other still cupped my backside. "I want it to be when I know you won't be filled with guilt over the act. I want you to be happy that it happened. I want us both to bask in it all."

I rested my forehead against his. "I want all that too."

"Let's just go to sleep, honey. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. We have the party. Let's rest up. We have all the time in the world to figure all this out."

He didn't remove his hands from me, so I rested my head on the pillow beside his head. He rubbed my back and I drifted off to sleep. He murmured into my ear about his love for me.