Ulrich and Gerry were already seated in the large office provided by the hotel for our use when William arrived and moments later the door opened again and two vampires walked in, escorted by one of Ulrich's security guards.

"Good evening Herr Von Schroeder" said the guard. "This is Anneke de Vries, media relations advisor to Gustaaf Van Straten the King of New York and Jeroen Meyer his press secretary."

"Media Relations Advisor!"

"I've told you before that things are very different now. A vampire in his position has a public image to keep up. Besides, you can't expect him to make all the arrangements himself...he is the King after all!"

William sat down at the head of the large table in the middle of the office as Ulrich rose to greet the newcomers. The woman was tall and blond, dressed in an elegant silk suit and clearly very sure of herself. Her companion was dark with a short, neatly trimmed beard and he gave Ulrich a polite nod of greeting.

"Herr Von Schroeder." His eyes slid across the table to where William sat, silent, but he said nothing. Gerry had moved to stand behind William's shoulder and watched as Ulrich pulled out a chair for Ms de Vries. He introduced everyone and I noticed both the New Yorkers' eyes sliding back to William every few moments. By now I was used to the differing reactions we received from other vampires. They varied from unthinking worship to stark disbelief. William tended to hold himself slightly aloof from discussions of this type and let Ulrich handle the details. I had come to understand that this was a technique that they had arranged between them.

Meyer, the press secretary, reached into his briefcase and brought out a list of everyone who had so far accepted their invitation to the Reception. Ulrich looked over the list and approved it.

"Hmmm...two Magisters! We're highly honoured!" He grinned at William who smiled back pleasantly and asked. "Which two?"

"Europe and North America" answered Ulrich glancing back down at the list.

"So who are they?" I asked curiously.

"Olivier Bertrand and Jorje Alonso de San Diego. Olivier is pleasant enough but Jorje is a nasty piece of work in my opinion."

He turned to Ulrich. "Which Monarchs will be attending?"

Ulrich ran a finger down the list. "New York, obviously, Illinois and Indiana, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Oklahoma have all confirmed. There are one or two others from the east coast states who will probably turn up.

He turned to the two newcomers. "Anything else we should know?"

They exchanged a brief glance. "The usual. The Fellowship of the Sun are organising demonstrations both here and at the venue but our security can deal with them, they've been thoroughly briefed."

There was some more casual talk but it appeared that Ulrich was satisfied with the arrangements and after some more polite conversation the two representatives of the New York Monarch left with Gerry accompanying them.

William turned to Ulrich. "I told Alex and Azaria that they were not to leave the hotel without security. Does that apply to me as well?"

"Most certainly!" he answered sharply. "Why? Where do you want to go?"

"I'd like to get a gift for Alex, some jewellery perhaps, something she could wear to the Reception."

He thought for a moment. "I'll arrange for someone to contact some of the Jewellers on Fifth Avenue and bring some in for you to look at."

So William and I spent a pleasant few hours examining some very beautiful jewellery. Rather to my annoyance he refused to listen to my advice and insisted on choosing a matching bracelet and ring himself. We returned to the suite near dawn to find Alex still sleeping peacefully. William stripped off his clothing and slid into the bed beside her carefully, so as not to wake her and drifted off into his daytime sleep.

He woke at dusk to see Alex sitting up against the headboard reading a book. As his eyes moved over her I felt a jolt of arousal run through his body like a lightning strike. She was wearing what appeared to be a slip of transparent fabric trimmed with black lace which was clearly not designed either for warmth or indeed comfort!

"Well good evening Miss Morgan" he drawled, his eyes moving over the pale skin clearly visible beneath the lace.

"Good evening Mr Compton" she replied politely. "Did you sleep well?"

"Very well indeed thank you." he replied equally politely. "I take it that you've been shopping? I feel sure I'd remember that outfit if I'd ever seen it before!"

She looked down at him with a frankly seductive smile. "Yes, Susie and I had a very successful day thank you."

"I can see that!" he said. "I hope you bought something a little more...conservative for the party? Not that I don't find that outfit quite charming mind you." he added quickly.

I didn't know about charming, he was certainly finding it highly arousing! Before she could react he had flipped her onto the bed on her back and was crouching over her, his mouth fastened on her breast. The skimpy nightdress was held together over her breasts with a silk ribbon. William's mouth closed over the ribbon and he began to tug at it. I felt his growl of satisfaction as the ribbon parted and the garment fell open revealing her warm bare flesh.

"William." I whispered.

"Not now please!"

"William please! Let me join you..."

"What? Now?"

"Oh please William...allow me to share this pleasure with you?"

Alex pushed her hand down between their bodies and I felt William's groan of pleasure as she curled her fingers around his stiff member and began to stroke the cool, soft skin, squeezing him gently but firmly in her hand.

"Please William" I begged. "I won't interfere I promise I just want to share this with you."

He leaned forward, resting his forehead gently against hers for a moment.

"Very well...but you will do nothing, understand me?. Nothing that would let Alex know you are with me!"

"I promise!"

I felt him relax and suddenly I was back, my consciousness flowing out of his mind like water, pouring into his body. I could feel everything, the tense muscles of his thighs as he crouched over Alex's prone body, the touch of her warm skin against his, the tight, urgent heat of his erection. Just as I had when he allowed me this freedom to join him on the motorcycle I felt an urge to act, to take over. I had not done it the first time as I didn't know what to do, but I was sure I could cope with this! But even as this thought occurred to me I paused. I had no idea how Alex would react if she discovered that he had allowed me to share his pleasure in her body but I was pretty sure that she wouldn't be happy with him. He trusted me! He had cared for me and helped me despite my actions. I found that, strangely, I wanted to be worthy of his trust and so I remained quiet and unobtrusive as William made love to Alex. But this time, instead of merely being aware of his pleasure, it was as though I felt it myself, I was William, his pleasure was mine as well.