I watched with my wolf eyes, keeping to Marcus' side as he hunted. We were on the scent of a bear, but there were too many people in the area. If he turned off after the wrong scent, as he had once already, I was prepared to lunge in and stop him pursuing it. It was a good thing we'd kept his shred-wear. I'd done a good job of tearing the shirt when I tossed him to the ground earlier. I'd taken a chunk out of his shoulder at the same time, but he didn't seem to begrudge that at all.

"Thank you, Leah," he had said when he came out of his hunting frenzy. I dropped the cold white rock from my mouth into his hand and he replaced it in shoulder. "I'm glad you're here." He hugged my wolf neck then. I rubbed my snout on his cheek. "Let's walk a little closer and try again," he suggested.

And that was what we were doing. I could still smell the humans, and I kept watching, waiting, expecting him to break for one of their trails, but he didn't. He would turn his head, looking down the trail and then grunt before turning back to the bear. Now we were close. I started to ease up as Marcus crashed into the massive grizzly bear. He pinned the forepaws to the bear's sides and knocked him flat. It was over before I knew it.

He got up slowly. I watched warily, wondering if he would go after humans again. He shook a little but eventually was standing upright and still. "I'm all right," he said, trying to convince himself probably. "Let's go back and get our things."

I gave him my wolf smile, which he was able to recognize now, and we ran to where we'd stashed our bags, just outside the Banff town site. I got there first and phased. I was half dressed before he caught up. He wore a look of disappointment as he found himself a change of clothing. I watched closely as he changed. I could resist a little better than he could at this exact moment. Then I slung on my messenger bag and took his hand to walk into Banff. We stayed in the shadowy trees as the sun finished setting and stepped out as we approached one of the hotels.

The woman at the desk was eyeing Marcus appreciatively. She smiled broadly and welcomed us, well him, to the Banff Park Lodge.

"I'm looking for your most comfortable room for three nights." My eyes bulged slightly and I bit my lip a little as I looked at him from the corner of my eye. Three nights? I felt my heart start to race and my breath quicken.

"Of course, sir. I have our Royal Suite available. Would that be acceptable?"

"Royal, yes, that would be perfect," he said, turning his butterscotch eyes to me and making my knees knock. He pulled out several bills from his wad. "Will that be enough?" he asked.

"Yes..." the woman stammered, obviously not expecting to be paid in cash. "Just let me get your change."

Marcus' eyes didn't leave my face and I looked down, starting to blush. "No change," he said very quickly, grabbing the key she had set on the counter and sweeping me into his arms. We were suddenly in an elevator and he was kissing me. I was gasping against his lips for breath. "You know what that does to me," he said breathily, running his cold nose down my hot one. I closed my eyes as my chest continued to heave.

"Three days?" I asked incredulously.

He growled lightly. "At least. I might have to keep you here longer."

I shuddered at the implications. "And you don't plan to leave the room, do you?" I verified.

"Don't worry," he whispered in my ear now, his breath cold and wet. "I'll let you rest."

I quivered again. "What floor are we on anyway?" I was growling now. This elevator was moving far too slowly.

Marcus glanced down the hall and, seeing no one, was at our door in less than a second. My arms tensed around his neck. I was unaccustomed to that kind of speed through human eyes. Before I knew it, I was on the bed with a cold vampire hovering over me.

He slowed down abruptly. My heart and brain were still racing from the flight down the hall and the idea of three days in bed with Marcus. He kissed my forehead, then the space between my eyebrows, then the bridge of my nose, the tip. By the time he'd reached my lips they were smiling widely.

I brought my hands to his cheeks and held his icy lips to my hot ones. He leaned further into me and I laid back onto the pillows under me.

"I never dreamed..." he murmured. "I never imagined."

"What?" I asked.

"You. I never dreamed of you. I never imagined a woman so warm, so soft, and so strong."

"But-"

He hushed me with another kiss. "You are so different, so special. My second chance. My redemption." Now his lips were moving under my jaw, toward my ear. The cold was tingling through my neck and into my chest. I start trembling again and could feel my blood rushing, the blush tinting my skin.

Marcus growled low and soft before putting his lips back to mine, his tongue exploring my mouth now. Its ice spread over my own tongue, under it, along the inside of my lip. I gasped as he sucked my lip into his mouth. I felt his teeth.

He opened his mouth quickly and my lip slid out. I put a hand to my lip. It was numb with cold. "I'm sorry. That was... dangerous."

I attacked him suddenly. It might have been the adrenaline, it might have been something I sensed in him, but I knew I was taking charge now. I reached down to unfasten his pants and pushed them down with my feet. At the same time I crushed my lips to his and wrapped one leg over his hip.

He went rigid. I thought maybe he was afraid what his reaction would be. I didn't slow my attack. I kicked the other leg free of my pants and wrapped it around him as well. I was boiling again and the chill of his skin was perfect.

"Leah," he begged.

"Marcus," I demanded and met his golden eyes with my hungry gaze. It had the effect I'd hoped for. He moved quickly, too quickly and I was suddenly crushed against the headboard. I heard snapping. "Ow," I whispered now, putting a hand to my head. "Right. Teasing isn't nice. I'll remember next time." I pulled my hand away from the scrape in my scalp. "I need to get a towel for this." I rolled, but he was already up and back with a towel in hand. "Thanks." I pressed it in a wad to my head. I winced as I pulled it away a moment later, my hair was clotted in the wound.

"I'm so sorry, Leah." Marcus squatted at the edge of the bed next to me.

"Again. Scrapes heal fast. I'm just going to wash up." I kissed him lightly. His expression was so sad, so remorseful. "Here, look for yourself," I suggested tipping my head down. "It's all healed up already. Don't worry about it. Worry about paying for the damage to the bed." I said with a laugh.

I swung my legs around, but Marcus was still squatting there. He put his head into my lap. My pants fell from my leg. I could see goosebumps on my thighs where his head didn't cover them. I ran my hand through his hair over and over. I could feel his lips moving in that prayer of his. I sighed. "This isn't something that's going to go away, Marcus. You are always going to be stronger than me, especially like this."

"I know."

"So what do we do?" I asked now, looking down at him. His eyes were still closed.

"I wish I knew."

"How about, for now, you come take a shower with me? I really want to wash my hair. I might get you to cut it while we're here too." I put my hand to the clump of crusty hair. It crunched.

He rose slowly. "Let's clean you up." He took my hand leading me to the bathroom where he pulled off my shirt before slipping off his own. He turned the shower up hot and steam soon billowed throughout the room.

"Thanks," I said, kissing him lightly. I stepped in and let the water run through my hair. I closed my eyes and let the warmth soothe me. I hadn't known I needed soothing until it was already done. I felt chilly fingers in my hair and smelled shampoo. I opened my eyes to see Marcus looking down into my hair. I took a step forward and leaned onto him. The warm water and my warm skin made his coolness even colder. I shivered for a second before sighing and tucking my head into his shoulder. "That feels good," I murmured.

"Good." He let his fingers slide down to my neck, stroking, then ran them back up through my hair. My eyelids fluttered against his marble skin and I wondered if that tickled him. I straightened enough to turn my face to his. He understood my desire and put his lips gently to mine.

"Try that again?" I asked, smiling.

He smiled too and reached past me to turn off the water. He carried me back to the bed and started again, slowly this time. He put his lips beneath my ear and kissed along my neck – small kisses, and he pulled his lips away after each one.

His lips crossed my collarbone and along the inside of my left breast. I started to squirm, his pace never increasing. He kissed along my stomach, my navel, down the crease of my hip.

"Marcus," I moaned, lifting my hips to his face. He put his hands to my hips and held me still. He didn't answer but continued slowly down the inside of my leg. Now I was one whimpering. I felt myself throbbing, burning. I wanted him to cover me, to smother the flames. But he slowly kissed each of my toes on my left foot. He started on the ones on my right.

"Please," I begged. He kissed his was up my right leg, his tongue licking behind my knee and I bucked against his hands again. "Please."

"I won't deny you long." His voice was so low and quiet that I barely heard him. His mouth moved to my sex and I cried again. His cold breath made me burn. His hands left my hips and slid along my ribs as he kissed my lower lips.

"Yes," I moaned. "Yes, Marcus." I could feel myself dripping as I melted under him. I hooked my legs over his shoulders, opening myself for him. His hands traced my ribs and the bottom of my breasts. The chill mitigated the heat still burning in me. He used his cold tongue to cool my raging heat and I screamed for him, my hands moving to tangle in his hair. "Yes!"

When the tension in my legs eased, his tongue was no longer icy; I had melted him as well. He moved one hand to my right thigh, keeping it on his chest as he moved forward, over me. My eyes found his. The gold of his eyes was molten, warm, flaring. He pressed into me and I arched off the bed. He kissed the inside of my leg where it rested near his cheek and I squeezed him inside me. He was so hard and so cold. It was ecstasy to hold on while pleasure ripped through me. He moved carefully now, sliding slowly in and out of me. The fire in me was raging and I was groaning with his every thrust. I looked to his face between every one. His brow was creased in concentration.

I longed for him to let go, to be strong enough that he didn't have to take care. And even when he was, I was being destroyed and remade by him. I was no longer the angry, hurt woman I had been a few years ago. I wasn't even the happy girl I'd been before that. I was something new, something he had made. I was a woman, a woman who could match him even if I couldn't handle him. I could meet him on every front he wished. I would. I would be his mate, his opposite.

Somewhere in those thoughts, I felt him quaking inside me. I squeezed harder as my insides tried to steady him, tried to steady me. I screamed again as he erupted in me. My back fell back onto the mattress as my breath came in pants. He sighed and kissed my leg again. Then he lowered it to the bed and lay beside me, pulling me onto his chest. It was blessedly cool against the blush that sent a new wave of heat through me. He ran his hand through my hair and down my back. I shivered as his touch made me tingle.

"Was it hard?" I asked now.

"Not any harder than choosing not to hunt the humans. I takes a little more focus, that's all."

I hugged him tightly. "I'm glad."

"It wouldn't matter if it was more difficult. I would do it, gladly." He kissed the top of my head. "And not for my own relief."

I smiled and closed my eyes.

When I opened them next, I was under the covers. I threw them off quickly and rolled onto Marcus. He chuckled. "Too warm?"

"Yes," I complained. Then I saw he had my laptop out. "What are you doing?"

"Exchanging messages with Carlisle. He and Alice have helped me set up an account for us. We will be able to see to our own needs soon."

I sighed in content. "And you have an email address?"

"I might have borrowed yours for a few moments until I set up my own." He chuckled. "I needed some help to walk through that."

"Luddite," I teased.

He laughed. "Worse, I think. I haven't opened the messages that were yours. Would you like to read them now?"

"No. I think I want to lay here and watch you."

He closed the lid. I pouted. He turned to me and kissed me again. "I can think of better things to do."

I blushed and he took a deep breath. When his eyes opened they were fiery. He kissed me gently, though, moving until he was between my legs. "Unless you'd rather just watch me?"

"Who's teasing now," I argued, throwing my legs around his hips and pulling him to me.

He laughed and put his mouth to my neck. It was still a strange sensation when he opened his mouth on my throat. Not that he couldn't kill me as easily biting me anywhere else, but I felt so much more vulnerable this way. Some nerve must run straight from my throat to my loin because it always got the same quick reaction. I used my legs to pull myself over him and he started rocking with me.

"Marcus," I whispered.

"I love you, Leah."

My eyes opened. Seth had said it before and now I was confronted with the thought again. Love. What did I know of love? I knew the love of family, of the pack. I thought I'd loved Sam, and that he loved me. But was this? Did I know that kind of love?

Marcus sensed my sudden preoccupation and stopped. "Is something wrong?"

"Not wrong," I clarified. "You love me," I repeated.

He smiled broadly and his eyes lit up. "Yes, very much. You are my life. I haven't had a life for a long, long time. And I haven't loved for a long, long time."

I thought about that for a moment. Marcus did know love. He had lost his mate; she hadn't betrayed him, she had been betrayed. He was certain and I trusted that. I kissed him now, urging him to continue, but he didn't.

"What else?"

I didn't know how to say it. "I don't know..."

He put a hand to one of my legs and it dropped from him. I didn't even realize I'd let go. He laid beside me again and pulled me on top of him. "Think on it, and let me know."

I sighed and closed my eyes again. "I thought Sam loved me. I thought that was love, but it couldn't have been. If it had, he wouldn't have imprinted on Emily. Okay, I don't know that," I allowed. "I don't believe he would have, though. He would have imprinted on me."

"Yes. Perhaps he did love you, just not in quite the same way he loves Emily."

That didn't help me. "How do I know if I love you?" I asked him now, propping myself up to look in his eyes.

He held my eyes. I blinked several times but never saw him do the same. After several minutes, I sighed and put my head back down.

He stroked my hair again. "I can't tell you."

"Right."

I felt an odd twitch beneath me and my smile returned. "I don't need to know right now," I admitted, sliding down and sitting up on him.

I didn't get far in teasing him by riding before he turned over and thrust fully into me. I gasped and shivered. This time he held both my legs as he stroked in and out of me. I quickly flipped a pillow behind my head, just in case. He smiled and chuckled. I tried to rock myself against his thrusts and he groaned, tightening his grip on me. I grinned, using my kegels to squeeze him harder. His eyes were closed now and his brow furrowed again in concentration. I twisted in his grasp and he released me with another groan. His head bowed into me and I kissed the top of it as he came inside me.

"Well. That was rather ungentlemanly."

"Not unmanly, though," I said with a smirk. I felt his hand tighten on my ass and giggled. "Oh, are you going to spank me? Am I a bad puppy?" My grin was mocking now and he narrowed his eyes. He seemed unsure. Very cautiously he released his hand and swatted my buttock. It made a satisfying crack and I giggled again.

"Hmm." He watched my reaction a little longer. "Not a bad puppy, no," he whispered into my ear, "A very," he started thrusting again, "very good puppy."

I moaned now and gripped his shoulders. "Oh good. Because I don't plan on stopping."

"Good, good puppy," he murmured, increasing his speed but not thrust. He was practically vibrating he was moving so fast and I tried to close on him, but couldn't.

"Oh! Yes!" I screamed now. "How?" I couldn't quite think. I certainly couldn't get the whole thought out. How was he doing that? Would he please, please not stop.

He didn't need me to verbalize, thank god. I cried again and again as I tried to clench on him. Finally he reached his limit as well and held himself deep inside me as I spasmed over his length. Waiting for the orgasm to subside.

"Sleep?" I asked.

"Already? Well, all right." He kissed me and rolled me atop him again, letting the heat drain from me. "Don't sleep too long though." He stroked my hair as I fell asleep.