I had never stayed in such a beautiful place before. I'd been to hotels of course, and seen some really nice ones, but the rooms in the palace were really amazing. It wasn't just that they were decorated so opulently, but everything about them was just so accommodating. Our room had a fresh fruit basket and a bottle of wine resting in a silver ice bucket as well as a fully stocked little mini fridge full of bottled water, sodas and snacks. There were fresh flowers in vases scattered about the rooms, including the bathroom. The bathroom itself was a modern wonder with a huge walk-in shower and jacuzzi tub. Spa quality shampoo, conditioner, and lotion adorned the counter along with other beauty products. The cabinet over the sink held new toothbrushes, disposable razors, deodorant, and even tampons. They had thought of everything to make a human feel at home here. We were obviously in one of the rooms designed for humans because of the huge windows in the French doors that led to our balcony. There was a small table and a pair of chairs there so that guests could dine al fresco and enjoy the view.

In spite of Eric's horrible circumstances, I was actually looking forward to spending some time here with him. Odd as it was, it could be like a little mini-vacation for us. We had thoroughly enjoyed the drive down to New Orleans. Eric's enthusiastic love for sunshine was contagious, so it was impossible not to appreciate the scenery. Plus, spending hours in a car with him reminded me just how much fun he was to be around. Even in dire circumstances, he maintained his sense of humor and couldn't have been more pleasant company. I'd gotten used to the sound of his new voice and was starting to feel more comfortable with his body as well. I watched him sleeping in the car, and thought, it's funny, you know—I never saw it before, but Bob was actually quite handsome.

After our big meeting with the vamps, we had an even bigger meeting that included the New Orleans witches. There were about a dozen of them, including Amelia and Octavia. The first thing they did was ask Eric to describe in detail what Bob was doing when the body switch happened. Then they discussed among themselves what spell he had most likely used. They felt fairly confident that if we could find Eric's body with Bob in it, of course, they could most likely reverse the spell and return Eric to his rightful body. The tricky part was that we'd have to have Bob's cooperation. Even with the right spell, they would need to know the exact wording Bob used because even the slightest alteration could mean a disaster. When I asked what exactly they meant by "disaster," they said that if performed improperly, one or both souls could become lost and unable to enter either body. I didn't even want to consider what that might mean.

As the night wore on, the humans became very tired. The witches left and Victor suggested that Eric and I retire. He promised that Anthony would brief us in the morning if any progress was made while we slept. We said our goodnights and Rasul led us back to our room, assuring us that he would be outside our door until dawn.

I got ready for bed and climbed in beside Eric. I fluffed our pillows and lay down facing him, taking his hand in mine. "Eric, there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it, lover?"

"I know that this is completely your thing. Your body. Your life. But I want you to know how I feel. If there's any possibility of that thing happening—that thing where your soul gets out and can't find its way into a body, I don't want you to do this. I'm sure the prospect of living out a human lifetime inside this body is awful for you. You'd have a relatively short life span and have to suffer the human frailties that you left behind a very long time ago, but at least you'd have something. Or you could always get Pam to turn you if the thought of living a human life is just too awful for you. But an existence without a body sounds scarier than I care to even think about. If you don't go through with the ceremony, at least we could still be together. I love you and don't want to lose you, and I don't know how we could manage if you didn't have a body at all. I don't even know what that would be."

Eric smiled a sad smile and squeezed my hand. "My beautiful lover. Would it repulse you terribly if I were to hold you?"

"Of course not, sweetie."

Eric scooted towards me and took me in his arms and we just held each other for a long time. His hand stroked my back and his face nuzzled my neck. Finally, he whispered into my ear, "I love you so much." I pulled my head back and looked into his eyes before tenderly kissing his lips. My hands stroked his back, his arms, his neck. The kiss deepened and I pulled him closer to me still until he stopped abruptly and pushed me away. I looked at him with questioning eyes. He reached beyond me and turned the lamp off. "I don't want you to have to look at me."

I sat up and took a deep breath, contemplating my next move. I climbed out of bed and went into the bathroom, retrieving a few choice items. I lit a candle and placed it on the nightstand. Our bed glowed and the soft light flattered Eric's intense stare. "I think it's time I got to know this body a little. Roll over, baby."

Eric looked puzzled but complied, lying on his stomach but keeping his face turned so he could see me. I opened the bottle of lotion and poured a generous dollop into my hands, rubbing them together to warm it. I straddled Eric's butt and began massaging his back and shoulders. Almost immediately, he relaxed and softly moaned in pleasure. I took my time and smoothed lotion into every muscle of his arms, shoulders, back. I scooted down a bit and helped myself to two handfuls of his bottom. I kneaded and rubbed, eliciting more moans from Eric and feeling my own arousal building. I dismounted and knelt beside his body, pushing the sheet to the foot of the bed, and began massaging down first one leg and then the other. Both feet got lots of attention as well.

When I was satisfied that I had covered every inch of his back with the lotion, I told him to turn over. My heart skipped a beat when I saw his erection. I'd certainly seen it before in my kitchen, but this time I found it to be beautiful and ached to touch it. I began working my way up Eric's shins and thighs, never taking my eyes off of his perfectly lovely arousal. When his legs were done, I straddled his thighs and began to smooth lotion over his stomach and chest. I leaned forward to reach his upper chest and arms and felt his erection brush between my breasts through the fabric of my nightgown. Eric gasped and I looked up to see his eyes closed and an expression of pure pleasure on his face. I felt myself grow wetter and tingle at the anticipation of more contact with his member. I massaged down first one arm and then the other, giving special attention to each hand as I came to it. Then I returned my hands to Eric's abdomen. I pushed myself back a little, gently lowering my face onto his erection, rubbing my cheek along the velvety skin. I turned my face into him and pressed my lips to the center of his shaft. I was lost in the sensual pleasure of the soft skin of my face against the soft skin of his beautiful erection and kept rubbing my face and lips up and down on him. I wanted nothing more than to put him in my mouth and let my tongue feel what my lips were feeling. I heard Eric take a ragged breath and whisper a soft, "Please."

I opened my mouth to steal a little lick when I suddenly stopped and sat up. "Oh my god. I can't do this."

"I'm sorry. I know. It's so small and ugly."

"No, no, honey." I actually laughed. "It's…you're beautiful. I want to. But it's not safe. Sweetie, we don't know where it's been." His eyes widened at my words. "You're human. You might have some std or something."

"Fuck. You're right. I hadn't even considered that. They have tests for that, don't they?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't help us tonight, obviously." I lay back down beside him. "I'm sorry, baby. Here. I can still take care of you."

I put some lotion into my hand and placed his tip in my palm. I wrapped my fingers around him and began stroking and twisting, pushing and pulling. He felt so good in my slippery grasp.

Eric's breathing immediately sped up and he reached for me, pulling me to him for a passionate kiss. I opened my mouth and his tongue swirled around mine. An involuntary moan escaped me. My free hand dropped and joined the one pumping him so that every inch of flesh between his legs got plenty of attention. The deeper into my mouth Eric's tongue explored, the faster my hands worked. My own body tingled with want and I instinctively draped a leg over Eric's, opening myself to him. The passion kept building as we both moaned with pleasure. I knew he was getting close and squeezed tighter. Eric broke the kiss, burying his face in my hair as he cried out. I covered his tip with one hand and caught the warm liquid reward, mingling it with the lotion and gently slowing my strokes. Eric's cries of pleasure turned to soft whimpers and so I stopped, still holding him tightly. His breathing began to slow and he kissed my hair, cheek, lips, while covering my sticky hands with one of his own. He continued kissing me softly as he reached behind him, blindly fumbling for something on the nightstand. His hand returned to mine with some tissues as he helped clean me up. He tossed the used tissues into a wastebasket by the bed and then turned back to me with a look that can only be described as hungry. We both smiled, knowing what was next as I rolled onto my back, ready to be spoiled.