AN: I'm glad I asked for feedback, because the Tanya hinting was what I was most nervous about. Rest assured, though, I feel the same way you do, which means we can all relax. ;)

—

Chapter 27:

—

The next couple days were spent nursing Bella back to health and getting to know our new friends from Denali. Tanya had assigned us a guest room all to ourselves and Bella and I were quite happy for that. Kate was disappointed that Bella wouldn't be sleeping with her, she'd had her heart set on a real sleepover, but she was placated again when Bella reminded her that vampires don't sleep. Kate had honestly seemed to forgotten for a moment, swept up in her enthusiasm of the other girl's humanity.

But Bella and I made good use of the privacy, enjoying the much needed alone-time. It felt like forever since we'd had some moments together, just the two of us with no one in between. At night while the other ladies of the house were occupying themselves in various ways—Kate playing video games online, Carmen doing some late night gardening, Tanya at a grandpiano somewhere filling the mansion with a soft and lonely melody—Bella and I were in bed, just cuddling and whispering. We talked about her becoming a vampire and the kind of life we were going to live, whether not we wanted to stay with the Denali's or move to England by ourselves. We came to no solid conclusions and it was always a matter of time before her hands began doing the talking for her. Cupping my breast and stroking it idly until the nipple became hard. Leaning in the darkness to find it with her mouth under the covers. Her tongue was still very sore but she was quite capable of a gentle suckle. I let her go ahead, cautioning her in whispers to be gentle. Not for my sake. For hers. Her body was still so damaged. I could feel the thin scabs of the cuts on her back as I stroked her and moaned under her mouth. Little marks in her perfect skin that were proof of the kind of woman she was becoming. How strong. How generous. How loving. Her hand by now was between my thighs and she was rubbing me down there very gently as she suckled at my nipples, one then the other. I moaned in the darkness with my eyes closed to a deeper darkness. Nobody in the bed but Bella and I. Just us. Me and my love. I heaved slightly from the growing want between my legs and eventually she inserted some fingers inside me and went down to suckle at that throbbing nub of my clitoris. I moaned again and whispered to her how much I loved her and she moaned as well and bought me a climax that arched my back sensuously and filled my head with nothing but Bella, Bella, Bella. My Bella.

Unfortunately it wasn't possible just yet to return the affections. Her vagina was still very sore and it required a couple days before she could be painlessly touched down there. Our hosts were very understanding. Considering the lust-based beginning of our relationship it was remarkable how we could all settle into an almost purely platonic friendship. Kate and Bella enjoyed a little fooling around and Tanya and I were perhaps a bit indulgent with greeting kisses but there were no repeats of our first night together. No orgies or even mentions of them. Just playful flirting. We all seemed rather satisfied with only friendship for the moment and yet at the same time quite willing for things to evolve. Kate in particular was counting the days until she could experiment with her new BFF's warm human body. Tanya as well seemed eager to get to know me more thoroughly as soon as possible but I wouldn't have felt quite right indulging in such things while Bella could not.

To my surprise all the Denali women had jobs and careers and identities in the human world. Kate and Irena worked at a fashion magazine and Tanya, to my even greater surprise, was a model. I wouldn't have thought a woman as mature and intelligent as Tanya would find much fulfilment in that line of work but I suppose she did have a weakness for all things sexual. Kate showed us some of her shoots on a laptop and many of them were quite mind-blowing. Lingerie, evening dresses, modest nudes. Some of the shoots were years apart and yet the blonde they beheld had not aged a day. I had never understood the point of pretending to be human when you could be fucking your mate or stalking prey instead but these Denali women had opened my eyes to all sorts of possibilities lately. I could quite easily imagine myself in the same line of work as Tanya or perhaps behind the camera instead of in front of it.

Carmen was the only one without a job. The life of a career woman seemed to hold little appeal for a person of Carmen's conventional sensibilities and instead she fancied herself something of a stay at home sort. Much of her day was occupied by housework—an extensive responsibility in a mansion so large. And a rather strained arrangement as well with now a human to take care of and shop for and stock the bathroom. It forced the poor woman to actually speak to us, much to her horror, but at least she could do so without carrying a crucifix with her. She was Catholic, apparently, and she prayed at a nearby church quite regularly. Personally I preferred to prey on people rather than pray for them but each to their own. Or perhaps she prayed for the souls of all the poor animals she'd fed from. Either way it was a charming habit and I found it quite interesting. Bella had taken an interest in her too by now and like me she seemed to find a certain delight in the other woman's glares and snide insults. The two of us were extremely polite to the Spanish beauty, bestowing her with smiles whenever we saw her, and yet everything seemed to infuriate her—which only made us smile more.

It was our forth morning in the mansion when I noticed that Bella's cuts had begun to close up. It was late morning when she woke up, after ten, and after kissing her good morning and admiring her once again flawless face I spent some time examining her body as well. The sunlight was bright from the tall windows and there were only one or two of the deeper cuts still visible. Aside from that her body was perfect again. I kissed her everywhere, her tummy and breasts and her shoulders as well, and then I kissed her mouth and stroked her neck lovingly. I could feel the roughness of the gauze pad under my palm but even that was healing well. The stitches could be removed the day after tomorrow and soon after that it would be gone.

She was returning the kiss with her tongue and I realized that must be feeling better too. I broke the kiss to examine it, playfully pinching her actual tongue between my thumb and forefinger to tug it out while she tried not to giggle. It seemed completely perfect and I leaned to give it a lick. There was something so obscenely romantic about licking her actual tongue and she seemed to feel it as well. She moaned as I sucked on it and wrapped her arms around me and then she rolled me onto my back and began to use that tongue on the rest of my body.

First on my breasts, licking them and sucking at my nipples while she rubbed my entrance. It was already quite moist and horny and I moaned very pleasurably as she finally licked her tongue across it. It felt like days since I had felt that particular sensation and I realized that it really had been days. I hadn't known how much I missed it. God it felt so perfect. Of all the things throughout the centuries that I had done with my body or had done to it there was nothing that ever felt so perfect, so right, as my mate's tongue licking so lovingly at me down there. I moaned and heaved softly, my heart swollen in my chest, and my breathing became deeper and deeper until finally the orgasm came to me and swept over me and arched my spine off the mattress.

Bella was still licking down there and I smiled as I watched her. So beautiful. So attentive. Her eyes lifted to mine as she gave my vagina one last little kiss and then she crawled on top of me and settled her chest on mine to gaze into my eyes.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do that," she whispered with a hint of impishness. "I just don't feel right when I'm not going down on you. Nothing ever feels more perfect than when I'm licking you down there."

I chuckled lovingly at how her feelings were a mirror of mine. I stroked her hair back and gazed into her dark eyes. "I feel the same way, baby," I whispered to her. "Speaking of which…"

I rolled her onto her back and she instantly opened her legs and grinned in anticipation. I gave that grin a few kisses and then I shifted down between her legs.

Her pussy wasn't wet but it was warm and soft and there was a soft scent of arousal emanating from it. I gave it a small kiss and the touch of that softness on my lips as like magic. It had been so long since I'd kissed her here. She shivered from it and gave a small moan.

"How does it feel, baby?" I asked her, whispering onto her lowerlips as I kissed them again. "Does it feel good?"

"Yes," she said with urgency in her voice.

Normally I might've been tempted to tease her somehow but at the moment I had no desire in the world but to simply love her. My only concern was how she felt. I gave it another kiss, firmer this time, and a tentative lick. She shivered again.

"Do you have any pain?" I asked in that same gentle voice, speaking inside her.

"No," she said. "All I feel is how badly I need you."

I licked again, longer this time, harder. She moaned and squirmed slightly on the bed. I smiled at her entrance and I was in no hurry. It felt so nice to be face to face with it again after so long. My lover's special place. Her core. Forget her heart. This is where true love is.

I leaned and flatted my tongue against it and gave her such a long hard lick that she whimpered and shuddered.

"Oh, Vicky," she said, almost in a whimper. "I've missed you so much."

"I've been here the whole time, baby."

"I know," she said, gazing down at me with her beautiful dark eyes. "But not like this."

I smiled at her as I kissed her entrance. I knew exactly how she felt.

"Just lay there and relax," I told her softly. "Let me know if it hurts."

She nodded and closed her eyes and let her head drift back on the pillow.

I closed my eyes as well and pressed my mouth to her vagina.

She was already getting wet, both from arousal and my saliva. I stroked one of her thighs as I continued to lick her and then I used that hand to reach for one of her breasts. She liked that and she held the hand there as I continued to lick her and lick her and lick her. I had almost forgotten how warm and delicious she was down here. Hunger was stirring in my stomach and soon I was moaning even louder than she was. The lower part of my face was slathered in her wetness and my head was hazy from the insane scent of her. If there was anything that felt more perfect than her own mouth at my entrance it was this. Nothing could compare to her taste, her heat. Her whimpers and moans. Her breathing was getting faster and faster and finally she climaxed with her vagina squeezing on my tongue and her hands clutching my own hand to her breast.

After I was done I stayed down there a while and licked and examined her for any damage. The cut I had made inside her hadn't been very deep so I'm sure it was healed by now and she seemed to have recovered from the fisting as well and even if her climax had come with any pain I'm sure she wouldn't mention it. I gave it a few more kisses. It was so wet and cute. I licked it again. She giggled, watching me, and it was the giggle that snapped me out of it. I smiled and rose up and crawled on top of her the way she used to do to me. Chest to chest. Eye to eye. Our faces only inches apart. She had closed her legs and I was straddling her hips. I smiled and cupped her and face and gave her mouth a kiss. She kissed me back and then she took a deep breath and smiled.

"Thank you, Vicky," she said. "I've been waiting for that for ages."

This time I did feel a little playfulness. "It was four days, baby," I teased her. "What kind of whore are you?"

She snorted a chuckle, still breathing a little deeply from her orgasm, and smirked. "I'm your whore."

I smiled at that but I knew the truth was opposite. I was Bella's whore. I always had been. Ever since I had first laid eyes on her it was my destiny to exist only to love her and lick her and give her everything she wanted.

But I think I'll keep that a secret. Wouldn't want her to get cocky, would we?

Instead I gave her a kiss on her mouth, nice and deep. We shared a bit of tongue together and once again I was so glad to have this time alone. Just the two of us. Our relationship had been stretched a little thin lately. Too many orgies and threeways. Sometimes all a girl needed was her partner.

I deepen the kiss, getting ready to spend even more alone time with my mate, but then there was a knock on the bedroom door. The knock was rather rough and there was only one member of the household who was home during the day.

Carmen.

Bella and I grinned at each other. As much as we loved the alone time it wouldn't hurt to let Carmen stumble onto us while we were naked in bed with not even a sheet covering us. We were far too shameless to let the opportunity go and I quickly grinned and called out.

"Come in!"

The door opened and in she walked with a laundry basket at her hip. She was wearing a red cotton housedress and she stopped in her tracks when she saw us. On the bed. Naked. Tangled. Smiling at her. Her face darkened into loathing and her voice came out strained.

"Do you have any washing?" she asked in a low growl.

Bella and I were trying not to giggle. Bella tossed her chin at some discarded clothes on the ground.

"Just over there," she said. "Thanks."

Carmen ignored her politeness and stomped over and scooped up the garments. A top, a bra. Bella and I were in each other's arms, our naked legs entwined, and it gave me a sort of thrill to see her pick up after us.

"You do laundry, do you?" I asked her as she rose up. "How…traditional."

Bella smothered a giggle in her hand. Carmen glowered at her us and then she spun and stormed out. She had a talent at that. Marvellous body language.

I turned back to Bell and Bella grinned up at me.

"She fucking hates you," she said.

I gave her nose a kiss. "She's not too fond of you, either."

Bella snorted a chuckle and looked toward the closed doors. "I wonder what her problem is. She's a vampire, isn't she? It's not like she's never killed people before."

"I think her biggest objection is the nature of our relationship."

"Because we're both women?"

"I doubt that, considering the intimacies of her own coven mates. I think she's repelled by the things we do to each other."

Bella grinned and shifted her body against mine sensuously.

"Maybe she's just jealous," she said.

I smirked and leaned toward her lips. "Maybe."

I began kissing her. A soft moan came out of her and she wrapped her arms around me. I used one of my hands to stroke her side, relishing that lovely warmth with perhaps just a hint of regret that soon her warmth will be gone forever, and then I lowered my hand to that area between her thighs and began to rub it lovingly. She moaned and broke the kiss.

"Can you do me again, Vicky?" she asked breathlessly. "It's been so long."

I smiled at her and continued to rub. "We really ought to be taking it easy," I told her. "But I think I need to do it just as much as you need it done."

Bella smiled at me. It was the most beautiful smile in the world. I cupped her face and kissed her and then I shifted down between her legs and began kissing at her vagina instead.

"Oh, Bella," I moaned into her. "I'm so weak to you."

She moaned as well and heaved her hips. "Me too."

I hooked my arms around her thighs and began eating her out lovingly.

We spent the rest of the day in bed, taking breaks only to shower. Bella was thrilled to be fully sexually active once again and she would've accepted nothing less. I kissed her everywhere and made her come and then kissed her everywhere all over again, the two of us tangled in the bedsheet as the sun rose higher outside and brightened the room even further. I was still hesitating to penetrate her vagina with anything harder or longer than my tongue but she didn't mind. Like me there was nothing she loved more than tongue. Everything else was simply extra. I did penetrate her ass, however, and of course she really loved that. Just one finger. Her ass had survived the other night relatively unscathed and now she smiled and laughed as I pumped my finger inside it and kissed her before again going down on her vagina.

All day and well into the afternoon. Perhaps we wouldn't have stopped at all if the ladies of the house wouldn't be coming home soon. As their guests it would've been impolite to hole up in our room and fuck the day away without even saying hello.

So eventually we managed to struggle out of bed and go for another quick shower together. I changed the gauze on her neck as well and cleaned the wound and I was pleased at how fast it was healing. She was already ninety percent healed and soon she would be a hundred. We dried off and put some clothes on, just casual dayware, and then I took her to the kitchen to fix her something to eat. Bella hadn't eaten at all today, aside from me of course. But as delicious as I was I didn't think I would be as fulfilling as a sandwich. Carmen had done the grocery shopping and I wondered if it would be sexist to get her to make the sandwich as well or if as a woman perhaps it would be simply obnoxious. Either way I enjoyed taking care of my baby and I didn't mind making them myself. I made two of them for her, sliced roast beef with lettuce and mayonnaise, and served them to her with a smile.

She was sitting at the kitchen counter and she took a huge bite of the first one. I poured her some orange juice as well. Vitamins. Good for humans, I'm told. I really should thank Carmen for the grocery shopping. She'd hardly even given me the chance to speak to her these last few days.

While she ate she wondered when the other women would be home and before she'd started on the second sandwich there was a commotion in the foyer. It was Kate and Irena, returning home at the same time, and they came directly into the kitchen, having smelt the food, both of them professionally dressed and carrying laptop bags, Kate's pink, Irena's black. Kate was grinning and she acted surprised to see Bella in here.

"In the kitchen again?!" she exclaimed incredulously. "Is all you humans do is eat?!"

"I didn't eat at all this morning," Bella said with a defensive pout.

Kate laughed and lifted the top slice of bread from the sandwich on the plate to see what was inside it. "Yeah, right. From what we heard this morning, you practically ate Vicky alive."

Bella shrugged and smiled at me. "Well, breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

I chuckled at her and shook my head at both of them. Such children. Irena hadn't offered any greetings or anything but she had taken up a station in the corner, leaning against the kitchen cabinets, and there was something of a smile about her mouth, as if she liked the company even if she didn't partake herself. I gave her a nod to say hello and she nodded back.

"So I called your friend Leah today," Kate was saying, wiping her hands on her pants. She'd gotten a bit of mayonnaise on her fingers from touching Bella's sandwich. Bella gave her a little glare and lifted the sandwich and took a bite of it protectively.

"You did?" I asked her, wanting her to elaborate.

Kate nodded and kind of shrugged, not seeming all that enthused. "Yeah, we're gonna go see a movie tonight," she said. "So I guess we'll see how it goes. She seems really great and we have a ton in common, but…"

Another shrug. I didn't understand.

"But what?" I asked her.

"She's human," Kate said, as if it should've been obvious. "I mean, I'd hate to break her heart after just getting a few fucks out of her."

I smiled. She said it with a chuckle that made me suspect that perhaps it was her own heart she was worried about too. "Why don't you just give her a chance? No sense talking yourself out of it before you even meet her, hm?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Leah's great, Kate," Bella chimed in through a mouthful of sandwich. "Seriously. She's not like most girls. You could probably even turn her into a vampire if it gets serious."

Kate chuckled and the two of us shared a smile, as if becoming a vampire wasn't quite as simple as my seventeen year old mate thought it was. Kate, however, did manage to brighten up and gave her a smile.

"Yeah, maybe," she said. "We'll see."

Irena had been listening to all this and now she smiled and shook her head. Bella had drained her glass of orange juice and now I was refilling it for her. She needed her vitamins, the more the better.

"Either way," I continued to Kate. "I'm sure the two of you could have a lot of fun together."

"Speaking of fun," Bella intercepted, "when are we all gonna go hunting together?"

The question was met with a resounding silence. She was drinking from the glass with her eyes looking at us over the rim, one the other, not sure why everyone was suddenly so awkward. She didn't understand that the idea of all of us hunting together was more complicated than her earlier suggestion of turning Leah.

I found the silence a little discouraging as well. Irena lost her smile and looked down at the kitchen tiles briefly before glancing at Kate as if to let Kate speak. Kate gave Bella an awkward shrug and tried to brush it off.

"Well, it's only been a couple days since we fed from you, so…"

"Yeah, but that was just a taste," Bella went on, still not getting it. "Now's time for the real thing."

She nodded enthusiastically. No one else did. I tried not to smile as Bella steadily became more crestfallen.

"Right?" she asked hopefully.

Kate heaved a sigh, as if preparing herself to deliver bad news. "Look," she said. "I won't lie. The only real reason Irena and I feed from animals is because Tanya does. Call me a monster, but I never had any problems feeding from people, and Irena never did either. We never took any particular sadisticness in it either—unlike some people…"

She gave me a pointed glance which almost made me blush and turned back to Bella.

"…but it's not like we have any great principles against it," she said. "Tanya, on the other hand…"

She gestured with a hand loosely, something like a shrug. Bella had stopped eating and she was frowning.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

Kate hesitated. Irena was watching her and then she sighed and spoke for the first time since entering the kitchen.

"Tanya had a human mate," she said. "She killed him."

Bella didn't react too much to that but in her defence she was something of a sociopath. I was as well and the fact that the mate was male didn't increase my sympathy. Men never seemed all that precious to me. Call me sexist.

Kate glanced at Irena, half in disapproval, and then back at Bella.

"Accidently," she added.

Bella gave a confused shake of her head. "How come she never mentioned?"

"I guess it's too difficult for her. She pretends she's a vegetarian because of some vague guilt that built up over the years, but really it was just the one. And since then…"

Kate summated with a shrug. Bella looked at me, disappointed. Her half eaten sandwich was sitting on the plate and it looked disappointed as well. I, however, was merely speculative for the moment.

"So, I don't know," Kate went on. "We all got carried away the other night, but I'm not sure if Tanya would be up for it again. I definitely can't picture her going all the way with a real victim. I just don't think it's in her anymore, you know? It's not even a matter of restraint, like it is with me or Irena or even Carmen. With her, she just can't do it."

Bella released a sigh. "That's sad."

Kate nodded in glum agreement. "Yeah."

I looked at them all and then I scoffed loudly. "I think it's sad as well," I said. "Sad and pathetic. Stupid woman. How many centuries of her life has she wasted on this ridiculous penance? Does she not realize she's denying herself the most essential element of a vampire's existence?"

Kate was surprised at my vehemence. Irena was as well. Both of them had raised eyebrows and Kate glanced at Irena before answering.

"I guess she doesn't see it that way," she said tactfully.

I shook my head at that nonsense. "Then it's up to us to help her see more clearly. I'm sorry she lost her mate but the true tragedy is losing herself."

Kate seemed skeptical. "You really think so?"

"Of course," I insisted. "As her coven mates I'm surprised you would let her languish like this for so long."

Kate and Irena shared another glance. Irena's face had gone thoughtful and she looked at me again, as if seeing me differently for a moment. Kate still seemed reluctant and she gave me a shrug.

"I thought we were showing her support by joining her in her new lifestyle," she said.

I scoffed again at such misguidedness. "But can't you see it's not a life? It's a half-life. It's cowardice. It's a waste of a wonderful woman who deserves more than to feed from animals in the woods like some kind of ghoul."

I was getting a bit heated by now and it surprised even me how determined I was to champion my new friend Tanya. Bella was nodding and she seemed to completely agree. I was very proud of her. Even if her body was still human her attitude had been turned long ago.

Kate sighed and smiled at me as if she thought I was missing the point.

"I can understand what you're saying," she said, "but maybe you don't understand Tanya. She lost her mate, Victoria. How would you feel if you lost Bella? If you killed her yourself? Would you ever feel the same way about feeding again?"

I frowned and I couldn't answer. I glanced at my baby, sitting there on the kitchen stool with her dark hair and beautiful face, and my throat tightened from the thought of losing her. Tightened as if I'd never be able to feed again if that should happen.

Kate sighed once more and took her laptop bag from the kitchen counter.

"Just saying," she said. "As for the rest of us, Tanya means everything to us and we'll follow her no matter where she leads. So…"

She shrugged again and then she turned and left the kitchen.

Irena watched her go. It was the first bit of friction we'd encountered since coming to stay with them. But I still felt as firmly as I did. Tanya couldn't be allowed to continue to feed from animals over such a misguided reason. I expected Irena to leave as well but she didn't. She unleaned from the cabinets and swapped her laptop bag to her other hand before looking at Bella.

"You seem almost fully recovered," she said. "Would you like to cook something?"

It seemed like an odd question after our previous exchange and Bella wasn't quite sure how to answer it. She glanced around at the pristine stove, the spotless sink, and back at Irena.

"I'd hate to mess up the kitchen," she said. "I could just get takeout again."

Irena smiled and shook her head. "Think nothing of it, you should eat properly," she said. "And don't mind any mess. Carmen will clean it."

Bella chuckled at that. I smiled as well.

Irena looked toward the window over the sink, as if there was something on her mind, and then turned and went to leave. But then she turned back and looked at me and hesitated just a moment before she spoke.

"About what you were saying," she said. "I agree with you. Tanya's been living in a self-imposed cage for a very long time. She needs to be set free."

I was glad to have her support but curious about why she allowed this for so long. "If that's how you feel how come you never freed her yourself?"

"Because I can't," she said simply. "But you…"

She looked at me, her eyes flittering over my face, my lips, my red eyes, and her mouth curved slightly into a smirk.

"But you," she went on. "I've seen the way Tanya looks at you. You fascinate her more than I've ever seen anyone else fascinate her. You spark something inside her that's been dormant for a long time. She needs someone like you in her life. Someone to teach her how to be a vampire again."

I didn't answer but her words were greatly flattering. Bella smiled at me in admiration. Irena's smirk grew and then she snorted and looked away.

"Perhaps we all do," she added. "Even Carmen."

I chuckled at that and Irena gave us both a wink before turning and leaving the kitchen as well.

Bella and I were alone again and we shared a glance. Neither knew what to say but Bella chuckled and took up the last bit of her sandwich and set about finishing it. To be honest I was rather flustered. I felt very keenly for Tanya. Losing someone she thought was her mate was horrible. But the centuries that followed? Even worse. Irena was right. The poor woman needed to be set free and it was up to Bella and I to do it. The other night was only the beginning.

Bella was finished her sandwich and she had just drained the last of her orange juice when Carmen came into the kitchen. She seemed to have only been passing through but she halted in her tracks when she saw us there. Neither of us spoke to her but we both smiled. The smiles only seemed to anger her and in order to demonstrate her anger she quickly grabbed up Bella's dishes and clattered them into the sink and began washing them in a passive-aggressive manner.

Bella glanced at me with a grin and back at Carmen. Carmen was still wearing that red housedress and Bella smiled as she eyed how the cotton material flowed across the woman's backside and then finally she spoke.

"Hi, Carmen," she said, very pleasantly.

Carmen utterly ignored her and continued rattling the dishes. Bella grinned and slipped off her stool and went around behind the other woman. Silently. Stalking. I watched her, smirking, and she gave me an impish grin before taking a pinch of the other woman's skirt and lifting it very gently. The ass underneath was round and womanly and only partly covered by a pair of white lace panties. Carmen must've felt the material move because a puzzled look crossed her face and she went to look behind her.

But she only barely registered Bella's presence there before Bella lifted her hand and smacked her palm across one of those beautiful olive toned buttocks.

Carmen squealed and jumped and dropped the plate in the sink. Bella shrieked with giggles and spun around and fled from the kitchen. It was nice to see her body had recovered enough to be capable of sprinting. Carmen was scandalized beyond all belief and the glare she levelled at me made me tingle between my thighs. Yes. This was another woman who needed to be set free. I smiled at her and gave her an innocent shrug to excuse the girl's behaviour before following my mate out of the kitchen in a slow saunter.

—

AN: This chapter was mostly to set the scene for their stay at the mansion and for Bella and Vicky to have some much deserved time alone together. Hope you liked it, new chapter soon. ;)