Luckily for Alex, the Book Fest had a late night open air market, so she and Emily could browse the books together. Arm in arm, they strolled through the shelves and it was the first time in three years that Alex had felt normal.

(Normal, of course, was a relative term because she was still a vampire. A vampire dating a human. A human she was pretty sure she could fall in love with...and, for the first time since she'd gotten divorced, the idea didn't scare her.)

"Why are there so many weird erotic novels about vampires?" Emily wondered aloud, interrupting her thoughts. "Seriously..." She gestured broadly at the entire shelf devoted to vampire erotica.

Alex gave a snort of laughter. "Because the authors have never actually had sex with a vampire," she said. "And werewolves just aren't as sexy..."

Emily gave her a pointed look. "You'd be surprised..." At her dubious look, Emily explained, "Not me – there's a whole genre of werewolf smut. It usually involves..."

Alex held up her hands to stop the verbal tide. "I really don't want to know."

Emily just laughed, shaking her head with a playful smile. She proceeded to select one of the books and read the back of it, looking like she was struggling to keep from laughing. Then, looking up, she suggested, "Maybe we should get one of these books – maybe they have some ideas..." She waggled her brows suggestively.

Alex cocked her head, looking rather like Emily had just told a particularly terrible joke. "You know those books are ridiculous, right?" she pointed out. But her playful smile belied her words.

Nonetheless, Emily selected one of the books with a wicked grin. As they continued browsing, Emily's hand wandered further along Alex's back until it grazed her ass, making Alex shoot her a stare that was part warning, part promise of mischief.

Emily was about to suggest they return to the hotel, when someone quite literally bumped into her. She staggered off balance until a hand reached out to catch her, steadying her on her feet before she'd had a chance to protest that she didn't need help.

"Whoa," a male voice said, then chuckled. "Usually when a woman falls for me, it's not so literal." His voice was practically dripping with what she assumed was supposed to be charm, but came off more like sleaze.

Emily pulled away from where his hand rested on her shoulder, far longer than necessary or socially acceptable. "Excuse me?" She looked him up and down, nose crinkling with distaste at what she saw. She supposed his style might have been intended as 'badass biker', but in actuality seemed closer to 'past-his-prime Fonzie wannabe'.

He smirked, apparently misreading her gaze. "I'm Mick Rawson," he introduced himself, extending a hand for a handshake. "And you are...?"

"Not interested," she said plainly, then attempted to push past him, blatantly ignoring the proffered nicety.

He grabbed her wrist, halting her progress, though, refusing to accept or even acknowledge her disinclination. "Now, is that any way to speak to a polite and interested suitor?" he asked, an edge to his tone.

"Suitor?" she repeated. "I told you I'm not interested. So, politely piss off."

His fingers tightened on her wrist. He growled low in his throat and bared pointed canines.

Before he could do any further harm, though, Alex had wrested his arm behind his back, twisting it to the point of pain. (She was obviously going easy on him for the sake of not making a public spectacle because, if she'd been so inclined, she could have snapped his bones like matchsticks.) "Let her go," she ordered. "Now." When he didn't immediately comply, she twisted his arm even further. "I said, let her go."

Finally, he released his hold, and Emily took several stumbling steps backward, clutching her wrist. There was alarm in her eyes, but she was trying her best to hide it.

"What the fuck!?" Mick snapped as Alex let him go. He cradled his arm while glaring at her. "Who the fuck do you think...?" He trailed off, wrinkling his nose in distaste. "A leech..." he snarled.

(Not commonly used anymore, the term leech was a slur for vampires, particularly in Europe where vampires were more common – and less sexualized - than in the States. She'd never actually been called that before, but then again, it had only been three years.)

He was quite obviously a wolf and a lot of wolfs – especially the ones who viewed themselves as alpha males – tended to hate vampires with a burning passion. Partly because vampires had more physical power, partly because vampires were more glamorized. Mostly, though, it was a long-lived rivalry that went back centuries and no one could quite remember how or why it started.

He turned to Emily, then looked her up and down, baring his teeth in disgust. "Oh... You're one of those."

"Those?" Emily repeated. "Meaning what?"

"People who sleep with vampires," Alex said with a roll of her eyes. "FYI," she said, turning to Mick, "She's my girlfriend, not some piece of ass, so kindly leave before I have to embarrass you a second time."

He seemed to debate for a moment whether it was worth the fight, but ultimately decided it wasn't.

By the time he was out of earshot, Emily turned to Alex with a quirked brow and a little smirk. "Girlfriend?"

Alex glanced down at the ground, then chanced meeting her gaze. "Is that bad?" she asked. "I know we haven't discussed it, but I thought it felt right."

Emily just shook her head and smiled. Then, she slipped her fingers through Alex's belt loops, pulling her into her body to kiss her soundly.

When they broke apart, Alex smiled shyly. "Is that a yes?"

She laughed. "Of course, it's a yes. Are you kidding? You're absolutely gorgeous, insanely smart, and a good kisser," she listed. "I'd be insane not to make you all mine." She dove in for another kiss. "So...what do you say we go back to the hotel and see if that book doesn't give us some inspiration..."

Biting down on her lip, she nodded, letting Emily tug her hand to lead her towards the hotel.