“Then I will prove it to you, Anita.” Jean-Claude locked his mouth onto mine, probing with
his tongue. I felt something, some alien power pour from him into me, and it felt good. It felt
sinfully wonderful, and I wanted more. He slipped a knee between my legs, and I moaned inside
his mouth.

Then suddenly he rolled away from me, laying at the far edge of the bed, watching me.
There was a challenge in his eyes. He dared me to resist, he dared me to give in. I fought this all
consuming feeling, this pleasurable power rolling over my skin, and I lost. I went to Jean-Claude,
stealing another kiss, running my hands over his smooth chest. He rolled off of the bed, and
stood. He backed up to stand in the middle of the room. The dare was still in his midnight blue
eyes. Sweat beaded on my skin. I was only able to stay on the bed a moment before the power
screamed at me to go to him. I slid off of the bed, stalking towards him. I was hunting my prey. I
nearly reached where he stood, and he took a step back, a wicked smile on his face, darkness
gleaming in his eyes. I followed. He took another retreating step, then another, and another, and I
followed. He dropped to the floor, and so did I. I crawled to him, the only thought on my mind
that I needed to touch him. I reached him, stretching out my arms to grasp my prize.

Jean-Claude gripped my shoulders, gently shaking me. “Do you see what I mean, Anita?
Do you see why women die for this? I have only unleashed a small part of my incubus, and you
crawled to me. You CRAWLED. YOU, Anita Blake. Do you see why I do not want you to face
him?” I averted my eyes, licking my lips. “I know that right now the one thing you desire most is
to touch me, ma petite. Do you also see how much I have behaved myself?” he asked, quieter.

I took in a deep breath, trying to regain my self control, but I only took in Jean-Claude’s
scent, his sweet shampoo, his expensive cologne. The desire roared over my body. This had the
potential to drive me insane. I whimpered, trying to reach Jean-Claude, but he held me immobile.
“Hold me, Jean-Claude. Please.” I begged. I never beg. I never crawl. This was some dangerous
shit.

Jean-Claude released my shoulders, and I fell into his arms. He held me close, and it was
just a relief to be close to him, to feel his arms around me. I felt the power, the magic he
unleashed upon me flow back into him, from my skin. I began to tremble. That was just a small
taste of what Amador could do to me. He could reduce me to a quivering blob on the floor. Shit.
Leaning back, Jean-Claude kissed my forehead, the tip of my nose, and then my lips gently. “It
was just a taste of what it could have been, please believe me, Anita.”

Jean-Claude’s POV

As Anita fell into my arms I reclaimed the arduer’s power I had unleashed upon her. She
began to tremble ever so slightly in my arms. Good. I hoped she realized how commanding the
arduer had the potential to be. I had had to tease her, to see just how far this would go, to test
her self control. For the first time since I have had the pleasure of knowing ma petite, she lost the
battle. Not even Anita could fight the arduer in its full glory. But…there are so many variations.
Perhaps she could resist temptation with Amador, but not with me. She does love me, after all.
Or so she says.

I leaned back to search her face. I kissed her forehead, the tip of her nose, then softly her
lips. “It was just a taste of what it could have been, please believe me, Anita.”

*****************************

I watched ma petite slosh in the water of her bath. The bubbles clung to her skin, her skin
was slick and inviting with the water. It was my bathtub, so I should have every right to join her,
non? Ah, but I do not think she would agree with my logic.

I leaned back against the counter of the sink, crossing my arms. “Who said you get to
stay?” Anita demanded. She was confused how to feel about the arduer. A bit of it lingered
inside of her, the part I could not take back with merely holding her in my arms. It made her
desire me even more than usual, I knew she was fighting not to pull me into the bubble bath with
her. But then there was that part of her that was purely Anita, who could fight anything and win.
That part of her was angry at me, that I had been able to reduce her to crawling, and angry at
herself for not being able to resist it. Her libido and her stubbornness were battling. And where I
did not want Anita to be angry with me for seducing her with more than human tactics, a large
part of me was hoping her libido would prove victorious this night.

I smiled meekly, but did not reply to her question. I would leave only if she directly
demanded it of me. Anita sighed, leaning back in the tub. “Is there anyway I can protect myself
from the arduer, from Amador?”

I shook my head. “There is no absolute safe guard that I know of. Except, perhaps…” I
paused, then shook my head. The fourth mark would make her completely immune to mind
games, but not the arduer.

“What were you about to say?”

I glanced to the ground. Could I ‘reel her in’, so to speak, convincing her to take the 4th
mark tonight? But I cannot lie to her. If she ever found out, it would be the absolute end. “The
4th mark,” I said quietly. “But it would only protect you from mind games. I would be a
tremendous advantage, to be sure, you would also become faster, stronger…” I let my voice trail
off, with the infinite possibilities.

“And I would be stuck with you for the rest of my life.”

“Stuck?” I smiled. “Oui, but would that be so terribly awful, ma petite?”

I moved to sit on the edge of the tub. Leaning over her, one hand on the opposite edge of
the tub. Lowering myself so we sat eye to eye, I said, “I offer a partnership, ma petite, not
slavery.” I was not lying. I doubted I could reduce ma petite, to slavery, even if I wanted it.

“You keep saying that.”

“You do not believe me?” Of course she did not. She rarely does.

Anita drew her knees up, wrapping her arms around them. It was a vulnerable gesture, not
often done by ma petite. “I don’t know what to believe, at this point, Jean-Claude.”

It hurt me to hear this. “Believe in me, ma petite.” I kissed her forehead. I wanted to be her
hero, her white knight, so to speak, but somehow she seemed to be the one saving me. That
offended my sensibilities. As modern as I may be, I am still a man.

Anita’s POV

“Believe in me, ma petite.” Jean-Claude kissed my forehead. He was so close, so very
close. I wanted to reach out, and pull him into the water with me. The urge to touch every inch of
him screamed over my body. I didn’t know if it was the arduer, or me. Or both. Oh God. I
squeezed my eyes shut. Just the simple innocent gesture of him kissing me on the forehead made
my heart pound in my chest, I could it in my ears, ringing. I took in a deep breath, and it didn’t
help, only taking in the sweet scent of Jean-Claude’s cologne. The vampire hovered before me,
his face only inches away, one arm on the other side of the tub balancing him out. I could push
him with one finger, and he would topple into the water with me. And suddenly, that didn’t seem
like such a bad idea. What the hell was wrong with me? I am in control of my own body. It is
mine to command, not my libido’s. I kept telling myself that, but it wasn’t helping.

I heard Jean-Claude move to just sit on the side of the tub without hovering over me. I
knew he could sense my distress, and my desire. “I will go, ma petite.” I opened my eyes to
watch him begin to stand. Faced with a split second to make my decision, I reached out,
grabbing Jean-Claude’s wrist in a light grip, stopping him halfway between sitting and standing.
“Don’t go,” I said softly. I swallowed, hard, taking in a deep breath. More of his sweet cologne
met my nostrils, an intoxicating smell. Jean-Claude sat down slowly on the side of the tub

“As you wish, ma petite.”

I held his hand to my cheek, then rubbed my cheek up his arm, much like a cat. I glanced
up at him, his lips were parted with anticipation. I hooked a single finger in the waistband of his
pajama pants, near his hip. Realizing what I was doing, I jerked my hand away, and pushed to
the far side of the tub. I struggled to bring my breathing under control, closing my eyes. When I
opened them I looked up to Jean-Claude’s face. His statement was amused, the mask, once
again. “What do you wish, Anita?” he asked quietly, even gently. “I will stay if you like, or I will
go. It is purely your choice.”

I pulled at my hair. “I don’t know what I want.” I shook my head. “But I do know what I
want. I’m trying to decide why I want it.”

Jean-Claude nodded. “I understand. You are wondering if this is the arduer, or your lust.
And the answer, ma petite, is that it is both.”

“Both?” I was confused.

“Oui. I took back all of the arduer I released upon you that I could, but there is still a very
small amount left, that cannot be reabsorbed by me, with casual touch alone. But your own
desire puts the pot to a boil, ma petite.”

“So you did this to me?” I could feel my temper rising.

“I did it to show you how powerful Amador is, ma petite. Not to seduce you.”

“But the seducing is an advantage on your side. You always get the advantage in the end,”
I accused. Jean-Claude merely shrugged, that infuriating gallic gesture. Ack! My life is so
complicated. I don’t know if I’m going to survive this between Jean-Claude, the 4th mark, and
Amador.

Jean-Claude put his fingers in the water, sending small waves to lap against my skin. What
did I want? I wanted to be held. I wanted to be touched. I wanted to be safe. And it seemed he
offered me all of that.

I reached out, brushing my fingertips on his in the water. His gaze immediately turned back
to me. “If I asked you for the fourth mark, would you do it now?”

Jean-Claude nodded. “Oui. I want you to be safe, ma petite.”

“Then I would suggest you join me in this bath, before I change my mind.”

Jean-Claude smiled, wickedly. Suddenly the silk pajama pants were gone, and he slid into
the water with me. He leaned over me, and kissed me, a light brush of lips, like asking
permission. He looked at me, it was his old look. Thoughts of cool sheets and bare skin. But
there was something else, something new in his eyes. I realized it was life, for lack of a better
word. Vampires can pass for human, but their eyes have a weight to them, some jadedness that
no living thing that lived a normal lifetime could acquire. They may look the same physically, but
after a few centuries their gaze becomes weighted with the knowledge of the reality of the world.
I realized I had given him that lively glint in his eye, through the marks.

I leaned into him. I kissed him full mouthed, and ran my hands over his arms and shoulders.
He shuddered. I could feel Jean-Claude’s pulse through the levels as if it were my own. Beating
faster, ever beating faster. I felt a nick of fang on my tongue, and it set Jean-Claude off. The kiss
had been slow and lingering before then, but the blood seemed to hit all his buttons the right way.
That's what I get for French kissing a French vampire. So far, it was rewarding.

With a satisfied mewling sound, he went for my neck. I was going to have one hell of
a hickey. I knew he was fighting not to bite me. Then I felt his hands dancing up and down my
back, my stomach.

Jean-Claude locked his arms behind my back and kissed me again, almost bruising. He
loosened his hold, and cupped one of my breasts in his hand, kneading it gently. He ran his hand
over the other lightly, making my skin jump. He ran that hand down my side, lightly tracing my
buttocks, my thigh, then other private things I moaned in Jean-Claude’s mouth. Jean-Claude
broke away and looked at me, our faces inches away. His eyes had gone vampiric, gleaming with
saphrine fire and power. My heart beat pounded in my ears, but I knew it wasn’t just my pulse, it
was Jean-Claude’s as well. Our hearts were beating at the same pace. His had sped up to meet
mine.

Jean-Claude leaned in to kiss me once again, but I dodged his lips and went lower. I lightly
kissed my way down his jaw and neck. I could feel his pulse throbbing between my teeth like a
trapped butterfly. I had a sudden urge to bite that pulse, and realized that that was him looking
out through me in the marks. That was too weird for me. I backed off, and we were looking at
each other again.

Jean-Claude laughed shakily. “I have you naked in my arms and I am uncertain what to do.
I never thought it would be possible. I am not sure whether to kiss you, to hold you, to touch
you, or to tell you I love you.” I took his hands and kissed each one in turn, and ran my hands up
his forearms and across his shoulders. I massaged the muscles behind his neck, drew him
towards me, and when our lips were almost touching I whispered, “Kiss me, and I’m sure you’ll
be inspired.”

He licked my lower lip, a prelude taste. “I am sure I will.” He clamped his mouth onto
mine, and locked his arms behind my back, pressing our bodies together in one line. I could feel
his manhood hard against my stomach. He rolled us in the water like a crocodile with its prey.
We came up for air gasping, or rather I did, considering Jean-Claude didn’t have to breathe. He
leaned over me and kissed me again, but slow, matching the movement of his mouth with a hand
on my breast. I felt him move his hand down my side under the water once again. His fingers
traced low on my stomach. “I am inspired,” he whispered with a smile, then plunged a finger
inside of me. My back bowed, and he muffled my cry, clamping his mouth on mine. His tongue in
his mouth matched the movement of his finger around my clitoris, making my breath come faster.
One last stroke brought me over the golden brink, I closed my eyes, back bowed, reveling in the
glow.

Jean-Claude gave me merely seconds to recover, before picking me up by the back of my
thighs and lifting me onto his lap. I kissed my way down his jaw line, then his neck. I licked a line
down his collar bone. I glanced up at him. He had thrown his head back, lips half parted, eyes
closed. I lifted my self up and whispered in his ear, “Do the fourth mark, Jean-Claude. I want
you to take me in every sense of the word this night.”

He pulled me to him in an embrace. He whispered, “Are you absolutely sure, Anita? Are
you positive that this is what you want?” I looked up at him. He lifted me up so that we were eye
to eye. “Is this what you want?”

I looked at him seriously. I did, and I didn’t question it anymore. I had that feeling that you
get when you’re standing next to the love of your life. That warmth that fills you from head to toe,
and you feel the adrenalin rush in your chest. I flung open the three marks, pulling down every
mental, and metaphysical shield I ever had. I let him feel what I was feeling. He gasped and
kissed me, long and slow, lowering me back down. He drew his fingernail down his chest,
making a small scratch. Crimson blood welled to the surface. I stared at the blood. I hadn’t ever
done this before. Was I supposed to drink it.

“Only a taste, Anita,” was Jean-Claude’s reply in my mind. I pressed my lips to the wound,
caressing it with my tongue. The blood was a tangy, metallic taste in my mouth. “Blood of my
blood, flesh of my flesh, now two become one. One mind, one body, one soul,” I heard
Jean-Claude whisper. Suddenly, something released around us, like a sonic boom of power.
Everyone at the Circus knew what had just happened.

I rested my forehead in the bend of Jean-Claude’s neck, taking a deep breath. My skin
was tingling, almost crawling with a pleasurable presence of power. Jean-Claude rubbed his
cheek along the side of my face, and whispered, “Je t’aime, ma petite,” in my ear. His soft lips
found mine once again. This kiss started out tender, but grew in passion, in need.

Jean-Claude kissed along the bend of my neck, my shoulder, the tops of my breasts.
Suddenly he lifted me out of the water, onto the edge of the tub. His lips trailed a line down the
inside of my thighs, slowly tracing towards my center. I shuddered as his tongue teased out side
of me, then I gasped as it entered. The orgasm built to a near bursting point, I was very close to
climaxing again. “Please, Jean-Claude, I want you inside of me,” I half whispered, half moaned.

Jean-Claude crawled out of the water, leaning over me, forcing me back on my back. He
sheathed himself inside of me before my excitement could die down, and one forward thrust
brought me again. My eyes fluttered shut with the ecstasy. Jean-Claude didn’t give me time to
recover, moving inside of me slowly. Then his speed increased, he moved faster, and our bodies
found a rhythm. A thrumming pulse between our two bodies. My warmth melted into his
coolness. He sent a cool wave of power over me, making me spasm. “Open the marks, ma
petite,” Jean-Claude whispered inside my head. I did, and unexpectedly, we were one. Not just
physically, but in our minds as well. The orgasm hit us both suddenly. We ran that shining
moment together, and our auras merged. For a moment, the world turned into the most beautiful
shade of blue, the color of both of our powers, our death magic. We both cried out, and all of
the supernatural creatures in the Circus must have heard it. Jean-Claude slid out of me, collapsing
to the side. I rolled over to lean on his chest, listening to his pounding heart. There is something
incredibly intimate about listening to your lover’s heart beat.

We made love one more time in his bed, this time gently. Before the sun took him to
slumber, he said he still didn’t want me to play bait with Edward as backup. I said nothing,
because once he was asleep there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

Anita’s POV

I woke beside Jean-Claude, in his bed. No unwanted dreams had invaded my slumber,
either Amador was behaving himself, or biding his time. I slid out of bed, and got dressed, the
“sleeping” vampire oblivious. Even dead to the world, he was still beautiful. I left the room,
hoping Jean-Claude hadn’t ordered anyone to detain me if I tried to leave. I would hate to shoot
up my boyfriend’s people.

I walked into my house, prepared to shoot up any were-bears that might show themselves.
How the hell did a sex demon get stuck with werebears? Sorry, I like wolves better. They’re
easier to stop with a handgun.

I pushed my senses out around the house, what I should have done first off yesterday. I
didn’t sense anyone. Making my way to the coffee maker immediately, I started it up. The circus
is nice, but they really need to get some decent coffee down there.

I made my way up to my bedroom to get my Judo bag. I had a class today. Opening the
door, I had the shit nearly scared out of me. There lay Amador, on my bed, in a beam of
sunlight! I immediately slammed the door shut again. Drawing my gun, I hopped on the banister,
sliding down to the ground floor. I rushed to the door with a speed I had never known before,
and much to my dismay, Amador was already there, blocking it. The Browning was immediately
leveled, pointing right between his eyes. I fired, not hesitating. The bullet passed through empty
air, biting into the woodwork of the door. The browning was wrenched from my hand, I
immediately went for the firestar. With a frustrated growl, Amador grabbed my hands, slamming
my back against the wall, pinning me.

He was tall, and muscular. I never cared too much for excessive muscles. Those golden
eyes burned into mine, trying to pull me under. I was completely immune. I laughed in his face. A
look of pure rage washed over his face. “You have been a very very naughty girl, Anita.”

“You have no idea.” I glared at him. I felt his mind attempt to take over mine, but it just
rolled over, like water on a plastic surface.

“Oh, but I do have some idea. I can smell Jean-Claude on your skin, quite heavily. So he
gave you the fourth mark? You are only free from mind games, cherie, but now you can survive
much more than before.”

“Get off of me,” I growled.

“Oh, no, I do not think so.” I kneed him in the groin, and he laughed, leaning into me. “Do
that again,” he whispered in my ear, nibbling on my earlobe. From what I had experienced so far,
usually Amador had a sort of sexual coating, a magical attraction around him. It must have been
some sort of glamour, because it wasn’t there anymore. He was going to have to try harder.
“Should I take you here, in your own house?”

“Sure, I’ll be closer to my uzi,” I growled. “You can rape me, but that’s all it will ever be.”

“I can make it very pleasant for you, Anita. I can make you want it so badly you will crawl
to my feet.” A jolt of fear shot through me, and nestled in the pit of my stomach. I remembered
how much of an affect Jean-Claude’s arduer had on me. But that was different. I had always
lusted after Jean-Claude, the arduer just pushed me over the edge of no return. Amador, on the
other hand, had done nothing but piss me off since day one. Amador leaned into me for a kiss,
and I clamped my mouth shut. He forced his tongue into my mouth, and I bit him. He jerked
back, anger blazing in his eyes. “Do you think I will not hurt you, Anita?”

I just glared at him, a stare that had been known to drop vampires to their knees out of
fear. “How can you be out in the sunlight?”

“One of the advantages of being part demon.” Amador leaned into me even more, making
our bodies one line. I felt him raise the arduer, and I strengthened my shields, imagining solid
stone around me. I felt the arduer caress the shield on the outside, but the shield held. The arduer
snaked around my shields, seeking a hole in my shields. My heart pounded in my chest with fear,
praying that my shields would hold. The arduer found no hole, and once again, Amador growled
with frustration.

“I’m a necromancer, you’ll have to try harder than that.”

“Alright.” Amador slammed me into the wall. My vision swam. I didn’t mean that hard! I
slipped out of consciousness, into the velvet darkness.

Anita’s POV

I woke to the humming of an engine. One glance around told me I was in a small plane, and
my wrists were duct taped to the armrests. I blinked my eyes a few times. How long had I been
out? One knock on the head shouldn’t have taken me down for that long. Another glance around
determined we were definitely in a private plane. I had been in Jean-Claude’s enough to know
the signs. I reached out to Jean-Claude in the marks. He should be up by now. “Jean-Claude?” I
called out mentally.

“Ma petite?”

Jean-Claude’s POV

I felt Anita reach out to me, through the marks. I knew she would be gone when she I
awoke from my slumber, but I did not think she would be THAT far away. She felt a much
further distance from me than her house, the marks stretched a long distance. “Jean-Claude?” he
voice echoed in my head.

“Ma petite?”

“Yeah, its me.”

“What has happened?” I looked at the world through her eyes, to see a plane. Small in the
interior, similar to my own. Of course, mine has much more style.

“Did you know Amador could go out in the sunlight?”

“Non, I did not.” Mon dieu! A vampire, out in the sunlight? Oh, what I would give for such
an ability!

“Well he, can. And he kidnapped me. I just woke up, it appears we’re in a plane.”

“I can see that, ma petite.”

“YOU can see that?”

“I am looking through your lovely eyes, Anita.”

“Great. My hands are duct taped to the armrests, but I think I can break free—”

“I’m sure you can,” I interrupted, “But do not. Bide your time, or else they will bind you
with something you cannot break free from.”

I felt her nod. “Alright. Good news, I can resist his arduer.” A weight of relief lifted from
my shoulders. “But the bad news is I don’t know for how long, and I have no fucking clue where
we are.” Anita craned her neck to look out the window. All to be seen was clouds, and a peek
of blue ocean here and there.

“You are up earlier than we anticipated,” said Amador. Anita turned to look at him. I could
feel her fear and disdain as if it were my own. “Luckily,” he gestured towards her restrained
hands, “We prepared for the occasion.”

“Thanks,” said Anita sarcastically. “So how many cc’s of laudanum did you pump into me
to keep me down for that long?”

“Not laudanum, but something similar.” Anita glanced around the plane again, looking for a
possible weapon, I read in her mind.

“Bide your time, Anita,” I reminded her. “And try to find out where you are going.”

“Roger,” Anita thought back at me. I chuckled.

“Yes, Anita, Jean-Claude isn’t the only one who owns his own plane,” said Amador
arrogantly. Oui, but mine is prettier.

“You’re just a wanna-be Jean-Claude, aren’t you?” replied Anita.

“What?” Amador sounded genuinely surprised.

“You’ve got the plane, the laugh, the sex thing down to a science. You want me, and
Jean-Claude had me first.” I chuckled, trying not to distract Anita with my mirth.

Amador raised an eyebrow. “I am the head of his line, Anita. I was thousands of years
aged, before he was even born.”

“Envy knows no time,” Anita quipped. How philosophical, ma petite.

“You will soon forget about Jean-Claude.”

“Sorry, I’ve tried it before. Its damn impossible, so I stopped trying.”

“You resisted me once, Anita, don’t let it go to your head.”

“Too late.”

“Are you always this frustrating?” I smiled, biting my lip to repress the laugh that would
surely annoy ma petite in her head. Stress was not what ma petite needed at this moment.

“Amador, baby, I know no other way.”

“Good, then this shall be interesting. Jean-Claude may have placed the 4th mark on you,
Anita, but you are still mine.”

“I belong to no one.” Ah. I had had this exact same conversation before, many times, with
ma petite. It is impossible to win.

“We shall see.”

“You see, that’s what I don’t get about you damn vampires. Its all about possession. Mine,
mine, mine.”

Amador frowned. “You are MINE, Anita. And you will learn to love it.”

“I don’t think so. I would rather eat dirt.”

“That can be arranged, if you do not behave yourself.”

“Behave? I’m sorry, I forgot my dictionary, what does that word mean again?”

Amador stood, and strode over to ma petite. He slapped her lightly, and we both became
incredibly dizzy, what I believe she calls seeing stars. “Need I remind you, Anita, that you are
indeed a human servant, and can sustain much more damage than any other normal human?”

Anita blinked, several times, clearing her vision. She looked up into Amador’s face
defiantly. “That’s no way to win a girl over. That’s something that makes Jean-Claude better than
you.”

“What?”

“He understands that I don’t respond to threats. And he sure as hell knows better than to
hit me!” Anita kicked Amador in the shin, sending him to the ground. The angry vampire glared at
Anita.

“You will regret that!” He stood to the side of her, where her legs would not reach.

“And you will regret ever fucking with me, Amador. I can make your life a living hell.”

“And I yours.”

“But that’s not what you want, is it?”

“Anita, I am suddenly not sure whether to kiss you, or kill you.”

“The last has got to be better than the first.”

Amador’s face twisted with pure rage, his eyes were molten gold, swimming with immense
power. Then suddenly he calmed himself, running a hand through his hair. “I am going to leave
you now, Anita, so I don’t do anything I might regret later.”

With that parting note Amador strode away, entering a different room in the cabin. Anita
sighed, and pulled her hands free of the duct tape, peeling it from her skin. She sat back in her
chair, relaxing.

“Ma petite, I pity the man who ever thinks he can win a fencing match of witty remarks
with you.”

“I guess I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Please do. But you did not find out where you are going.”

“Sorry, I was too busy yelling at goldie eyes.”

“Tread lightly with him, ma petite. You do not want him to snap.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Anita, I am quite serious.”

“Look, Jean-Claude. This is my opinion of Amador. He is heap big powerful. I agree. But
I think he has channeled that power into sex for so long, he doesn’t know what else to do with it.
He’s so used to seducing people to get what he wants, he doesn’t know what else to do when
that fails.” Ma petite had a very good point.

“Only because it has never failed, before you.”

Anita sighed again. “So what’s the plan.”

“First, to find out where you are. Then, I suppose, I shall, as you Americans say, round up
the posse, and save you.”

“My knight in shining armor.”

“Try musketeer with shining sword.”

“You weren’t a musketeer.”

“Non.”

“But I take it that was your time period?”

“Oui.”

“So, do you know how to fence, and stuff?”

“Of course, ma petite. But back to the plan.”

“Yeah, well, we’re over blue water. That could mean anything from the great lakes to the
Atlantic Ocean.”

“I would surmise the Atlantic Ocean. I believe Amador is taking you to France, the
question is where.”

“I’ll get back to you as soon as I find out. But right now I’m hungry.”

Anita’s POV

“I’ll get back to you as soon as I find out. But right now I’m hungry.”

I stood, still peeling the tape from my skin. And yes, it hurt like hell. I got into the
cupboard, looking for something to eat. I found nothing. However, my search in the refrigerator
was successful. I pulled out some coldcuts, ham and turkey. I didn’t know where the bread was,
so I just ate them plain.

“How can you eat them cold, ma petite?” Jean-Claude complained in my head.

“Because I’m starving.”

“In that case, do you think there are any blueberries around?”

“I hate blueberries, Jean-Claude,” I said, accidentally out loud.

He sighed. “I know, and I despair of it, ma petite.”

Amador chose that moment to walk in the room, surprised I was loose. “You hate
blueberries, Anita?”

I turned to look at him. “Yeah.”

He began to walk towards me. “I am sorry, Anita, but I cannot allow you to roam freely
around the plane.”

I took a step back. “Look, I’ll behave on the plane. I’m terrified enough of flying as it is,
you don’t have to worry about me killing the pilots. I don’t know how to fly.”

“It is not just the pilots I am afraid for.”

“Whatever.” I sat back down in my seat, reclining backwards. I could feel Amador staring
at me. “Look, I don’t have any weapons, you took them all. I’m not going to kill you with my
bare hands, so ease up.” I heard Jean-Claude chuckle. It was downright spooky to talk to him
from such a distance.

I closed my eyes, pretending to go to sleep. I knew Amador was still watching me. “I
know you are not sleeping, Anita,” he said.

“Good for you,” I answered.

“Ask where you are going, while he is in a disarmed state, ma petite,” Jean-Claude urged.

“By the way, where are we headed to?” I asked innocently.

“Oh no, Anita. If I tell you, you will report back to Jean-Claude. I know you can
communicate with him.”

“Gee, would I be so devious?” I asked, unenthusiastically.

“I believe so.”

“It was a rhetorical question, dumb ass.”

Anger flashed in Amador’s eyes, but quickly faded. I knew it wasn’t a good idea to egg
him on, but I don’t take kindly to being kidnapped.

“Take care of your words, ma petite. It would not be wise to bring him to violence again.”

“Yeah, yeah. You said that.”

Amador turned his head to the side. Shit. I said the last out loud. “You are speaking to him
as of now, aren’t you?” I didn’t answer. “Ah, so he can feel what you do, am I right?” I still
didn’t answer. Amador walked to me, “Am I right?”

I glared at him. “Go away. You bore me.”

“That can be remedied.” Suddenly I was on the floor of the plane, Amador’s upper body
digging into me, he held my hands hostage to the sides of me. I felt the arduer swell again,
searching for openings along my shield. It found none. Amador ground himself into me harder,
trying to distract me, trying to make me lower my shields. All it accomplished was to piss me off.

I thought to tell him he couldn’t seduce a girl without the arduer, but Jean-Claude warned
me against it. “Do not provoke him anymore, Anita.”

“I am in a very uncomfortable position here, Jean-Claude. If he doesn’t get off me in about
5 seconds I’m going to bite him, be it provoking or not.”

Amador nibbled on my earlobe, nicking it with his fang. I jerked away. “Get off!”

“What will you give me?”

“Not a damned thing, now get the hell off of me!”

“Wrong answer. I am quite happy where I am, Anita. What’s in it for me, if I get off of
you?”

“What do you want, besides sex?”

Amador seemed to think for a moment. “I am rather hungry.”

“No. I don’t let anyone feed off of me.”

“I think you are about to make an exception.”

“No.” I knew that if he sank fang, it could make an opening for the arduer.

“Yes.” Suddenly I was flipped over, my front grinding into the floor. His weight bore down
on me from behind, and for someone as chesty as me, it was painful. Sweeping my hair away, he
teased my neck with his tongue. I haven’t ever let any vampire feed on me. Not even
Jean-Claude. And Amador couldn’t take my mind. It would just be painful.

He sank fangs into my neck, and I hissed between my teeth, using all of my energy to hold
up my shields. I slowed my breathing, just concentrating on the shields. There was only me, there
was no vampire on my back. But despite of my concentration, I could feel my shields thinning as
Amador took my blood. I could feel him growing hard against me. Gross. “Jean-Claude!” I
called out.

“I am here, ma petite.”

“Great. It doesn’t help much.”

“It can.” Jean-Claude lent me some of his power, building up my defenses again. It was
like I could feel the shield fat and plump once more, like a well fed child, perhaps. Amador broke
away, knowing that if he took much more I wouldn’t be good for much of anything.

“Thank you, Anita,” he whispered in my ear. “That was refreshing.”

“Bastard,” was my sluggish reply. I suddenly felt incredibly tired. I just wanted to curl up in
a corner and go to sleep.

“Now now, be nice.” Amador nipped my earlobe again. What the hell? Does he have
some weird earlobe fetish? Then in a flash he was gone, leaving me in the cabin alone, not
wanting to risk my wrath. I doubted I could have done much, at the woozy state I was in. I
crawled up on the couch Amador had been first sitting on, and dozed off into sleep.
 

Continue to Part 4
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