"i can't believe you guys were teaching him to waltz."

rachel's words brought the memory to the front of leigh's mind, making her smile with amusement. she'd done a lot of smiling in the three hours since they arrived at the night club, she realized as she looked around. in her opinion, it was a surprisingly pedestrian dance/lounge bar. it wasn't that she'd expected stuffed bats on the walls or posters of bela lugosi everywhere, but she had expected something unusual to mark it as a vampire bar.

oops, immortal bar, she corrected herself.

anyway, there wasn't any of that. it was made up of two rooms: this lounge area, with the music at a level where they could actually talk and hear each other; and a larger room with a dance floor surrounded by booths, where the music was several decibels louder. the two bars were separated by a swinging door, but the walls between them were soundproofed glass. leigh and the others had chosen to sit in the lounge, but made forays into the dance area when a good song came on and someone felt like dancing.

all the men had taken a turn or two on the dance floor, but only thomas went every time the girls went. lucian had proven himself a pretty capable dancer for someone the men had thought they should teach. he seemed to have a natural sense of rhythm.

her gaze slid to the bar, where lucian, etienne, and greg were gathered around bricker and mortimer. the women and thomas had returned from their last excursion to the dance floor to find the men had abandoned their table for the bar.

"seriously," lissianna said, smacking thomas in the arm. "what were you thinking? they don't waltz here."

"i was thinking i didn't want my uncle clasping my butt, and our chests rubbing together as he stepped on my feet while trying to shuffle me around the floor," thomas answered dryly.

leigh nearly choked on her drink as she burst out laughing at the image he'd just put in their minds.

"yeah... laugh," thomas said. "you weren't the one dancing with him. you have my sympathies, leigh," he teased, reaching out to pat her hand.

"he dances just fine," she said firmly, then scowled and added, "now will you guys stop that."

"stop what?" thomas asked with genuine confusion.

"stop talking like lucian and i are a couple."

"you are."

"we've just met," leigh protested, but he just shrugged as if that meant nothing.

"doesn't matter whether you've known him five minutes or five millennia, you're life mates. he's yours and you're his. the only question now is when the two of you will get past your fears and claim each other."

leigh arched an eyebrow. "what if i don't want to claim him?"

"forever is a long time to be alone," thomas said quietly. "hell, two hundred years is a long time. trust me. i know."

"yeah, well, i could choose to be with someone else," she pointed out. "i might find contentment, at least, with someone else."

thomas's eyes widened incredulously, then he turned to lissianna and rachel. "before we went over tonight, you two said you were going to get leigh alone and tell her everything. didn't you do that?"

"of course we did," rachel began, then stopped when she saw lissianna's wide eyes. frowning, she asked, "what did we forget?"

"i think we just neglected to clarify something," lissianna said with a sigh, and turned to leigh. "do you remember the tale of my mother and father?"

leigh nodded. marguerite argeneau and her husband jean claude had, apparently, not been true life mates. he'd been able to read and control her... and had. it made for a miserable marriage for both of them. marguerite had been little better than a puppet that he posed and did with as he willed. even worse, she'd been aware of it, but unable to stop it, much as leigh had been aware and able to think, but unable to stop morgan from controlling her own body and actions. marguerite had -- understandably -- resented jean claude for it.

"well," lissianna said, "any other relationship, but lucian, would be like that for you. you won't be happy with anyone else."

leigh shook her head firmly. "i would never do what your father did."

"do you think my father intended to when he turned and married her?" lissianna asked quietly. "do you really think he didn't feel guilt and self-loathing over it? why do you think he became an alcoholic and ended up burned to death? it was as good as suicide."

"besides, who says you'd have the stronger mind?" rachel pointed out. "whoever you choose for a mate might do it to you."

"what?" she stiffened.

"father was stronger minded because he was so old," lissianna said. "but there are new turns who have displayed stronger minds than most immortals have. greg, for instance."

"lucian's old, too," leigh said with alarm. "could he -- "

"he can't even read you," rachel pointed out. "he couldn't control you. it's why you'd make perfect life mates."

they fell silent as the waitress arrived with the drinks thomas had ordered. he immediately leapt to his feet to help her distribute the cocktails, then thanked and tipped her.

"that looks familiar." rachel suspiciously eyed the glass thomas placed in front of leigh.

leigh smiled at the red umbrella sticking out of her glass. shifting it aside, she removed the candy heart on the little plastic sword that had been laid across the top of the glass and ate it.

she had tried several drinks tonight, and much to her dismay, enjoyed them all. she liked the energy drinks especially. so much for her belief that she'd never care for the taste of blood. as had happened with the scent smelling as sweet to her as perfume, blood now had an entirely different taste to her, and she wondered how the nanos managed that.

leigh picked up her glass to try this latest drink, only to find it snatched from her hand by rachel as the other woman turned a glare on thomas. "it's a sweet ecstasy!" she said accusingly.

"yes," leigh said, confused. "thomas said it was good."

"oh, yeah?" rachel continued to glare at him. "if it's so good, why don't you drink it, thomas?"

he made a face. "i don't know what your problem is. it worked for you and etienne. it'll work here to speed things up, too."

"i don't understand. what's going on?" leigh asked. "what exactly is a sweet ecstasy?"

"it's chock full of the pheromones and hormones of sexually excited mortals."

leigh raised her eyebrows.

"you've heard of spanish fly?" rachel asked.

"yes," she said with a frown.

"well, i don't know if that really exists, but this is the immortal version, and i can guarantee you it does work."

leigh turned a horrified gaze on thomas, and he quickly said in his own defense, "i was just trying to heat things up for you."

she gave a short burst of disbelieving laughter. "well geez, thomas, i don't need that. i'm already having waking wet dreams. give it to lucian instead." she snapped her mouth closed on the last word as she realized what she'd said, turned on thomas herself and said accusingly, "i thought you said there wasn't much alcohol in those drinks."

"you won't have the same tolerance you used to have," lissianna explained soothingly. "and don't be embarrassed about what you said. it's all right, leigh. we've all been through the madness of finding a life mate and all said or done stupid things in the midst of it. well, rachel and i have."

thomas almost seemed to flinch at her words, and leigh realized he wished for a life mate of his own. lissianna seemed to realize it as well, for she patted his shoulder and added, "and thomas will soon enough, too."

"right." thomas didn't sound as if he were likely to hold his breath waiting for it. then he snatched the drink from rachel and said, "but leigh's right. i'll give it to lucian instead."

getting to his feet, he turned away to cross to the bar before anyone could speak.

"he won't really?" leigh asked with alarm.

neither woman answered. they all watched thomas approach the bar and tap lucian on the shoulder. when his uncle turned, the younger man said something and gestured back toward their table. the moment lucian looked their way, thomas traded the glass he held for the one that sat on the bar in front of lucian.

"oh god, he did it," leigh said with dismay.

"he certainly did," rachel agreed dryly, then added, "you're in for an interesting night."

"no, i'm not," leigh said firmly. "i couldn't possibly take advantage of lucian that way."

"considering the thoughts i've seen floating through his head, i don't think you could call it taking advantage," lissianna assured her with a small smile.

"the men are coming back," rachel announced. "and they're looking pretty serious. bricker and mortimer must not have had good news."

leigh noted that lucian's face did indeed look grim. he'd told her on the way to the club that they suspected morgan and donny were headed north to canada, following her. she found that hard to believe. if they'd thought it was because of donny, she might have agreed it was possible, since donny was the one who'd wanted her turned, and he'd gone on about being eternally happy and so on. but they seemed to think morgan wanted her, which made no sense to her at all. she wasn't some great beauty who could enslave men with a smile. she was the kind you found attractive as you got to know her better, and morgan hadn't known her more than a matter of minutes.

"what did mortimer and bricker say?" lissianna asked as the men reclaimed their seats.

"morgan and donny may be here somewhere after all," lucian answered. "a second credit card from another one of morgan's victims at the house was activated at a hotel in iowa. as soon as he was informed, bastien sent pimms and anders there. they were two of my men who were in the area," he explained to leigh, before continuing, "when they raided the room that had been rented, they rounded up a young couple who had apparently escaped with morgan and donny the morning we hit the house."

"so four of them escaped that morning?" rachel asked with a frown.

"six," lucian corrected. "there were two other men with morgan and donny. apparently, they're the ones who flew up on the plane from des moines, new turns that mortimer and bricker wouldn't have recognized."

"morgan sent two up on the plane?" lissianna asked with surprise. "why didn't they all fly up?"

"morgan has a phobia to flying," etienne answered, then added, "apparently, while he was tired of the long drive with the seven of them crammed in the van, he didn't want to put all his eggs in one basket. he sent two of the men on the plane, gave the second credit card to the couple pimms and anders caught and told them to take turns driving, travel straight through without stopping, and meet him here in toronto."

"but they stopped at a hotel and got caught for disobeying him," rachel said.

"the van broke down," greg explained quietly. "they took a room to sleep in while it was being repaired."

"but where are donny and morgan?" leigh asked with a frown.

lucian hesitated, but reluctantly admitted, "morgan had the couple drop him and donny at the train station. they bought tickets to toronto with cash."

leigh stilled, alarm coursing through her. "how long does it take to get here by train?"

when the men exchanged grim glances but didn't rush to answer the question, her eyes widened and she said with dread, "they're already here, aren't they?"

"they could be," etienne admitted solemnly. "and if not, they will be soon. unfortunately, they paid cash and didn't buy the tickets in their own names, so we don't know exactly which trains and transfers they took and when they'll arrive."

"if it's possible they're already here, shouldn't mortimer and bricker be at the house watching for them?" lissianna asked.

"pimms and anders flew straight here after handling the couple in iowa. they're at the house now," greg assured her. "two more men are watching the train station here in toronto, though we suspect it's too late to catch them there. mortimer and bricker are here to watch the bar. morgan apparently planned for everyone to meet up here tonight, so he may show up at some point."

leigh glanced around, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. it looked like she'd been wrong and donny and morgan were headed her way. she found it hard to believe, but apparently they were.

"we should call it a night," greg said quietly.

the women all nodded in agreement and started to gather their things.

"we also think uncle lucian and leigh should go stay in a hotel. just to be safe," etienne added.

leigh stiffened, her eyes shooting to lucian. his face was expressionless, no upset showing, but she was sure he would be. he'd had to leave the hunt for morgan in kansas to bring her north and oversee her turning. now morgan was on his home turf, and rather than be able to stand and fight, lucian had to rush her to safety. he had to resent it.

leigh's unhappy thoughts were interrupted when etienne added, "there's a slim possibility that morgan was already here in toronto and watching uncle lucian's house when they swung by to pick up his things this afternoon." he turned his gaze to leigh and continued, "they may have followed you back to marguerite's and are waiting until you're alone to do anything. we all think you should head straight to the hotel from here rather than stop there and risk running into him."

"but julius is at the house. we can't leave him alone without food or water," leigh said with concern, then her eyes widened and she asked, "morgan wouldn't hurt julius, would he?"

the men all exchanged glances, then greg said, "we could take julius for a couple days."

"or we could," etienne added, then hesitated. "but it might be better if he stays with lucian and leigh. he'd be added protection."

lucian nodded. "we'll pick him up on the way out of town."

"but you can't," lissianna reminded him. "you shouldn't go to the house by yourselves. besides, what hotel takes dogs? especially julius-sized dogs?"

there was silence as everyone considered the matter, then rachel sat forward.

"okay, here's an idea," she said. "greg and etienne head over to get julius. the rest of us go to our place to wait for them. then, when the guys bring julius back, leigh and lucian take my car and head out of town."

"why your car?" etienne asked.

"in case morgan is already here somewhere watching. if he follows us to the house, all he'll see is a car leaving the garage. the windows are darkened. lucian's car will still be there, and hopefully he won't think it's them leaving."

"that's good, but there's still the problem of a hotel that will take dogs," lissianna pointed out.

everyone frowned, then thomas sprung upright. "the cottage."

"the cottage?" leigh asked with confusion.

"i have a cottage on the lake," he explained. "it's about two and a half hours south of here. you guys could go there with julius. morgan couldn't possibly know about it."

they were all silent, then greg nodded. "sounds like a plan."

leigh remained silent as everyone stood and began to make their way out of the club. she waited until she and lucian were outside and walking a little behind the others before saying, "you don't have to do this."

he slowed to a stop and turned to peer at her in confusion. "do what?"

leigh bit her lip. "i realize you probably want to be in on catching morgan. i appreciate that you gave up the hunt to look after me during the turn, but it seems unfair that you'll have to give it up again when he's come to your own hometown. you don't have to take me to a hotel. i can go by myself, maybe take julius just in case, and you could stay and be in on the hunt."

a soft smile curved lucian's lips and he raised a hand to brush it gently down her cheek as he shook his head. "leigh, your safety is my top priority."

she peered up at him uncertainly. "you aren't going to resent me for -- "

"of course not," he assured her as if she were being silly. when she still looked uncertain, he said, "leigh, i've been alive thousands of years, and been a warrior for most of that time. i've hunted and brought in more rogues than i can count. i have nothing to prove, no burning desire to chase him down and bring him in myself. you're my main concern. if morgan's after you, i want to make sure you're well out of the way and he can't get his hands on you. i don't mind leaving the actual catching of him to others. besides, there will always be another hunt."

when leigh let her shoulders relax, a small, relieved smile pulling at her lips, lucian smiled back and took her hand to urge her after the others.

"you can turn your windshield wipers off. the rain has stopped."

leigh ground her teeth together and flicked the switch to turn off the wipers. they'd been on the road for two hours. julius had finally stopped drooling over her shoulder about half an hour ago and gone to sleep in the back. she wished lucian would do the same in the front seat. he was driving her crazy.

everything had gone according to plan except one thing. they'd gotten to the house, greg and etienne had shown up with julius, they talked for several hours, going over what to do if there was a problem and so on, then piled into the attached garage of rachel and etienne's home. that was when things stopped going according to plan. lucian got into the driver's seat, stopped in surprise and cursed. rachel's car was a stick shift. much to leigh's surprise, lucian didn't drive stick. it seemed that until they'd invented automatic cars, he'd had a driver, and so never bothered to learn.

foolishly, leigh had said it wasn't a problem, she drove stick. she'd been regretting it for almost every minute of the last two hours. lucian was a backseat driver. "you're going too fast. you're going too slow. turn up your defroster. turn off your wipers. you should have turned your blinker on sooner to give anyone following more time to slow down... " never mind that they were the only idiots on the road at three o'clock in the morning!

if they were going to survive as life mates without her wringing his neck, she would have to never drive again, leigh decided, then blinked at her own thoughts. it was the closest she'd come to acknowledging that all the arguments and persuading thomas, lissianna, and rachel had done that night were beginning to work. sort of. maybe. she wasn't ready to jump in feet first or anything, but they could date for a while, see how it went... then, maybe, down the road -- say in a year or two, if they got along -- they could consider this whole life mate thing. she had jumped into her first marriage and regretted it. she wasn't jumping again.

"turn right," lucian said suddenly, and leigh blinked her thoughts away.

she flicked on her blinker and turned, hoping they were almost there. thomas had said the cottage was two and a half hours away on the lake, but that would have been at a normal speed limit. with the roads empty and lucian driving her crazy, she'd sped up whenever he wasn't looking at the speedometer, hoping to shorten the trip before she drove into a passing tree just to end it herself. not that it would actually end anything, she supposed.

"there it is. slow down."

leigh ground her jaws together, pressed her foot down on the brakes and wondered if they could take a bus back when all this was over. or a taxi. anything to avoid another drive like the one she'd just suffered.

"there," lucian said with a sigh as she pulled to a stop in front of the "cottage."

leigh stared at the chalet style house. she should have known the argeneau idea of a cottage wouldn't be her idea of a cottage. to her, a cottage was a two or three room shack with the basic necessities. this was bigger than most people's homes. it was also gorgeous.

grateful to see the end of the trip, she turned off the car and opened her door, nearly tripping over her feet in her haste to get out. a bark from julius told her the dog was awake, and she opened the back door of the car as lucian moved to the trunk. julius leapt out of the backseat, trailing his leash behind him. leigh caught it and drew him to a halt, grimacing when she found it wet.

"can you pop the -- " lucian's request died as leigh hit the button on the remote to open the trunk. he leaned in to retrieve their bags and the cooler they'd brought. once again they were without their own clothes and personal items, but the men had brought julius's dog food with them, and rachel had filled bags with food and drink and some clothes for them both from her own home. she'd also packed a cooler with enough blood to last a couple days.

lucian managed to gather everything in one trip, shaking his head when leigh offered to help. shrugging, she followed him to the door of the cottage, leading julius. the mastiff was well-trained. he walked at her side, then sat down on his haunches when she paused on the wooden deck at the front door. leigh patted him absently for the good behavior as lucian stubbornly struggled with everything and tried to open the door at the same time.

after a moment she lost her patience, stepped up to his side and snatched away the keys he was fumbling with.

"you need to learn to accept help," she said impatiently as she sorted through the keys, looking for the one she assumed would open the cottage. "you can't do everything and control everything yourself. even superman needed his lois lane and jimmy."

lucian's mouth tightened and he followed her stiffly inside when she got the door open.

leigh went to close the door behind them, then realized julius was still outside. she'd dropped the leash to take the keys from lucian, and the dog was now dragging it around the yard, jerking at it when it caught on things as he ran around, leaving his mark everywhere. once satisfied that he'd staked out his territory, the dog trotted inside and stood patiently while leigh removed the leash.

"good doggy," she murmured, patting his head. julius gave her hand a swipe with his tongue, then padded off into the cottage, leaving her to close and lock the door.

leigh surveyed their temporary new home with disbelief as she followed. the ground floor was one large living room with a small corner set off for a kitchen. the wall facing out on the lake was all glass, and there was lots of wood and light colors. it was beautiful, of course. these people didn't appear to do anything by halves.

ignoring lucian in the kitchen, leigh picked up the bag with their clothes in it and set it on the stairs leading to the second level. she knew it must be where the bedrooms were, and didn't want to forget to take it up with her when she went to investigate. for now, she was content to take in the main floor.

leigh peered over the comfortable looking furniture and glass and wood tables, then walked to the wall of glass and peered out at the lake. it was a calm night, no wind in sight, and the moonlight glinting off the placid surface looked so inviting she wondered if she'd be able to find a swimsuit around here. it was late fall but had been warm the last few nights, and the water should be beautiful.

her thoughts were disturbed by a glass of wine appearing suddenly before her. leigh followed the hand holding it, up the arm, then to lucian's face.

"i'm sorry."

it was obvious lucian wasn't used to apologizing. he muttered the two words with the attitude of a six-year-old ordered by his mother to apologize, and her tension slid away as a laugh bubbled from her lips.

lucian immediately relaxed, a wry smile claiming his lips.

"i guess that wasn't the most gracious apology," he admitted. "thank you for not throwing it back in my face."

"which? the wine or the apology?" leigh asked as she finally took the glass.

"either," lucian said with a grin, then added sincerely, "i really am sorry. i know i was being a bit of a backseat driver in the car and -- "

"a bit?" she asked pointedly.

"and you're right," he continued, ignoring her interruption. "i should learn to accept help better. it's something i'm just learning."

leigh nodded and sipped her wine, watching as he drank his own, then turned to peer out the window at the lake.

"it's beautiful here," lucian commented with a surprise that made leigh's eyebrows rise.

"haven't you been here before?"

lucian shook his head. "the kids come down here some weekends in the summer to kick back and relax. even marguerite comes once in a while, but i -- " he shrugged. "they've invited me, but... "

he left the sentence unfinished and stared out at the water with a frown, then glanced down to see the amusement on her face and asked, "what's so funny?"

"nothing... us. here i've always wanted family, and you've got it, but shun yours."

lucian frowned. "it's not that i shun them. i just don't feel i belong most of the time. i had a family and lost them and -- "

he stopped abruptly, and leigh said, "i know about your family. i'm sorry."

"it was a long time ago," he said quietly.

"but it still hurts you."

lucian stared at the water, then said, "i loved my family, leigh. but it was a long, long time ago. sometimes i can't even remember their faces anymore... but i remember what it was like having them and being a part of a family. i can hear their laughter, the girls' giggles, and remember how good it felt just to have a family of your own, people who loved you and you belonged with."

"lissianna and the others love you," leigh said quietly.

"yes, but... " he struggled briefly, then tried to explain. "jean claude married marguerite and they had the kids, and i was a part of their family, but on the outside."

"like a fifth wheel," leigh said with understanding. she'd been a fifth wheel often enough at the christmases and celebrations of friends and their families.

lucian nodded, then shrugged. "now, the kids are pretty much grown up and starting families of their own."

leigh blinked at the "pretty much grown up" bit. she knew the oldest son, lucern, was over six hundred years old, and lissianna over two hundred. how old did they have to be before they were fully grown up? dear god, she thought. if lissianna was only "pretty much grown up" in his eyes at two hundred, how did he see her?

troubled by the idea that lucian might see her as a child, she downed her wine and moved to set the glass down on the wood and glass coffee table, then started up the stairs. "i'm going to see if i can find a bathing suit."

"why bother? there's no one around for miles and it's dark out."

leigh paused at the challenge in his voice. she peered at him, but lucian had turned away, staring out at the water. her gaze followed his out to the lake. it was dark, but not dark enough to make her invisible. he would be able to see her.

as she hesitated, lucian finished his wine, set it next to her empty glass, then straightened and peered at her as he began to undo the buttons of his shirt. leigh watched one button after another slip through their holes, then swallowed and turned to the stairs. "i'll just -- "

"coward." the soft word slid through the air between them, and she turned back as he asked, "have you ever been skinny dipping in the moonlight?"

her eyes traced the contours of his chest as he shrugged the shirt off, tossing it over the end of the couch. leigh licked her lips and shook her head.

"the water's like a caress. the moon like a kiss. the sand as soft as a bed."

her mind suddenly filled with images, but not of the water caressing her, or the moon kissing her. it was lucian. she closed her eyes as the images assaulted her, aware that her breathing was becoming shallow and her body reacting to both his words and the ideas in her head. when she blinked her eyes open a moment later, lucian was standing before her. with her on the first step, and he on the floor, they were almost the same height.

his gaze meeting hers, lucian lifted a finger and ran it lightly along the collar of the off-the-shoulder top he'd chosen. his voice was husky as he offered, "i could help you with this."

without meaning to, hardly aware she was doing it, leigh swayed forward, her mouth parting. in the next instant, lucian's arms were around her, his mouth claiming hers. in her fantasy in the shower, his kisses had been hot and deep and all-consuming. they were more so in reality. her world tilted and spun as his tongue slid into her. she had to clutch at his shoulders to remain upright.

he tasted of wine, sweet and strong, and she moaned into his mouth with pleasure as his tongue lashed her own. as if the sound were permission given, lucian abruptly broke the kiss, his mouth trailing down her neck.

leigh shivered and let her head drop back as he nibbled at the base of her throat where it met her shoulder. then-->>

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