"This is great! Just what I needed."

Etienne smiled at Rachel's excitement, leading her to an open table where they were seated. His idea was obviously inspired. He didn't usually go to the Night Club--a private club solely for vampires, open from sunset to sunrise--but he had understood Rachel's desires. He was in dire need himself. After several nights of shared dreams interrupted each time by a repeat of that first phone call, he was ready to burst.

Etienne now had no doubt that Pudge was making those nightly calls, but he didn't know what to do. He considered just leaving the phone off the hook but worried about family being able to contact him if there was an emergency. Thus, every night he had left the phone on the hook, gone to sleep, and joined

Rachel in some of the most erotic dreams he'd ever had--only to be interrupted at that crucial junction. If her frustration level was as high as his, only a visit to the Night Club would help relieve it.

At least he hoped this visit would work, for both their sakes. He had to work off some tension or he was likely to jump Rachel soon--something he didn't want to do until he had a better idea how she felt about him. Relationships were difficult when one couldn't read the other's mind. Etienne had never been one to control a woman and make her want him, but if he found a woman attractive and read her mind to find that she was equally interested, in the past he had been able to approach the situation with more confidence. With Rachel, he was feeling his way around a minefield.

Of course, he knew she was attracted to him, but he wasn't sure how much of that was just gratitude for saving her life. He wanted more than gratitude from this woman. He had decided they would do very well together as life mates, so that was what he was working toward. But he had never done that before, so he felt rather like he was stumbling around in the dark. Etienne had never felt at quite such a disadvantage before. He'd never had so much on the line. He didn't like it.

"Wow! This is a happening place!"

Etienne smiled as Rachel bounced enthusiastically in her seat, tapped her fingers and feet to the music, and glanced around. It was obvious that she wanted--perhaps even needed--to dance. He opened his mouth to suggest just that, but then his gaze shifted over the dance floor and took in the hip-bumping and wild gyrations of the dancers. He'd been something of a dandy in his day, had kept up with the popular dances of the time, right up until he had become bored with the interchangeable women he was bedding, but when he had grown tired of that, he had cut back on the social life bit by bit until it had died altogether. He now didn't have a clue what the people on the dance floor were doing. It looked like half of them were having some sort of seizure.

"Yo! Cousin!"

Etienne glanced around at that exclamation, an affectionate grin curving his lips as he spotted his cousin Thomas. Rising he hugged the younger man and slapped his back.

"I can't believe you're here, man!" Thomas said. "Talk about a shocker! What's it been? A century?"

"Not that long," Etienne answered dryly.

"Nearly," Thomas insisted. Then he glanced at Rachel with interest. "You must be Rachel. Jeanne was talking about you. I'm her brother Thomas. You can call me Tom."

Rachel smiled and accepted his hand. "You must mean Jeanne Louise. I really enjoyed talking to her at Lissianna's shower. She's your sister?" Her eyes took in Thomas's stylish hair and his tight black T-shirt and leather pants, with amusement, Etienne hoped. "Let me guess; you're her younger brother? Twenty-eight or twenty-nine to her ninety-two?"

"Wrong." He grinned. "I'm older. Two hundred and six. Mom wants to have another baby, but she has to wait another ten years or so."

"Oh, yes." Rachel made a face. "I forgot about the hundred-year rule."

Thomas chuckled, then glanced over Rachel much the same way she had looked at him--only his attention was on the way her hands and feet, nearly her whole body, were moving to the music. She was pretty much dancing in place. "You're gonna be dancing on a table in a minute if someone doesn't intercede," he teased lightly. "You look like a woman who needs to groove."

Rachel laughed. "How very astute of you to notice."

"What can I say? I'm an astute dude," he teased. Taking her hand, he said, "Come on, I'll be your knight in leather pants and take you to the dance floor."

Etienne grimaced as Rachel went off with his cousin. She hadn't even looked his way. He shouldn't have hesitated over dancing, he told himself with irritation. He should have taken her straight out there. It was what they both needed.

"You snooze, you lose, cousin." Those laughing words reminded Etienne that he was in a vampire haven where several of the more powerful vampires could read his thoughts. Including his cousin. He had obviously become too used to his own company, where guarding his thoughts wasn't necessary.

Irritated with himself, Etienne firmly slammed his mind closed to keep others from probing his thoughts. Then he settled back in his seat, watching with irritation as Thomas and Rachel began to have their own seizures on the dance floor.

"So, how are you getting along with Cousin Etienne?"

Rachel smiled and shrugged. "Fine. He's a nice guy."

"Oh, man!" Thomas grabbed his chest as if she'd stabbed him. "Nice? That's the kiss of death."

Rachel laughed at his dramatics, even more amused when he arched one eyebrow several times and said, "That makes it obvious my cousin isn't making moves. He needs a poke, I think. Come on, let's poke him."

Much to Rachel's confusion, Thomas's idea of poking Etienne was to pull her into his arms and begin dancing in a slow style to the hiphop beat around them.

"Er... Thomas, have you noticed this is a fast song?" Rachel had to yell to be heard over the music.

His hands slid down her back to rest on her behind. "Yeah. Etienne's noticed too," he yelled back, drawing her closer still and laughing. "Here he comes! Definitely poked! You can thank me later, dudette--I'll be your knight in shiny leather any day." He gave her a slap on the behind, then unhanded her as Etienne appeared. With an innocent expression, he yelled, "Cutting in?"

Etienne's answer was a smoldering look that made Rachel incredulous. Had she wondered if he was interested in her? The jealousy and anger on his face seemed to suggest that he was. Yet he hadn't acted anything but friendly when they were alone.

She didn't get the chance to ponder the matter further. Etienne ignored the fast-paced music just as Thomas had, and pulled her into his arms. She hadn't thought it possible, but he actually held her closer than his cousin, and whereas Thomas's hands had rested lightly on her rump, Etienne took a firm grip, steering her around the dance floor. Rachel was plastered against his front, intimately aware of every bump and curve in the man's physique in a way that was breathtaking. After only a couple of moments, she was feeling hot, breathless, and in desperate need of a drink.

Much to her relief, when she suggested it to Etienne, he concurred at once. He escorted her back to their table. Thomas had apparently decided to join them. He was seated there and grinned at them widely when they arrived.

Etienne scowled at the younger vampire as he pulled out Rachel's chair--a gesture she hadn't experienced in her whole life of modern dating. He said, "Behave. I'll be right back."

Rachel watched him leave with surprise. He disappeared into a door marked with the international symbol for a man. The bathroom.

"Drinks, people?"

Rachel peered uncertainly at the waitress smiling at her. Then her gaze drifted helplessly to Thomas. "I'm not sure what they have," she admitted, feeling a little lost. It being a vampire bar, she presumed they served blood here. But did they serve other drinks?

"Allow me," he suggested. Rachel would have been relieved by the offer, except for the way the man was grinning. "Two Sweet Ecstasies and a Virgin Mary."

"What's a Virgin Mary?" Rachel asked suspiciously as the waitress walked away. She supposed that the Sweet Ecstasies were for the men and the Virgin Mary for her. Thomas's answer corrected her misconception.

"Blood, Worcestershire and Tabasco sauce with a squeeze of lemon. I like hot and spicy," he said with a grin.

"Oh," Rachel said faintly. The drink sounded disgusting. She was almost afraid to ask what was in the Sweet Ecstasy.

"Sometimes it's better not to know." Thomas leaned forward so that he wouldn't have to yell. He had obviously read her thoughts. It was rather annoying not to be able to have a thought of your own without people listening all the time. Rachel was much more comfortable with just Etienne, who claimed not to be able to read her mind. If he was lying and really could, at least he was polite enough not to comment.

"It doesn't matter," she answered Thomas. "I should have warned you not to bother if all they serve here is blood. I haven't quite mastered the technique of ingesting it yet." She shuddered at the very thought.

Thomas considered her for a moment. Rachel suspected he was sifting her brain for what might be the problem, then he nodded. "Don't worry about it. My sister-in-law had the same problem. We found a fix. I'll show you when the waitress brings the drinks."

Rachel felt a moment's hope that he really might have a solution; then her thoughts turned to wondering what was in the Sweet Ecstasies he had apparently ordered.

"They have all sorts of drinks here," Thomas said, obviously reading her thoughts again. "Some are mixed drinks like the Virgin Mary, which is straight blood with something added, and others are specialty bloods. Like Sweet Tooth."

"Sweet Tooth?" Rachel asked.

"Mmrn." He nodded. "The blood of diabetics. Aunt Marguerite really likes those," he added before continuing. "Then there is high iron or high potassium blood. Oh, and High Times. That's a drink made from the blood of pot smokers."

"No way!" Rachel gaped at him.

"Sure. Get the buzz without the damage to the lungs that smoking causes." He chuckled at her expression.

Rachel stared at him for a moment in disbelief, then asked, "So, do they have one with a high alcohol content?"

"Oh, yeah. It's called Wino Reds. Etienne's dad was big on that drink. Real big."

The way he said it made Rachel ask, "An alcoholic?"

"Yeah." He nodded solemnly. "We have alcoholics and druggies just like the regular population. We just have to consume it through blood."

"Alcoholic vampires," Rachel muttered, hardly able to believe it.

"I'll tell you a secret." Thomas leaned across the table again so that their heads almost met. "They were all worried about Lissi following in her father's footsteps for a while."

"No." Rachel sat back in shock. "Etienne's sister?"

"Yes." He nodded solemnly. "She was a hemophobic from childhood on."

"Yes. Etienne mentioned that. So, was she drinking to get over it, or--"

"No. She didn't drink. At least not the way you mean. Lissianna had to live at home and take her blood intravenously for the first couple hundred years. It was so bad she couldn't even hook herself up. Marguerite had to control her mind and put her to sleep to do it. But then, when old Claude died--"

"Claude?" Rachel interrupted.

"Marguerite's husband. He drank too much Wino Reds, passed out with a lit cigarette in his hand, and burned to death."

"So fire can kill us?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah. Fire. Having your head cut off and destroying or stopping the heart too," he informed her. After a moment, to be sure she didn't have any more questions, he returned to the story. "When Claude died so suddenly, Lissianna was really shook up. You know, death happens so rarely to us that it shakes everyone up. Anyway, she decided she needed to be more independent. She needed to 'live her life,' she said. So she took social work at the university, got a job in a local shelter, and moved out on her own."

"How did she feed if she--"

"That was the problem. We're not allowed to bite as a rule, but in some instances--emergencies, for instance--it's allowed. And because of her hemophobia, Lissianna was allowed." He glanced toward the men's room door, but there was no sign of Etienne. Thomas turned back and continued. "The concern was her choice of victim. She chose clients of the shelter. They were close at hand and easy to prey on. The problem was, a lot of them were alcoholics or druggies. Lissi tried to avoid those, but sometimes..." He shrugged.

"Her family worried, obviously," Rachel murmured.

Thomas nodded. "About a year ago, Marguerite decided enough was enough and kidnapped a human psychologist to treat her hemophobia."

"Kidnapped?" Rachel gasped.

Thomas laughed. "It's all right. Lissianna freed him... eventually. The psychologist was Gregory Hewitt."

"Her fianc¨¦?" Rachel shook her head.

"Telling family secrets, Thomas?"

Rachel and Thomas started guiltily as Etienne dropped into the seat next to her.

"Well, she's practically a member of the family, isn't she?" Thomas answered defensively.

Rachel glanced from one man to the other as they stared at each other. There were undercurrents here she didn't understand, and she had no idea what Thomas meant. Was she now considered a member of the family because she was a vampire? They had obviously taken her under their wing to train and assist with the change, but did she now have a new family? One that would long outlive the family she had been born into?

"Here we go!" The arrival of the waitress brought an end to the uncomfortable moment. "Who gets the Virgin Mary?"

"That would be me." Thomas accepted the drink with a charming smile.

"That means these are for you two." The waitress set the remaining two glasses before Etienne and Rachel.

"What is this?" Etienne asked Thomas as soon as she left.

"Oh, hang on." Thomas leapt up and hurried after the waitress, returning a moment later with two straws. He moved to Rachel's side and dropped them in her drink, then picked up the glass and smiled at her. "Okay, open that pretty mouth of yours."

Rachel hesitated, then opened her mouth, slightly embarrassed to do so because her teeth extended as usual.

"Nothing to be embarrassed about," Thomas assured her as he affixed the straws to the ends of her teeth. "This should do the trick. Now just relax. Your teeth will do all the work."

Rachel remained still even after he removed his hands from her mouth and moved back to his own seat. She didn't think anything was happening until Thomas smiled and said, "It's working."

"So it is," Etienne commented, drawing Rachel's gaze. He sounded less than happy at the realization, and pounded down half his drink in one agitated gulp.

"You see?" Thomas said with a grin. "I told you there was a way around it. It's amazing how much power those teeth have, hmm?"

Rachel risked tipping her head down to peer into the glass. She managed to do so without dislodging the straws and was amazed to see that it was indeed working; her glass was already half empty. It only took a couple of minutes for her teeth to suck up the last of the drink. The moment it was done, she unhooked the straws and leaned over to give Thomas a hug.

"Thank you, Tom. I've been trying to drink, but the taste is just horrid. Now I won't have to worry." She sat back in her seat and grinned at Etienne. "Now we can move on to teaching me to control my teeth and stuff."

"Hmm." Again, Etienne didn't seem happy, but Rachel couldn't think why. He knocked back the last of his drink, set his glass down, and stood. "Let's dance."

It wasn't really a request. He took her hand and tugged her to her feet. Rachel nearly had to run to keep up with him as he rushed her onto the dance floor. This time, there was slow music playing. Etienne took her in his arms, held her close, and began to move about. He started by holding her at an almost respectable distance, but with each song he urged her closer and closer until their bodies met everywhere. Rachel went willingly enough, her body melting into his and a little sigh escaping her. She let her head rest on his shoulder. She murmured in pleasure as his hands roamed her body, caressing and pressing her closer at the same time.

Rachel felt incredibly... incredible. Little currents of pleasure coursed through her everywhere Etienne touched, followed by little shivers of excitement. When his hand slid up into her hair to tug gently, she let her head tilt back, her eyes open sleepily watching his lips descend on hers. What started out as a languid kiss soon deepened into an exciting search for pleasure. Before she knew it, they had stopped even pretending to dance and were simply standing on the dance floor necking like teenagers.

"I want you," Etienne growled, breaking the kiss to trail his lips down her throat.

"Thank God," she breathed with relief. She was sure she would die if he didn't make love to her soon.

"Now."

"Now?" Her eyes opened to find him peering around in irritation.

"Yes. Now. But not here." Keeping one arm around her, he ushered her quickly off the dance floor. Rachel thought he would return them to their table at least long enough to make their excuses to Thomas, but it seemed he couldn't wait even for that. Instead, he steered her straight out of the club and to his parked car. He saw her into the passenger seat, hurried around to the driver's side, and climbed in to start the engine. That was as far as he got. The moment the car revved to life, Etienne turned and drew her across the seat and back into his arms.

Rachel went willingly, nearly crawling into his lap, her mouth open and ready when he lowered his head to claim it. She had never felt this excited in her life. Everywhere he touched, every inch of skin his breath brushed was suddenly on fire. Passion lodged itself heavy and wet between her legs.

"I need you," Rachel gasped when he broke their kiss.

Etienne's answer was something of a grunt. He tugged at her blouse, freeing it from her jeans. She definitely wasn't the only one experienced at undressing people--Rachel's top suddenly gaped open and he quickly and efficiently unsnapped the front snap of her bra.

"Oh." She moaned as her breasts sprang loose and he caught them in his hands. Rachel sighed another little moan of pleasure-pain as he alternately caressed and suckled her nipples. When she felt his hands at her waist, she reached down to help him, but their bodies were too close, the space too cramped.

Cursing, Etienne set her back in the passenger seat and shifted the car into gear. "Home." That was all he said and all he had to say.

Rachel bit her lip and grabbed the dashboard as they lurched out of the parking lot. She briefly considered fastening her seat belt, but Etienne was driving so swiftly she felt sure they would arrive before her shaky hands accomplished the task.

They were both out of the car before the engine finished shutting off. Etienne met her at the front of the car, caught her hand, and made a run for his front door. He managed to unlock and open it, drag her in, and slam the door closed before pulling her into his arms again. Rachel was suddenly slammed up against the hallway wall, Etienne's mouth and hands seemingly everywhere at once. They tugged at each other's clothes.

"I can't wait to get you upstairs," he said apologetically as her slacks slid down her legs.

"Don't," Rachel said. She didn't have it in her to wait either. She wanted him, needed him right there, right then.

It was all the permission Etienne needed. He ripped her panties off with one quick tug, caught her behind the thighs, lifted her, then settled her back down onto him. He slid into her and they both groaned as he filled her completely. Thanks to those erotic nightly dreams, it seemed like they had been working toward this for weeks.

Etienne paused, then stepped sideways. Suddenly afraid that she was dreaming again, and that the dream would stop now as it usually did, Rachel dug her fingernails into Etienne's shoulders and urged him on.

"More," she pleaded.

Etienne set her down on something--she thought it must be the hall table--and began to move inside her. Withdrawing, he pounded back into her, only to withdraw again.

Rachel hadn't realized she was a screamer. She'd never been a screamer before. But not only did Rachel scream when she found her pleasure, she screamed, then sank her teeth into Etienne's neck, drawing blood from his body into hers as her body rippled and pulsed around his. It was the best sex of her life.

"Hello."

Rachel blinked sleepily and peered with confusion at the man leaning over her. Etienne. She recognized him, of course, but the change in position threw her off. The last thing she recalled was her body exploding and shattering in the most powerful orgasm she'd ever experienced. Now Rachel was somehow on her back on a soft surface--in the bedroom, she realized with confusion. How had they got here?

"You fainted," Etienne told her gently. "I hope I wasn't too rough."

"Rough? No," Rachel reassured him, then blushed as understanding slid through her. "Your mother warned me this might happen."

Marguerite had also claimed that the pleasure would be twenty times anything Rachel had ever experienced. Rachel wasn't sure it had been twenty times the pleasure, but that had been at least ten times stronger, and she wasn't even fully changed yet.

"You bit me," Etienne murmured, feathering his fingers over one of her still erect nipples.

"I'm sorry," Rachel said. Her voice was husky, and she shivered in response to his caress.

"Don't be. I liked it." He allowed his hand to drift across her belly. "I liked that you were that excited. I like everything about you."

"Oh, good." Rachel moaned and closed her eyes. Her body arched as his hand dipped between her legs. Catching her lower lip with her teeth, she shifted and squirmed restlessly beneath his intimate caress, then popped her eyes back open and reached for him. "I think I need you again."

"I know I need you again," he growled back. Her hand slid the length of him. Etienne shifted over her and nudged her legs apart only to stop. His expression suddenly went stiff, as if a thought had electrified him. His eyes narrowed. "What were those drinks?"

"Drinks?" Rachel asked in confusion, her legs shifting restlessly beneath him. She didn't want to talk, didn't even want foreplay, only wanted to--

"Yes. The drinks Thomas ordered for us," he explained.

"Oh." She sighed, wondering why it mattered. "Umm, Sweet Tooths? No, that's the drink Marguerite likes. It was Sweet something, Sweet... Sweet..."

"Sweet Ecstasies?"

"That's it! Yes. Sweet Ecstasies." Rachel smiled, hoping he'd get back to business. But much to her dismay, instead of doing that, Etienne groaned and lowered himself against her. "What? What is it? Was there something wrong with those drinks?"

"Wrong? Not exactly. Think vampire Viagra or the mythical Spanish fly."

"Really?" Rachel asked curiously. The idea didn't upset her too much. She had been suffering so much sexual tension over the past few days, a little more hardly seemed worth getting upset about. Besides, it had moved them to release their sexual tension. She just wished he'd do a little more releasing.

Etienne was three hundred years old, however, and apparently had loads more control. He seemed to be in a chatty mood now too.

"Yes, really," he answered. "Only worse. Those drinks were chock full of oxytocin, dopamine, norepinephrine, phenylethylamine and God knows what else."

Rachel was impressed that he could even say those names, let alone remember them. She recognized them all. Most were hormones involved in sexual excitement, although Oxytocin was called the cuddle chemical and was released by mothers to help bond with babies. There was some supposition it was released between couples as well, but that had yet to be proven. Still, she was very impressed. She'd be more impressed if the erection cuddled against her were inside her, but she was impressed nonetheless.

"How long does it last?" Rachel asked, wondering if it was wearing off him already.

"Hours," Etienne groaned. "I'm sorry. I'll beat Thomas silly the next time I see him. I should have checked on the drinks before we drank. He's always been the prankster in the family, and--"

"Etienne," Rachel interrupted.

"Yes?" He looked rather wary, as if he might be worried she was going to blast him for what his cousin had done.

Rachel removed the fingers she had clawed into his back and caressed his cheek. "If you don't want me, I'll understand. I'll probably die, but I'll understand.

"Of course I want you," he interrupted quickly. "I've wanted you for days."

"Good." She smiled brilliantly as relief coursed through her. "I really want you too--chemicals or no chemicals. So, why not stop blathering on about Thomas and just--" It was as far as she got. Etienne silenced her with a kiss and thrust into her.

Rachel would have sighed with relief, but she was too busy groaning with pleasure. She was on fire with a need that only he could answer, and he was most definitely finally answering it. Yet it still wasn't enough. She wanted to feel... Her thoughts died as he suddenly shifted, moving onto his knees between her legs while they were still joined and scooping her up into a sitting position on his lap. Her legs wrapped naturally around his hips.

Their bodies slid against each other, and Rachel shuddered with pleasure. They were now meeting and touching everywhere. Her breasts scraped across his chest; her arms closed around his shoulders and she nestled her face in his neck, pressing kisses to the skin there, then nipping at the tender flesh as her excitement grew. Rachel had never been a biter, but she now wanted to sink her teeth deep into him.

She gasped and cried out as he beat her to it. It was a quick bite, probably drawing little blood, but Rachel took it as permission and sank her own teeth into his neck. She used that as an anchor as their passion reached fever pitch and exploded around them. Rachel felt herself grow faint, sensed the world darkening around her, but held on with her teeth and felt the rush of energy and excitement through her. It was like a drug. It was a drug. She felt herself being supercharged, then overwhelmed, and released her hold on his neck with a moan as her body shuddered and quivered around him. Darkness again crowded in.