Autumn was dead asleep when she was joined in the bed, but even in her deep, nearly painful repose, she knew whose hands came upon her skin, and traveled over her hip, and eased up her stomach. She knew exactly who cupped her breasts and rolled her over.

For sex.

Cool air hit her skin as the covers were folded aside, and on instinct she parted her legs, preparing to welcome the one male she would e'er take within her.

She was ready for Tohrment. Had seemed in recent weeks to always be ready for him.

Handy - as he would have said. As he was always ready for her.

Her great warrior found his way between her thighs, opening them further with his hips - no, those were now his hands, as if he had had one plan and then changed his mind -

His mouth found her, locking on, then licking.

With her eyes still closed and her mind in that fuzzy netherworld that was neither sleep nor awakening, the pleasure was so intense she bucked and thrashed against his tongue, giving herself over to him with everything she had as he sucked and teased and penetrated....

Except there was no orgasm for her. No matter how much he pleasured her.

Try as she might to capture the release, she couldn't fall off the edge, pleasure sharpening to the point of agony - and still she could find no climax, even as sweat beaded up her skin, and breath sawed in her throat.

Desperation made her grab his head and press him harder against her.

Except then he disappeared.

This was naught but a nightmare, she thought as she cried out at the denial. A torturous dream with erotic overtones -

Tohrment surged back at her, and this time it was his full body against her own. Tucking his arms behind her knees, he split her wide as he cranked her into a tight little ball underneath his great weight.

And then he entered, hard and fast.

Now she came. The instant he filled her with that long length of his, her body responded with a tremendous, cracking explosion, the orgasm so violent she bit her own lip with both fangs.

As blood flooded her mouth, he slowed his pounding to lap it up. But she didn't want slow. Using his arms to push against with her legs, she found her own rhythm against his shaft, riding him, taking him... until she soon found herself again on the verge.

And going nowhere.

In the beginning, it had been so easy for her to get what she needed when they mated. Lately, though, it was harder and harder....

As she strained against him, pumping herself faster and faster, her frustration made her wild.

She bit him.

In the shoulder.

Scored him. With her nails.

The combination should have had him stopping and demanding more civilized behavior. Instead, with his blood flowing onto her, he let out a roar so mighty there was a crash in the room, as if it had rattled something off the wall.

Then he orgasmed. And thank the sweet Virgin Scribe for his release. As he jabbed into her and his erection kicked violently, she finally caught that elusive ride herself, her body rocking with him, the headboard banging.

Someone was shouting.

Her.

There was another crash.

The lamp...?

When they finally stilled, she was soaking wet all over, throbbing between her legs, limp to the point of being boneless. One of the bedside lamps had indeed been knocked off its table, and as she looked across the way, she saw that the mirror over the bureau had cracked its glass.

Tohrment lifted his head and stared at her. In the light from the bathroom, she saw the damage to his shoulder.

"Oh... dearest..." She put a hand to her mouth in horror at the gaping wound. "I'm so sorry."

He glanced at himself and frowned. "Are you kidding me?"

When he looked back at her, he was smiling with a male pride that made absolutely no sense at all.

"I have hurt you." She wanted to cry. "I have - "

"Shh." He brushed a damp strand away from her face. "I love it. I fucking love it. Scratch me. Dent me. Bite me - s'all good."

"You are... nuts." To use a colloquialism she'd picked up on.

"I'm not finished is what I am - " Except as he went to move in her, she winced.

Instantly, he froze. "Shit, that was pretty rough."

"It was wonderful."

Tohrment propped his great chest up on his arms and withdrew so slowly and carefully, she barely felt it. And yet she started cramping somewhere inside. Or maybe that was another orgasm? Hard to know, as her body was so o'errun with sensation.

Either way, the delicious wear and tear was a good thing. They were so familiar with each other now, so comfortable with mating, and the incredible intensity they achieved was a result of the lack of barriers, and the freedom... and the trust they shared.

"Let me run you a bath to clean you up in."

"That's okay." She smiled at him. "I'm just going to relax here while you take a shower. Then I'll do the same in a bit."

In truth, she didn't trust herself to be naked in the bathroom with him. She was liable to bite him on the other side of his shoulders - and as much as she appreciated his carte blanche with the teeth, she would far prefer not to use the leeway.

Tohrment slid out of the mess of covers and stood over her for a moment, eyes narrowed. "You sure you're okay?"

"Promise."

Eventually, he nodded and turned away -

"Your back!" He looked like he'd had cat claws in him, great streaks of red cutting down his torso and spine.

He glanced over his bitten shoulder and smiled with more pride. "It feels great. I'm going to think of you when I'm out tonight, every time they pull."

As he disappeared into the bathroom, she shook her head to herself. Males were... well, nuts.

Closing her eyes, she cast the sheets from her skin and moved her arms and legs out from her body. The air was cool in the room, perhaps even cold, but in the aftermath, she was her own furnace, the remnants of passion practically steaming from her pores.

Whilst Tohrment showered, the flush gradually faded, however, as did the throbbing aftermath of the lovemaking. And then, finally, she found the peace she had been looking for, her body uncoiling, the lingering tension and ache easing.

With a stretch that felt all the better for her nakedness, she smiled at the ceiling. Never had she known such happiness -

From out of nowhere, that strange chill she had felt now and again since the fall came back upon her, a premonition she could sense but not define, a warning without context.

Cold now, she drew the covers around herself.

Alone in the bed, she felt stalked by destiny as surely as though she were in a forest at night, with wolves she could hear but not see padding around the trees...

Ready to pounce.

In the bathroom, Tohr dried himself off and leaned into the mirror. The bite mark on his shoulder was starting to heal already, his skin reknitting over the punctures, everything sealing up nicely. Too bad - he wanted the wounds to stick around for a while.

There was pride to be had in being marked like that.

Still, he decided to wear a Hanes T-shirt instead of a wifebeater under his jacket. No reason for his brothers to see it. That shit was private - between him and Autumn alone.

Goddamn... that female was incredible.

In spite of the stress he was under, in spite of that convo with Lassiter on the staircase, in spite of the fact that he'd started to touch her only because he'd felt like he should, in the end, and as usual, it had been all about the sex, the raw, pounding sex: Autumn was like a vortex that he spun around, the erotic hold she had on his body sucking him in and then spinning him out to the surface for air... before claiming him once again.

In this, he was sad to say, he had moved on.

It pained him to admit that, and sometimes as he lay there afterward, the pair of them recovering their breath and cooling their sweat, that old familiar ache sharpened to a dagger point behind his sternum.

He didn't suppose he was ever going to lose that sensation.

And yet, every dawn, he sought her out and he took her... and he had every intention of doing the same in another twelve hours.

Coming out of the bath, he found her still on the bed. She had curled away toward the windows and was lying on her side with the sheets drawn around herself.

He saw her naked.

Utterly. Fucking. Naked.

The image made his body get instantly hard, his sex punching out from his hips. And as if she sensed his arousal, she moaned in an erotic purr and undulated. Reaching behind herself, she pulled back what covered her and moved her upper leg forward, exposing her glistening sex.

"Oh, hell," he groaned.

His body went to her without thought or decision, tracking her with such a locked-on focus that he wouldn't have even killed anyone who got in his way: He'd have just trampled them and waited to commit murder until he was finished taking care of business with her.

Getting up on the mattress, he took his cock in his hand and fit himself to her from behind, head to her core. He was careful as he entered her, just in case she was still sore, and then he waited, suspending himself above her to make sure she still wanted him again so soon.

When all she did was moan his name in satisfaction, he let his hips begin to pump.

Slick, smooth, hot...

He took her without apology and liked the freedom to do that. She remained slight of stature, but she was tougher than she looked, and in the last few months he had learned to let himself go, because he knew she liked it like that, too.

Shifting one of his hands to her hip, he changed the angle of her body so he could get in even deeper. And of course, there was another added bene to this position: He could see himself going in and out of her, watching the rim of his head make an appearance before going deep, only to return to the edge of her once more. She was pink and swollen, and he was hard and glossy thanks to her -

"Fuck," he barked as he started to come again.

He rode her while he released, feeling her orgasm with him, that sex of hers fisting him. And he watched the show until his eyes cranked shut - which was fine, because he could still see her on the backs of his lids.

After he was done, he nearly collapsed on her, but caught himself just in time. Dropping his head, he found his mouth close to the top of her spine, and he took advantage of the proximity, brushing his lips on her skin.

Knowing he should give her a break, he forced himself to ease back and pull out. Except as he slipped free, he had to grit his teeth at the sight of how ready she still was for him.

Planting his hands on her perfect cheeks, he spread her for his tongue. Shit... the taste of her and him together, the feel of her smooth, perfectly hairless sex against his mouth...

When she began to grow restless, as if she were on the verge, but not getting quite enough, he licked three fingers and slid them up inside as he continue to lap at her. That did the trick. As she called out his name and she jerked backward against his face, he smiled and helped her through the pulses that racked her.

And then it was time to stop. Period.

For the last week or so, he'd been all over her - which was the reason he'd forced himself to go to the goddamn gym today. She was looking tired, and the reason? She insisted on working during the nights, and he hadn't been able to leave her alone during the days -

Autumn shifted around so she was lying on her belly; then she put her knee out to the side and arched her back. For more.

"Jesus," he groaned. "How'm I supposed to leave you?"

"Don't," she said.

No asking twice on that one. He took her from behind again, lifting her hips, gripping them, and tilting her pelvis so he could get in deep. He ended up with a forearm around her midsection and his weight balanced on his other hand, working her, pounding her until their bodies slapped together and the bed made that noise again. He came on a curse, his orgasm exploding out of him as if he hadn't had sex in months.

And still he was hungry for her. Especially as she found her own release.

After things quieted, he curled them over onto the mattress, spooning her as he held her against him. Nuzzling his way under her hair to her neck, he worried about the way he was treating her in bed.

As if she knew he needed some reassurance, she reached behind and stroked his hair. "You feel wonderful."

Maybe. But he felt bad for the demands he was putting on her body. "Let me run you a bath now?"

"Oh, that would be wonderful. Thank you."

Heading back into the bathroom, he went over to the deep-bellied Jacuzzi, started the water running and then got the bath salts from the cupboard.

As he checked the temperature of the water and made a minute adjustment, he realized he liked taking care of her. Realized also that he'd found a lot of ways to do it. He looked for excuses to take her upstairs and feed her dinner in private. Bought her clothes off the Internet. Stopped by Walgreens and CVS to get her favorite magazines like Vanity Fair, Vogue and The New Yorker.

Always made sure there were Pepperidge Farm Milanos up here in case she got a craving.

And he wasn't the only one looking after her and showing her new things.

Xhex came to the house to see her at least once or twice a week. Together, the pair of them would go out to the local movie theater and watch films. Or head into the better parts of town so Autumn could see the nice houses. Or hit the late-night shops and stores - where they bought things with Autumn's own money that she earned working.

Bending down, he tested the water, tinkered with the temp again, and got her some towels.

On his side, it made him a little tetchy that she was out with the human crazies and the violent lessers and the untrustworthy winds of fate. But at the end of the day, Xhex was a straight-up killer, and he knew she would protect her mother if anyone so much as sneezed in their direction.

Besides, whenever mother and daughter went out, Autumn always returned with a smile on her face. Which in turn put a smile on his.

Christ, they'd both come so far since the spring. They were nearly two different people.

So what else was there?

Moving his hand through the churning water in the tub, he wondered with desperation what the fuck he was missing....