Elvi woke Monday evening with a smile on her face as she stretched luxuriously in her lovely new bed. Sunday had been a great day. She'd woken late and gone below to find that her bed had been delivered. Not willing to disturb her, they'd made the delivery men put it in the foyer to await her rising.

The moment she made an appearance, they'd moved her coffin out and carried her bed up. When asked what she wanted done with the casket, Elvi had grimaced and muttered, "Burn it." The men had taken her at her word. While Victor and Edward had set up the plain metal frame that came with the bed, Alessandro and Harper had taken axes to her coffin, turning it into tinder.

They'd then built a fire, roasting hotdogs over the flaming remains of her casket. When it began to rain later in the evening, Elvi and the men had moved indoors and turned to a deck of cards for their entertainment. On learning that Elvi had never played poker, they'd decided to teach her and they'd spent an enjoyable evening laughing, talking, and taking all her chips.

Elvi stretched again on her lovely new bed and opened her eyes with a little sigh. While Sunday had been nice for the most part, she'd found it a bit stressful as well-as she worked to avoid being alone with Victor. It had been an act of pure cowardice on her part. She didn't know how she should act around him after the episode in the kitchen and so avoided any situation where she couldn't treat him as anything but one of the "guys."

Now she had another day of doing that ahead of her.

Making a face at the ceiling, Elvi reluctantly pushed the sheets off and climbed out of her lovely new bed. She'd slept like a dream. Too well actually. Elvi had hoped to get up early enough today to spend some time out in daylight for the first time in five years. She'd hoped to look over her garden and enjoy the sun on her face, but could tell from one glance at the window that the sun had already set.

It was her own fault, Elvi supposed; she'd retired to her room early, but stayed up waiting for Mabel and DJ to get home from the restaurant so she could finally talk to the woman. She'd never got the chance on Saturday night. DJ simply hadn't left Mabel's room, from what she could tell. At least he hadn't by the time she'd given up and fallen asleep. Then Sunday the couple had already been up and gone when she got up. Hopefully, she'd get the chance to talk to her today. Elvi could use some advice on how to deal with Victor. She couldn't avoid him indefinitely.

Elvi didn't bother drying her hair when she got out of the shower, instead she simply brushed it back and left it to dry on its own, then quickly dressed in a peasant blouse and festive cotton Mexican skirt and headed below. Normally, she'd be heading to the restaurant tonight, but she wasn't sure at this point what would be expected of her. They had houseguests after all. Once she knew what she was doing, she could change accordingly.

When Elvi first made her way downstairs and glanced around, she thought she was the only one there, then the door to the deck opened and Victor stepped inside.

He paused on first spotting her, then murmured a greeting and moved to the refrigerator. Retrieving a bag of blood, he held it out and asked, "How was the new bed?"

Despite her uncertainty, Elvi felt a smile stretch her mouth. "Marvelous."

"Glad to hear it." His smile pulled into a grin as she took the blood.

"Where is everyone?" she asked.

"The men all went to a play at the school with your neighbors... Mark and Sharon is it?"

"Mike and Karen," Elvi corrected, not at all surprised the couple had extended an invitation. The Knights were a lovely couple. They were always offering help with things around the house, or inviting her and Mabel places. Elvi wasn't surprised they were generous enough to extend those invitations to include the men. Their generosity and thoughtfulness were part of why they were so popular in town and why their son Owen's birthday celebration had been so well attended.

"And Mabel and DJ are at the restaurant," Victor continued. "She said to tell you you're not expected there tonight. She wanted you to pick one of the men and spend the evening getting to know him."

Elvi blinked. "But you said the guys went to a play."

"Yes. As you weren't up, I made an arbitrary decision for you and told the others tonight you were getting to know me," he announced unapologetically. "I thought that way I could finally tell you our laws and rules."

"Oh." Elvi bit her lip. So much for being able to avoid him.

"Feed," Victor ordered, gesturing to the bag she still held in her hand.

Relieved at the distraction, Elvi allowed her teeth to slip out and popped the bag into her mouth, then avoided Victor's eyes as she tried to sort out what to do. It was her gaze sliding over the fireplace in the living room that did it. It was a very ornate fireplace with ceramic tiles up each side and a carved wooden mantel. There was also a mirror in a beautifully carved framed that belonged above it, but it had been removed and stored in the garage five years ago. Now the empty space gave Elvi an idea.

She waited until she'd finished a second bag of blood, then grabbed her purse and announced, "Well, that's fine, but we'll have to talk while shopping."

"What?" Victor asked with surprise.

"I need to go shopping," Elvi said patiently as she moved toward the garage door.

"Mabel and DJ took the car," Victor announced, bringing her to a halt, and then added, "we'll have to take my car. I had the men move theirs so I could park at the back in case we need it."

Relieved he wasn't arguing, Elvi smiled and continued out of the house.

"So, what are we shopping for this time?" Victor asked as he parked in the local Wal-Mart parking lot several minutes later.

"A mirror," Elvi said. "I haven't been able to use one in five years. It would be nice to be able to see that my hair isn't standing on end, and to do my makeup."

They fell silent as they entered the store and sought out the section they needed. Elvi wanted a full-length mirror. Actually, eventually she wanted a proper bathroom mirror too, as well as to have the mirror in the garage put back over the mantel and so on. But for the moment, a full-length mirror seemed the more sensible buy. Reaching the aisle where the mirrors were displayed, Elvi approached slowly, almost afraid at what she would find, but then she steeled herself and forced herself to walk in front of the first one, only to pause with amazement.

She was staring at a woman with long, vibrant red hair that fell around a lovely face in soft waves. Her complexion was perfect, and so was her figure.

Damn, she was a fox, Elvi realized with amazement. She looked like Casey. How had she never noticed that her daughter had taken so much after her?

Movement in the mirror caught her eye and Elvi managed to tear her gaze from herself to focus on Victor as he stepped up behind her so they stood framed in the mirror, a handsome couple. They seemed to compliment each other.

"So," she murmured, forcing her eyes away from him and continuing along the selection of mirrors. "What about these laws?"

Victor frowned at her question. "I don't know if Wal-Mart is quite the right place to be discussing-"

"Why not?" Elvi interrupted with amusement as she peered over the various mirrors offered. "Everyone in town knows about me, and these are laws you're going to tell me, not the facts of life."

"Yes, but what if someone from out of town is shopping here?" he said grimly.

Elvi shrugged. "Then talk quietly. We're alone in this aisle right now. If someone joins us, stop."

Victor hesitated, then she heard him let out a breath before he said, "Very well." Still, he paused for a moment to glance around before saying uncomfortably, "Well, you know the most important one."

"No biting mortals," Elvi recited, amused by his discomfort. She supposed he was used to keeping everything secret and clandestine and thought she was probably lucky she hadn't had to. When Victor remained silent, she murmured, "So far I like the laws. At least that one, it gives me an excuse to put an end to the Birthday Bite celebrations. They've always been more trouble than anything else, but they were expected and I didn't want to disappoint."

She saw Victor's mouth tighten as he moved past her and wondered what she'd said to upset him. Before she could ask, he was stopping at a mirror. He ran one hand down the dark wood frame, his fingers gliding over intricate carving. "This one would suit the house."

"Yes." Elvi paused to examine the mirror. The carving was very similar to the woodwork in her house. It would suit very well indeed.

Victor watched her walk around the standing mirror, and then continued with the lesson. "One of the other more important laws to you as a woman is that you're allowed to have only one child every hundred years."

Elvi froze, her gaze searching out his face in the mirror. "What?"

Victor's reflection grimaced. "I know it seems harsh, but we need to keep the population down. If we didn't, with our life expectancy we'd quickly outnumber our blood source."

Elvi waved that away impatiently. She couldn't care less about the reasons behind the law. "Are you saying we can have children?"

"Yes." Victor tilted his head, examining her expression.

Elvi bit her lip, then asked more specifically, "What about if we couldn't, or had trouble having them as mortals?"

Victor examined her face, and then murmured, "Brunswick said your daughter died in a car accident. Did you have trouble conceiving her?"

Elvi moved away, pretending to look at another mirror, but in truth she wasn't seeing anything in the store just then. She was seeing the past.

"I always wanted a lot of children," she admitted quietly. "Five or six at least. But I had six miscarriages before Casey was born, and then nearly died giving birth to her. They said no more children."

Elvi didn't hear Victor approach, but he was suddenly there, his hand moving soothingly up and down her back as she continued, "Casey was doubly precious because of that. She was the perfect baby; always good tempered, rarely cried, and she started sleeping through the night almost at once. And she stayed perfect, every parent's dream. She grew into a beautiful young woman, never going wild or breaking curfew. She got good grades, had lots of friends, was a hard worker, and got a scholarship to university."

"Casey," Victor murmured. "You named Casey Cottage after her."

Elvi nodded.

"She's dead," he said quietly.

It wasn't a question, but Elvi treated it as if it were. Nodding, she said, "She used to come home from university on weekends. Usually I picked her up from the train station, but the last time it was Harry, my husband, who went to get her while I stayed home making a special dinner for her." Her hand tightened on the mirror frame. "Halfway home, he suffered a stroke and they crashed. The stroke killed Harry at once they think, but Casey-" Elvi paused and bit her lip when her voice broke, then took a deep breath and, ignoring the tears suddenly veiling her eyes, said, "Casey was trapped in the car. They had to use the Jaws of Life. She was awake and in terrible pain, but lost consciousness by the time they got her out. She died in the hospital that night."

"I'm sorry," Victor murmured. Sliding his arms around her waist from behind, he rested his chin on her head and held her as she wept silently. Then she pulled free and turned to face him.

"Are you saying I might be able to have another child?" A new baby wouldn't replace Casey, but it might help to fill the hole her loss left behind.

Victor nodded solemnly. "If you wish it. You won't have problems conceiving. The nanos will already have seen to it that your reproductive system is in perfect order. And they'll be immortal children."

Elvi closed her eyes as silent sobs shuddered through her. She'd never imagined she'd ever again hold a baby in her arms. Not her own. Now he was not only telling her she could, but that it would be an immortal baby she wouldn't need fear losing to childhood illness, or drowning, or car accidents.

If only she'd been turned before the accident, Elvi thought suddenly. If only she'd been able to turn her daughter. If only...

"Elvi?"

Giving a start of surprise. Elvi blinked her tears away and turned to peer at the woman moving up the aisle toward her. Louise Ascot. She was the same age as Elvi, but an inch or two shorter and thin as a bird with short salt-and-pepper hair and a look of concern on her face.

"Are you all right?" she asked, stopping beside Elvi. "Why are you crying?"

Elvi groaned inwardly. Louise had gone to school with Mabel and Elvi and had been a huge gossip even then. She'd only got worse with age. She was the worst possible person to run into in Wal-Mart while sobbing like a baby. The story would be all over town within fifteen minutes.

"I'm fine, Louise," she said, dashing away the tears and managing a smile.

She obviously didn't believe her and glared at Victor as she said, "Well, okay, but I hope you know that if someone"-her glare deepened on Victor-"were bothering you, there isn't a person in Port Henry who would hesitate to take care of him."

"Fortunately, there isn't, though," Elvi assured her, then turned to Victor and said, "I think I'll take the wooden one that suits the house. Shall we go get a cart?"

Victor shook his head. "I can carry it."

He ignored Louise's continued glares and bent to pull one of the boxed mirrors off the shelf, then started back up the aisle with it.

Murmuring "good-bye," Elvi quickly followed.

They waited in line, bought the mirror, and drove home in silence, but by the time they pulled into the driveway, Elvi couldn't stand it anymore and blurted, "I'm sorry."

Victor shut off the engine and turned to her with surprise. "What for?"

"For Louise, and for crying in Wal-Mart."

Victor raised an eyebrow. "You're not responsible for what other people do, and it didn't upset me that you were crying." He frowned. "Well, I mean I was upset that you were upset, but... you can cry anywhere you want... if you want to," he finished, obviously unused to dealing with such matters.

"Harry didn't like it when I got emotional in public," Elvi said suddenly. "Especially crying. It embarrassed him."

"He was young," Victor said quietly. "After a century or two you learn there is very little worth getting embarrassed about in life. Everyone does foolish things, everyone makes mistakes, no one is perfect."

Elvi smiled faintly over the bit about Harry being young. He'd been the same age as she. Fifty-seven at the time of his death. Hardly young by mortal standards, but a babe to an immortal over two thousand years old.

The brush of Victor's finger along her cheek drew her attention back as he asked, "Are you all right? I didn't mean to bring up sad memories for you."

"I'm okay," Elvi said and gave a shrug. "Life can't always be cheesecake."

Victor grinned and reminded her, "You still haven't eaten that cheesecake you wanted so desperately."

"No." She smiled, and then added with surprise, "In fact, I didn't even think to have breakfast tonight before we left. I guess I've gotten out of the habit."

"Is that what it is?" Victor asked mildly. "I thought maybe you were just trying to avoid being alone with me in the house for fear I'd start kissing you again."

Elvi sucked in a breath, her eyes widening at the challenge in his voice. The air in the car was suddenly supercharged as they stared at each other. She didn't know what to say or do, but couldn't seem to look away from him. Her eyes suddenly had an agenda of their own and were focused on his mouth as she recalled the way they'd felt as they claimed her.

"Would you have?" she asked finally, surprised at how husky her voice sounded.

"Most definitely," Victor growled.

Elvi nodded. "Would you now?"

The words came out of her mouth completely unbidden, startling her so much that she almost bit her own tongue. If someone had told her that Victor had slipped into her mind and influenced her to say the words, she wouldn't have had any trouble at all believing it. In fact, she already half believed it now, but didn't care because it was what she wanted. It's what she'd wanted ever since the episode in the kitchen, which was the real reason she'd been avoiding being alone with him. Elvi had feared jumping him herself and that just wasn't in her nature. However, the man was addictive, he was a drug she was jonesing for, badly.

Much to her relief, Victor took up the invitation. Leaning forward, he unsnapped her seat belt, letting it slip back into its holder as he kissed her. It was not tentative. There was nothing uncertain in his approach. One moment they were seated on opposite sides of the car, the next his mouth was on hers, her seat was dropping back, and he was on top of her as his tongue slid between her lips.

It was as if he were just picking up from where he'd left off the other night. There was no slow buildup, no coaxing. His mouth was hot and desperate, his tongue demanding, and it spurred a similar response in her. Elvi was suddenly on fire. Slipping her arms around his back, she clutched at his shirt, her body pushing upward, eager to press itself against his as she let her own tongue join the fray.

"God, I want you," Victor muttered, tearing his mouth from hers and trailing kisses across her cheek to the pulse point below her ear.

"Yes," Elvi breathed, one hand slipping around to run over his chest through the white T-shirt he wore. "Yes."

"I've never wanted anyone this badly." His teeth grazed against her throat as he spoke and Elvi moaned and tipped her head to the side, and then back as his mouth moved down the long column to her collarbone. She then gasped as he nudged the neckline of her blouse lower and licked the upper curve of one breast.

"Oh yes," Elvi murmured. She was feeling exactly what he claimed to be feeling, but couldn't seem to find the words to say so. "Yes" was apparently the only word in her vocabulary at the moment. And she lost the ability to say even that when his hand closed over one breast, squeezing it gently as he lowered his mouth further still to close it over the tip and breathe hot air on it through the cloth covering it.

Unintelligible sounds of pleading slipping from her lips, Elvi arched in the passenger seat, pressing her breasts upward and wishing her clothes weren't in the way, that she could feel his warm mouth without obstruction.

Apparently, it was what Victor wanted too because in the next moment he was tugging impatiently at the blouse and drawing it down to reveal the thin white strapless silk bra beneath. It was a front-fastening bra and took only a quick snap of his finger and thumb to release it.

Elvi gasped and shuddered as the cloth fell away, allowing her breasts to pop up, then cried out as his mouth finally covered one excited nipple. Clutching her fingers in his hair, she held on for dear life as he suckled, her hips gyrating upward as she felt his hand slide under her skirt and move up her thigh. That was when a tap on the window made them both stiffen, then jerk apart.

Elvi quickly pulled her blouse up to cover herself and glanced around, groaning with embarrassment when she recognized Teddy Brunswick's grim face peering in through the driver's window. They'd just been caught parking by the local police. Elvi hadn't even had that happen as a teenager.

"'Put on your bra," Victor said calmly, shifting to block Teddy's view.

Elvi tried, but her hands were shaking so badly, she kept fumbling it until Victor brushed her hands aside and did it for her. He also tugged the blouse back into place before getting out of the car to face Brunswick.

Taking a deep breath, Elvi slid out of the passenger side.

"I got a call that someone was upsetting you at Wal-Mart," Teddy announced abruptly as soon as she paused at Victor's side.

"Louise," Elvi said with despair. She'd known the woman would spread the story, but should have realized the first call she made would be to Teddy.

"Yes." His gaze narrowed, taking in her disheveled clothes and swollen lips. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Elvi said quickly. "Louise misunderstood everything. I was crying because Victor had just told me that I could have babies now, and I..." She shrugged helplessly.

Teddy nodded slowly, then said, "So you thought you'd come back here and start right away."

Elvi stiffened in surprise, her face flushing with a combination of shame and anger. Teddy had never before talked to her with such distaste or so coldly and what he said hurt, but when she sensed Victor tensing beside her, she reached to the side and caught his hand.

"That was uncalled for," Victor said quietly, his grip on her hand firm. "I'd like to call you on it, but since I know it's just jealousy talking I won't... This time. Don't mistake this for a free pass to hurt Elvi again, though."

"Jealousy?" Elvi echoed, peering at Brunswick with confusion. "Teddy?"

The police captain was silent, his mouth set and expression empty. Without a word, he turned and walked to the patrol car parked behind Victor's BMW and got in.

Victor turned back to the car and lifted the mirror out as she watched Teddy drive away.

"You didn't know he loved you?" Victor asked when she realized he was holding the mirror and hurried to lead the way to the side door of the garage.

"No," Elvi murmured, still not really believing it. She paused at the side door to the garage. Reaching in her purse for her keys, she added, "I still don't know that. We've been friends for years."

"He's loved you for years." Victor stepped inside, and then paused to wait in the narrow space between the wall and Mabel's car as she locked the door behind them. "That's why he never married. No other woman could compete with you. When your husband died, he hoped..." Victor shrugged those useless hopes away. "But you were turned."

"And he didn't want me anymore," Elvi guessed wryly as she turned to face him.

"Oh, he wanted you, all right," Victor assured her. "But he thought you wouldn't want an old guy like him, so he set his mind to helping Mabel find you someone else. He loves you that much."

"You read his mind?" She realized.

Victor nodded.

"Can you read mine?" she asked, suddenly horrified at the possibility. The idea of his knowing exactly how he made her feel and just what she wanted to do to him and what she wanted him to do to her was somewhat humiliating.

Victor was silent so long, she began to think he wouldn't answer the question, and then he admitted, "I don't know. I've never tried."

Her eyebrows rose in surprise. "Why not?"

Instead of answering, Victor leaned the mirror against the wall and then peered at her with an expression of concentration.

Elvi waited, knowing he was trying to read her. She wasn't sure if she'd know if he'd read her or not, but nothing seemed to happen. They just stood there while an odd array of expressions flew across his face; concentration, bewilderment, amazement, then doubt. She'd just become sure he must be reading her mind, when he suddenly stepped closer and reached out to touch her arms, holding them in a firm grip as he refocused his concentration.

"I can't," he said at last and Elvi couldn't tell from his expression if it was a good thing or not. He'd gone suddenly pale, but his expression was hard to read. Turning away, he leaned against the car as if suddenly weak, and she felt concern claim her.

"Victor?" She moved to his side, then slipped under his arm to stand between him and the car and peered up into his face. His eyes had been closed, but now opened.

"Are you all right?" Elvi asked uncertainly, reaching up to press a hand to his chest.

Victor covered her hand with his own, pressing it to his heart, then lifted it to his lips and pressed a kiss to it. The gesture was so caring that she found herself holding her breath, and then his tongue dipped out and slid over one finger, sliding along it to the spot where it met her hand.

Elvi felt a shiver run up her back and swallowed thickly as she watched what he was doing with fascination. Heat was pooling in her belly again. When he then drew that finger into his mouth and sucked on it, her whole body seemed to tingle with the caress and she suddenly found herself leaning heavily on the side of the car behind her.

Drawing her hand away, he let her finger pop from his mouth, and then used the hand to pull her into his arms as his mouth claimed hers again. Elvi slipped her arms around his neck, her mouth opening beneath his as she felt the top of her blouse being tugged downward. The snap of the bra being released barely reached her ears, but she gasped as the cool air touched them, then Victor caught her by the waist and lifted her onto the hood of the car.

Moaning into his mouth, Elvi arched as his hands closed over both breasts, the rough skin of his fingers, unimpeded, now caressed and kneaded as his tongue swept through her mouth.

Eager to touch him as well, Elvi slid her hands beneath his cotton T-shirt, urging it up his body until it caught under his arms. She then delighted in running her hands over the naked flesh she'd revealed, catching and gently tweaking his nipples as he was doing to her.

The cloth of her blouse must have been getting in his way, Elvi realized, when he forced her arms to her sides so that he could tug the cloth down and free of her hands. She shivered as the light material of the peasant blouse pooled around her waist, leaving her topless, but Victor slid his arms around her at once, warming her with his body, the springy hair on his chest brushing her nipples.

Missing his kisses, Elvi slid a hand into his hair and urged his mouth back to hers, murmuring happily when he thrust his tongue inside. It was a short kiss, however. Pulling free, he dropped his mouth to explore her breasts, kissing a trail around and between them, lavishing them with his tongue, and then finally suckling at one then the other.

Forced backward on the hood to accommodate him, Elvi leaned on one elbow, and ran her other hand over his back and head, her eyes glued to where his mouth was taking first one nipple, and then moving to take the other. Distracted as she was, she didn't miss the feel of his hands gliding up her outer thighs, pushing her skirt before them, before sliding back down toward her knee. The next time they came forward, they burned a trail along the inside of her thighs, and Elvi could feel the muscles of her thighs begin to tremble and her breathing becoming a short, harsh pant the higher they rose. One stopped on her thigh, resting there lightly, but the other continued up to brush along her panties lightly. The teasing touch tore a cry from Elvi's lips and her hips lifted of their own accord, urging him on even as her thighs closed instinctively around his hand like a flower protectively closing it's petals at nightfall.

In response, Victor caught her thighs with both hands and forced them apart, then let her nipple slip from his lips and dropped to his haunches beside the car and pressed his mouth to her panties, nuzzling her through the silk.

Elvi cried out and dropped onto her back on the hood of the car, her hands reaching fruitlessly for something to grab a hold of as her hips jolted, thrusting her pelvis forward. Then the cloth was suddenly pulled to the side and his tongue rasped over the delicate flesh in an unbearably exciting caress.

She was vaguely aware when he snapped her panties off and thought she'd definitely have to make a trip to the lingerie shop at this rate, but then her mind shut down and she became a moaning, groaning, sobbing idiot as his mouth returned to torment her. Eyes opening and closing and head twisting back and forth, Elvi got snapshot images of the garage ceiling overhead, but she wasn't seeing anything. Her mind was completely taken up with trying to accept the pleasure flooding her. She'd never experienced anything like it. There was the pleasure, then endless echoes of the pleasure vibrating through her brain as if the sensations she was experiencing were some weird boomerang that she was sending out, only to have them return bigger somehow, amplified, almost overwhelming.

Elvi was close to exploding, but she wanted to feel him inside her when she did. Forcing herself to sit up, she reached to tangle her fingers in his hair, relieved when he began to straighten.

Stepping between her legs, Victor took her in his arms and pressed kisses to her throat and face as she reached between them for the button of his jeans. She managed the button and zipper, and then slid her hand inside to find him, nipping his ear lightly with her teeth as she drew him out of his pants.

Muttering something incoherent by her ear, Victor clasped her by the bottom and lifted her slightly as she directed his hard length into her.

Elvi bit her lip and groaned as he filled her, her body expanding eagerly to except him. Pressing her heels against the side of the car, she clutched his bottom as he began to withdraw and drive himself into her in the age-old dance.

It was a short dance. Already well primed, Victor had barely thrust into her half a dozen times when Elvi's body suddenly stiffened, then convulsed, her hands clutching desperately at him as the world shattered around her. She was vaguely aware of Victor shouting out with his own release, but the sound seemed far away as she lost her grip on consciousness and fainted.