Steven's face fell. "No biting?"

"None"

"Then, sir, what will I do?"

Again, Chevalier repressed the feelings of revulsion he felt for his actions. He took a deep breath and began, "Your goal is to get close to her. Try to kiss her, even if she fights. Caress her skin and..." He paused. He couldn't even say it.

"And what, sir? Am I to try to...?" Steven hesitated, remembering how protective Chevalier was of this girl.

"Yes"

Steven seemed unsure, and his brow furrowed. "Anything you say, sir." He remained on his knees.

"You will stop when I say though, no hesitation," he hissed through his teeth.

Steven just nodded.

Chevalier rocked back on his heels. The fierce personal loathing wasn't entirely concealed behind his mask of control. "Do it now." He shut his eyes against the image of what was coming.

Steven stood and headed to the door, too fast, too excited, and it infuriated Chevalier. If tonight didn't work, Chevalier had decided to rid himself of this loathsome creature by his own hand. He followed behind Steven.

They both stopped outside of her door. Her breathing was deep and relaxed. She was still asleep. Steven glanced once at Chevalier, who nodded, and then he stepped inside. The young heku watched her for a moment as his tongue ran around his lips at the prospect of what he was going to do to this frail, beautiful creature.

Steven's eyes were on Chevalier in the doorway while he carefully knelt beside the bed and slipped his hand beneath the covers. Chevalier fought to control the beast aching to tear the annoying heku's limbs from his body.

Emily stirred a bit when the foreign hand gently reached her side and began to find its way higher. Steven's eyes left Chevalier and looked down at Emily's peaceful face as his hand caressed her breast. It had been years since he'd last felt the softness of a woman.

Her eyes opened in a panic, and she thrust forward to sit up, but Steven's other hand was against her neck, restraining her to the bed. His hand began to creep down her chest, circling her navel lightly, and slipping down past her panty line.

Her face filled with intense rage, fury beyond what Chevalier thought her capable of. With eyes focused securely on Steven, he jerked back suddenly and fell to the ground, writhing in immeasurable pain. His screams permeated the entire house as she scooted to look over the edge of the bed at him. When her eyes met his, the screams grew in intensity until there was nothing but silence. She breathed quickly and knelt on the bed, staring down at the pile of ash on the floor.

Chevalier seemingly appeared instantaneously beside the pile of ash, and he had a large smile on his face. "You did it, Emily!"

Her eyes were wide. "He was... he..."

Chevalier nodded. "Yes."

She turned an icy glare at him "You knew??"

"I wouldn't have let him get far. I promise. I needed you to feel true anger." His voice was soft.

"You let him do that?" she snapped at him.

"I was in full control."

She glared at him and pulled the blankets up to cover herself.

"Forgive me, Emily. I promise you, he wouldn't have gotten any further." His eyes were soft and caring.

Her face was a mixture of horror and relief. "I felt that."

He looked over at her. "Can you do it again?"

"Are you offering?" She was so pleased with herself that teasing came naturally.

He grabbed her off the bed and pulled her into a tight hug. "We can go now, Emily. We can go back."

She wrapped her arms around him. "I get to go back to the ranch!"

He pulled her back, so he could look into her eyes. "Not the ranch, my home, my coven."

The ecstatic expression on her face disappeared. "What do you mean your coven?"

He set her down and looked at her. "My world is where you belong."

"No, I belong on the ranch." She set her jaw and watched him.

"It's not safe to..."

She cut him off, "I can apparently protect myself. Isn't that what this entire thing has been about? Controlling the ability to ash one of you?"

He nodded but shrugged. "Yes... mainly, but you can't live in your world. Things get too dangerous. You belong in my world, with my people."

"That's it then, isn't it? This was just another ploy to get me into a coven. You are just like the others."

"It's not like that, Em."

The angrier she became, the faster she spoke. "It's not? Then have you not been planning on me joining your adoring minions since the start? You didn't want me to ash your followers. That wouldn't look good, so first you had to teach me to control it."

"I care about you. I want you with me."

"Oh right, me and how many others, Chev? Tell me how many of your followers you've wooed into bed."

He cringed at how clearly she saw some things. "You are different."

"Yes, I am different. I can kill you. That pretty much makes me different. I won't go and watch you flaunt me around your coven. I won't go and watch you as thousands of female heku hang on your every word, swooning over you." She mimicked a love-struck teenager, "Ooooh, Chevalier, how big and strong you are. What sharp teeth you have!"

His eyes grew darker. "Watch what you say, Emily."

"I won't watch what I say. You've had this coming for a long time!" She squared her shoulders off to him, showing no fear.

"My coven is my family. We protect one another and watch out for one another. There's no way you could possibly understand the complex nature of it," he said as his eyes narrowed.

"That sounds amazingly similar to the Manson Family. Do mass orgies entertain your days, or do you prefer to fuck each individually?" she asked as he took a step toward her. His fight for control was losing out to his temper. "Is that what you were doing? Trying to get me into bed for some initiation?"

"Emily," he hissed her name.

"Don't Emily me! What makes you madder, the fact that I know what's going on, or the fact that you didn't get me into bed before you lost your chance?"

His control was gone. He slammed into her, pinning her against the wall with his hand on her throat, and her feet no longer touched the floor. "You will watch your tongue around me and show nothing but respect for my coven. Do you understand me?" His voice had changed. It was hoarse and guttural.

She grasped at his hand around her throat, clawing with her nails, trying to loosen his grip.

Sudden awareness hit him. He removed his hand from her neck, and she dropped to the floor on her knees, gasping for breath. He was out the door in an instant, and he locked it securely from the outside. She heard a large crash as he threw a heavy object against the wall and screamed in anger.

After a few minutes, Emily pulled herself up from the floor and stumbled to the bathroom. She peered into the mirror, studying her neck. There were bruises forming perfect outlines of his fingers. She turned around and sank onto the floor. Sobs escaped her as her body shook.

Chapter 6.

Just before dawn, she heard the front door unlock, but she didn't move from her position on the bathroom floor. She could see Chevalier in the bedroom. He was hurriedly throwing things from the dresser into a bag. She found herself wanting to inflict some pain on him. She figured just a slight burn wouldn't hurt. The ability comforted her while she watched him race around the bedroom.

When Chevalier appeared in the doorway of the bathroom, his eyes were soft and gentle. "We're leaving." He threw some clothes onto the counter and shut the door behind him.

Emily dressed quickly, not bothering to complain about the pink summer dress he'd thrown in for her. She ran a brush through her hair, ignoring the way it pulled painfully when it encountered a knot. She left her hair down and stepped into the bedroom, where Chevalier was sitting on the bed.

"I was mistaken," he whispered. "You don't belong in my world. Ability or no, my world isn't safe for you."

She didn't know what to say, so she stood still, watching him. He looked up at her finally and cringed at the purplish bruises that stood out from her white skin. He stood up. "How badly are you hurt?"

Her hand covered her throat, but she didn't speak. Her eyes were locked on his.

"I broke my promise to you. That's something I will have to live with for eternity, so I won't break another. As promised, you are free to return to your ranch. The weather is good, and you are completely healed." He grabbed her bag as if to prove that he wasn't going to fight her.

Emily slipped on the soft moccasins that were warming by the fire, and then she opened the closet. It was bare except for the wool lined parka. After zipping it, she followed Chevalier out of the mansion she'd grown accustomed to, and she took her place in the snowcat.

The snowcat seemed to move hopelessly slow as they sat in silence, ignoring the beauty that surrounded them. Chevalier couldn't look at Emily. The reminder of his lost temper stood out too vividly, and Emily couldn't look at him, afraid he'd see through her and know that a new fear had arisen inside of her. The fear she would never see him again.

The Bugatti sped toward Montana with the scenery flying by. Only an hour into the drive, Chevalier couldn't take the silence anymore. "I am sorry that this didn't work out."

Her voice cracked, "I don't want to be just another underling to you."

He glanced over at her. "Is that what the problem is? You don't want to be a subordinate?"

She shrugged. "Some of it."

She couldn't tell him that she'd started to crave his attention, to relish in the solidarity of just the two of them that the mansion enabled. She couldn't tell him of the jealousy she felt when she thought of members of his coven being close to him. She envisioned being lost in the crowd, just another face to him.

He watched as her mind struggled to come to terms with losing him. "Please, I need to know what you are thinking, to explain the look on your face."

She shook her head.

Chevalier sighed. He could guess at the problem that stemmed from low self-worth. How could he convey how much she meant to him? He'd never felt this way about anyone, not even the eldest of his coven, for which he'd pledged his life.

"I was right about one thing. My world isn't good enough for you. Your innocence, your selflessness, it's all foreign to us, and I'm not sure how long you would last, surrounded by the immortal." He wanted to tell her that there was another option, the option to run away together, but he was afraid of the rejection she was bound to give after what he'd done.

Her voice was timid, "Why do you... well... any coven, want me so badly? My entire life has been full of heku trying to coerce me into a coven, and for what? Am I a plaything? Am I just a toy that can kill enemies?"

Her words stung him. "I'm sure that's what the others wanted. It's not like that with me though."

"What happens to me when I'm surrounded by the heku? Their strength, their beauty, immortality? What happens to me, the ugly and weak human?" She was watching the mountains fade behind them.

"You are far from ugly, and what do you mean what happens? Do you think I would just push you aside and forget you exist once you joined me?"

Her silent answer was deafening to him, and he pulled over and stopped the car.

Gently, he took her chin in his hand and turned her to face him. "Emily, you could never be one of my many subordinates. Can't you see that? You are much... much more. You mean more to me than they do. You are more beautiful to me than any them. They are my family. I am ultimately responsible for their safety, and they mine... but you... you cannot imagine how important you are to me."

"You mean to your coven." She tried to turn her face, but his steel grip held her.

"No, to me." The intensity of his eyes was intimidating, and she dropped her gaze away from him.

"I'm afraid."

"Of what? Tell me so I can help you," he urged.

"I'm afraid of everything. I'm afraid of losing you when we return. I'm afraid of dissolving into the coven, never able to be myself again. I'm afraid of causing tension in your ranks. You of all people know how tempting my blood is, yet you encourage me to move into a house full of heku. I'm afraid of crowds and people and..." Her words were abruptly cut off by his lips.

The kiss was brief, and when he broke it, she leaned toward him, eager to feel his touch again.

"Emily," he said, looking into her eyes. "You won't lose yourself. You would always be of utmost importance to me. You don't have to be constantly surrounded by heku. You could have your own home in the city, if that's what you want."

She cut him off. "City?"

He nodded, as what she was thinking dawned on him. "Yes, city. My coven works similar to a city. Each family unit is in their own home. Each individual is important in their own right. We don't all share one home. We don't spend every waking minute together. As for attacks..." He straightened up. "I am Chief Enforcer. They wouldn't dare cross me. Of course, if you choose to get your own home, I would understand, but you are always welcome to stay in mine."

She thought about that when he pulled back into traffic and sped off at an unusually high rate of speed.

"Do you always speed?"

"Yes," he said, and smiled slightly.

"You could get a ticket."

"I don't. We heku have modified our cars to sustain a high rate of speed indefinitely."

"Heku modified cars?"

"Sure"

"Well, it's dangerous."