Suzanne Wright - The Bite That Binds

I smiled, running my hand through her hair. “Can’t help it. When Sebastian took me to the house where they were keeping you, it took everything I had not to charge inside. Even though I knew it was best that I didn’t risk exposing our presence to the brothers, all I wanted was to get to you.”

“You did.”

“How did you get your memories back?”

“I remembered Dexter first,” she admitted, which made me frown. I still had a love/hate relationship with that damn serpent. “They had a snake, and it was making me have flashbacks of Dexter, and then that led to me having flashbacks of the apartment, and of you.”

“So each memory triggered another?”

“Yeah, sort of.”

“Is there any damage? I mean, do you have any blank spots, like some of the memories are still repressed?”

“I don’t think so. Antonio said that Ryder can take a look for me, if I like. I’ll think about it. Right now, all I’m bothered about is getting some sleep so that I’m awake for our ceremony.”

“You’re feeling up to having it tomorrow?” I scrutinised her face. “You have to be tired.”

“The ceremony is not being postponed – deal with it.” There was no room for negotiation in her tone, which made me smile.

“As long as you’re sure, that’s fine with me. What’s not fine with me is that Magda’s still alive.” I hadn’t known she was responsible for Sam’s disappearance until an hour ago.

“She’s in one of the containment cells. I want her alive when we Bind, Jared. You know this.”

“And then?”

“Then I kill her.”

“Good.” I would have insisted on having the honour if Sam hadn’t pointed out that I’d got to kill the brothers. I was pretty sure she’d planned it that way, though. Tricky bitch. Seeing that dawn was approaching, I groaned. “I have to go now, don’t I?”

“Yep.”

I snuggled closer to her. “I don’t want to.” It sounded a little petulant, but I didn’t care.

“I’m not going to disappear again. Orrin’s dead. The brothers are dead. Magda and Brook are locked up. I’ll be fine.”

“Are you pissed that the brothers couldn’t reverse the changes?”

“Yes, and no.” At my confused look, she explained, “Yes, because I don’t want to always be worrying that someone will find out about me. And no, because it’s nice to be able to wrestle you in bed. When you were stronger and faster than me, it didn’t work so well.”

Yeah, that was definitely a perk. But no perk could outweigh the huge problem that this would make her a target if the news somehow got out. People would come for her, wanting to either kill her or breed her. In any case, only one thing would happen – I’d burn shit down. I’d go to war if I had to, and I’d have every right to, because I’d be Bound to her.

“Don’t think I don’t know that you’re lying there planning deaths.”

“What can I say? I have weird hobbies.”

She just shook her head at me, smiling. “Another benefit of being more powerful is that vampires are no longer fretting over whether I can protect them. I would never have let you step down from Heir.”

“And I would never have Bound myself to anyone else. You’re mine, I’m yours, and that’s it.” I cuddled her closer, kissing her hair.

“I have an idea. Why don’t we give each other our Binding gifts now? It’ll lift the mood, and I’m impatient to do it anyway. It was annoying that I couldn’t spend money on you, but I figure you might like this.”

Whatever I was expecting, it wasn’t for her to retrieve an A4 sized brown envelope from behind her bedside cabinet. Confused yet excited, I tore the seal open and pulled out a sheet of paper. I instantly laughed when I saw the heading.

PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENT

This agreement is made on this ____ day of ______, 200__, by and between Samantha Parker (herein referred to as “The Boss”) and Jared Michaels (herein referred to as “Slave in All Things”).

Both parties acknowledge that they have read and understand this agreement, and that they have not been subjected to any form of coercion, duress, or pressure − by orgasms, or otherwise.

The parties hereby agree as follows:

1. It is necessary for there to be a 100 mile radius between them and any ex-partners. Should this condition be violated, violence and death may be the result.

2. There will always be equal control of all remote controls presently used, and any that may be acquired in the future

3. “The Boss” will courteously fake orgasms if and when necessary

4. At all times, “Slave in All Things” will not tease “The Boss” endlessly with his tongue and fingers during foreplay

5. If “The Boss” discusses their sex life with others, she will always state that “Slave in All Things” has the stamina of a Trojan and an impressively sized dick

6. In the event that “Slave in All Things” needs to burp, fart, or spit, he will do this in a separate room from “The Boss”

7. Both parties acknowledge that it is important for “The Boss” to continue giving oral sex on a regular basis. Should she violate this condition, “Slave in All Things” has the right to tie her up and tease her mercilessly

8. “The Boss” understands that “Slave in All Things” will only pretend to listen to her if he is using his X-Box or laptop computer

9. “Slave in All Things” accepts that “The Boss” is always right, he is always at fault, and that it is not necessary for her to make sense during arguments

10. Both parties agree that “Slave in All Things” has the right to be protective and possessive, but he must not take this to extreme levels

11. “Slave in All Things” will always put the toilet seat down after use, and use freshening spray if necessary

12. Should either party ogle or flirt with another, violent scenes that some may find disturbing will ultimately follow

Signed and dated this __________ day of _______________________, 20_____.

________________________________

Slave in All Thing's Signature

________________________________

The Boss's Signature

Laughing, I kissed her hard. I certainly hadn’t been expecting that, and I had to admit that I loved it. She knew my sense of humour well enough to know that I would. “Very creative. I’m holding you to those conditions, especially the seventh one, just so you know.”

“I haven’t signed it yet.”

“You will.” I gave her another hard kiss. “Right, now for my gift to you.” In vampire speed, I retrieved the folder I’d kept hidden in the living area, and returned to the bed. “Here.”

Taking the folder with an intrigued expression, she opened it. Just as I’d expected, the intrigue turned to confusion. “I don’t get it,” she admitted as she flicked through the printed sheets of different places around the world.

Smiling, I explained, “Well, like you, I was pissed that I couldn’t spend money on you, because I wanted to take you on a honeymoon-kind of thing. I know that’s not a tradition for vampires, but I still wanted to do it. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a way around it unless I was prepared to break the rule of spending money − which would have made you mad at me. I don’t like it when you’re mad at me. I like it when you kiss me and do stuff for me and to me. So, instead, I made a plan of the places we could go to, places I knew you wanted to visit.”

“A plan? Sneaky way to do it.”

“First London, so I can see where you grew up, then Rome, Morocco, Rhodes, Egypt, and finally, California, so you can see where I grew up. What do you think?”

Her eyes lit up with excitement − just as I’d anticipated. It was sad to think that she had never once had a vacation in her entire life. “I think we should skip our after party and just go straight on this trip.”