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more at the wasted effort and energy.
    After a while, his gaze began to drift. He fought sleep. He tried to force his eyes open, slapped his own face, but nothing could stop the weight as he drifted off into a blissful sleep.
     
    William opened his eyes. He gasped at the marvellous beauty of the meadow. He’d not come to this place in such a long time. William usually made sure the liquor drowned him enough that he wouldn’t have to wander through this world alone. His subconscious world—beautiful, peaceful, built for him to walk around with his bonded mate as they slept.
    Since the death of his beloved, Emma, his place had been corrupted by her death. A darkness had seeped into his soul and turned everything he knew to hell. With Katie, everything was different. His paradise was different now. He couldn’t recall the lake, or the deer running across the field. The air smelt fresh, no waves of pollution.
    Magical.
    Mystical.
    William felt the pull of the lake and he strode over to the calm, serene expanse of blue—the clearest blue he’d ever seen.
    He knelt down to touch it, a single finger marking the placid surface.
    William jumped back as somebody erupted out of the water, gasping for breath.
    William gazed at that face and cried inside with joy.
    “Katie?” he whispered, not wanting to disturb the image. He could live with her here, like this. He didn’t want her to disappear as she had so many times before in his mind. He wanted this to last as long as possible.
    She stood twisting the water from her hair.
    “William.” He heard the laughter in her voice as she said his name.
    Getting to his feet, he approached the water, holding out a hand for her to take.
    “No taking my blood, now.” She wagged a finger in his direction.
    “Not without your permission,” he promised.
    Their hands touched and any doubts he’d had came crashing down, rushing away from his body like a bad cloud. This was the person he wanted. The woman he wanted to be with.
    They were mated in the most basic of terms, just enough to satisfy the council and keep them from hurting her, but they hadn’t had the time to complete the mating, for him to speak the bonding words as he took her innocence and made her his.
    He wanted to find her and make the mating complete. To feel Katie’s naked body within his arms. To take everything she had to offer and to give her all of himself as well.
    No protection, just sheer, naked need consuming them both.
    William shook his head, trying to clear the erotic images from his mind. There would be time for him to make love to her soon enough. Seeing her could only mean she was out there, somewhere.
    He guided her from the water, his eyes never leaving hers.
    “You look beautiful,” he murmured.
    “I bet you say that to all the girls, especially if they’re wet,” she teased, chuckling at his comment. William blushed at the innuendo.
    “No, I never do,” he protested. He’d never taken the time to be like this with another woman. Not even with Emma. By the time they’d become a couple the trouble had started with the witch and demon hunters.
    She smiled and for the first time looked away, blushing and shy, as he concentrated all his attention on her. Absorbing her into his mind; greedily taking her in.
    “Is this real?” she asked.
    William didn’t care—he just wanted to stay there and be with her. “Does it matter?”
    She shrugged, looking around. “It’s beautiful.”
    “This is my world,” he confessed.
    “Your world?”
    “Yes, every vampire can do this. When we sleep there is a place we can take our mate. Part of the first natural, initial bond.” He smiled as a deer ran past them.
    Katie was laughing, the sound sweet music to his ears. He’d not heard her laugh much prior to her abduction.
    “So we’re mated?” she questioned.
    He nodded. “Partially.”
    “When?” The attitude was returning thick and fast.
    “The night I took your blood…” He paused to really