Amaryllis woke up to the feeling of a rough hand moving up her inner thigh. She opened her eyes and saw that Ulric's eyes were still closed. She trailed her eyes down his body as he unconsciously rubbed her leg with his hand.

She sucked in a deep breath when she got to the bottom of the happy trail that led to the center of the V in his abdomen.

"Oh," she whispered when his hand crept inside her sleeping shorts and brushed against the crease where her pelvis met her thigh. She looked up and saw that he was still asleep. He must be having a naughty dream, she thought to herself.

Biting her lip, she gripped his arm in her hand as his fingers moved closer to her center. When he traced his finger right down the center of her core, she let out a loud yelp.

"Ulric, I know you aren't asleep you sneaky vampire," she chastised.

He let out this grumbling sound, one she assumed was a laugh. "Hey!" She exclaimed when he pulled her panties to the side.

He wiggled his fingers over here before pushing one finger into her and rubbing over her clit with another.

She looked up at his face and saw his dark black eyes staring back at her. He bent his head and captured her lips as he moved his finger in and out. She mewled around his tongue and rocked herself closer to his finger.

"Good girl," he whispered into her ear as she took another one of his long fingers.

"Oh my," she squeaked as his second finger entered her. It was still a very foreign feeling as this had only happened once before, but she felt her body relaxing around his fingers.

"Can you take another finger, little mate?" Ulric asked as he rubbed circles across her bundle of nerves.

"I-I I don't know," she stuttered out of both pleasure and uncertainty.

"Why don't we find out," he suggested. He began sliding his third finger into her, feeling as her wet entrance accepted him, though with much resistance. "You're so fucking tight." He couldn't wait to sink himself into her.

She sucked in a deep breath as he added his third digit. It didn't feel that good. It hurt at first as she had only ever had two of his fingers in her at once. After he thrust his three fingers in and out a few times, pleasure started to replace the pain. She found herself grinding her core against his fingers to relieve the build-up of pressure.

"Ah ah ah," he said and placed his big hand on her stomach to slow her movements. "Stay still, or I won't give you what you crave," he commanded. She listened.

With much restraint, she listened to him, fearful of his imposing threat. She pulled back from rocking against his fingers and he thrust them harder and harder into her. Finally, he curled his fingers and hit a spot he had never touched before, and Amaryllis let go.

"Mmmm!" She cried as immense pleasure rippled over her. After she came down from her release, she looked up into her mates eyes. He stared back at her with a smile gracing his lips and a lustful look in his eyes.

"Good morning," he replied, removing his fingers from inside of her. It took all of her willpower not to whimper at the now empty feeling she felt within her.

"Good morning," she answered back. It was a pretty good morning.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yes. Thank you for bringing me in here," she said in reference to the bedroom as the last thing she remembered was falling asleep on the couch with him the night before.

He let his fingers dance through her hair, feeling the soft strands caress his skin. She's gorgeous, he thought to himself. The most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

Letting his hand fall from her hair, he sat up in the bed. "I need to meet with a shop owner in town. They want to expand the store so we need to discuss the renovations and draw up a blueprint," he said.

Amaryllis nodded her head as she stared at the naked man standing up. She kept her eyes above his hips, trying her hardest not to let them fall. "Have fun," she replied.

"You should come with me," he said while pulling his boxer briefs on.

Her eyes popped out of her head- for two reasons actually. The bulge in his boxers was extraordinarily prominent, and because he was letting her come with him. She decided to focus on the latter.

"Why? I'm not the queen, it's not my business to know that kind of information," she replied. She didn't want to overstep her boundaries.

"You may not be the queen yet, but I am the King. You won't be overstepping your boundaries as you are the king's mate and the future queen of this kingdom. No one will argue that point, little mate." He reasoned.

That was true, no one would question the king about such an affair. But still, that didn't mean the people couldn't think that she was overstepping her boundaries.

"Stop overthinking it, Amaryllis. I want you to come and that's final. Besides, dealing with such things will provide you with better knowledge and experience when you do become queen."

She nodded her head as a thought entered her mind. It just now hit her that she was going to be the queen of these vampires one day. She hadn't ever considered it before. It made sense, the mate to the king would have to be the queen. But she never really thought of it like that. A pang of anxiousness hit her in the gut as the idea bounced around her mind. She definitely was not prepared to rule over an entire kingdom, especially not a kingdom of vampires.

Before she could dwell on the thought too much, her hand was being pulled and she got out of the bed to follow Ulric to the walk-in closet. He handed her a simple pair of jeans that were high waisted and a navy blue t-shirt. She tucked the shirt into the band of the jeans and put her socks and a pair of shoes on. Then he pulled out a gray jacket for her.

Ulric dressed in a pair of dark wash jeans, a gray t-shirt, and a jean jacket. He slid on his boots and was ready to go. She almost drooled looking at him. He was quite a sight to see. How his ex-mate could've cheated on him, she didn't know. But she did know that she was glad to have him for herself.

"Can I help you?" He asked huskily into her ear.

"You're very handsome is all," she replied.

"I'm glad I can please your eyes, as you do mine." He grabbed her hip in his hand and moved it up until he was cupping her breast.

Her heart rate sped up and she felt that tingling sensation in between her legs again. She shook her head and stepped away from him. "Stop trying to seduce me, we have business to attend," she reminded him, trying to clear her mind.

He smirked down and her and reached for her hand. "By all means, let us attend the business."

The shop was one she hadn't seen before when she went into town with Thierry when she first arrived. It was a cute little corner store that sold a wide variety of upper-scale things. There were all kinds of skin and body products like lotions, perfumes, colognes, body butter, oils, soaps, etc. There were all kinds of jewelry ranging in price. Cute decorations for people's homes lined the walls. There was a section of books for sale as well. The whole store was very cute and there were even some clothing items out on the floor.

The owner came out from behind the counter when we walked in and bowed to Ulric. "Good morning, my King," she greeted. She seemed nervous as she approached, which wasn't uncommon. Ulric had that effect on people. She was a very pretty woman, Amaryllis noted, as were all the vampire women she had seen thus far.

"Good morning, Sage," Ulric greeted as he looked toward the back of the building. "Is this what you would like to extend?" He asked.

"Yes, your majesty. I would like to push that wall back maybe 12 feet. I simply need some more floor space as the store has gotten more popular over the last two years. I need more room to put the products," she answered.

Ulric nodded and walked to the back of the store, looking things over, most likely creating a plan in his head. "Yes, that will be doable. I will send the carpenters down here tomorrow and they can begin the renovations then. Will that work for you?"

"Yes! Thank you, my king," she said with another bow. She seemed more relaxed now that Ulric agreed with her plans. She seemed genuinely excited about this renovation. She must be deeply invested in her store.

Ulric nodded his head and grabbed Amaryllis's hand once more to lead her out of the shop. "That was easy," she said.

"Yes. There wasn't much to it. It's not like I don't have the land to allow for renovations," he replied. Which was quite true. There wasn't another building behind that one for another 100 feet or so. Taking up an extra 12 feet wouldn't do anyone harm.

Ulric held her hand as they walked down the road toward the castle. A thought had been tumbling around his mind for the last two hours, but he wasn't sure how to ask Amaryllis.

Would she even want to? He asked himself.

"Amaryllis?"

"Yes?" She asked, his voice pulled her out of staring at a bird flying in the sky.

"Would you like to go to dinner?" He asked, his hand scratching the back of his neck. He'd never asked a girl on a "date" before. It was always just sex.

"A date?"

"We don't have to if you don't want to," he said, feeling as though it was a dumb question to have asked. He shook his head and continued on their walk.

"Wait!" She said and squeezed his hand. "I would love to go on a date with you Ulric. You just caught me off guard. I've never been on a date before," she replied.

"Neither have I," he said. "Let's go then." A small smile appeared on his lips and Amaryllis savored the image of it. His smile was a beautiful thing. A rare commodity, too.

They received some curious glances as they walked hand in hand through the town together. No one stared too long, by there were many surprised faces. A few jealous ones as well from women around the town. Maybe they were women he had slept with before. Or women who wished to sleep with him.

Too bad, Amaryllis thought and smiled to herself.

A group of girls glaring at Amaryllis quickly turned, scurrying off, however. Was it raining or something? Then she caught the look on Ulric's face. He was glaring at the spot the three girls were just standing at, his fangs protruding slightly. Oh.

Amaryllis smiled to herself again. Her mate was openly defending her honor in public. It made her feel like the most special girl in the world to have someone as powerful as Ulric protecting her. She felt secure in a way she'd never felt before.

They walked into the restaurant and a table was cleared for them immediately. Amaryllis barely had time to look around before they were whisked away to their seats. It was dark in the building, and definitely more upscale than the diner Thierry had taken her too, but it still wasn't a very formal dining place. People were wearing everyday clothes and things, so she didn't feel out of place.

"I know Thierry took you to the dinner, so I thought I'd bring you here this time," Ulric said as he pulled the chair out for her to sit in.

"Thank you, Ulric," she said while sitting down.

A waitress came over immediately and took their drink orders. She figured they would have plentiful, pleasant service during this meal thanks to the King.

Scanning over the menu, she looked up when she felt a burning gaze on her face. "What?" she asked as her face started heating up. Ulric was staring at her with such intensity that she felt her insides burning. He didn't even have his menu opened.

Ulric opened his mouth to begin speaking, but the waitress appeared at the table again to ask what the couple wanted.

Ulric was relieved that the waitress showed up when she did. He didn't exactly have a reason as to why he had been staring at her so intensely. He was just completely captivated by her presence and her beauty. He couldn't look away from her.

"First we will have the Spinach and Artichoke dip as an appetizer. Then I'll have the Ribeye steak, rare." He said and after a moment of thought he added "please."

"Of course your majesty, and for you?" She asked politely referring to Amaryllis.

"Umm, could I have the chicken and broccoli alfredo please?"

"Of course! I'll put this order in immediately," she said and hurriedly walked away.

"I have a question," Amaryllis said.

"What is it?"

"Well, I don't want it to ruin the night. It's kind of a touchy subject maybe," she said hesitantly.

"Just ask, Amaryllis."

"Okay. The night you took me to that blood brothel thing, were you hoping that someone would... do something to me?"

She hoped not, her stomach twisted itself into knots thinking about that night again. What if one of the men there decided that she could be useful in some way? Yuck.

"No. I took you there to scare you into submitting to me. To show you that I was a monster in hopes you wouldn't develop inevitable feelings. I did it to push you away, but I knew you wouldn't be hurt. For one, that brothel is only interested in those with B Positive blood, you don't have B positive. Secondly, they wouldn't have touched you because I brought you there. Even if they thought you were my sex slave, they wouldn't have harmed you because they wouldn't touch something that belongs to me," he said.

"Oh. I never realized how caring you were, even if it was an extremely convoluted form of caring."

"Even though I was trying to fight the bond, I wouldn't leave you in danger like that. The thought of someone harming you, of touching what is mine, infuriated me."

"Well, thank you," she said awkwardly. Feeling warm at the thought of him protecting her, even when he was trying to force her away. It was sweet, though also a very backward way of trying to show you care for someone.

"Why'd you think about that night?" He asked.

She shrugged, feeling embarrassed telling him. "When you didn't come to bed for a while the other night, I had a nightmare. That night with the brothel was the nightmare."

Ulric reached his hand across the table and grabbed Amaryllis's in his. "I'm sorry, for forcing you to be there and for putting you through the trauma I did. Never again," he said.

"I know." She knew with full certainty.

Then the waitress came out and placed their appetizer in front of them, asking if they needed anything before leaving again.

"Tell me about yourself," Ulric said.

"What do you mean? You pretty much know everything."

"No, I mean tell me about your life before the Harvest. About your family. I know about some things like Travis, but I would like to know more about you, especially since I revealed all of my inner emotions, and pent up aggression, and told you about my star crossed love, Clove," he said with a teasing smirk.

She wrinkled her nose at his use of the term star crossed love. She did not like that. Not at all.

"I'm kidding, little mate." He slid his fingers under her chin and pulled her head up. Then he leaned in and kissed her lips and she couldn't help but kiss him back.

"No need to be so jealous," he teased.

"I wasn't jealous," she grumbled, though she was very jealous.

"You know you're the one I want, Amaryllis. Now, tell me about your life."

A small smile graced her lips and she began talking about her life before the Harvest. "Well, I lived with my mom Lucinda, my father Joesph, and my brother Luca, as you know. I had two best friends, Sophie and Nicole. They were my only friends actually. Other than Travis when I was younger."

"I was in my last year of school. I loved school, well, I loved learning. I didn't like the people. They weren't exactly nice to me and I don't know why. But after I finished all my classes I wanted to be a doctor. I was looking into extra schooling for that," she said.

"People bullied you," Ulric said as more of a statement than a question.

"Uh, yeah, a little I guess. This one girl there seemed to hate me after the vampires took over and just kinda led others into hating me as well," Amaryllis said, feeling awkward about discussing the subject. She never really talked about it before. Sophie and Nicole knew she was bullied, but there wasn't much they could do about it as the school administration didn't care either.

"What did this girl do to you?" Ulric asked. Amaryllis could see the veins in his neck beginning to pop out. His eyes looked dangerous.

"She would mostly just insult me verbally. Sometimes a group of girls would follow me to the bathrooms and corner me there. She got guys at schools to call me names and things. I used to fight back when I was younger. Then she got afraid, I guess because she started corralling groups of people to attack me. As the years went on I just got tired of fighting it so I didn't even say anything back to her anymore."

"Who is this girl?"

"Ulric, there's nothing you can do about it. Besides, it's not happening anymore since I'm here," Amaryllis said. She wasn't trying to protect Kayla or any of the other people who bullied her, but she just didn't feel like dealing with it. After years of having to put up with her, she just wanted to leave the subject alone.

"Who?" He asked once more and Amaryllis knew she needed to tell him.

"Kayla," she said.

His eyes darkened as the story she just told him tumbled around in his head. He took a deep breath and looked at the woman sitting in front of him, calming himself down. He'd deal with Kayla after their dinner, she wasn't going to ruin this.

The waitress came back once more and placed their plates in front of them, leaving as quickly as she came.

"I'll take care of it," he asserted, leaving no room for argument. "What else?" He asked.

"Mmm, there really isn't much else. I'm a boring person. I love reading, as you know already. I had a decent stockpile of my favorite novels at my home. If my parents couldn't find me it was because I was hiding away in a nook we had in our attic. I'd go up there and read for hours by the window.

I also really enjoyed kayaking and going down to the lake that's by my house with my friends. We weren't allowed to go out much, but when we were we always went down to the lake. It was always so peaceful there," Amaryllis said.

"That sounds... nice," Ulric said. He could feel the nostalgia and sense of yearning from her. She missed her family and wanted to see them.

"Well, what about you? What's your life like?"

"I spent most of my childhood training to be the next King. While other fledglings were out with each other, having fun, I was training. Every day I would do my academic lessons and assignments, and then I would attend my combat training. My father made me accompany him to meetings and trips so I knew how to handle myself in a diplomatic manner when the time came for me to step up.

You and I are alike in the fact that we didn't have many friends. My only friend growing up was Thierry. We were friends before our training started when we were five years old and we grew closer because we often trained together. Often times people would try to befriend me over the years, but I knew it was simply so they could experience the power that my family and I could provide. The only real friend I ever had was Thierry." He said.