Despite his claim of hunger, Julius only purchased a cookie to go with the cappuccino he ordered. Marguerite followed suit and, finding all the tables occupied on the main floor, they took their trays with them to look for seating on the upper floor.

The cafe was obviously a popular spot, serving both caffeinate drinks and alcoholic beverages. A corner building, it had two walls that looked out onto the streets on the upper floor. They were made up of long rows of glass offering a view of the city lights sparkling in the darkness. The seating was comfortable, split between wooden tables and chairs and groupings of overstuffed chairs and couches.

Marguerite and Julius settled themselves in one of the corner groupings, Julius settling in a plump leather chair while she curled up in the corner of the sofa beside him and began to sip at the frothy drink she'd chosen. It had been a long time since she'd partaken of food as she was now doing and Marguerite didn't recall anything like this from that period in her life, but it was surprisingly good, she decided, especially with loads of sugar added.

They stayed to talk for quite a while at the cafe, but were on their way back and nearly home when Julius's phone rang. Pulling it from his pocket, he flipped it open and listened briefly before closing it and slipping it back in his pocket.

"Tiny just wanted to be sure we were on our way back. Dinner is ready," he announced.

They returned to the townhouse to find Tiny's sauce bubbling on the stove. Water was boiling in a second pot, but the men were nowhere in sight. Spotting a letter beside the stove, she moved to pick it up, eyes widening as she read it. The other three had already eaten and gone out to look around York. They planned to tour the pubs and see what the nightlife here was like, as well as find the aforementioned storage for blood. Tiny had left instructions on boiling time for the spaghetti noodles. All they had to do was dump in the noodles then wait eight or ten minutes, drain them and serve with the sauce over it, he'd instructed.

Marguerite lowered the note and peered toward the table. It was already set for two, including candles and a bottle of wine corked and left to breathe. It all looked terribly romantic. Her gaze slid to Julius, then away. "I'll start the noodles."

"I'll pour the wine," Julius offered.

Picking up the box of noodles, Marguerite ripped it open, and then poured the contents into the pot, wondering as she did if there would be enough for the two of them. It didn't seem like much. Shrugging inwardly, she stood stirring them as she waited for the suggested time to pass. Marguerite wasn't sure if she needed to stir them, Tiny hadn't said so, but she was suddenly terribly uncomfortable with Julius and was glad of the excuse to keep herself busy.

It turned out there was more than enough spaghetti. Marguerite feared a good deal of it would go to waste when she drained the pot and saw how much the noodles had swollen in the water. There was little she could do about it at that point, however, so she left half of them in the pot, splitting the rest between the two plates and spooning the sauce over it, her mouth watering as the chunks of meat, mushrooms, and other ingredients in the spicy tomato sauce spilled over the noodles.

"Let me get those," Julius offered, taking the plates when she picked them up. Marguerite followed him to the table, took the seat he indicated, and closed her eyes as she inhaled the smells wafting off the plate. Tiny was obviously a good cook. She hadn't appreciated that in California, but now that she was eating again, the smells wafting off the food he'd made were almost making her dizzy with delight. It tasted just as delicious as it smelled. Marguerite ate several bites before trying her wine. She'd barely lifted the glass to her lips and taken a sip when Julius spoke.

"We are lifemates."

Marguerite choked, spitting wine out in every direction as she coughed and sputtered.

"I'm sorry," Julius muttered, jumping up to grab a dish towel to wipe up the mess she'd made. He began mopping up the table with one hand, while thumping her back with the other.

"Are you all right?" he asked with concern.

Marguerite nodded, but her continued hacking rather negated the action. When the fit finally ended, she sagged back in her seat and eyed him with disbelief. He'd just brought the pink elephant into the room and dropped it on her lap. For heaven's sake!

"I'm sorry," Julius muttered, dropping back in his own seat with a sigh. "Not the most delicate approach was it?"

A small laugh burst from her lips, and Marguerite pressed them tightly closed, aware the sound had verged on hysteria. They stared at each other, his expression assessing, hers wary.

"What are we going to do about it?" he asked finally.

Marguerite swallowed, her eyes dropping to her glass of wine. She ran one finger nervously over the round base of the glass as she sought a response, but finally asked, "Do we have to do anything about it for now? I mean," she added quickly when his eyes narrowed. "There is no need to really do anything at all. We are immortals and appear to be lifemates."

"We are lifemates, Marguerite. There is no appear about it," he growled.

"Okay," she acknowledged on a sigh. "But I am here on business. I have to concentrate on Christian's case. Once that is done, perhaps we could take the time to get to know each other and..." Her voice trailed away as she saw the expression on his face. She'd been trying to be calm and logical, gain herself a little breathing space to deal with it. He wasn't looking terribly calm or logical. Julius's eyes were blazing, the silver flaring and consuming the black of his eyes. They had looked the same way in the bathroom on the train she recalled.

Marguerite licked her lips nervously, and then paused when she saw his eyes follow the action. The air in the room was suddenly electric and she was unexpectedly flooded with an overwhelming need she was sure had come from him. Her heart rate sped up, blood moving swiftly through her veins as her breathing became shallow. It was all too much, too sudden, too intense.

Standing abruptly, Marguerite turned away from the table, unsure where she was even going except that she couldn't breathe, there seemed to be no oxygen in the room, she needed air. She hurried out of the kitchen and up the hall, hearing the crash of his chair overbalancing as Julius leapt to his feet to follow. Marguerite reached the foot of the stairs before he caught up and then suddenly he was in front of her, filling her vision.

Julius started to pull her roughly against him, but paused when he saw her face. His expression was both surprised and concerned as he growled, "You're afraid. Why?"

She shook her head helplessly. "I have not been with anyone but Jean Claude. What if I-"

Julius silenced her with his mouth. Marguerite could feel the violence in him as he claimed her with that kiss, but while his mouth and hands were demanding, they were not mindlessly so. She had no fear that he wouldn't stop if she asked and, at first, balanced on the edge between asking him to stop or kissing him back. Marguerite didn't stay there long. His hands were roving over her body and she began to kiss him back, her arms creeping around his neck as he pressed his hands along her back, sculpting her to him. She then gasped into his mouth as they reached her behind and cupped there, lifting and pressing her against his hardness, grinding their bodies together.

Marguerite groaned with disappointment when he eased her back on to her feet, and then again when he broke their kiss, but her heart leapt in her chest and she jerked slightly in his arms with startled pleasure as he suddenly lowered his mouth to close it over her nipple through the silk of the blouse and chemise. She withstood the heated sensations that caused for a moment, but then tugged on his hair, bringing his mouth back to hers.

Marguerite kissed him passionately then, her need mingling with his and swirling inside her as he turned them both and pressed her against the wall. When he broke their kiss to trail his lips along her cheek, she sought out his ear, finding and licking the hollow behind it and shivering as it sent pleasure radiating through them both.

She felt him tugging at her blouse, pulling it from the waist band of her skirt, and immediately set to work on his shirt buttons, suddenly eager to feel his naked flesh against her own. In the next moment she gasped and forgot the buttons, her legs going weak as his hand slid beneath her untucked top and chemise, sliding over her flesh to close around one taut breast.

Sensing her weakness, Julius slid his thigh between both of hers to help her stay upright, and then returned his mouth to hers, thrusting his tongue inside as he toyed with one erect nipple. It set off a clamoring inside her that radiated through her body as if she were a tuning fork.

Clutching at his shoulders, Marguerite bit lightly on his tongue and shifted her body, grinding herself against his thigh, then reached down to find him through the cloth of his pants.

Julius immediately gave up toying with her breast and began to pull her short, tight skirt up until he had it bunched around her waist. He then reached between them, sliding his hand inside her panties and caressing her briefly. Moaning as the need overwhelmed her, Marguerite quickly undid his trousers and tugged him free of his boxers, her hand encasing and squeezing him encouragingly.

Growling, Julius immediately slid his hand from between her legs, caught her by the upper legs and lifted her, urging her to wrap her legs around his waist. Marguerite did, her hand releasing him to catch around his shoulders to help hold her weight as he lowered her, driving into her.

They broke the kiss, both crying out as he filled her, then stared at each other, panting as he slowly withdrew a little then pressed back into her. Pinned against the wall by his weight, Marguerite moaned and closed her eyes as she was assaulted by both the sensation of his body entering hers and her own closing around him and drawing him in. And then he kissed her again, his tongue thrusting into her as his erection did, the kiss quickly growing frantic along with his actions until the tension broke, taking her mind with it. She knew they were falling, but darkness reached up to claim her before they hit the floor and she never felt the landing.

Marguerite didn't know how long she was out. She wasn't surprised to realize she'd fainted, she'd always heard that true lifemates tended to for their first hundred or so times together. She had even passed that bit of wisdom on to her daughters-in-law, but this was the first time she'd ever experienced. When she opened her eyes it was to find that she was in Julius's arms and he was carrying her up the stairs.

"I thought it might be best if we weren't found naked and unconscious at the foot of the stairs when the boys come home," he said with a small smile when he noticed that her eyes were open.

Marguerite blushed, but nodded shyly.

Julius chuckled softly at her expression. "How can you be shy after what we just did?"

"I hardly know you," she whispered wryly as he carried her into his bedroom. "We only met each other a few days ago."

His expression became solemn and he released her legs, allowing them to drop to the floor so they both stood facing each other. "We are lifemates, Marguerite. I knew you from the moment we met. And you knew me. Somewhere, in some part of your mind or body, you recognize me as one would recognize a long-lost love."

Marguerite stared at him silently, knowing that was true. She had felt his passion and his pleasure as a lifemate did, not something she'd ever experienced with Jean Claude, but her body had also seemed to know instinctively what to try, what would excite him and had done so confidently. Her hands had caressed where they were sure he liked it best, the excitement that then bled from him into her proving her right. Her lips had sought out the hollow behind his ear with assurance, again proven right when she'd felt the tingles of excitement radiate through her own body. And her body had met and matched his, anticipating his actions and moving in rhythm as if they'd performed that sweet dance before, as if they were one.

She'd never experienced anything like that with Jean Claude. At first, Marguerite had always felt uncertain of what she was doing and how to please her husband...and then, later, after centuries of his control, she hadn't cared to know. There had never been any in-between with them in her recall.

This then was what it was like with a lifemate. No wonder her children were all so happy.

Smiling at the thought, Marguerite let go of the last of her reserve and reached out to wrap her hand around Julius's erection. Her smile widened when she saw the silver leap to life in his eyes, eating away the black, but when he opened his mouth to speak, she silenced him with a kiss, thrusting her own tongue into his mouth.

Julius moaned in response, closing his arms around her to draw her tight against him as his hips pushed forward, urging his erection more firmly into her hand as she caressed the length.

Marguerite smiled against his mouth, then broke the kiss and dropped abruptly to her haunches before him, making Julius blink his eyes open and peer down with a start. She grinned up at him, but when he started to bend, reaching for her, she knew he intended to stop her and quickly took him into her mouth. The action worked as she'd hoped and he froze at once, his hands moving over her shoulders and head, but not trying to stop her anymore. Marguerite ran her tongue around the tip of his shaft, excitement pooling between her legs as his pleasure and excitement began to invade her. It grew with every stroke or flick of her tongue, rolling through her in amplifying waves as the pleasure echoed between them growing with each return.

Marguerite was moaning now too, the vibration simply adding to their pleasure. She could feel the muscles of Julius's legs quivering under the hand she'd placed there to help her keep balance and quivered herself in response, her own legs growing weaker and weaker until they were both trembling. She became unsure which would come first, the final pleasure or collapse, then Julius suddenly tangled the fingers of one hand in her hair and forced her head away even as he caught her arm with his other hand and dragged her to her feet.

Marguerite opened her mouth to protest that she wasn't done, but he didn't wait to hear it. Covering her mouth with his own he kissed her almost violently and forced her backward until the back of her legs bumped against the bed, and then they were both tumbling onto it. Marguerite gasped into his mouth as his weight landed on her, but he quickly shifted to the side, his upper body sideways on the bed and leaning against her. He had one leg thrown over both of hers and used it to urge hers apart and keep them from closing as his hand slid up her thigh.

Marguerite cried out, her hips jerking as he found her slick, heated flesh. She sucked frantically on his tongue and caught at his upper arms, digging in with her nails, scoring him as he caressed her. She was already excited from what he'd been doing to her, but now he was pushing them both further, his fingers dancing over her briefly before sliding inside until they were both panting and desperate. Only then did he slide over her, replacing his hand with his shaft and driving into her with a violence born of need. Marguerite met and matched that need, raising her knees and planting her feet firmly on the mattress to raise her hips into the action until he was buried to the base.

As excited as they were, it didn't take much to drive them both over the edge. The mounting tension had Marguerite in a frenzy and when she felt her teeth begin to shift and slide forward, she broke their kiss to keep from biting his tongue, only to turn her head and sink her fangs into his shoulder. Julius growled, and she felt his own teeth pierce her neck, then they both pulled away, screaming as they went over the edge together plummeting into the whirlpool of release that waited below.

Nine.

Marguerite woke up to find her head cushioned on Julius's chest and his arms wrapped round her. She lay still for a moment, simply enjoying being enveloped in his warm embrace and inhaling his scent. It was a sharp, tangy aroma that made her wonder what cologne he wore. She'd like to buy several bottles of it and use it as air freshener as well as throw it in her laundry so she could enjoy it all the time.

Smiling at the foolish thought, Marguerite eased out of his arms, moving slowly and carefully in an effort not to wake him. The clock on the bedside table read five P.M., a little more than an hour before sunset, and she'd like to take a bath before the other men were up and about. The townhouse had only one full bathroom and she imagined it would be in high demand when the rest of their small group started to stir. If she went now she could be done and out before that happened.

Her gaze slid around the room as she stood up and Marguerite grimaced as she realized she had no clothes here but those she'd worn the night before. A robe would have been handier, but she didn't have one with her, so had to drag on her skirt and blouse from the night before. She didn't bother with her bra and panties, however, simply scooping them up along with her shoes to carry to her own room.

Much to her relief, Marguerite didn't run into anyone on the way to her room. She slipped inside and dumped the clothes she carried on the foot of the bed, and then quickly stripped off the skirt and blouse. Leaving them where they fell, she took her robe from the wardrobe and slid into it, and then fetched fresh clothes and grabbed her hair dryer before heading into the bathroom.

With only an hour before the room would be in demand, Marguerite didn't take as long in her bath as normal. She rushed through it and then quickly dried off, dressed, and dried her hair. Once ready to face the day, she slid out of the bathroom, coming to a startled halt when she saw Tiny leaning against the wall in the hall.

"I'm sorry, were you waiting long?" Marguerite asked in a whisper.

Tiny shook his head as he straightened. "I just came out. I heard the hair dryer turn off as I did and figured you were about done so thought I'd wait and grab a shower before everyone else is up and about."

"Oh." She nodded and then offered, "If you tell me how to make coffee I'll put it on while you're showering."

"Hooked on caffeine already?" Tiny teased with a grin, and then shook his head. "It's okay. I fixed it before we went to bed this morning. It just has to be turned on."

"I'll do that, then," she said, moving toward her door. "And then I'll call Martine and see when we can talk to her."

"Sounds like a plan," Tiny said as he disappeared into the bathroom.

After leaving her things in her room, Marguerite jogged lightly downstairs to do as promised. She flipped on the coffeepot, then moved to the phone, grateful that she knew Martine's number by heart. Jean Claude's sister had had the same number for at least ten years, ever since moving back into her York home after one of the necessary breaks most of them were forced to take to prevent anyone noticing that they didn't age. Still, she had to pause and rethink the number since she had it memorized with the country code in the front. She mentally counted off the 011 44 and then actually punched in the following ten numbers, hoping she'd done it right. She didn't relax until she recognized Martine's housekeeper's voice saying hello.

Smiling, Marguerite leaned against the counter and asked for Martine, but her smile faded when the housekeeper announced that Ms. Martine was in London spending the weekend with her daughters. When the woman asked if she'd like to leave a message, Marguerite murmured no, thanked her, and hung up to scowl impatiently around the room. Honestly, they seemed constantly to run into roadblocks with this case. First there had been the three weeks of useless archive hunting, then the attack, and now when they thought they had a real chance of finding out something useful, Martine wasn't available to talk to.

"Why the long face?" Julius asked by her ear, his arms slipping around her waist from behind.

"Good morning," Marguerite said, her lips curving up into a smile as she leaned back into his embrace.

Julius caught her chin in his hand and brought her face around and up for a kiss that may have started as a gentle brushing of lips, but didn't end that way. Moaning as his tongue invaded, Marguerite turned in his arms to make the angle less awkward and then gasped in surprise when he immediately lifted her to sit on the counter.

"Julius," she laughed, breaking the kiss and trying to push him away. "Someone could come in."

"Tiny's in the shower and everyone else is still sleeping," he growled, his hands urging her knees apart so he could step between her legs.

"Yes, but-Oh," she breathed. He'd tugged her blouse from her skirt, raised it up to uncover the red lace bra she'd donned after her bath and immediately began to run his tongue along the flesh at the edge of the lace.

"But?" he asked against her skin.

"But," Marguerite agreed on a sigh, one hand sliding into his hair and the other moving over the smooth skin of his back. He wore only his jeans, leaving his chest and back bare for her to touch unhampered.

Julius chuckled and tugged one cup of the bra aside so that he could latch onto the excited nipple beneath and Marguerite groaned and unconsciously shifted her hips forward, groaning again as the core of her pressed lightly against his erection. Julius immediately let go of her blouse, letting it drop over his head as his hands reached for her hips and tugged her more firmly forward so that they ground against each other through their clothes. They both groaned then and he withdrew his head from beneath her blouse, abandoning her breast to kiss her again.

Marguerite kissed him back frantically, her hand slipping between them to find that while he'd donned the jeans, he hadn't bothered to fasten the button, simply pulling up the zipper. There was no need for fiddling with fasteners, she simply slid her hand inside and found him hard and eager.

Julius thrust against the caress, his own hands finding her skirt and beginning to lift it up and out of the way. It was the buzz of the coffeemaker announcing that it was done brewing and the coffee ready that brought her to her senses. Blinking her eyes open, she peered around the kitchen and immediately broke the kiss and caught at his hands to stop him as they slid between her legs.

"We can't," she gasped.

"We can," Julius assured her, running his lips down her throat as he brushed his fingers against her through her panties.

"Oh, noooo," Marguerite moaned and then shook her head firmly and redoubled her efforts to catch his hands, this time digging her nails into his skin. When he lifted his head to look at her, she said, "Tiny or one of the others will find us half dressed and unconscious on the kitchen floor."

"Oh, right." Julius sighed, dropping his head on her shoulder and letting her skirt fall back into place. Then he lifted his head abruptly and suggested, "We could go back to bed."

Marguerite smiled at his hopeful expression, but shook her head. "Work. I have work to do."

"Did I hear someone say work?" Tiny asked as he entered the kitchen and then his eyes found them and rounded. "That doesn't look like work."

Grimacing, Marguerite pushed Julius away and slid off the counter. "Good morning."

"Good morning, again," Tiny said with amusement, reminding her that they'd already met once that morning.

"Right," she murmured, then, hoping to distract him, said, "The coffee just finished."

The moment Tiny turned to glance at the coffeepot, she quickly reached under her blouse to readjust her bra, slipping her breast back inside. While her blouse had hidden the fact, she'd been uncomfortably aware that it was still out under there. Catching Julius's amused grin, she made a face and moved to collect cups, asking him, "Do you want coffee?"

"Not yet," he answered. "I think I'll go take a shower."

"Marcus was heading in next and Christian has already called dibs on following him," Tiny announced as he retrieved milk and cream for the coffee.

"Then I guess I'm having coffee," Julius muttered.

Marguerite smiled with amusement at his disgruntled tone as she collected three cups and moved to the coffeepot.

"So, did you call Martine? When are we going to see her?" Tiny asked as he joined her by the coffeepot.

"Yes, I called her, but there's a problem," Marguerite said on a sigh as she poured the coffees. "She isn't home."

Tiny looked as disappointed at this news as she'd been. "Where is she?"

"In London if you can believe it," she admitted dryly. "It seems while we were on the train here, she was on another train heading to London for a weekend with her daughters."

"Her daughters live in London?" Tiny asked with a frown.

"No. They're at university at Oxford. They were catching the train into London to meet up with her."

Tiny raised his eyebrows. "Impressive."