Her eyes narrowed in disbelief. "You're lying!" She scoffed. Her large inquisitive brown eyes swept over his timeless features and perfect complexion. Though they were confined in mostly shadows, with the occasional stream of light coming from the oncoming traffic, she would bet a weeks worth of her salary that he did not contain a single wrinkle on his beautiful, arrogant, delusional self.

He let out a deep throaty laugh at her reaction. The low melodic sound was unexpected, its vibration seemed to seep deep into her skin, warming her bones. She couldn't help but answer his grin with a small one of her own. Her head tilted slightly and she took him in at length. This was the first time she had seen him smiling in the short time she had met him. She took in the rare occurrence in awe. His posture relaxed, his shoulders comfortably rested on the large leather car seat. His left arm causally draped over the steering wheel as he navigated through the sparse traffic. The change in his facial features made him look even more youthful. His strong jaw relaxed and his genuine smile reached his eyes, warming the piercing arctic sapphires into a rich bold azure. His amusement over her reaction caused a swarm of butterflies to take flight deep within her belly. She had made him laugh, and though it was a small gesture no doubt, she couldn't help but subconsciously relish the ability to be able to do so.

His smile still did not falter and his chest seemed to swell as he continued. "I was born in the year of sixteen-forty six. Before the era of..". His large right hand gestured to the dark city, his warm eyes scanning the passing metropolis. She thought he would continue, but knew he had lost himself in his own thoughts as a silence stretched. His hand slowly drifted back to lay casually on his thigh. "A simpler time." He finally concluded, his voice not much more than a whisper. The warmth in his eyes dwindled, as he lost himself in the ghosts and memories of his past. His shoulders straightened after some time, and the familiar clench of his jaw returned. Perhaps this small glimpse of a smiling Nicholai was not a side that was meant for her to see, or perhaps it was only a glimpse of who he had once been.

Three hundred and sixty-eight years old. That would make this Adonis a...relic. She supposed it was fitting, with his obviously antiquated ideas of a woman's right. The more she pondered on it the more believable it seemed. Hell, other species existed, the idea of a longer span of life wasn't so unbelievable compared to that. Plus, what difference did it make? His age did not matter. She needed to focus all her attention on her escape.

They had remained on the I-684 North for a while. She figured they were going to remain local considering the late hour but as he continued on the freeway she grew curious about their destination. The small clock on the dashboard flashed 10:30 in a bright blue. For being this late, she felt energized.

"Where are we going?"

"Monroe, Connecticut."

"Why?"

"Dinner."

"Why not somewhere closer?" By her estimation it would take about another hour and a half to get to Connecticut. The idea of leaving the city made her nervous. Escaping would be easier if she had the field advantage. At this rate she didn't really know where they were heading, he was in control, he could be taking her to a shed in the middle of nowhere, where escaping would be impossible.

"It will be worth it. Plus, I figured we could use this time to...get to know each other. Isn't that what humans do on dates?"

"Yes." She replied, nothing more than a murmur. The idea that he was trying to actually court her made her feel oddly timid. She tried settling her nerves. She had a growing uneasiness in her stomach. Where the hell were they going? Maybe they were heading somewhere rural where getting help would be impossible...where no one would be able to hear her screams. The chilling thought made her break out in a cold sweat and she placed her hands under her thighs to hid their visible tremble. She took a couple deep breaths and willed her rapid heart beat to slow.

"I will never hurt you, Emma." His voice was hard, final and definite. Her large dilated eyes darted to his face, seeking some sort of softness in his features. There was none, of course, no sympathy or compassion.

"You are my mate. I...promise you Emma, you do not need to fear me, I will never hurt you." He continued, his face unflinching. The irony of his words were not lost on her. He had already hurt her though the scars were not evident on her skin. She chose to stay silent instead. He was trying to comfort her, though his delivery left much to be desired, and it was ironic that the person that was causing her such distress was the one that was trying to ease it, but she couldn't help but to latch onto his promise.

"I..I trust you." She said slowly, a long time later, her voice nothing higher than a murmur. The words not entirely true, but not entirely untrue either. She was choosing to trust him because she had no other choice. It was an unsteady and weak trust, a hopeful wish that he would keep his word and would indeed not hurt her. It was nothing stronger than a thin delicately intricate spider web but it was all that she had, and her sanity could not help but cling to it. Call it self preservation, Stockholm Syndrome at its finest.

They had long since left the bright lights of cities and a heavy dense darkness engulfed them, the streams of light caused by oncoming traffic had dwindled to none but she didn't need any light to know he was staring at her. She could feel the heat of it on her, as she stared forward onto the dark road, only being able to see what the bright headlights exposed. She couldn't bring herself to turn to his direction so she focused to the dark shadowy landscape they were speeding by. The farther they went, the larger the gaps between man made buildings became, and the outlines of nature became more prominent, more mountains, outlines of dark ominous towering trees.

She had eased further, the darkness creating a comfortable obscurity in the small space. It was almost possible to feel as though she was alone. The radio had remained off, and the only sounds were of their own light breathing and of heavy wheels on the pavement as they tore through it.

It was when the road had dwindled to a small two lane road that Nicholai slowed the acceleration of the car. The two lane road was was flanked by a rich full forest on both sides. She thought Nicholai was going to completely stop until she saw the dirt road he was meaning to to turn onto. The dirt road was small and uneven, making her sway in her seat. At some point the path became so tight that were scraped by the dense shrubbery of the larger willowy trees. She tried to keep her nerves steady but as they continued forward, to what seemed to be a dense, dark, forbidding forest she couldn't help but to start to panic. Her breathing had started to accelerate, when from the dark shadows Nicholai reached and settled his large warm hand on top of hers. It was surprising to say the least. His large calloused hand enveloped her cold fingers, warming them easily. She swallowed hard and fought the urge to protectively snatch her hand back.

"We are almost there. I took the back road." He said, as a form of explanation, his hand giving hers a gentle squeeze. His voice had remained hard and unmoving but she couldn't help but be appreciative of the small gesture, he was trying to comfort her, and his gesture spoke for him in a way that perhaps he was verbally unable to do so.

She nodded silently though she knew he probably couldn't see her. The trees seemed to grow larger, thicker and the path more uneven the farther they went. The headlights were able to cut into the darkness only a few feet and the rest remained pitch black. As her senses heightened she tuned into the sounds, or the lack thereof. They seemed to be disrupting the tranquility of the large forest. The engine roared, and the wheels screeched as they sought traction on the old dirt road. Aside from the crunches of breaking twigs, dry leaves and the occasional grazing of a low branch on top of the SUV. All remained quiet.

Her hand remained limply in the warm confines of his. Perhaps it was the darkness, the ambiguity it purchased but her fingers twitched in his until he released the gentle grip. He was pulling away from her seat when she latched on to his thumb and brought his hand to rest on her lap. He said nothing, continuing their slow process on the dark road. Her other hand joined, and her touch became exploratory. She found that his hand was large enough to hold both her hands. The pads of her fingers gently feathered over his palm, pressing into the roughest parts. He had appealing hands, hardworking hands, surprising for the businessman he seemed to be. His hand remained lax, allowing her to continue undisturbed. She ghosted her finger tips over his, searching for anomalies, since that's where the razor sharp claw had erupted from when he transformed into a wolf. There was none. Her touches became more brazen, and she was soon running her nails along the underside of her wrist. His skin, seemed dense but not rough.

"Does it hurt?" She asked quietly, her fingers once again pressing against his fingertips. "When you morph?"

"Yes, but it is bearable. The pain just becomes part of the process."

"What does it feel like?"

"Like I am bursting at the seams."

"When you change...does your mind...does it change too?" The darkness was making her bold, and his forthcoming replies eased her into asking more questions.

"To an extent. You could say my mind becomes more primitive. The wolf takes the lead but I have learned to control him over the years so I can...persuade his actions."

"What about when your human, can he persuade you too?"

"He has a way of letting me know what he wants, we are the same entity, so for the most part we want the same things but it's my choice whether I follow through or not."

"Oh. What is he wanting now?" What she really wanted to ask was 'Does he want to eat me?' but she wasn't feeling quite that bold.

"He's actually looking forward to kissing you. Well that is one of those mutual wants. We both are looking forward to it." He delivered the words softly, with sensuality and much promise.

Her fingers stilled on his hand. "Well I too, have a say in that. I don't want to kiss either of you."

He growled at her rejection. "You wanted to date, don't humans kiss at the end of dates?"

"Not always!-" Was the only response she got before he brought the car to a complete halt in the middle of the narrow dirt road. He turned the roaring engine off leaving them in the quiet silence of the forest. It consequently turned off the headlights, their only lighting, plunging them into complete darkness. His hand that had laid limply against her lap quickly unfastened her from her seat belt. His hand sank deep into her loose thick brown hair, his fingers curling around her nape and hauling her surprised lax form against him. His touch was assertive but did not harm her.

"What is it, Emma? Why do you keep fighting me?" His voice was delivered directly into her ear. Nothing higher than a rustle. She preferred when he roared compared to this seething calm wrath. Her eyes darted to the dark confines of the car. The only illumination, was the bright blue light, signaling that it was 12:14 in the morning.

He shifted, pressing her more firmly into the small middle seat. He hovered over her. His nose urgently pressing into her hair.

"You are not married. Is there someone else? Is that why you keep fighting this? Who is it, Emma?" The darkness forced her to focus heavily on her hearing since she could not see. There was an edge of desperation, underlying his blatant anger in his tone. She could even sense a sliver of vulnerability as well. He pulled the thick mass of brown strands at her nape, forcing her head to tilt back against his fist and the edge of the seat. Her eyes stared into darkness, at what she knew was the upholstered roof of the SUV. He pressed his nose down her long pale column, into the crook of her neck. Where she heard him pause to inhale deeply. He quickly went further, his free hand yanking the opening of her stretchy gray V neck shirt down. Exposing what she figured was the top of her lacy covered breasts. She gasped when she felt him press his nose into the valley of her breast. She felt him rumble and inhale, and he retreated, his nose quickly feathering the tops of her exposed full mounds. He proceeded to give her a long lick where the seam of her lace brassiere met her milky skin. It made her jaw drop and inhale deeply. He did it again, rapidly, desperately, alternating mounds, alternating between long and short strokes. His tongue at times, gaining a rough quality against her skin. He nipped the skin above her thrumming heart before quickly moving on. Her skin warmed, but he didn't halt. Her veins felt as though they had expanded, her blood flowed thickly and languorously. His mouth and questing tongue came to her throat and neck and continued the same ministrations. Her breathing became labored, and somewhere along the process, her hands came to lay against his chest and twisted the soft expensive material between her fingers.

His movements were hurried, jerky and lacked finesse, they were primal. "You smell of no other Emma. You taste of no other. Tell me. Why do you refuse me?"Had she been able to see his face she could envision his blazing eyes and clenched jaw in fury but since she could not see all she heard was a desperate, perhaps wounded pride.

Her breath was nothing but pants. She felt ablaze, and her body thrummed with awareness. Was he expecting an answer? She licked her lips, and realized that he had released her nape, her head hanging off the low car seat. She lifted her head to meet his blazing stare hovering so close to her. She felt the quick rise and fall of his chest against her fists.

Like a moth to a flame she was drawn to him, she held his stare, and she inched her head closer to him. The flash of surprise in his glowing eyes didn't faze her. Engulfed in this dense darkness she felt inconspicuous, it lowered her inhibitions and she acted instinctively. She used her hands that were still twisted in his shirt and pulled him closer. Until she could feel his breath against her, his breath quickened, and their pants intertwined. She ghosted her full parted lips against his jaw. As he had done to her, there was a light stubble that tickled her lips but she did not let it deter her. She pressed her lips softly over a small expanse of his jaw, and in a brazen move she darted out her tongue to taste his skin. She found that he tasted good but her exploration was over. He let out a warning growl, the vibrations traveling through her palms. He quickly sank his fingers deep in her hair to hold her still and his lips unceremoniously crashed down onto hers.