“I’m serious! Anyway, if I stay with you, I don’t have to go back. I didn’t realize how unhappy I was with them until I fell in with you. I’m not pack anymore, I’m yours. I mean—if you want.”

“Is this a joke?” he almost whispered. “Is it a trick to get even? Because while I wouldn’t blame you—”

“Oh, hey, I’m a bitch, but I’m not, like, a sociopath! That’d be a rotten thing to do. I love you, you stupid fuck. I’m not going anywhere. Except, of course, for a few days a month. Think you can put up with that, you undead dope?”

“I’ve been waiting almost a hundred years to hear those words. Well, not those exact words.” He reached out and pulled her down onto his lap. They sat on the floor while she cuddled into him like a bad-tempered doll. “Oh, Janet. I missed you so much. And I was such a fool.”

“Yeah, a real arrogant asshole.”

“Yes.”

“Completely unreasonable and jerkish.”

“And then some.”

“And you’re really, really sorry.”

“So unbelievably sorry.”

“And totally unworthy of me.”

“In a thousand ways.”

“And you’re gonna buy lots of food and get a house in the country so I don’t have to hunt in the city.”

“The refrigerator is full, and I already have a house in the Berkshires.”

“Then that’s all right,” she said, sounding quite satisfied. She stretched out her legs and wiggled her toes. “Um…the steaks are getting cold.”

“So am I.”

She giggled and turned so she was straddling him and then hooked her ankles behind his waist and kissed him on the mouth. Slowly, she cupped the back of his neck and brought his mouth to her throat. “Hungry?” she purred.

He thought he would have a seizure. She had come back—she loved him—she would stay—and now she was freely offering him her blood. Soon the Palestinians and the Israelis would make peace, and Janet would willingly enroll in charm school.

He sank his fangs into her throat without hesitation—he couldn’t have held back if he tried. He could feel her breasts pressing against his chest while her blood warmed him from the inside out. She was wriggling against him—now her fingers were at his zipper—now her warm little hand was inside his trousers, clasping him, stroking him. He groaned against her throat.

“You did miss me!” She shoved him back and he was happy enough to lie down for her. He stopped feeding and licked the bite mark. Her glorious breasts were jiggling in his face, and he couldn’t recall ever being happier, not once in his long, long life.

She seized his cock with delightful firmness and raised herself above him. His arms went around her waist as he guided her to him.