"That doesn't sound so bad," she whispered, smiling.

Politics. Politics and council meetings. Think of anything but her naked and tied down to the bed.

"If such things interest you, it would be my duty as your mate to indulge you," he murmured against her ear. When they reached the top he turned left and walked towards their room.

"A duty huh?" she asked, arching a brow at him.

"I am very diligent and thorough when it comes to my duties." He reached down and turned the door knob. He pushed the door open with his shoulder and kicked it closed behind him. Gently he lay her down on the bed and pulled the covers up. The shock on her face soothed his pride. She wanted him as much as he wanted her.

"No, seriously, I'm okay." She went to push the covers back and he shook his head.

"You rest for a bit. I'm going to call your uncle." He pulled the covers back up.

Pouting, she glared at him but then yawned. Blushing again she snuggled down into the covers.

"Okay, but wake me up for lunch."

"Of course darling." He leaned down and kissed her temple.

"Best. Mate. Ever," she said and closed her eyes.

Feeling like he could take on the world he walked out of the bedroom and into his study. He shut the door and walked over to sit down at his desk. He picked up the phone and dialed the number to the vampire leader's main office.

"Elder Rioux's office, may I ask who is speaking and the nature of your call," a crisp female voice asked.

"This is Gavriel Ambrosios calling to speak to Magnus," Gavriel said.

"Mr. Ambrosios, what is your position?" she continued.

Gavriel pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it. He had dropped out of vampire society for a while, but dammit she should know his name! As much as he appreciated the fact that his people had structure and weren't aware of his age, he didn't like having to dance to someone else's tune.

"I am second in command to Unit Commander Aiden McKenzie of the Alpha Unit in Lycaonia," he explained.

"Oh. Shifters," she sniffed and continued. "Mr. Ambrosios, if you leave a message, Elder Rioux will get to it as soon as he can. Otherwise, I can schedule you a phone appointment. Let's see, his next available opening is March 17th." Her voice was condescending.

March 17th was over four months away!

Grinding his teeth he took a deep breath. "I cannot wait four months to speak with him. If you would just let him know who is on the phone I'm sure he'd take my call."

"Mr. Ambrosios, Elder Rioux is a very important man; he doesn't have time to speak with every person who thinks that they have a problem. I must suggest you take your problem to your local Elder first, if he deems it important enough I'm sure that he will reach out to Elder Rioux," she advised, taking the offer to schedule him a phone appointment off the table.

"What I need to speak to him about is of a personal nature and cannot be discussed with René. Please put me on hold and tell Magnus that I am on the phone. Like I said, I'm sure he'll take my call," he explained again. Like hell was he going to go to René to ask about Beth!

"That is Elder Evreux and Elder Rioux to you, sir! I honestly don't know who you think you are, but I won't allow you to speak about our Elders so disrespectfully!" she practically screeched before the line went dead.

Gavriel took a deep breath before he attempted to use his phone again. He didn't want to buy a new one because he had crushed the one in his hand.

He dialed the number again and waited.

"Elder Rioux's office, may I ask who is speaking and the nature of your call," the same female voice asked.

Gavriel didn't even bother with the niceties this time. "Put Magnus on the phone in the next five minutes or you will have to explain to Magbus why he has suddenly lost his council seat. I am Gavriel Ambrosios. I was defending our race before you and your Elders were born. Not only am I old enough to have fathered both René and Magnus, but I also own fifty-five percent of every major vampire holding since the dawn of our people. After you get your Elder on the phone I suggest you take the time to brush up on our people's ruling houses. House Ambrosios is the oldest and most revered house of the vampire race," he hissed.

"What? I? H ... h ... hold ... please," the woman stuttered.

Breathing hard he silently cursed himself for losing his temper. His transition was coming to an apex soon and he was finding it harder and harder to keep himself under control.

"Who in the hell is this? And why is my secretary in tears?" an angry voice demanded.

"Hello Magnus, it's Gavriel Ambrosios. You might want to make sure your secretary knows who the founding families are before she tells another one of us to leave a message or to go to our local Elder for insignificant issues," Gavriel said acerbically.

"Oh for crying out loud Gavriel!" Magnus's voice became more muffled. "Yes he is who he says he is. Yes, he is a founding member. I don't know why he isn't listed in your literature, you will need to find that out and fix it before coming back here tomorrow. Oh, for goodness sake woman quit blubbering and take the rest of the day off."

Gavriel heard a click, silence and then seconds later Magnus's voice was back and sounding much clearer than before.

"There. I have transferred you to my personal line. You'd better be treating my Bethy better than you treated my secretary," Magnus growled.