A/N: And now, finally, the epilogue. I do apologize, once again, for the length of time it took me to get this to you, but I had to rewrite it about five times until I was wholly satisfied that it was up to my standards and worthy of ending this story. I hope you agree. My unending thanks to those of who who have stayed with me from the very beginning- this story would never have gotten here without you. To those of you who came later or are just joining us, I thank you as well. Your support has been overwhelming, all of my readers, and I cannot thank you enough for it.

Words cannot express my thanks to my wonderful beta, Luthor (killer-elephants) and all of her support while I flailed and deleted and re-wrote. Thanks for helping me through this, dear.

As I said in the final chapter, this will likely not be the last time I delve into this universe, and certain things are deliberately left open-ended for when I do come back with the sequel.

I hope you all enjoy this as much as I have. It's been a long, lovely process, and I love you all for following me through it.

Take care, and Happy Holidays,

~M

Please take note: This chapter earns its M rating. Enjoy.

...

Epilogue: Do It With Me Now

Ivory fangs sank into soft skin. Slowly.

This was no emergency feeding to ward off death- no crazed strike of need as the scent of blood slipped into starving senses. This was her first true bite in centuries- punctures made by her own fangs and nothing else to get the blood begun, and Regina took her time with it. She reveled in it, putting all of her focus into how her hand lightly curled around the other side of Emma's throat, supporting her head. How her other arm snaked around her midriff, keeping her close. Everything else was concentrated on her fangs. They dipped into the skin in a single smooth motion, so very slowly. Regina paid attention to how each layer of skin felt as it was punctured, how the blood under that skin welled, just before she hit the vein, right before she could taste it. And then she sunk in the rest of the way with a groan, and drank deeply of Emma Swan.

As soon as the tips had broken skin, Emma's eyes fell closed, a small gasp escaping as fangs bit incrementally into her neck. It hurt at first, but only marginally- a pinprick before pain was overrun. It felt like a full thirty seconds until Regina finally punctured her jugular, and by that time, Emma's head was already rushing in sensation, her lips parting. A breathy groan slipped from her as the slight twinge of pain began to slide away into something far more exquisite. "Oh, Regina..."

The first rush of blood, hot and sweet and perfect, jolted into Regina's mouth and she gave a moan of her own, her arm curling around Emma's shoulders and holding her ever closer. A hand snaked up into blonde waves of hair that shone golden in the early dawn, and tangled into them. Emma thrummed into her, mixing with the remains of what she had taken in the Hive, pulsing into her heart until the muscle quivered with new life, pounding beneath Regina's breast. As she took, she gave back of herself, sending her own desire and emotions through the channel between them, adding to Emma's pleasures and then tasting them in the blood in an endless cycle of joy and ecstasy.

Euphoria was already beginning to overwhelm Emma's senses, drowning her in all things Regina. She could feel the Queen's elevated heartbeat in her ears, could hear her blood thrumming in her veins, could practically taste her in every pore of her skin. Regina's sounds of approval echoed in her ears, and Emma felt heat washing over her skin, pooling low in her belly, and couldn't help but try to throw her head back and moan even louder.

Regina's hand in her hair kept her still, tightening its grip subtly as she drank. Emma's blood was as intoxicating as she remembered, and the sheer heat of it poured down her throat, warming its way through every inch of her body. And the warmth was not only in temperature. Drinking from Emma was like tasting joy itself- a bubble of all things good and wonderful and perfect that slid its way down into her. She could literally taste Emma's euphoria, and it was absolutely delicious.

The feeding lasted forever and yet could never take long enough. She did not take much blood at all, really. Barring occasions like being drained or poisoned, Regina was old enough that she did not generally require much in the way of blood. When Regina finally pulled away with a small moan of delight, her tongue darted once over the twin punctures she'd left behind, and gave a lingering kiss to marred skin. The marks were gone in a matter of seconds.

Lips parted, head still tilted, Emma's eyes fluttered slowly open. She groaned softly, her mind in a delirious haze. She took a moment to simply take in all that she was feeling, her head tipping forward to rest lightly on Regina's shoulder. Arms wrapped their way around her, a hand tenderly running its way through slightly tangled hair. "God... Regina," she breathed, almost hesitantly sliding her own arm around the Queen.

Licking her lips of all final traces of Emma's blood, Regina expelled a small sigh of her own, smoothing out Emma's hair as she held her close, reveling in the feeling of hot, fresh blood coursing through her own veins, invigorating her body. Emma thrummed through her, overwhelming her still, cocooning her senses in a haze of desire and love and sheer life.

Their eyes met. Emma felt the rays on her back like a warm embrace; an old friend coming to say hello. The light shone off Regina's hair, her skin, making her look almost like she was glowing. Still pleasantly reeling with sensation, Emma felt her lips suddenly dry, and her tongue darted out almost shyly to wet them.

Regina watched that tongue with just as much hunger in her eyes as had been there before she drank, her lips parting to show the gleam of still-exposed fangs as she stared hungrily at Emma's lips.

Noting the interest with another small groan, Emma lost herself in her pleasure, and surged forward to crush Regina's lips against her own.

They came together in the early dawn, soft and gentle, with arms wrapping tenderly around one another and quiet moans as lips explored one another. The mutual desire was almost liquid, a warm bubble that wrapped and entwined itself into and around them in an endless cycle. Regina parted her lips and Emma darted her tongue inside, tasting her, drawing her arms around the Queen and pulling herself closer still, eliminating all space between them and slowly rolling her hips against those of the vampire.

Regina's hands curled around her shoulders, her fingertips sliding a path up her neck, caressing over both sides before sliding back down, nearly desperate to touch and feel every inch of the woman before her. Nails raked gently down the path of Emma's spine, drawing a low moan between their mouths as the kiss deepened further still.

Without thinking about it, Emma felt her own hands move along the same path, her palms reaching up to trace over Regina's neck and shoulders before heading down her back. Her tongue retreated from the warmth of Regina's, pausing to drag the tip lightly over the length of Regina's fangs before slipping back behind her own lips, inviting Regina to follow suit and explore her mouth. Emma's hands slid lower still, finally coming to rest just above the rounded swells of Regina's more than glorious ass.

Just as Emma was readying to go further still and finally cup what had tormented her for far too long beneath tight skirts and leather pants, Regina pulled away. She offered a small peck on the lips in apology, but tilted her head in the direction of the porch surrounding them. The open walkway leading to the house, outside where anyone could see them.

"Emma?" she breathed quietly with another small peck on the lips. "Let's go inside."

Having completely forgotten their location, Emma blushed profusely, taking Regina's proffered hand and leading her back inside the house. The door shut behind them with a dull click, and Emma had to blink at the sudden darkness, her eyes maladjusted after the brightness of the sun outside. As soon as the darkness settled around them and the sun no longer touched her, she felt as though she were wilting, a great part of her missing. She let out a tiny whine of discomfort before trying to shrug it off and press another kiss to Regina's lips.

Regina shot her a concerned glance, before her face softened and she echoed the kiss, letting it linger for another long moment or two before regretfully pulling away. "Upstairs." Her voice was nearly a full octave lower than normal.

Feeling her knees weaken at the sound of it, Emma bit back another groan. Keeping Regina's hand in her own, she led them up the winding staircase, down the hall past the open door to Henry's room. The two mothers took a moment to check in on their sleeping son, still blissfully dead to the world.

Smiling at the sight, it was Regina's turn to lead, and she pulled Emma flush against her before twisting the door to her own room open. The two spilled into the master bedroom, lips attached, hands wandering over warm curves and rumpled clothing. This time, it was Emma who pulled back as the door closed behind them, the reality of what they were doing seeming to dawn on her. "Regina?" she murmured against kiss-swollen lips, her hands finally settling to cup over the vampire's perfect rear end. "Are you sure? I mean... what are we doing?"

Regina smiled at her, and waved a hand in the direction of her shuttered, curtained windows. The solar screens lifted, the room-darkening shades rising to bathe the room in the light of the sun. "We're coming home."

The light hit Emma squarely in the chest, and she groaned again, closing her eyes and basking in the warm rays. When her eyes opened again, they were glowing. With near-feverish force, she backed Regina against the door, crushing their lips together. But Emma was not content to remain still, and this time began to trail a strong of heated kisses down Regina's throat, pausing to suck at the joining of neck and shoulder. Right at the spot where Regina had bitten her.

Biting back a squeak of surprise as blunt teeth bit down in a passionate mimic of her own earlier bite, Regina's head fell back against the door, her fangs sliding into prominence of their own free will. Emma grew relentless, finding the taste of Regina's skin utterly irresistible, and pressed herself closer still, her hands curling around hips and pressing them both into the door with a moan as she nipped and kissed and bit.

Tossing her head, Regina raked her fingernails forcefully down Emma's back, snagging on the fabric of her shirt until seams popped under the pressure. In a sudden surge of vampiric strength and speed, she propelled herself off the door, forcing Emma back into the room and towards her bed.

In full light of the sun, Emma could have stopped her if she wished. Regina knew that, even if Emma did not. But Emma let herself be led, falling onto the bed with a whoosh of air as Regina stopped in front of her, pressing Emma's thighs open enough that she could slip between them before bending down for another kiss.

Emma reached up for Regina's shoulders, grasping fistfuls of her shirt as the kiss deepened yet again. Her hands finally slid up, toying at the first button of the blouse her Queen wore, worrying it open with thumb and forefinger before her hand slipped inside to caress soft skin.

Breaking the kiss with a groan, Regina's hands found the hem of Emma's shirt and began to lift it above her head with deliberate slowness, wrestling the fabric away from the waist of her jeans. As the shirt came away, the vampire sunk down to her knees between Emma's thighs, lowering her head to trace warm patterns over the newly-revealed skin with the tip of her tongue. Covering each shoulder with soft, passionate kisses, Regina made her way to Emma's neck, teasing over the skin she had bitten with gentle flicks of her tongue.

Head tilting back, Emma nevertheless continued her work on the buttons, finally sliding the last one free and allowing her hand to just graze the underside of Regina's breast. Her other hand slipped behind to find the clasp of the bra, undoing it with a quick flick of her fingers. Both blouse and bra were tugged away, falling to the floor in whispers of fabric. With Regina on her knees and topless before her, Emma paused to pull Regina away from her neck so she could get a proper look, raking her eyes over every inch of newly exposed skin. In the early morning sun, Regina was flawless. "You're so beautiful," she whispered, almost reverently. Soft hands stroked over the slope of one breast, then slipped between to dance over Regina's cleavage before moving to the next one.

Regina preened a little at the compliment, arching her back and pressing her chest more fully into Emma's exploratory touches. "Oh, Emma," she sighed. Her own hands moved to Emma's bra, deftly undoing the clasp and pulling the offending garment away, interrupting Emma's gentle explorations for a brief moment to take her own lingering look. "You put me to shame." The sun was shining down on Emma's topless body, her skin practically glowing in its rays. Almost as if she were afraid to impose on the union of sunlight and Emma's skin, Regina extended her hands slowly, drawing the tips of her fingers just barely over sun-warmed flesh.

While the vampire grew hesitant, the phoenix grew bold, rushing her palms over Regina's nipples. Emma lightly began to circle them with her fingertips, tracing in ever tightening spirals until thumb met forefinger and tweaked sensitive flesh. Regina shuddered, pulling back as her nipples were pinched and rolled. Not content to let her pull away, Emma pressed forward to wrap her arms about Regina's waist, encouraging her back to her feet so she could suck one of the hardened buds between warm, wet lips. A gasp of surprise flew out of the vampire, and her back arced once again, pressing her skin into Emma's mouth as her hand wound into blonde hair. "Emma!"

She kissed and teased, brushing her tongue over the stiffened nub until it shone before finally, tortuously, bringing the nipple between her lips and sucking. Just when Regina felt she might burst at the feel of it all, Emma pulled away, trailing heated kisses across her cleavage, and began to follow the cycle all over again on the other nipple.

Groaning again, Regina tugged insistently on the hair in her hands, winding it around her fingers. It had been her intention to begin things here, to have Emma on her back beneath her while she brought her to new heights of pleasure and to hear her name falling from Emma's lips. But as Emma's mouth instead wrapped around her second nipple, tongue laving over her skin, Regina honestly could not say that she minded the change in plans. "You're... very good at this, dear," she sighed, her eyes fluttering closed as another moan slipped from her.

Smiling into her breast, Emma slid her hands into the waistband of Regina's slacks, working her way around her hips before slipping low, squeezing the softness of her ass. She pulled back after a final kiss to each breast, smirking up at her writhing Queen. "Think so?" she grinned. "Then you're going to love this." A twist of her fingers had Regina's slacks undone, Emma's fingers questing below, between supple thighs that were doused with wetness.

Regina responded with another surprised moan, her fingers tightening in blonde hair before her hands moved lower to steady herself by grasping firm shoulders. "Emma!" she groaned again, bending her trembling knees to allow greater access as she stood. With her slacks remaining around her thighs, it made the position difficult, so Regina fixed the problem with a wave of slightly wobbling fingers, removing the rest of her clothing in a puff of purple.

With another smirk of approval, Emma pressed a kiss to the slope of her Queen's hipbone. "Better," she chuckled. Fingers began to slip down further still, tracing over newly-revealed skin and darting to trail her fingertips in glistening dampness, barely brushing over the pouting lips of Regina's sex.

Head thrown back, Regina's hips began rocking forward and back, side to side, forcing those fingers to open her up further. Slowing her movements, she arched her back in such a way that pressure was suddenly positioned directly over her clit. With lust-filled dark eyes, she glanced down to lock with glittering green. Her fangs brushed over her lips as she plead, so far extended that she was lisping. "Emma, don't teathe me, pleathe. Pleathe... Emma..."

Regina was attempting to control the pressure, now, grinding her wetness against fluttering fingers, dancing over her clit. Her hips were moving constantly, undulating inches away from Emma's face. With a smirk, Emma's other hand shot up between spread thighs, finding and dipping her fingers inside, just a little. Just to barely skim over the surface of wetness. Regina's movement slowed and she spread her legs further still, leaning her weight almost entirely on firm shoulders as Emma gently pushed upwards, fingers sinking into her until Regina was practically sitting on her palm. "Emma...!"

Both of her hands were busy now, one stroking Regina's clit, the other thrusting one, then two fingers in and out of her dripping sex. The Queen's movements became more sporadic, less controlled, as she bounced up and down on the fingers of one hand while never allowing her clit to lose contact with the fingers of the other. Emma watched in satisfaction as skin became flushed, Regina's fingers gripping her shoulders so tightly she knew they would bruise, and yet she couldn't care when Regina was looking do delectably undone, her breasts bouncing with every thrust.

And as her moans built into a crescendo, Regina's entire body began to quiver as muscles tightened and strained. Her moans filled the room, her back arching her body taunt and stretched towards the ceiling. Emma could feel the muscles of her sex convulsing around her fingers, and redoubled her efforts, flicking her thumb madly over the Queen's stiffened clit. Regina was reaching her limit, her body trembling as the first waves of orgasmic pleasure began to crash. But Emma refused to slow, continuing to plunge deep within until Regina was trembling again, her fangs digging into her lips to keep from screaming. Finally, with a very loud shriek she could not contain, she collapsed on top of Emma, forcing her to lay back on the bed, hands tugging free to curl around her convulsing form.

Body damp with sweat and trembling as residual spasms wracked through her, Regina could barely even form Emma's name with her lips, curling up in her arms as her body still buzzed with pleasure. Finally, a peaceful sort of calm seemed to come over her, stretching herself up to place languid kisses along Emma's collarbone before finally reaching her lips once more.

Emma gave her own rumble of pleasure beneath her, a smirk on her lips as they kissed, ridiculously pleased with herself. Her tongue traced over Regina's lips, darting inside to taste the pleasured moans of her Queen.

Finally drawing back, Regina pulled away to lean on her elbows above the blonde, a contented smile on her face as she glanced down at Emma. "My turn," she announced. Before Emma could respond, she re-situated her weight to her knees to straddle her waist, and almost nonchalantly began to trail the fingers of one hand over Emma's breasts.

A shiver wracked its way through Emma's core, and she gasped, her own hands curling around Regina's hips and squeezing with every teasing touch. A smirk seemingly permanently in place, Regina lowered her head and placed gentle, feather-light kisses to a rapidly hardening nipple. Emma groaned, her hips bucking unintentionally beneath her Queen, the button of her jeans raking over Regina's stomach.

As if reminded, one of Regina's hands slid low, darting beneath the waistband of the still-present garment. "I think it is long past time for these to go," she purred, her lips brushing over the swollen peak of Emma's nipple with every word. She darted her tongue across it at the end of her sentence, leaning forward to suck on it powerfully as both hands slid the button of the jeans undone.

Arching her back, Emma could only thrash unhelpfully while Regina tugged at the tight denim, lips releasing her nipple with a pop before lowering her head to the other. As Regina's hands slid beneath jeans and panties alike, peeling them down together, her tongue swirled around Emma's nipple, her lips suckling at the nub until Emma was reduced to writhing beneath her. Hands rising to tangle in Regina's hair, Emma could only whimper and moan as the last barrier between them was finally stripped away, allowing their naked flesh to finally rub together.

Pulling away from her breasts with a farewell kiss to each nipple, Regina slid herself down the length of hot skin, settling between Emma's legs and finally pulling the restricting fabric free of her ankles to be thrown across the floor. With Emma at last naked beneath her, she paused to drink in the sight of her- flushed and quivering with need, back arched to throw her breasts with nipples sucked into prominence, her kiss-swollen lips parted and gasping with every breath. Pleased at the sight, with gentle prods she urged Emma to shift herself further onto the bed until golden hair spilled over her pillows. Once satisfied, Regina lightly raked her fingernails up and down over shaking thighs, silently spreading them further apart.

With every stroke of those fingernails, Emma threw her head further back against the pillows, her mind nearly overcome with need as she whimpered with every breath. "Please, Regina," she gasped, echoing her Queen's earlier pleas.

Clucking her tongue soothingly, Regina finally brought her hands together at the junction of Emma's thighs, spreading her wider still until her obvious wetness glistened in the sunlight. "Mmm..." she purred at the sight, lowering her head and pressing a teasing kiss to Emma's stomach. "You're so wet for me, Emma Swan." Tauntingly, she lowered her head ever-so-slightly, dragging both fangs and tongue alike over the bend of her hip.

"Regina..." Emma whined, unable to think of any other words with Regina's hands and lips so close to where she needed them. She felt a chuckle against her skin, the ends of dark hair brushing over her as Regina lowered her head further still. And then everything seemed to freeze. Emma couldn't even breathe, everything poised on the edges of her exposed nerve endings and waiting, until Regina finally pressed her lips to wet folds.

Regina's groan of pleasure overpowered Emma's own, the scent and taste of Emma's heat nearly as wonderful as that of her blood, and she dragged her tongue along wet inner thighs, eager to drink up every drop of that taste. With deliberate slowness, eager to enjoy herself, she pressed a kiss to each swollen lip, one side and then the other, and heard Emma's breath hitch beneath her with every motion. Her tongue dipped into the source of Emma's desire, slowly working from the base to the top of her slit. With her thumbs, she parted the folds she had just kissed, baring the swollen head of Emma's clit to the attentions of her lips and tongue, and just barely ran the tip of her tongue against the bud.

Hips bucked into a warm mouth as Emma nearly screamed at the first touch to her clit, causing one of Regina's hands to fly up and away, making a quick gesture resulting in a wave of purple blasting throughout the room. "Soundproofing spell," Regina purred against her folds before Emma even had the presence of mind to ask, and then the Queen bent her head to Emma's clit once more.

Over and over she pressed careful, measured strokes of her tongue against the swelled bud of nerves, each lick causing another shudder to wrack its way down Emma's body. She tangled her hands in Regina's hair, desperate for more, gasping out her name as a skilled tongue swirled around and around her clit. Emma pressed her hips up, needing more, desperate to feel, to be utterly overcome and surrounded by Regina. She needed to fell her, all of her. "Regina!" she hissed, thrashing on the pillows. "Please, please...!"

"What do you need, Emma?" Regina purred from between her thighs.

"You!" she gasped, sweat-slicked skin bucking against Regina's face as she tugged relentlessly on dark hair, trying to pull her up. "Regina, I need you, please!"

"You need me?" A chuckle echoed, interrupted by another measured lick to Emma's clit. "Far be it for me to deny you, then, dear."

The bed shifted beneath them, Regina sliding up to spin herself until a thigh rested on either side of Emma's head, eliciting another long, low groan from the blonde's lips. "Oh god, yes..."

The soft feel of Regina's breasts brushing against her abdomen was a short-lived distraction from the sight above her. Directly in front of her face, Regina's sex nearly begged for attention, and Emma was floored by the obvious effect that simply pleasuring her had had on Regina. She was practically dripping with desire, the spread lips of her heat seemingly engorged with blood- Emma's blood- her brain supplied needlessly, actually working for a second before stuttering to a stop again as Regina's scent began to flood her senses. With an eagerness she didn't know she had the energy for, Emma surged up to press her lips to swollen flesh.

"Oh, Emma..!" Regina gasped above her, thighs shuddering around her face as she kissed and licked over every inch of Regina's sex, tasting her and loving every bit of it. As Emma wrapped her arms around spread thighs, Regina took a steadying breath before returning to her own ministrations, darting her tongue back over Emma's heat as Emma did the same. Their bodies rocked together in mutual pleasure, nipples rolling back and forth over sweaty skin as they licked and sucked.

Grinding her hips down until her wetness completely coated Emma's face, Regina slid against feverishly working lips and tongue over and over again. She moaned against Emma's heat, unable to stop herself from reveling in the attention, utterly consumed. Emma pulsed in her veins, lapped at her folds, thrust into her until Regina could not help but drown in her.

As if sensing the effect she was having, Emma doubled her efforts, her own need only growing as Regina continued to lap at her between moans. She swirled her tongue over Regina's clit, loving every rock of the Queen's hips above her, pressing Regina to her as close as she could before latching her lips around that clit and sucking on it as hard as she could.

Regina screamed into her sex, her body tensing and shaking as her orgasm swept through her, her body gushing and Emma surging up to greedily drink down every drop as Regina shook in her arms. But if Emma had expected Regina's own attentions to halt as she recovered, she was unduly surprised when hot lips and tongue attacked with renewed fervor.

Extended fangs barely grazing at her folds, Regina was relentless in the wake of her second orgasm, sucking Emma's clit into her mouth and lashing it over and over with her tongue, clutching Emma to her. She raised her eyes to lock onto those of the writhing blonde beneath her, pausing in her ministrations to speak, and punctuating her words with strong, sound licks against her clit. "I want you to come for me now, my dear. Come for your Queen, and let me drink in every. Single. Drop of you."

With a scream of Regina's name on her lips, Emma's head fell back against the bed, Regina's words sending vibrations through her sex and adding a new layer to the overwhelming sensations that were rocking their way through her body. Emma felt herself on fire, as if the sun itself beat in her veins and pulsed through her heart. She was aware of everything and nothing, feeling as though every single nerve was exposed and vibrating with untold pleasure. Waves of need barreled through her unendingly, and she shook and trembled, unable to do anything but moan and scream as Regina sent her hurtling towards the edge. Tongues of fire licked at her skin, just as Regina licked inside her. Just as she felt herself at the tipping point, two long, questing fingers buried themselves in her sex, twisting and jerking inside. The noise that fell from parted lips was not human, more akin to a great screeching cry, and Emma stiffened, her hips bucking off the bed as her orgasm finally overcame her, sending wave after wave of unending pleasure crashing through her until she could barely remember to breathe.

Regina did not stop, did not even slow her attentions, drinking in every delicious drop of Emma's release, pistoning her fingers in and out of tight, spasming heat until Emma couldn't even screech any longer, all consciousness pushed harriedly to the side until Regina was all she knew, all she could fathom, and her name fell from breathless lips as she crashed over the edge over and over and over again, gold light spilling from her eyes and every fingertip until darkness overcame it, pulling her down with it.

When Emma opened her eyes again, she was laying on Regina's chest, fingers gently brushing through her hair. She gave a contented groan, her throat hoarse as she nuzzled up to press a tired kiss to the vampire's shoulder.

Regina chuckled beneath her, rubbing her other hand lightly down her shoulder. "Welcome back." Her fingers danced over skin that nearly burned, tracing cooling patterns over chest and back alike.

"Mmm." Emma could only grunt in reply, her voice gone rough and feeling foreign as she lay in her Queen's embrace. "God, Regina," she gasped, snuggling closer into the vampire's chest. "...Will it always feel like that? You drinking from me?"

"Mmm," Regina moaned quietly, closing her eyes and simply enjoying the feel of Emma and the sun and her blood. "I'd like it to." Her eyes opened again, pulling back slightly to look down at the woman in her arms. "If you'll let me."

Emma blinked, staring back at Regina with confused eyes that were slowly losing their glossy, hazed look. "Let you what? Drink from me?" She smiled, nuzzling into the vampire's neck and pressing a gentle kiss to its bend. "I thought that was a given."

Pulling back with a suddenness that left Emma feeling bereft, Regina looked at her as if the idea was appalling. "I would never presume to think that something so precious would ever just be 'a given,' Emma."

Emma couldn't help but crack a smile. "Did you just call me 'precious'?"

Scoffing, Regina's eyes narrowed. "Trust you to make light about something so serious, Miss Swan."

"Are we really already back to 'Miss Swan'?" Smirking, Emma caught one of Regina's hands in her own, locking eyes with the Queen. "Regina," she said in all seriousness, the warm glaze of mindblowing sex slowly falling away from her voice as she spoke. "I won't pretend that the thought of being drank from used to terrify me. The night that Henry was born..." her voice faltered, a hand almost subconsciously reaching for the eight-year old scar on her neck. The side Regina had not drank from. "When Gold bit me ...It was the worst night of my life- complete and utter hell. And it shaped me into the Hunter I became."

Regina shook her head. "I don't want to-"

"Let me say this, okay?" Squeezing the Queen's hand affectionately, Emma pressed on. "Regina, when you drink from me, it is nothing like that night. That night was all terror and pain and tears and blood. Not like with you. With you... I don't even think about it at all. I feel warm. And... safe. And I meant what I said back in that damn Hive, Regina. I trust you. And I want you to know that you can drink from me any time you need to. Hell," she smiled, her arms lifting up lethargically to wrap lightly around Regina "any time you want to. Because Regina? When you drink from me? I... actually really, really like how it feels."

Regina's slow, affectionate smile rivaled the light of the sun they lay in. She let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Emma's words warmed her body as much as the blood pulsing through her did. As much as her arms around her. Her eyes darted towards Emma's arms as they encircled her, and Regina shuffled almost awkwardly into the hug, if that was what it was. "Oh, you do, do you?" she chuckled affectionately. "And why is that?"

Emma's face flushed, instantly stammering. "...Because I... it feels... it's..."

"Intimate?" The Queen's prompt was all too eager-sounding, calling back to her own description what seemed like ages ago.

Pulling back a little, but not far enough so that Regina was completely out of her arms, she grumbled, "Fine. Yes, you were right, okay? Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Eyes glittering, Regina seemed to consider before answering. "It will do. For now."

They fell into an easy silence. Broken a few moments later, inexplicably, when Emma began to laugh.

Shooting a questioning look at her, Regina could only wait until Emma's mirth died down to a point where she could form words.

"Did you know, your majesty," Emma began with a breathless smirk, "that seventy-nine percent of all those Claimed begin developing sexual feelings towards their Claimers?"

A bark of laughter replaced confused irritation. Regina smirked. "Mmm.. Then it's a good thing you're not Claimed, dear," she purred softly, running her fingers over the sweat-slicked skin of Emma's stomach, and then lower, over her thighs. "I'd hate for you to become just another statistic."

"Heaven forbid," Emma groaned, arching her back and spreading her legs a little more.

Regina's lips split in a slow, devious little smile. "Emma..." She raked the backs of her fingernails lightly over the smooth skin of an inner thigh, causing Emma to hiss as raised lines formed in their wake. Bringing the blood to the surface of the skin. Dark eyes looked up to lock with green. "...You did say I could drink from you whenever I wanted?"

The hitch of the vampire's voice alone made Emma groan, her back arching again as she stared down into eyes so dark they nearly devoured her, and begged Regina to consume her all over again. "God, Regina, yes," she moaned. "Do it."

There were still issues to be discussed, of course. Other, less enjoyable problems. Regina would have to research what, exactly, Emma was. She knew the name, of course, and a number of Emma's abilities had shown themselves already, but more would need to be learned. And Regina also now knew that Storybrooke had become entirely too isolated from the rest of the world, if Cora had so easily been able to create her Hive so close. Something would have to be done about that, too.

But those were concerns for a later time. Now, Regina fully intended to revel in the moment with her Emma. And with another grin, the Queen lowered her head once more to sink her fangs into the corded flesh of the blonde's inner thigh.

Arching her back again, Emma sighed as Regina once more took over her senses, curling her hands into dark hair, and pressed the vampire's fangs even more firmly into her vein.

Later, when exhaustion finally overtook their renewed passion, the two curled their spent bodies into one another, utterly content.

In the embrace of her Queen, Emma did not dream.

FIN