A Vampire's Honor by Carla Susan Smith

Christmas lights. I covered my mouth with a hand to stifle a giggle, although I didn’t think Gabriel could hear me.
    I took a moment to catch my breath, finding the entire spectacle mystifying, awe-inspiring, and breathtakingly beautiful. As my eyes moved from the runes to Gabriel’s still form, which I could see clearly through the top of the sarcophagus, I pressed my lips against the cool surface directly above his mouth. Almost immediately the room was filled with the most glorious scent of pine trees, crisp, fresh snow, and something that I recognized but still couldn’t name. It was an aroma I was all too familiar with. It was the scent of Gabriel’s blood.
    And now my lover was crossing the threshold of the panic room, and I had a pretty good idea why. He intended to put me inside his own sensory deprivation chamber.
    Carefully he set me down, placing my bare feet on the cool marble ledge that sat at the base of his coffin. The extra height didn’t put me on the same level as Gabriel, but I didn’t have to tilt my head back quite as much in order to look up at him.
    His eyes were now almost all the way back to the neon blue I was used to seeing. I smiled, much preferring this color to the stormy sea shade they became when his temper was riled. The tips of his fingers brushed against the side of my breast, causing heat to arrow through me and making me realize I was naked. My clothes, the T-shirt and jeans I’d put on in a snit after our earlier disagreement, lay in a pile on the floor. When had he undressed me?
    â€œWhat the—”
    â€œYou can’t wear anything to sleep with me,” Gabriel said in a low voice.
    â€œSleep . . . with . . .” Panic made me step back, or try to. The feel of cold stone against my ass propelled me forward, back into his arms. I looked over my shoulder at the sarcophagus, then at Gabriel, then at the sarcophagus again. “You mean in there?” I whispered.
    â€œUh-huh.”
    â€œWith you?”
    â€œYes, with me.” A frown appeared, marring his smooth brow. “You haven’t become claustrophobic over the years, have you?” I shook my head. I didn’t think so, but then I hadn’t put myself in a sensory-deprivation chamber recently. “Well, we’ll find out soon enough,” Gabriel said confidently.
    â€œYes, I suppose we—no, wait! I-I can’t get in there, not with you.”
    He put both hands on my shoulders, and strangely enough I wasn’t bothered that one was caked in dried blood and other . . . stuff. Instead I was mildly disturbed to notice he wasn’t wearing any pants. Gabriel was now as naked as I was, only I didn’t recall at what point he’d stopped to undress not only me but himself as well. Had I passed out?
    His hand moved from my shoulder and lifted my chin. He gazed at me. “Rowan, sweetheart, you have to get in there, and the only way you can be in there is with me.”
    I shook my head and winced. The icepick throb at the base of my skull didn’t want me to forget it was there. I took hold of Gabriel’s hands, clutching them tightly, and forced myself to focus. “But why do I have to get in there?”
    â€œBecause I don’t know what that fucking bastard injected you with, but I do know what it’s doing to you isn’t good. This is the only way to purge it from your blood.”
    I wasn’t so out of it I couldn’t tell that Gabriel was having a hard time holding on to his temper. If I pushed him any further, he might snap. “Oh,” I said in a small voice. There really wasn’t anything else to say, so I slipped my hand in his. “Then let’s do it.”
    Gabriel lay on his back and positioned me on top of him. He tucked my head beneath his chin, and I put my hands around his neck while his arms encircled me. We lay together on the surface of the marble coffin, and then suddenly we were inside it. I