I don't know how it is you are so familiar to me-or

why it feels less like I am getting to know you and

more as though I am remembering who you are. How

every smile, every whisper brings me closer to the

impossible conclusion that I have known you before, I

have loved you before-in another time, a different

place-some other existence.

Adrianna had read that poem-Soul Mates by Lang Leav- once, in a book that she'd found in Maggie's shop. She'd barely registered the words at the time and yet, that poem was all she could think about now, as she sat in the armchair by the foot of Lucian's bed, watching him sleep. He looked so beautiful, so peaceful, but most of all, he looked so familiar. The moment she'd woken up, this overwhelming sense of déjà-vu had overtaken her. Lying in his arms had felt like the most natural thing in the world. And the truth was, she'd always felt like that around Lucian. From the moment they'd met, he'd fit into her life as if she'd been holding a spot for him there, as if she'd been expecting him somehow.

Adrianna had never believed in Soul Mates, or at least not in her Soul Mate. Her parents had clearly been made for each other, but a love like that was rare and since she'd never felt anything even close to real, romantic love in her twenty-four years of existence, she'd just figured that it wasn't in the cards for her. And she'd been fine with that. She'd always though there was no need-no room even-for someone else in her life. Besides, trusting some stranger enough to let him in her world, in her heart, even in her body had seemed like an unnecessary risk in a world that was already full enough of risks.

And then, Lucian had come along and before she'd known it, she'd been a goner. It hadn't been a conscious decision to fall in love with him. She couldn't even pinpoint the exact moment it had happened. It were more like a bunch of little moments that added up. Like that time she'd taken him to the beach and watched him close his eyes at the touch of the sun on his face. Or the first time he'd smiled and she'd caught herself thinking it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. Or all the late nights doing research on Rodchenko, running on caffeine and fumes, and finding herself enjoying his presence even in complete silence. Each of those moments had chipped away at her heart, bit by tiny bit, until he'd held the whole damn thing in his hands. Or maybe, just maybe, she'd loved him since the moment his eyes had touched hers in Maggie's shop. No reason, no explanation. She'd just…loved him. She'd spent her entire life being so careful not to jeopardize her future, to make sure she wouldn't have a single moment of doubt about her decision to become Immortal when the time came; and now—just a few months before her twenty-fifth birthday—she'd gone and messed everything up. And the strangest thing was, she didn't even mind. She was in love

...and she wouldn't give him up for anything in the world.

Smiling, she watched him turn in his sleep, rolling onto his back. After everything they'd been through, they were finally together and it felt so surreal. She still feared she would wake up at any moment and discover it had all been a dream; and it didn't help that Lucian looked like a dream too. The silver moonlight trickling in through the cracks in the curtains fell across his sculpted jaw, making him glow; his raven hair was an adorable mess that no stylist could've perfected and then there were those abs. God…those abs. She hadn't even known an eight pack existed until Lucian had come along. A sheet covered the rest of him…but only barely. The white material had slipped down his abdomen, down the stark V-shaped muscles that led to that newly discovered part of him, stopping just short of revealing anything.

Blushing, she remembered those rough hands of his undressing her, his soft lips suckling on her breasts, his skillful fingers stroking her where no man had ever stroked her before…and finally, she remembered having him inside of her. Maggie had always warned her not to expect too much from her first time, that she wouldn't enjoy it until her fourth or fifth experience…but her friend had been proven wrong. Last night had been everything she'd ever wanted it to be. Lucian had been gentle, sweet and just all-together perfect. She'd been a little self-conscious at first, unsure, but he'd made her feel so loved, so wanted, so desired that she'd forgotten all about her insecurities. She'd let go.

And so had he.

Blushing even deeper, she remembered how she'd made him lose control. He'd gone slowly at first, for her, and she'd been grateful for it. It had felt uncomfortable when he'd first entered her, unnatural. She'd felt full and stiff; and it hadn't been a pleasant feeling. But then, her body had adjusted to him and it had turned very pleasant. She wasn't sure what had made the change exactly, but suddenly, the friction inside of her had gone from painful to electric and she'd found herself wanting more, harder, deeper. She'd wanted him to possess her, to take everything. She wasn't even sure what she had to give, but whatever it was, it was his. And he'd felt the same. Gentle had turned to rough and hard and she'd welcomed it. She'd never thought she'd be that girl…but she was. She undeniably was. And now, she was hooked; to his touch, to his kiss, to that connection when he was inside of her… She couldn't help it. He was just so sweet and dominant…and hers.

Grinning, she bit her lip, softly shaking her head. She'd always thought she was a happy person, but right there, in that moment, she realized she'd had no idea what true happiness felt like. It was warm and overwhelming and everything they wrote those stupid love songs about, the ones she used to hate. She understood them now, every single sappy word, because tonight, she was finally, truly happy…

…even though she'd just killed four people.

Her stomach twisting, her mind went back to that car, to the moment something inside her had broken…or woken up. It shouldn't have come as such a surprise that there'd been a monster slumbering within her. After all, her entire family was made up of demons. They used their darkness for good, sure, but it was still darkness and hers had been woken at the worst possible time; a time of grief, hopelessness and so much rage…There had been no controlling it, no chance to use it for good. It had been pure, undiluted blackness, undiluted hate.

Her eyes drifted to her hands, hands that were now trembling on her bare thighs. They were healed, thanks to her Salvatore genes-most of her wounds were- but the skin on her knuckles was still a lighter shade of pink.

Because they'd been torn open only hours ago.

Because she'd beaten a man to death with them.

Memories hit her from all sides, memories of slamming her fists into his face over and over again; feeling bones crack; hearing muscles snap, watching as a man's features became nothing more than blood and torn skin. She'd always believed herself to be this strong, powerful woman who could deal with anything that crossed her path, who could handle any situation…and then, she'd thought she'd lost Lucian and everything had changed.

She had changed.

She'd become a monster…and then a coward. She could lie to herself and say she'd known she'd survive the crash, being a Salvatore and all…but she hadn't. When she'd shot that woman through the head while she was still driving the car, she'd expected to die. She'd wanted to die. She hadn't been able to handle the pain of losing him, hadn't been willing to live without him for the rest of her life…so she'd given up. It had been the most stupid thing she'd ever done; the most selfish thing, too. If that crash had actually killed her, it would've destroyed her mom and dad, her brothers, her aunt and uncles…and her Lucian. If she'd died, he would've gone through what she'd gone through when she'd thought he was dead. He would've felt that crippling pain, that hopelessness, that never-ending darkness…and no one deserved to feel that way. Ever. By some miracle, she'd survived and he had no idea how close she'd come to actually dying. She wanted to keep it that way. There was no need for him to worry.

So, you're not going to tell him what happened to protect him from worrying? A little voice inside her mocked. Or do you want to protect yourself from losing him? You know what would happen if you told him the truth, don't you? If you told him what you did? He'd never look at you the same way again.

Needing air, she got out of the chair, letting out a little whimper as she stretched. Something felt…wrong. Frowning, Adrianna tiptoed to the full length mirror beside the bed, turning to see what had caused the ache. She wasn't sure why she was surprised to see the bruises on her back. She should've known that that part of her body was going to take the longest to heal. It was the part that had taken the biggest beating when that car had crashed; hitting the windshield; slamming into the river… Even with her Salvatore genes, wounds like that weren't magically fixed overnight.

Grabbing Lucian's discarded shirt of the floor, she slipped onto the balcony, sighing softly when the cool night air hit her. The world seemed so peaceful tonight, so quiet and safe. It was hard to believe that only hours ago, that same world had come crashing down around her.

Don't think about that. He's safe. Everything's alright.

Except someone tried to kill you. Tried to kill Lucian.

Rubbing her neck, she took a shot at figuring out who had come after her tonight, but at that point, it could've been anyone. A Forsaken, someone she'd put in jail and who wanted revenge, someone her family had pissed off,...The truth was that the list was getting too long to anticipate anything, so going in the offense was no longer a realistic course of action. She couldn't go after all of them at the same time. All she could do now was be prepared for whoever came after her first. The only problem was that she wasn't the only one in the line of fire anymore. Lucian was in danger too…because of her. Last night was proof of that. The smart thing would be to get dressed and leave, push Lucian away to keep him safe...but they'd both tried that before and look how that had turned out. With her on his balcony, wearing nothing but his shirt. So, if their past had taught her anything, it's that they always found their way back to each other. It was better to just accept that and make it work than continue to fight it. Besides, she didn't want to fight it, she didn't want to push him away. She couldn't. Lucian was a part of her now and she'd do anything to keep him.


Hades wasn't sure what had woken him. Maybe it had been the moonlight stabbing his eyelids or the cold breeze coming from the open French doors...but whatever the cause, he was grateful. He wouldn't have wanted to miss this for anything in the world.

Leaning back against the wall, he took in the vision before him, his chest tight. Adrianna had found her way to his balcony and was looking up at the sky, the moon casting a silver glow on her that made his heart stop. Her hair was loose and trickling down her back like a waterfall, a soft breeze playing with her curls. She was wearing nothing but his shirt, leaving her long legs bare and instantly, his mind went back to when those legs had been wrapped around him.

Suppressing a growl, his mind flooded with memories of making love to Adrianna. After millennia of craving for a girl he'd seen in a vision once; after years of having her in his dreams, he'd finally truly been with her. And it had been the single greatest night of his existence. Their dreams had been mind-boggling, yes, but this… this had been something else, something so pure and beautiful he'd actually felt his darkness fade. For the first time in forever, he'd felt like a good man, a deserving man, making love to his woman.

Another breeze blew through the night, this time colder. A storm was coming. Hades could smell the rain in the air and apparently, so could his girl. Wrapping her arms around herself, she decided to head back inside and turned around…only to freeze the second her eyes touched his.

For the longest time, they just stood there without saying a word. They didn't have to speak. He could see what she was thinking in those two blue planets that orbited his entire world.

How incredible this was.

How unreal.

And she didn't even know half of it. She had no idea how long he'd been dreaming about this, how long he'd waited for her. Thousands of years spend alone, wondering, aching…and in all that time, he'd never dared to even imagine he could actually have her, be with her, wake up and touch her. But here she was, looking more beautiful than she'd ever looked.

Her cheeks turned pink under his relentless gaze and then, those beautiful lips of hers curled in that signature warm smile. God, what had he ever done to deserve that smile? Nothing…and yet, he smiled back. How could he not? For the first time in his miserable existence, he felt…happy.

And then, Adrianna closed the distance between them.

Her small hands reached him first, touching his bare chest, making his heart beat faster. He barely had time to notice the way her eyes had dropped to that heart, turning her blue gaze a touch sadder before her lips, heavenly soft, pushed into his and he disappeared into a moment of heady oblivion. Now, Hades loved their hot and desperate kisses, but the kiss they shared then probably trumped them all. It was such a loving, almost tentative kiss…as if she feared, just like him, that this was all too good to be true and that he would disappear at any moment.

But he didn't disappear.

And neither did she.

They stayed right there, drowning, aching. Adrianna's arms were wrapped around his neck, her whole body pressed up against his as she suckled his lips slowly, tracing the swell of them with her tongue, a tongue that never slipped inside his mouth and yet somehow drove him crazy. Fuck, that woman could kiss! Just the touch of those lips almost made him come in his fucking boxers. They couldn't have slept for more than two hours, gathering from the still pitch-black night, and yet, it felt like he hadn't seen her in ages, felt her in ages, had her in ages.

When Adrianna broke their kiss to breath, he hoped that fire inside him would lessen…but it didn't. If anything, it got worse. Her face was flushed, her lips wet and strands of dark hair had fallen into her eyes. How could he possibly not want her?!

He held her tightly to him for another moment, two. Then he reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear, feeling her lean into his touch.

"God-" he sighed, softly shaking his head. "-I love you."

She smiled, her hand brushing over his dark stubble as she whispered back, "I love you, too."

His hands tightened on her hips. He realized she'd said it last night too, but hearing her declare her love for him still took him aback. No one had ever loved him. Not his parents, not his brothers, not anyone. They all saw him as this evil, twisted thing that enjoyed spending its time in the darkness, amongst the dead. They shunned him, whispered horrible things behind his back. At first, he'd ignored it; he'd tried to hold on to the good in him…but after a few centuries of being treated like a monster, he'd become one. Why not? If they had no love in their hearts for him, no compassion, why should he have any for them? Or for anyone for that matter? He'd become the cruel creature they'd believed he was, disappearing in the darkness, shutting himself off from the world…and then, she had appeared. A vision at first, then a possibility when he'd met Elena and then, a reality he'd never thought to be possible. How could a beautiful, smart, brave woman like her love something like him?

His hand moved from her hair to her cheek, brushing his thumb over her lips, lips that curled under his touch. "This feels-"

"-surreal?" she finished for him. "I know. I mean, a few hours ago, I thought-

She cut herself off, her fingertips brushing over his chest, over the spot where three bullets had bore their way into his heart.

"Hey," he rumbled when her blue eyes started shimmering with tears. "Don't cry, baby. I'm okay."

"I thought I lost you."

"I know." He kissed her forehead, placing his hand over hers on his chest. "But I'm here, Cara. And I'm not going anywhere."

She smiled up at him, but there was still a trace of worry in those gorgeous eyes of hers.

"There's something else, isn't there?"

She swallowed hard, letting out a little sigh. "You said Rellix saved you?"

He nodded, making her rub her neck.

"Talk to me."

"It's nothing, I just…Did you make a deal with him?" Before Hades could answer, she added, "I don't care if you did. Honestly, however he saved you, however you're here right now, it doesn't matter. Hell, I would've made a deal with him myself to bring you back if I'd had the chance. I just need to know so we can prepare for whatever he asked in return and-"

"I didn't make a deal," Hades cut her off, smiling comfortingly. "Even if I'd wanted too, I was in no condition. I was already unconscious when he found me."

"So, he just…saved you?"

"Yes."

She frowned. "That doesn't sound like Rellix. He doesn't just do stuff out of the goodness of his heart. He always wants something in return."

"Well, there was one thing."

"See," she sighed. "What did he ask?"

"He asked me to tell you what he'd done. He asked me to make sure you knew he'd saved me."

Her eyebrows almost disappeared in her hair. "Why?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

She just shot him a questioning look.

"He wanted to make up for earlier that night. He doesn't want Her Highness to be mad at him."

That blush crawled back in her cheeks. "Don't call me that. I'm not royalty."

"Of course you are-" Hades rumbled teasingly. "-Princess."

Her blush trickled down her neck. "Stop it."

Hades grinned as he bowed, keeping his eyes on hers. "As you wish."

He could see a fire igniting in her, annoyance making her gaze flash. "Stop it, Nox."

"Oh, come on," he growled, straightening up and slowly closing the distance between them again. "Don't you want me to worship you?"

The fire in her eyes turned into an inferno, slowly drawing him in, enticing him…until all he could think about was kissing those plumb, luscious lips.

"I get it now," she whispered, her hands on his chest again,

"Get what?" he rumbled, his voice rougher as her fingers made his skin burn.

"When I was in high school, I saw these girls lose their minds over boys, losing their virginities to these jocks and then regretting it, but claiming they just couldn't help themselves-"

"You regret it?"

"No. God, no," she rushed, making his heart return to its normal pace. Or as normal as its pace could be when Adrianna looked at him with that heat shimmering in her eyes. Fuck, if he didn't get this situation in his boxers under control, he was seriously going to embarrass himself…

"I just mean that I get now that they couldn't help themselves," she breathed, making it even harder for him to calm his body the fuck down. "I used to think that it was a ridiculous excuse, that you always have control over your own body…but when you touch me…I get it."

Hades tried. He really tried to control himself, keeping his hands by his thighs, balling them in fists, fighting his body…until he realized, he didn't have to do that anymore.

She was his.

In one swift move, he grabbed the back of her neck and the hem of her shirt, pulling her flush against him before his lips took hers again, this time claiming her like his monster wanted him to. Hard, deep. He drove his tongue between her wet lips, setting off a shattering moan that was music to his ears. She was quite an instrument to play, so finely tuned, and he knew that if he touched her right, she would make the most glorious sounds — raw, intense, absolutely delicious sounds of pleasure. She grabbed his hair, yanked and pulled him close, begging him wordlessly for more.

Groaning, his hands dropped to that delicious butt of hers, grabbing it roughly and lifting her up. She wrapped her slim legs around him at once, whimpering in his mouth when she rubbed up against the part of him that throbbed.

In wide strides, he carried her back inside his bedroom, sitting down on the edge of the mattress, taking her with him. He cursed in her mouth when her heels hooked behind his back, straddling him so tight he could feel her warmth though his boxers.

No underwear, his monster growled, clawing to take control, to take her. "You could slip right inside of her! Do it! Do it now!

And he wanted to. God, he wanted to. He was so hard it actually fucking hurt. Adrianna had no mercy though, keeping him occupied with that tongue of hers as she tightened her hold on his neck, pulling herself even closer to his body, her hard nipples poking through her shirt. She felt so soft, so warm. Every curve she had clicked into his hard edges, as if she was made just for him. No, not as if. She was made for him. She was his Mate, his Other Half, his One; all those things he'd never believed in.

And he'd never been so happy to be proven wrong.

She broke their kiss to breath and before he could stop himself, he'd grabbed her shirt with both hands and torn the thing open, buttons flying everywhere. He could hear her gasp, but it only spurred him on and before she could take another breath, he'd sucked one of her rosy nipples in his mouth, flicking it with his tongue, tasting her.

"Oh, God, Lucian!"

He growled with pride as she cried out his name, letting his teeth join in as he softly bit down on the little peak. She screamed, but he knew it was a good scream. He knew his girl liked a little sting. Not to mention he could feel her grow wetter.

Licking a path up her chest, her neck, her jaw, he kissed her deeply for a long minute before heading for that sweet spot behind her ear, that spot that made her squirm…and then, he caught their reflection in the full-length mirror behind her and he froze.

Adrianna's fingers were buried in his hair, gently pulling as if to spur him back into action. But Hades couldn't tear his eyes away from the mirror, a mirror that was reflecting him and his girl. Seeing her straddle him was an incredibly erotic sight that would've turned him on even more…if it hadn't been for the fact that the glass also reflected her back. When he'd ripped her shirt, the material had slipped down her shoulders a bit, exposing the skin at the base of her neck…skin that was almost completely blue.

Hating himself, he remembered making love to her, being gentle…but then, he'd lost control. She'd been too soft, too warm, too perfect.

And he'd obviously been too rough.

Had he been so driven by lust that he'd bruised her, hurt her without noticing?

Picking up on his change in mood, Adrianna pulled back, watching him with worried eyes.

"Did I do something wrong?" she blurted out, blushing again. "I mean, I'm not used to this and last night was only my first try, so if I'm doing something wrong, please, just tell me and-"

"You didn't do anything wrong, Cara," he cut her off, a touch of anger in his voice. "Don't think that. Ever. You were-" he trailed off, unable to put making love to her into words. There were no words for something so divine.

"Then what is it? Don't you want me?"

He let out something that started as a laugh, but it turned into a tortured groan when she cupped his cheek sweetly. How could she still look at him like that after what he'd done? How could she still touch him with so much love?

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Her eyebrows pulled together. "Tell you what?"

"That I hurt you."

"Hurt me?"

"When we were making love."

She rolled her eyes. Rolled her eyes! As if it was no big deal!

"You didn't hurt me, sweetheart," she said, smiling. "I mean, you had to hurt me a little, but that's what happens when you take someone's virginity. It was only a pinch and afterwards-"

"I'm not talking about that," he cut her off. "I'm talking about this."

Gently, he grabbed her chin and turned her head sideways until she could see over her shoulder. The second she saw the bruise, her eyes dropped and she quickly grabbed the shirt, pulling it back up to cover her injury. "That's nothing. It's just a little bruise."

"That's not a little bruise, Cara. Why didn't you stop me?"

"Stop you?"

"I swear to you, I had no idea I was being that rough. I'm so sor-"

Adrianna's hand covered his lips, trapping the rest of his apology in his mouth as she shook her head.

"Sweetheart, you didn't do that. You would never do that."

For a short second, a weigh lifted off his shoulder…until he realized she was still bruised and if he hadn't done it, then who had?

Somehow, she must've seen the question in his eyes, because before he could ask, she whispered, "They're injuries from after-" she trailed off, her palm pressing down over his heart again.

God, he was such a fucking asshole. How had he not noticed she was hurt when he'd undressed her? Maybe he'd been so desperate to be inside her that he hadn't seen clearly. Whatever the reason, he'd missed it. He'd missed it and he'd gone on to ravage her. She'd been injured, probably in pain, even before he'd ripped through her virginity…and he'd been completely unaware.

Fucking brute, he scolded himself, his muscles rippling in anger.

"Lucian, calm down," she smiled, her hands running up and down his arms comfortingly. "I'm fine, I promise. They don't hurt."

"They?!"

Her eyes widened a little, but before she could correct her slip-up, Hades grabbed the shirt and pushed it over her shoulders until the material dropped around her hips…and her entire back was visible in the mirror.

"Lucian, sweetheart," she tried to sooth as Hades glared at the reflection, a reflection that clearly showed a multitude of black blotches scattered across her back. "I'm fine."

"Stop saying that!" he gnarled. "Cara, I'm sorry-"

"Don't. Don't apologize," she sighed, pulling the shirt back up so her wounds were hidden from his sight. "I really am fine. I didn't even know those bruises were there until I saw them in the mirror earlier."

"Still, you're hurt and I just-"

"-gave me the most amazing night of my life?"

His monster grinned with pride even though Lucian's expression stayed grim.

"Better than amazing, in fact," she continued, hooking her arms behind his neck as she leaned in slowly. "There are really no words to describe it. But I could show you."

Their breath mingled, her soft lips brushing against his as her hips-

"Stop."

Adrianna didn't listen, her soft lips moving to his jaw, kissing a path up and down his five o'clock shadow as her hands slipped back into his hair. He wanted to give in to her so bad, to forget, to get lost…but she was hurt. Even though she didn't act like it.

"Cara, you have to heal."

"I'm fine."

He growled, grabbing her shoulders and gently pushing her back until those warm lips were no longer touching him. He couldn't think when those lips touched him. He could barely breathe.

"You're not fine," he said in the strongest voice he could muster up. "You're hurt."

She rolled her eyes again.

"Don't brush this off like it's nothing, Salvatore."

"I know it's not nothing, but you keep forgetting I'm not like most humans, Lucian. I heal quickly, my pain tolerance is way higher…and I barely need any sleep." She'd shot him a teasing look when she'd said the latter, but he wasn't in the mood. Well, he was…but he wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. She needed to heal before anything else happened.

"I'm putting my foot down on this, Cara."

Her lips twitched. "You're putting your foot down?"

"Your body needs time to recover from whatever it is that happened to you."

This time, it was Adrianna's expression that turned dark. He didn't like it. He didn't like the flash of pain in her eyes. The flash of fear.

"Cara?" he whispered, tucking a curl behind her ear. "Baby, what exactly did happened?"

She shrugged, attempting a smile, but not succeeding. "They took me. I escaped. End of story."

"That's it?"

She opened her mouth as if to say something else, but then closed it again, nodding.

He wanted to ask her how she'd escaped, how she'd gotten those injuries, who could've been behind this…but something stopped him. Now wasn't the right time to ask. She'd clearly been traumatized by the whole thing and was reluctant to talk about it, so he would give her some time. But he'd need answers soon, if only to calm his mind. As long as he didn't know what had happened, as long as she didn't tell him, he'd fill in the blanks himself and he had a dark, vivid imagination.

"Let's have a bath."

Adrianna relaxed in his arms again, clearly relieved he wasn't going to push the matter.

"A bath sounds great. Although, we should probably work up a sweat before-" she laughed when he rose from the bed, taking her with him.

His hands clasping down on her firm behind, he tried to hold on to his sanity as she moved her hips against him, tightened her legs around him, her lips finding his neck.

Fuck.


Adrianna knew it wasn't nice to tease a man who was only trying to do right, just like she knew it wasn't nice to dig her nails into his back and feather his neck and shoulders with kisses all the way to his bathroom…but that didn't stop her from doing exactly that. He just looked too yummy.

With a loud bang, Lucian kicked open the door to his ensuite bathroom. He put her down before he slammed the door shut again so roughly the mirror above the sink vibrated. Just like she did. His rough behavior should've frightened her, at least a little, but all it did was turn her on even more.

There's something seriously wrong with you. You know that, right?

After shooting her one more heated, angry look, Lucian moved to the centre of the room, leaving her to gawk at his bathroom. She'd been in this room before, once, but she'd been in shock then. Literally. It had been right after she'd found Lana. She hadn't had the mental capacity back then to process how stunning his bathroom was…if you could even call the space she was standing in a bathroom. It was bigger than her bed- and bathroom combined. The place fit him, though. It was clean, structured, dark but warm. The floor was in the same dark wood as the bedroom, the walls were painted in a black and silver, a huge chandelier hung in the middle off the ceiling and against the back wall was a giant glass shower big enough for six…or two very active people. Clutching the sheet tighter, she remembered a dream she'd once had about Lucian in the shower. With her. The shower in her dreams had been smaller and not nearly as fancy, but still… She could practically feel the water pouring over her body, her fingers digging into his shoulders as he took her against the cold glass over and over again.

Her cheeks heating, she tore her gaze away from the shower, focusing instead on the sink beside her. The single sink, a detail that broke her heart. Most people installed double sinks, even if they were alone, planning ahead for when they'd find someone to share their lives with. Lucian hadn't done this. Something told her he'd never even thought about a future with someone else. This twisted idea he had of himself had him believing he would never find anyone willing to spend their lives with him.

But he'd been wrong.

She was.

Even though he'd put her through so much pain; even though they'd only been officially together for a few hours, she already knew with absolute certainty that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with this man.

Her man.

Biting her lip, she watched him. He was standing by a black stone, deep, egg-shaped tub, pouring in something that made the water foam and the air smell like vanilla. He'd put his boxers back on, but his chest was still bare, his strong arms, those legs… God, was there any place he didn't have muscles? And also, now that she knew what was underneath his clothes, how was she ever going to control herself around him again? It had been hard enough before she'd known how it felt to have that chest rub against her breasts, to have those strong legs push hers apart, those arms holding her as he drove himself inside of her over and over again…

Blushing, she tore her gaze away from his chest only to be met by a pair of grey eyes that made her blush deepen even more. Why did she have the strange feeling that he knew what she'd been thinking?

"Come here."

Adrianna's mouth went dry at his bossy tone, her whole body heating up. What was it about him being strict that turned her on so much?

The wood creaking underneath her feet, she obeyed his order, butterflies fluttering in het belly.

"You won't need this," he rumbled when she reached him, pushing open her ripped shirt with a simmering look in his eyes. When the shirt slipped to the floor, she could've sworn she saw flames dancing in his eyes…but that was impossible. There was no fireplace anywhere in the room. No fireplace…and no place to hide. She'd never been naked like this before. Sure, they'd made love last night, but this was different. He was really watching her. There was no touching, no cover of darkness. She was completely bare, standing underneath a chandelier, with nothing to hide the flaws. Her eyes dropping, her arms got a life of their own; one arm moving up to cover her breasts as the other trailed down to hide the part of her that ached for him most.

"Don't do that."

She peeked up at him, finding him watching her with that same fire still blazing.

"Don't ever hide from me, Cara," he commanded in deep voice. "I want to see you. All of you."

Her heart raced, but she listened once again, dropping her arms by her side. God, she wanted so desperately to slip inside the tub and hide beneath the foam…until he growled softly. That primal sound of desire, of want made her embarrassment vanish and suddenly, she could feel him everywhere his eyes went, as if he was touching her there. Her knees trembled, her breathing turned labored…and the darkness between her legs was on fire. It ached for him so badly it actually hurt.

"You are so beautiful, Adrianna," he rumbled. "And you're mine."

She swallowed back a moan, her hand finding the edge of the tub for support. She couldn't feel her legs anymore. How was that possible? He hadn't even touched her. How could her entire body react this way to just a look? To words?

"I wouldn't change a thing about you, Cara-" he continued, his voice lower. "But for the love of God, could you stop biting that lip, woman? I know it's delicious, I've tasted it, but it makes me want to bend you over this tub and fuck you hard, and I can't do that. Yet. So, have mercy."

Her jaw slackened at his confession, automatically unlocking her lip from her teeth. She wasn't used to being talked to like that. Sure, she'd dealt with the foul mouth of criminals in the past, but when Lucian spoke like that, it was different. When he spoke so unrefined, so crude…she liked it. She could feel her face heat, along with other parts of her as she imagined him behind her, pushing inside of her, making her scream. She'd never been taken like that. She'd never been taken in many ways before. But she wanted to be. God, she wanted Lucian to make love to her in every position that was humanly possible.

His charcoal eyes blazing, he cupped her cheek, tripping a moan from her throat. Was it always going to feel like that when he touched her? Like she was on fire?

Sighing, he brushed his thumb over her blush, which only turned her skin a deeper red.

"So innocent."

For a split second, she felt insulted…but then, she noticed the warmth and pride in his gaze and she realized he'd meant is as a compliment.

"Now," he said, turning off the faucet. "Let's get you cleaned up."

He held out his hand and she was grateful for it. She would never have been able to step inside that deep tub gracefully without the extra support.

The water was warm and welcoming; and she couldn't stop herself from moaning as she slipped in completely, letting it envelop her. It was the perfect temperature; the heat stinging at first, but then wrapping around her like a blanket, making her feel just how much she'd actually needed this. She hadn't realized the extent to which her body was still recovering until then. Suddenly, the last lingering aches of the car crash came back with a vengeance. Her skin still burned in some places, her bones still felt sore and her back was now screaming out. She hadn't lied when she'd said she hadn't felt anything when she'd been making love to Lucian. She probably had the adrenaline-that had flooded her system after the rollercoaster of emotions she'd gone through-to thank for that. But most of the adrenaline was gone now and the more she relaxed, the more it hurt. So, maybe a little break before their next round wasn't such a bad idea after all. But a really, really short one.

Closing her eyes, she lied back, surprised at just how comfortable his tub was. From the outside, the bath had looked too designer to be comfy, but in reality, it was extraordinary. It fit her back perfectly; was the right height for her head and arms to rest on, the right length for her legs, the right width for her hips, the right everything. If she hadn't know any better, she would've thought he'd bought it with her in mind.

When she opened her eyes again, Lucian was kneeling beside the tub, watching her, a smile playing on his lips.

"What are you looking at, mister Nox?"

"You, miss Salvatore," he said, brushing a wet curl from her forehead. It was such an innocent touch and yet, her hands clutched the edge of the tub tighter; hands that now felt sore as well. Apparently, beating a man to death took a toll on your bones. Who knew.

"Hey," Lucian rumbled, tracing the wrinkle between her eyebrows. "What's wrong?"

Her stomach turned. She knew she couldn't keep lying to him. He'd seen the wounds on her back, he knew she'd been hurt…but he had no idea the hurt she'd caused. He had no idea what she'd done. If he did…maybe he wouldn't be here.

No.

He definitely wouldn't be here.

"Nothing's wrong," she lied again, smiling. "I'm just a little lonely in here. Aren't you going to join me?"

He cocked an eyebrow. "Not a good idea, Cara."

"I won't throw myself at you, I promise."

"It's not you I'm worried about."

His words made her whole body burn. It was such a high to know he wanted her, that he didn't trust himself around her. No one had ever wanted her like that…or maybe they had, but not someone she'd wanted in return. To be desired by Lucian Nox, the only man she'd ever desired back, was indescribably tantalizing.

"Is this normal?" she breathed as his fingers slid over her jaw.

"Is what normal, sweetness?"

"When you touch me-" she croaked, watching his eyes darken on hers. "-even just for a second, my body ignites."

"I know the feeling."

"Is it always like that, after making love?"

"I wouldn't know."

She frowned.

"I've never made love to anyone before, Cara. I've never loved anyone before. You were my first."

She felt herself blush again, her heart skipping a beat. "Something in common."

He smiled and she couldn't stop herself from running her fingertips over those curling lips. God, she adored that smile.

"You should do that more often."

"Make love to you?"

"No," she snickered. "I mean, yes, definitely do that more often, but I meant smile. You should smile more."

His lips curled even higher. "With you around, I don't think I'll have much of a choice in the matter."

She grinned, her heart doing a little dance. She made him happy? Somehow, that turned her on even more than knowing she made him horny.

He softly kissed her fingertips, which were still brushing over his lips and she couldn't stop herself from whimpering softly. God, she wanted him so badly it physically hurt. How could something that was supposed to feel good ache so much?

"Kiss me."

Lucian's lips stilled on her fingers and for a moment, she was sure that he was going to turn her down…but then, he leaned down and did as she'd asked. He kissed her. Softly. Carefully. She could feel his restraint, could feel him fighting himself.

She tried to deepen the kiss to make him lose control, but as soon as her tongue touched his lips, he pulled back, getting up. She feared he was about to leave…but instead, he gnarled,

"Move forward."

Adrianna's heart lept as he disappeared behind her and the sound of fabric sliding down skin reached her ears.

He'd taken off his boxers…

She could hear footsteps behind her, a cabinet opening and a little shiver of desire rippled down her spine in response. She had no idea what he was doing, but the mere anticipation made her blood simmer.

The footsteps came closer and then stopped for a long moment, as if he was second-guessing whatever he was about to do…until finally, she felt him climbing in behind her. The water rose as he sat and she wanted to lean back immediately, curl into his lap…but he grabbed her shoulders before she could move, keeping her where she was. She wanted to protest, but then, she felt his lips on her back, kissing her bruised skin gently. Her head fell forward, her neck no longer able to hold it up. She was going to have to get used to having no control over her body, she suspected. It belonged to him now, reacted to him and him alone.

When his lips disappeared from her skin, his muscled arm reached for the handheld shower head beside her as he rumbled in a tight voice, "Lean your head back."

She once again found herself following his orders without even a moment's hesitation.

When a spray of warm water trickled down her hair, she closed her eyes, marveling in the soothing feeling. The back of her head was still a little banged up, but only a little and the heat made it feel so much better.

Too soon, the water was gone. However, before she could mourn its loss; he started massaging her scalp, creating a soft, foaming lather that smelled divine. How could it not? It smelled like him.

Seconds later, the water returned, pouring warmth over her curls as his fingers gently combed through them, making sure all the shampoo was gone. As he leaned forward to turn off the water and put the shower head back in its place, he lingered, his nose brushing her hair, making her skin prickle…and then, one strong arm hooked around her waist and he pulled her back against his chest. She flushed crimson, feeling his erection against her hip. She really was innocent when it came to this. Maggie had called her a prude on more than one occasion, but she figured that tonight had taught her she was no such thing. It was just all new to her. Being naked with a man-who was also naked-wasn't something she'd ever done before. It took some getting used to.

"You smell so good, Cara," he groaned, his nose brushing her shoulder, her neck, her hair. "Do you have any idea what you do to me?"

She had a pretty good idea. Biting her lip, she reached down into the water, reaching for the part of him that was throbbing against her.

He grabbed her wrists before she could get to him, putting her hands on the edge of the tub.

"Keep them there," he groaned in her ear.

She squirmed against him, desperate, but kept her hands where they were. She should really see someone about this new part of herself. Someone professional. It was disturbing how easily and willingly she slipped into a submissive role. Almost as disturbing as the fact that she loved every second of it.

Trying to put out the fire that now blazed between her legs, she started to rub her thighs together…but he wouldn't let her. Without warning, he placed his long legs over hers, his knees bent, his ankles level with hers as he pulled his feet apart. She gasped as her legs opened wide, giving the warm water free access to every single part of her, even the parts that were already plenty warm.

His hands came around then, finding her breasts and her brain turned into jelly. Inhaling sharply, she tried to hold on to her sanity as his fingers encircled her nipples teasingly. She could still feel his mouth there, his tongue, his teeth biting down. Biting! He'd bitten her…and she'd almost come on the spot. Another thing she should see a therapist about. Pain and pleasure shouldn't go hand in hand, right?

His hands lingered on her breasts for a moment, kneading her, building her desire up to a whole new height. Before Lucian, she'd never really thought of her breast as something that could bring her pleasure, but his expert hands showed her a whole new world and there wasn't a doubt in her mind that if he wanted to, he could make her climax just by touching her chest.

But that's not what he wanted.

Biting her shoulder, he left one hand on her breast and slowly slid his other down her belly. Her breathing came out labored, her heart raced, her legs trembled in the water. Panting against him, she clutched the edge of the tub tighter, needing, wanting…and then, he was between her legs and she almost fell apart. Holding her breath, she felt his fingers skillfully sliding up and down, stimulating her until her eyes rolled back in her head. Her hips started to move at their own accord, pushing against his hand, demanding more. Her body was being bombarded by sensations, feelings too powerful to stand for long. Her jaw went slack as she groaned, the pressure building slowly, ruthlessly inside her …

"That's right, baby," Lucian groaned in her ear, grazing her earlobe with his teeth. "Feel it."

She tried to stiffen her legs, to press them together, like she always did when she touched herself and was about to come. But he wouldn't let her. Her legs were still pressed to the side of the bath, held prisoner by his.

"Oh… please," she moaned.

"Please what, Cara?"

"Please …I need you inside me."

He didn't respond, his fingers instead moving up until they found her clit. Her hips jerked violently, her body squirming as he moved his fingertips round and round that tiny bundle of nerves, again and again, torturing her. She was losing herself in the moment, Lucian's own sounds of pleasure only taking her closer to the edge. His tongue was in that dip between her neck and shoulders; his free fingers pinching her nipple until it stung as his palm massaged her breast. It was too much…

"Come for me, Adrianna," His voice was so strained, so tight. "Do it. Now."

And then, she fell apart. Her body just couldn't hold on anymore. Screaming, her hand flew behind her, grabbing hold of his hair as her orgasm seized her, wringing her insides again and again and again. Her scream echoed in the room, bouncing off the walls, but she didn't feel a trace of shame. There was no holding back when she was in this state, only pleasure and love. Nothing else mattered in that moment.

Collapsing back against him, she sank deeper into the water, her muscles no longer off any use. Luckily, Lucian had curled an arm around her waist again, holding her tight, keeping her from going under.

His free hand stroked her hair as she came down from her high, as she tried to remember how to speak.

"Shhhhhh, Cara," he growled. "Good girl."

Somewhere inside, a feminist cocked a disapproving eyebrow. She knew she should feel pissed off that he called her a good girl, like she was a dog…but she didn't have the strength to fight.

Not to mention that you love it.

Still shivering, she rested her head in the crook of his neck, trying to remember how to breath. Her whole body was still on edge; satisfied and yet longing for more.

"You're so responsive, baby," he whispered in her ear. "So sensitive. God, what am I going to do with you?"

I have a few ideas.

Twisting sideways as much as she could, she curled deeper into his embrace. She could feel him smile as he pressed sweet kisses into her hair, his fingertips running up and down her side as her fingers lazily brushed his chest, lingering over his heart. It was nothing short of a miracle that Lucian was in that tub with her, holding her. She'd come so close to losing him. If it hadn't been for Rellix…

Sighing, Lucian peeled her hand from his chest, kissing her fingers sweetly. It was eerie how easily that man could read her mind, her mood, her body. She'd always tried not to show too much of herself, it had seemed safer that way, but Lucian had seen through her since day one, somehow…and it felt nice to be seen.

At least, for the most part.

When he ran his thumb over her knuckles with his eyebrows knotted together, she wished she could hide the sudden guilt and horror she felt. The water had magnified their pink discoloration and you didn't have to be a rocket scientist to know what had caused it. He'd had the same injuries himself not so long ago, when he'd beaten that man who'd tried to strangle her.

He hadn't killed anyone, though.

Unlike her.

Her heart dropping again, she gently pulled her hand from his, hiding her knuckles under the water, earning another frown from Lucian.

"Hey-" he whispered, tilting her chin up with his index finger until her eyes were on his again. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

This was the perfect time to spill the beans, to tell him the whole story…but she couldn't bring herself to utter the words, so instead, she said, "There's really nothing to tell."

"Baby, someone took you tonight. They drugged you and-" He trailed off, anger taking over his features again. "Please, talk to me."

Tell him.

"Okay," she whispered, sitting up straighter. "Lucian, the thing is-"

Those grey eyes pierced her with so much warmth, so much love…

I can't.

I can't tell him.

I can't lose him.

"The thing is that the woman driving the car lost control of the wheel and crashed. That's how I got the bruises on my back and the other injuries. Luckily, the mechanism of the trunk was old. It broke at impact and I ran. That's really all it was. I didn't want to tell you, because I didn't want you to worry anymore than you already do. I'm fine. I promise."

Not a complete lie, her conscience tried to sooth.

Lucian stayed silent and something in that silence made her fear he knew she was still keeping something from him. But then again, how could he know that? There was no way he could know she'd lost her mind when she'd thought he was dead. Or what she'd done to her kidnappers. Or that she'd intentionally crashed that car while she was still inside of it. Right?

A cold chill crawled up her spine, making her tremble.

"Shhhhh, Cara," he finally broke the silence, hugging her to him again. "It's okay. You're safe, with me. That's all that matters. Just relax, baby."

Instinctively, she leaned into him, taking comfort in his touch, his smell. Her lungs opened again, the wild thumping of her heart slowing to a near normal pace as his palm made small circles on her back. It was so easy to forget about the messy parts of her life when he held her. He made it feel like nothing existed outside of his embrace, as if he was the whole world. Her whole world.

His lips brushed her hair and before she'd decided to do so, she'd tilted her head and kissed him. She needed to distract herself, needed to feel Lucian, hold him, taste him, drown in love until she felt nothing else. No darkness, no guilt, no shame. Just him.

He kissed her back just as desperately, tasting like fire, pouring a heat into her that was indescribable. She'd only just orgasmed, but she could already feel her body wanting more, preparing for him again, tightening-

-and then, his lips were gone.

Breathing heavily, she watched him. His face was flushed, wet strands of hair falling over his eyes. He looked mouthwatering; and just as ruffled as her. Everything about him was telling her he didn't want to stop…but he still tried.

"Baby, we shouldn't-"

"We should." She kissed his neck, her tongue licking his warm skin. She could feel his carotid arty thump underneath her lips. His pulse was fast. Hers was faster. She'd never done this before; she'd never been the one seducing someone. She hadn't thought she would ever be so bold, so confident in her sexuality…but with Lucian, it felt natural. She wanted him and she wasn't afraid to show him. Not anymore. Maybe it had to do with the fact that she'd almost lost him tonight. Things that she'd found scary before now seemed so trivial compared to the fear she'd felt when she'd seen Lucian get shot.

Kissing a path up to his ear, her teeth found his lobe and bit down. He groaned, rolling his head and she felt herself smile. She loved pleasing him.

"Baby, please," he tried, his voice deep and raw. "Let me do the right thing. Let me take care of-"

The rest of that sentence was drowned out by a moan as she slipped her hands under water, down his impressive eight-pack, touching the trail of black hairs that led to-

Lucian caught her wrist again, glaring at her. His expression was intense, dark, almost threatening and for a moment, she thought that maybe she'd pushed him too far, maybe he was actually pissed off…but before she could ask or apologize, his mouth slammed down on hers again, his tongue immediately pushing between her lips. Soft and sweet turned into firm and frenzied, the once feather light kisses now brutalizing her lips. She wasn't sure which way she preferred. One way made my heart flutter; the other set her chest aflame.

Moaning, she turned in his embrace, shifting until she was on his lap, her fingers in his hair, her breasts pressed up against his hard chest-

"Cara,-" he growled against her lips. "We can't-"

She didn't let him finish, her hand moving to the back of his neck, forcing his mouth back on hers. He fought her for another second, but then, his strong arms enveloped hers, pulling her to him hard enough for their rib cages to collide. She couldn't breathe. He kissed her like it hurt, like his lips and tongue were too hungry, too desperate, too starved. Her hair fell over his face, over his neck, brushing his tanned skin. He let it happen for a long minute, but then reached up and grabbed it, twisting her curls in his hand. If anyone else had ever touched her like that, had ever pulled her hair, she would've castrated them…but with Lucian, it felt so good. She loved the sting, the feeling of being in his control, of surrendering to him. She broke the kiss to moan, to breath, to tell him how wonderful it felt…but then, his free hand pushed down on a-from the feels of it-particularly nasty bruise on her back and before she could stop it, a soft, traitorous hiss had escaped her lips.

At once, his entire body tensed again, his lips stilling on hers.

With a sigh, she pulled back, casting him a sad smile. He looked glorious with his tousled hair, burning grey eyes and serious, dark expression; and it just made her want him more.

"You're not going to make love to me again, are you?"

He let go of her hair, his fingers brushing her cheek. "I am."

"Now?"

"You're in pain."

"It's nothing."

"Cara-"

"I can handle it."

"You shouldn't have to handle it."

Damn it, why does he have to be such a damned gentleman?

"Don't give me that look," he rumbled. "I don't like it any more than you do, trust me. But you need time. Your body needs time."

"But-"

"I don't trust myself, Cara," he cut her off, his eyes sad. "When I'm inside you...I lose control. And I can't lose control when you're hurt."

She felt her heart skip a beat, but her stubbornness refused to let him see that she was actually a little touched by the selfless gesture. Not many men would go against their own desires like that. And he did desire her. She could feel the length of his desire still throbbing underneath her.

So close…

"And how long are you going to keep this no sex-thing up?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

He swallowed hard again, tucking a curl behind her ear. "Until I'm sure you've healed."

"So, tomorrow?"

He cocked an eyebrow.

"The day after?"

"One week."

"A week?! Lucian, do you have any idea how badly I was injured right after the crash? I had several broken ribs, a gash in my head that wouldn't stop bleeding, a twisted ankle, a dislocated shoulder and I'm pretty sure two fingers were broken-"

"This is not helping!" he barked.

"The point is that I'm not exaggerating when I say I'm a fast healer. I will be fine by tomorrow."

His jaw just tightened even more.

"Okay, fine, let's make it two days," she tried.

"No."

"Three."

"No."

"That's not how it works, mister Nox. You're supposed to counter."

"If we were negotiating, miss Salvatore. But we're not. One week. And you're lucky I'm not doubling it after what you just told me."

She sighed. "You're so stubborn. Not to mention dramatic."

"Dramatic? You were in a car crash, Adrianna!"

"And you were shot, but you don't see me making up ridiculous sex-rules!"

His lips twitched. "It's not a sex-rule. It's just a precaution. I don't want your injuries to get worse"

"Worse?" she said, shooting him a teasing look. "What are you planning to do to me, exactly?"

He sniffed, catching a wet curl between his fingers and tugging it gently.

She wanted to keep fighting this ridiculous decision, wanted to keep pushing…but then, she noticed the lingering torture in his eyes. He really thought he'd hurt her tonight, that he was a bastard for not having seen those bruises. He thought he'd mistreated her, somehow.

"You know, when Maggie and I just got to town," Adrianna said. "There was this guy named Steven Bailey. Good looking, charming…and an altogether creep."

"Okay," Lucian said, clearly confused by the change in topic. "And you're bringing this guy up now, while we're both naked, why?"

"Because, he's the guy Maggie lost her virginity to. And it didn't happen the way it happened between us. She hadn't told him she was a virgin, but at a certain point, it's pretty obvious, I think. He didn't care, though. He didn't care whether or not she enjoyed it. He didn't even care whether or not he hurt her. And he did. Badly. Not only during the thing, but afterwards too. It became clear he'd never actually loved her, that he was just in it for the chase. He even taped the whole thing to relive the thrill of capturing his prey later, with his buddies. When Maggie threatened to involve the cops, he threatened to put the tape online."

"Did he?"

"No. He and I had a little talk and he decided to grow a conscience. And get out of town as fast as he could."

Lucian grinned, his eyes darkening on hers again.

"The point is," she continued before those eyes made it impossible to think straight. "You think you did something wrong tonight? That you're a horrible person for not seeing my bruises, bruises that I didn't even know were there? Sweetheart, you did everything perfect. Last night was every girl's dream. It was my dream."

A spark crossed his gaze.

"So please, give yourself some credit, will you?" she added.

"Thank you, Cara," he rumbled, tracing the curve of her ear with his fingertips. "But just because I treated you better than that rapist-pig treated your friend, doesn't mean I treated you the way I should have."

"Lucian-"

"One week."

She groaned, making him smile as he lifted her off his lap again, moving to get out of the tub.

"Wait," she said, clutching his bicep. "What about you?"

His eyebrows pulled together. "What about me?"

"Don't you need-" she flushed. "-a release?"

He smiled a tight smile, his thumb brushing over her blush again. "This was about you, Cara."

Before she could protest, he was out of the bathtub, wrapping a towel around his waist.

"Stand up."

She listened again, this time not feeling a second of embarrassment when he drank her in before lifting her out of the bath.

The moment he'd put her down, he wrapped a fluffy towel around her, tucking her in, making sure she was warm before pulling her into his arms.

"God, you feel-" he trailed off on a raspy groan, pressing a long, sweet kiss to her forehead. "How about we get you something to eat?"

She started to say she wasn't hungry…but then, she felt her stomach protest and she remembered that the last thing she'd eaten had been one bite of a pear and walnut salad at that fundraising event. And she couldn't even remember the last time she'd eaten before that. She'd been too miserable without Lucian to eat. But now, he was here…and her appetite had come back with a vengeance.

"I'll take that as a yes," he said when her stomach rumbled. "Get dressed. I'll meet you downstairs."

He was gone before she could so much as process that he was leaving.

Sighing, she slumped down on the edge of the tub, watching the door he'd disappeared through, hoping he'd come bursting back in. But he didn't.

God, how was she ever going to get through this week?


Hades hurried downstairs as soon as he closed the bathroom door behind him, taking two steps at a time, getting as much distance between himself and Adrianna as he could. Once downstairs, he did laps around the kitchen island, trying to burn off all the energy vibrating inside him. His muscles trembled from the massive amount of control it had taken to keep himself in check, to stay sane as she'd fallen apart in his arms, as she'd straddled him naked…

He groaned, running his palm over his scruffy jaw.

Adrianna had been right, he needed a release, but he feared that if she touched him where he ached for her the most, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from ravaging her. And he couldn't do that. Not yet. No matter how desperately he wanted to make love to her again, no matter how much he craved to be inside her, he had to keep it together. She needed to heal.

But she's in your bathroom right now, naked, smelling like you…

With a string of curses, Hades stopped moving in circles, flattening his hands on the cool surface of the marble, squeezing his eyes shut. He had to block the image of her naked with…something, any-fucking-thing. Suddenly, he wished he loved sports. Isn't that what men did in this situation? Think about sports? Baseball. Football.

Or the fucking weather.

Or maybe he could think about the fact that Adrianna had lied to him about her escape. He'd seen the wreckage and there was no way she'd been in that trunk during the crash. The car didn't even have a trunk anymore when he'd seen it. The metal had been so twisted, there couldn't have been room for her body in that thing. So had she escaped beforehand? And if so, why not tell him?

There were so many unanswered questions, questions that should be front and centre on his list of concerns, and yet, his mind insisted on torturing him with images of last night; of Adrianna, laying on his white bedspread, her hair a cloud of dark silk around her head as he'd stripped off her red dress…All that bare caramel skin exposed to his mouth and hands… Vivid memories sent warm ripples through his body, thinning the air in his lungs.

No goddammit!

He had to bide his time, give her the opportunity to recover. Which, going by the massive hard-on he was sporting, was not going to be easy. He needed a shower. A really, really cold shower. He had more than one bathroom, so he could just go upstairs and use any one of them…but she was still upstairs too and he didn't trust himself at the moment. Heat was licking along every nerve ending in his body, leaving him as jittery as an addict jonesing for a hit.

You have a pool.

The thought had barely taken form in his head or he was already outside, diving in the freezing water. If anyone had seen him, swimming at this temperature, they would've thought he'd lost his mind…and they wouldn't have been completely wrong.

After a few laps, he disappeared inside the pool house, dried off; and dressed in a loose t-shirt and a pair of slacks that would at least hide his erection, before setting to work in the kitchen.

He'd just ruined his second attempt at an omelette when he realized he'd never actually cooked before…and that it was a lot harder than he'd expected it to be. His butler, Daniel, usually prepared all his meals. Or he ate out. Or he skipped a meal. But he wouldn't have Adrianna skip breakfast. She needed fuel after the night she'd had.

Opening the fridge, he considered the contents against his mental list of meals he could make without actually having to cook. The safest bet was canned food, but the only thing canned he found in his cupboards were SpaghettiO's and that wouldn't do.

By the time he heard Adrianna's coming down the stairs, he'd laid out a few pieces of fruit and was in the process of putting two-a little too dark-pieces of toast on a plate, feeling ridiculous.

"Something smells good in here."

Turning towards her sweet voice, Hades found Adrianna walking into the kitchen, once again dressed in one of his button-down shirts. He could see her breasts pushing against the fabric and fuck him if she wasn't naked underneath….again. No bra. And he'd bet anything she wasn't wearing panties either. She hadn't come down looking like that without an agenda. The vixen was trying to seduce him, make him forget about his good intentions.

"Are you trying to kill me?"

She smiled, gathering her wet hair over her shoulder. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."

He cocked an eyebrow, but Adrianna just laughed, pressing a sweet kiss to his cheek. Her lips lingered on his skin too long for it to be an accident, her body grazing against his. He tried not to think about how easy it would be to lift her up on the counter and bury himself inside of her; tried to ignore the fact that his scent on her made something possessive growl victoriously.

When she finally pulled away, she had an adorable, self-satisfied smirk on her face that made him itch to put her over his knee and discipline her for what she was doing.

"I told you to get dressed," he said, his voice raw.

"And I did. I grabbed a clean shirt."

He clutched his hands by his side, trying to keep them from ripping that fucking shirt of her body and pushing her against-

"Couldn't rally up a pair of pants?"

"Yours are all too big."

"You still have a closet full of clothes here, remember."

She tapped her forehead, letting out a little sigh. "Right, I completely forgot."

"Did you now?"

She just smiled, focusing her attention on something else.

So, what are you making here?" she sang, probing the pan on the stove with a spatula.

"Eggs," he rumbled.

"That's eggs?"

She grinned and he couldn't keep his eyes of her. The warm bath had made her skin flush, giving her a warm, delicious glow. Fuck, he wanted to lick every inch of that skin, dig his fingers into it, feel her tremble as he-

"So, tell me," she cut off his torture. "Did any eggs survive this epic breakfast-battle?"

"Some." His voice was husky, deep and aching. And he could tell by her blush that she'd noticed. "Would you like me to try and make you another omelette?"

"No, I'll do it," she snickered. "You leave those poor eggs alone."

He smiled when she gave him a little shove with her hips, pushing him to the side so she could take his place at the stove. When she took the pan and dumped its contents in the trash, her shirt crawled up over her thighs, making him clench the counter tighter.

"Do you have any vegetables or cheese?"

"Yes," he rushed, all but running to the fridge.

Jerking the thing open, he breathed in the cold, trying to calm his body down…but to no avail. How could his body possibly calm down when she was near him, looking like that? Smelling like that?

You're the one who suggested a bath, you moron! You're the one who used your own shampoo!

After he put two tomatoes, a selection of mushrooms and a little container with cheddar cheese in front of her, he strategically took a seat on the other side of the kitchen island. That way, the marble would hide the ever-growing bulge in his pants and he wouldn't have to look at those delicious legs any longer.

The next few minutes Adrianna spend mixing the last eggs with an array of herbs he didn't even know he had. She looked so focused, so damned cute and he could actually feel his heart expand in his chest. Adrianna Salvatore was making eggs in his kitchen. Thousands of years waiting, hoping and now, she was actually here. It wasn't a dream or some fantasy to help him through dark days. She was here. She was his. And she loved him. She'd seen the darkest parts of him and she still loved him.

And he loved her.

God, did he love her.

She caught his eyes then and smiled, as if she knew what he'd been thinking.

"Are you going to help me or are you just going to stare at me all day?"

"Stare."

She laughed, pushing the container of mushrooms towards him.

Taking the hint, he started cutting the fungi, trying to focus on his task and not the fact that she'd popped the top button of her shirt.

"So," her sweet voice sang as she started slicing another tomato. "I'm guessing you don't cook often?"

His lips twitched. "Is it that obvious?"

She grinned again, her eyes sparkling on his. "A little. No one taught you?"

"No. Food wasn't a high priority in my family."

"Then what was?"

"Our jobs." For lack of a better term.

She shot him that look again, that look that warmed his heart.

"Don't feel sorry for me, Cara."

"I just wish you'd had a better childhood. I hate to think of you unhappy."

"I'm not unhappy. Not anymore."

A corner of her mouth twitched. "Really?"

He nodded, piercing her eyes as he rumbled, "Of course I'm happy. Don't you know how much I love…mushrooms."

She gasped, throwing a blackberry at him before laughing so hard another button popped, deepening that delectable neckline.

Squirming in his seat, he focused back on his task, cutting the mushrooms a little rougher than before.

"Besides," he said, trying to pick up the conversation. "I never had to learn how to cook. I have my butler to cook on the rare evenings I'm here and if I'm stuck at the club, I just go next door and have a meal at my restaurant."

"Your restaurant? You mean the one in the hotel with your penthouse? That's your restaurant?"

"It's my hotel."

She sniffed, shaking her head. "That explains why no one tried to help me when you were basically dragging me through the lobby."

He smiled at the memory.

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you, mister Nox?"

"Oh, miss Salvatore…you have no idea."

He could see her eyes heat at the unspoken promise in his words, her teeth reaching for her lip again.

"Don't," he barked. If she bit her lip now, he was going to snap. Luckily, she listened to his order again…and her obedience only made him harder.

"So," he said, trying to steer the conversation back to a safer topic. "What about you, Cara? Who taught Adrianna Salvatore to cook? Your mother?"

She laughed, shaking her head. "God, no. I love my mom, but she can't cook an egg to save her life. No offense."

"None taken."

"It was my dad. My mom always told me that the day they found out she was pregnant with me, with a human girl, my dad started learning everything there was to learn about nutrition. He was always a good cook, but he was determined to be an excellent one by the time I was born. And he was. My dad prepared every meal, every snack, every packed lunch, making sure I ate well. And from about the age of six, I was in the kitchen with him, learning, bonding. It was our special time together."

Hades watched the love in her eyes, the tenderness when she spoke of Damon. When he'd first met Damon Salvatore, he hadn't cared much for the vampire and he sure as hell hadn't thought he'd be a good father…but he clearly was. And Hades felt a new sense of gratitude towards him for it. He'd raised her right and because of his own upbringing, he hadn't realized how important that was. Until now. Elena and Damon hadn't just birthed his girl, they'd shaped her, made her into the loving, kind, strong woman that she was. And he would be forever grateful for it.

"Do you have milk?"

He cocked an eyebrow. "Milk? For eggs?"

"It makes them fluffy."

"Fluffy?"

"Seriously, I'm so teaching you how to cook. Lesson one, cutting mushrooms."

He frowned down at his work. "What's wrong with the way I'm cutting them?"

"The slices are way too thick. They need to be thin, otherwise they'll still be crunchy by the time the eggs are done and you don't want crunchy mushrooms."

"How do you know? Maybe I like my mushrooms crunchy."

"Do you?"

"No."

She shook her head, laughing again.

Best fucking sound ever.

"Come here, I'll show you," she said, rounding the kitchen island.

He got up from his seat, but before he could move further away, she was beside him, taking the knife from him, her fingers brushing his.

"See," she said, wielding the knife like an expert. "Thin slices."

"Mmmmm," he gnarled, noticing how her wet hair had made the back of her shirt see-through.

Definitely no bra.

"All done," she sang, standing on her tiptoes and bending over the counter to push the slices to the other side of the kitchen island…making the shirt rise so high he could see the delicious swerve where her legs met that curvaceous ass of hers.

And definitely no panties.

Before he knew what he was doing, his hand shot out, smacking down on her butt. The sharp sound echoed through the room as Adrianna jumped, straightening up again with her beautiful eyes wide.

"What was that for?" she asked, trying to sound indignant…but he didn't miss the blush that crawled down her neck; or the way her pupils had dilated.

"You know what that was for, miss Salvatore," Hades growled. "Behave."

He could see her fighting it, but she couldn't stop herself from grinning. "Again, I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about, mister Nox."

"Keep it up, Adrianna. I won't hesitate to take you over my knee."

"Promise?"

Fuck.

His eyes dropped to her lips, his pulse racing.

"Is it really so bad-" she whispered, her tiny fingers brushing over his chest. "-that I want the man I love to actually make love to me?"

The man she loves….

"I mean, you give me the best night of my life and now I'm supposed to behave and not fight this ridiculous decision you made?"

"It's not ridiculous."

Isn't it?

No! Did you see those fucking bruises?!

"Kiss me," she whispered, brushing her fingers though his hair.

Her slender fist bunched up in his shirt, her eyes shimmering, her lips so close he could barely stop himself from touching them.

"Just one little kiss," she tried.

She raised on her tiptoes, begging him to give in…but he didn't move.

So, she did.

Before he was able to stop her, she'd touched her mouth to his. Her warm, delicious mouth….

Keep. It. Together.

And he did. For a few torturous seconds, he was able to resist her, to stay still…but then, the vixen parted his lips with her own, taking in his breath before touching the tip of her tongue to his.

And he snapped like a fucking rubber band.

Her breath caught when his hands suddenly pushed against the nape of her back, gluing her to him as his tongue sought hers. She welcomed him with a little whimper, his fingers sinking into her wet curls. He could feel himself backing her up until she hit the counter and then, he was lifting her onto the damned thing, shoving her knees apart with his thighs, forcing himself between her legs. Her hands slipped under his shirt and his did the same, sliding his fingers up to her smooth, warm hips. Her feet hooked behind his back, her heels dug into his ass-

No, fuck.

With a heated shudder, he gripped her arms and pushed her back, his breathing ragged as he held her at bay. She looked at him with those gorgeous heated eyes, her breath shallow. She was good; his smart little vixen. If he wasn't careful, he wouldn't make it another hour without taking her again, let alone a week.

Whimpering, she dug her nails into his abs, trying to tempt him…but he grabbed her wrists, forcing her hands on the counter as he shook his head.

"One week, Cara."

"So, I can't even kiss you now?"

"That wasn't just a kiss, sweetness."

She sighed dramatically and he couldn't resist brushing his thumb over her pouting lips, tracing their shape, memorizing where they swelled and thinned.

"Do you have to work today?" she asked, her fingers curling into his shirt again.

"I don't have to do anything. My manager is used to running the club when I'm not there. Why? What did you have in mind?"

"Well, my first idea was that you take me back upstairs and-"

"Cara," he rumbled warningly.

"Fine, Plan B, then," she snickered. "It involves Maggie's convertible, a cliff and a little secluded beach. What do you think?"

He cupped her cheek, his fingers tracing her ear. "I think I would like nothing more than to go to our beach with you…but it's not smart to go out right now, unprotected. We don't know who came after you tonight and until we do, I'm not taking any chances."

"Okay-" she sang, hooking her arms around his neck. "-then how about we stay in and I educate you on some movies? We'll start with Titanic and work our way up to-" The words got trapped in her throat when an unexpected sound echoed through the room.

His doorbell.

"Are you expecting someone?" Adrianna asked, glancing over his shoulder at the entrance.

"No," he frowned, checking the clock above the fridge. Three. Who would anyone bother him at three in the morning?

"Don't visitors have to buzz in at your gate?"

Hades jaw locked as he remembered coming home after seeing the wreckage, after thinking she was dead. He'd been so numb, so broken that he'd probably left the thing wide open.

"Stay here."

He could tell Adrianna had heard the worry in his voice, her body language going from seductive to alert.

"Lucian," she said, jumping off the counter. "Don't-"

"Stay, Cara," he repeated in a harsher tone, grabbing a knife out of the wooden block beside her. "Don't move your butt from this spot, do you hear me?"

He could see her hesitating, but before she could protest any further, he'd disappeared in the hallway, hiding the weapon behind his back. Whoever was at his door had placed their car right in front of his house, not bothering to turn off the engine, its lights pushing a burst of white through his windows. Which meant they had either stopped in a hurry…or were prepared to get away in a hurry.

Probably with his girl in the trunk.

He wasn't going to let that happen again.

Ever.

Clutching the knife tighter, he took a deep breath and flung open the door, his stomach dropping when he saw-

"Ryder?"

The blond man looked a mess; his eyes had dark circles under them, his hair was sticking out in all directions, his anxiety oozed off him in waves…and Hades felt a pang of guilt burn his chest. He'd totally forgotten about Ryder.

Her fiancée.

This guy had expected to marry Adrianna and instead, she was sitting in his kitchen. Half naked.

"Is she here?" he spoke, his voice rough.

Hades dropped the knife on the table by the door, sighing. "Look, Ryder-"

"Just tell me, Nox!" he snapped. "Is she here or not?!"

Hades' pity turned into annoyance, his eyes narrowing. Ryder had every right to be upset, with both him and Adrianna, but he wasn't going to let him work out his anger on her. She didn't need that, especially not tonight. She'd been through enough without having to be berated by this idiot.

"Look, it's late, Ryder," Hades said, keeping his voice as kind as he could. "Go home and -"

"Alexander?"

Hades glared over his shoulder at the sound of her voice and found Adrianna standing in the middle of the hall. Had he not asked her to stay in the kitchen? Had he dreamt that?

Stubborn woman.

"Anna."

The way Ryder spoke her name made Hades' eyebrows pull together. There was no anger, no jealousy…just relief. His fiancée was in another man's house, her hair still a mess from where he'd run his fingers through it, her lips still red from sucking his. You had to be an idiot not to figure out what they'd been up to and yet, instead of punching Hades' lights out, he pushed straight passed him and headed for his fiancée, pulling her into a hug the second she was within reach. Adrianna hugged him back, with a lot less passion, but still…

Now, Hades knew had a no right to be jealous or pissed off…but that didn't stop him from feeling exactly that. Jealous and fucking pissed. He couldn't stand the fact that that Ryder-fuck was hugging her, especially since she was still only wearing his shirt. There was not nearly enough material between that moron and his woman.

And she was his woman.

She'd been his since before she'd been born. She belonged to him, and he belonged to her. A ring from some other man didn't change that.

When he slammed the door shut roughly, Adrianna unwrapped her arms from the man, gently grabbing his shoulders and pushing him back until he let go of her as well.

"Anna," Ryder said again, cupping her face. "Thank God."

Adrianna's brows pulled together, her expression as puzzled as his.

"I tried to call you, but it went straight to voicemail."

"Right, I…lost my purse."

"I looked everywhere for you before I finally remembered you went after Nox last night. I figured you'd ended up here with him. It took me a while to get his address-"

"Okay, what the fuck is going on?" Hades barked, losing his patience. "This is not the way a man reacts when he finds his fiancée, half naked in another man's house!"

"Well, no, but we're not really-" Ryder trailed off, his eyes switching back to Adrianna. "Wait, you didn't tell him?"

"Crap," she sighed, pressing her eyes shut. "No, I forgot. With everything going on-"

"You forgot what?"

"Sweetheart-" Adrianna sang, "-we're not actually engaged."

"What?!" he gnarled, relieved and confused at the same time. "What are you talking about?"

"Alexander's a case I'm working, nothing more."

"That's a little harsh," Ryder mumbled.

"Why didn't you tell me this at the fundraiser?" Hades asked, ignoring the idiot.

She huffed, a naughty smile pulling at her lips. "You mean the fundraiser where you pretended that your niece was your date? Geeh, I don't know."

That little minx. She didn't tell me to make me jealous…and it had worked. Like a fucking charm.

"I'm just glad you're okay," Ryder said before Hades could ask anything else.

"Why wouldn't she be?" he snarled, suspicion crawling in his veins. No one knew what had happened tonight, no one but Rellix and he was pretty sure this human didn't know the warlock. So how the fuck did he know something had happened?

"When I got home-" Ryder answered. "-the place was ransacked."

"Someone broke in?"

"And they didn't even touch my safe."

Adrianna huffed. "They were looking for something specific."

"And they found it. Your room was torn apart, your laptop was gone and so were the files you'd taken from my office."

Adrianna turned pale, rubbing her forehead.

"And then, there was this." Ryder added, reaching into his pocket.

Hades was beside Adrianna in a second, grabbing the idiot's wrist before he could pull out whatever he had stashed in there. She might've trusted the guy, but Hades wasn't taking any chances. Not when it came to her safety.

"Slowly," Hades snarled.

Shooting him an annoyed look, Ryder pulled back his hand inch by inch, like Hades had commanded, showing a piece of paper clutched between his fingers. Hades snatched it from him, unfolding it roughly.

His jaw tight, he read the words written in ink; the words that made his heart ache.

Her blood is on your hands. Stop looking.

Adrianna took the paper from him, reading it as her cheeks paled even more.

"Her blood is on your hands?!" Hades snarled. "On your hands?!" Seeing red, he flung forward, grabbing Ryder's collar and forcing him back until he was slamming him into the wall.

"Get the fuck of me, Nox!"

"You?!" Hades hissed, flames licking his blood. "You are the reason they came after her tonight? You are the reason I almost lost her?! YOU?!"

"They came after her?!"

"Yes!" Hades barked, slamming Ryder's body into the wall again, his head making a satisfying sound against the bricks.

"Lucian, stop it!" Adrianna yelled behind him…but he didn't listen, only grabbing him tighter. He wanted to slam his fist into that idiot's face until he felt even an inkling of what Hades had gone through tonight…but then, she was beside him, touching his arm.

"Lucian, sweetheart," she said in that fucking kind voice of hers. "Let him go."

Ryder's leather jacket screamed out underneath his clutching fingers…and then, pulling up his nose, he let go. Against every instinct. Against every desire. For her. And she rewarded him with that warm smile he didn't deserve.

"What are you involved in, Ryder?" Hades snarled.

"It's not what he is involved in," Adrianna answered in his stead. "It's what I am involved in."

Hades frowned. "You?"

She nodded. "The whole reason Alex and I are pretending to be engaged is so I can get unlimited access to his files without anyone suspecting what I'm really doing."

"And what are you really doing?"

"Trying to catch a thief. Someone in Alex' company is stealing money from a select number of accounts. Small amounts, but they've been at it for a while, so small crumbs were turning into a seriously big loaf of bread and-"

"-you just had to get involved?" Hades cut her off, angry. "Last time I checked, you're still suspended from the force, right?"

Her eyes hardened a little at his tone as she crossed her arms over her chest defensively. "My sergeant told me that if I do this, I could get my job back."

"So you were almost killed because of a fucking job?"

"How did he find out you were looking into him?" Ryder cut in. "We were careful-"

"Obviously not careful enough!" Hades barked. He wanted to calm down, he really did. He didn't want to fight with her, not tonight…but he was furious. She'd almost gotten herself killed because of that moron? Because she wanted her job back? That's why he'd almost lost her? And sure, rationally, he knew it wasn't her fault…but he was too angry to see reason.

"What exactly happened tonight?"

Hades shot Ryder a glare, but before he could speak, Adrianna said, "Men attacked us on the street. They shot Lucian-"

"You're shot?"

Adrianna turned red at her slip-up, her eyes searching his for help.

"The bullet just grazed me!" he snarled. "It's Adrianna who they drugged and shoved in a trunk!"

Ryder's eyes widened. "They took you?"

She nodded.

"Why?"

"I thought we just established that! Because of you, you stupid-"

"No," Ryder cut him off. "Why did they take her? Why not shoot her on the street? The note implies they were going to kill her anyway, so why go through all that trouble?"

Hades hated to admit it…but the guy had a point. If they'd wanted to kill her, they could've. He wouldn't have been able to protect her after he'd been shot…

"I think I know why," Adrianna sighed. "I heard them in the car. One of them said they were going to take me to my apartment and-" She paused, her eyes flickering briefly to his. She was clearly debating whether or not to say more. And something told him she was hesitant because of him. Whatever she wasn't saying…he wasn't going to like it.

"And what?!" he gnarled.

She sighed, swallowing hard before she whispered. "-and play with me a little before shooting me."

"Play with you?" he gnarled, his voice barely human anymore.

She nodded. "They wanted to make it look like a break-in."

"Why?" Ryder asked.

"Because when you kill a cop, the entire force is mobilized," she answered. "There's no getting away. So, he couldn't risk the police even suspecting it had anything to do with your case. They would turn your company upside down and he wouldn't have been be able to hide. But, if he made it look like I was killed because of money-"

"-no one would suspect it had anything to do with Ryder's case, since the guy who's stealing from him has already gathered a small fortune by now " Hades finished on a hiss.

She shot him a little smile, even though she clearly didn't feel like smiling. "Exactly."

"So, this guy figured that if he killed you and send me this note that I wouldn't tell the cops? That I would be scared into dropping the case and let him get away with it?!"

She nodded. "And no one would've found it suspicious. After all, you'd be riddled with guilt and grief." Her eyes dropped to her hands, her fingers flexing by her thighs. "Those are two emotions that can make anyone do anything."

"If he was so worried about the repercussions of killing a cop, why not just kill Ryder and leave you the fuck alone?" Hades snarled.

"Because if he kills Alex, he might as well hand over a signed confession. The link to him would be too obvious. "

"So, why didn't he just run?" Ryder asked. "When he found out you were working this case, that I was on to the embezzlement, why not just take off?"

"Because he wouldn't get far. The moment he disappeared, it would've only been a matter of hours before it would've been obvious who was behind this whole thing. There would be one person unaccounted for at work, one person who would've been nowhere to be found. You would've figured out who the thief was in no time, pressed charges first thing and the thief's name and face would've been plastered in every newspaper by the next morning. What good is it to have all that money, without the freedom to spend it?"

"Do you think he's on the run now? I mean, if he believes he's scared me into silence, he must think I won't report it if he disappears."

"No," Adrianna shook her head. "The cops might've looked in a different direction because of the break-in, but they're not idiots. If someone from your firm suddenly disappears, they would've connected the dots. Trust me, whoever was behind the attack tonight, whoever is stealing from you, will show up right on time for his shift tomorrow."

"Are you kidding me? He's going to show his face after attempting to murder my fiancée?!"

"She's not you fiancée!" Hades snarled.

"The guy doesn't know that!"

"But you do, so don't call her that!"


Adrianna closed her eyes, rubbing her forehead as Lucian and Alex argued. She didn't have the energy to deal with two alphas. Despite the wonderful things that had happened tonight, she had also almost died…and Salvatore or not, that took a toll. Her body was using most of its energy to heal her last wounds and she could feel it wanted to rest. But she didn't have time for that. There was still a killer on the loose and-

She felt herself sway and immediately, Lucian was there, cupping her face, the worry unmistakable in his voice as whispered, "Cara, are you alright?"

She nodded, smiling weakly. "I'm fine."

"You should rest, Adrianna. You barely slept."

"After."

"Why don't we move this conversation to a place where she can sit?" Alex jumped in.

A muscle in Lucian's jaw ticked, but he nodded none the less, holding on to her as they moved into the living room.

"You're too pale," he rumbled as he sat her down on the couch, adding on a hiss, "Fuck, you didn't eat yet."

"She barely ever eats".

Lucian cocked a disapproving eyebrow. Something told her that her days of skipping meals were over.

"I could get you something," Alex offered as Lucian made the fireplace in front of her come to life.

"No, that's not-"

"She started on eggs in the kitchen. It's all there," Lucian cut her off, shooting her a look that left no room for objection.

"Eggs it is," Alex said, moving to the open kitchen behind them. "Anything for Anna."

Adrianna rolled her eyes. That comment hadn't been for her benefit. Alex was trying to make Lucian jealous. And it was working. Lucian's eyes were glinting like grey glass, sharp and deadly.

"Hey," she whispered as Alexander set to work behind them. "Don't let him get to-"

"He's not getting to me."

She tried to hide her smile at his fiery reaction, but he saw it, his own lips twitching in response. "Are you laughing at me, Salvatore?"

She shook her head even though she was now grinning. "I wouldn't dare."

He sank down beside her on the sofa, catching a loose curl between his thumb and forefinger, tugging it and releasing it so it bounced back up. "I don't like the guy."

"You don't know the guy. He's not that bad."

"You don't see the way he looks at you."

Adrianna ran her fingers through his dark locks, watching the orange of the flames dance on his cheekbones. "Why do you always think that every man in my life is in love with me?"

"Oh, I'm not saying this fucker's in love with you, Cara. I'm saying he wants you in his bed. "

And there was that blush again. "Don't be ridiculous."

Lucian sighed deeply, shaking his head. "You know, the fact that you don't see the effect you have on men is as adorable as it is frustrating. You have no idea what you do to them, Cara. What you do to me."

She smiled, her belly tingling.

"Or to him", he added, his voice harsher as he glared over her shoulder at Alex.

"Nothing between Alex and I was real. It was all an act."

"That doesn't mean he didn't enjoy it."

Smiling, she wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers playing with his hair. "You have no reason to be jealous. Of anyone."

He smiled for the first time since Alex had arrived, tucking a curl behind her ear, his eyes holding hers sweetly.

And then, those eyes turned darker…that smile dropped…and she knew where his mind had gone.

"I'm okay," she smiled. "I'm right here."

"When I saw that note-"

"I know."

"If I'd lost you-"

"You didn't."

"I almost did."

"But you didn't," she smiled, taking his hand and placing it over her heart. "I'm here, sweetheart. And I'm not going anywhere."

He let out a deep breath, pressing his forehead against hers. Smiling, she sifted her fingers through his hair, marvelling in the warmth that spread out inside of her.

"I didn't know it felt like this," she whispered.

"That what felt like this?" he whispered back.

"Love."

Those grey eyes touched hers again.

"I always thought it was overhyped; that my life was fulfilling enough without someone else in it…but now, I get it. I get why my parents are so disgustingly clingy; why they can't spend a day apart; why they can't leave a room without kissing each other. It's because of this; because of this feeling. I feel like… I'm home."

Lucian swallowed hard, his hands finding her cheeks again. "You are home. Everything that I have, everything that I am, is yours."

She bit her lip, her belly knotting when his eyes dropped to her mouth, his nose brushing hers, his breath-

"Breakfast is served."

Anger took over Lucian's features again as he let go of her reluctantly, shooting daggers at Alexander.

"Thank you, Alex."

"Yes," Lucian snarled, his voice tight as he followed her to the kitchen island. "Thank you."

"No problem. It's what fiancées do."

Lucian's hand froze where it had been running up and down her back, his fingers digging a little deeper into her skin. Alexander trying to make Lucian jealous was funny on some level, since the guy didn't even hold a candle to Lucian, but he was starting to get even more pissed off than he already was and she didn't like that. Luckily, Alex seemed to understand it was time to back off when she shot him a warning look.

"Eat, Adrianna," Lucian rumbled behind her, pushing the plate of eggs closer to her. "Now."

She listened willingly, digging her fork in the eggy goodness and working it down as Lucian told Alexander more about the events of that night. He gave the short version of course; gave him detailed descriptions of the men and the car, but leaving out little details like the fact that a warlock had saved his life. That wasn't information a normal human was privileged too. And of course skipping over the things they'd done afterwards. Not that it wasn't obvious at that point, but she was still grateful Lucian didn't rub it in Alex' face.

"So," Lucian concluded. "Now that Adrianna's cover has been blown, I think the smartest thing to do is for us to drop you off at the nearest police station so someone other than my exhausted girlfriend can go after this guy."

Girlfriend.

"I agree," Alex said. "It won't be long before we catch him now. Adrianna probably knows who it is, right?"

Adrianna's fork stilled on her plate. "I do?"

"Yeah. I mean, the guy obviously chose now to come after you because you were closing in on him, so you must've had a suspect-"

"No, I didn't," she cut him off. "I don't."

"But he stole your laptop, your files, even your notes. That means there was something in there he didn't want anyone to see."

He was right. This guy was smart. He wouldn't have taken a risk like tonight without good reason. It hadn't been a spur of the moment attack. This had been thought out, planned, so he would be ready whenever she got close to him.

"I don't know," she said, feeling like an idiot. Exactly how long had her cover been blown? How long had this guy been aware of the fact that she was investigating him? "There wasn't anything suspicious in the last batch of files. No debts, no sudden cash flows, no expensive purchases. I have no suspects. None."

"And you didn't recognize any of the men who took you?" Lucian asked.

She shook her head. "No. I heard a name in the car, Richards, but he was one of the men who'd been hired, so I don't think that's a solid lead into the identity of our thief. Does Richards ring any bells for you?"

"No," Alex sighed. "But I have many branches. I don't know every single person who works for me by name."

"I don't remember seeing a Richards in the files I had either. Then again, I saw so many names… Maybe you could get me a copy of the files of anyone named Richards or anything that sounds like that, paper files, so there's no digital trace. I could run them through AFIS-"

"Are you kidding me?!"

Alexander jumped at Lucian's barking interjection, actually taking a step back from the man towering over her. But Adrianna stayed right where she was, looking up at him, confused. "What?"

"What?!" he spit out, narrowing his eyes. "You barely survived this ridiculous case once and now you want to go in for a second round?! Are you out of your fucking mind, woman?!"

She crossed her arms over her chest. "I've asked you before not to call me woma-"

"You're staying away from this case!"

"But-"

"No buts, Salvatore! You almost died! Because of money! Do you understand that?! Not because you were trying to catch a serial killer and save lives! Not because you wanted to protect someone you love! No, because of fucking money!"

"Lucian, they tried to kill me! They tried to kill you! I can't just walk away from that! Especially not now that I know what he's capable off! He poses a real danger to other people's lives! To your life!"

"Fine, then just hand the fucking case over! It doesn't have to be you! Why did they put you on this thing in the first place?! This case is about numbers! You're not a fucking accountant!"

"Actually, I am a fucking accountant!"

"What?!"

"You heard me!"

"You're kidding me, right?!"

"No, I'm not! Before I made detective, I had to go undercover as someone who could cook the books for certain people-"

"This was when you got shot?!"

She clutched her jaw at the bite in his words, crossing her arms over her chest. "Look, Lucian, I'm a cop! I get myself in dangerous situations sometimes!"

"Sometimes?!"

"It comes with the territory!"

"Then choose another territory!"

"Being a cop is who I am!"

"Being a cop is what'll get you killed!"

"Look, if you want some woman who's going to sit by the fire and rub your feet all day, then maybe I'm not your girl!"

Her heart actually stopped the second the words were out of her mouth, fear gripping her body. Why had she said that?! Off course she was his girl! She didn't want him to doubt that…or reconsider…

"Okay," Alex said, pushing past them as Lucian glared at her in silence. "I feel like this is something you might want to discuss in private. I'll be in the hall."

Adrianna didn't look away from Lucian's seething eyes, his chest moving up and down rapidly. She could feel his rage coming off him in waves, his muscles visibly trembling underneath his skin.

Holding her breath, she waited, unsure of what was coming next. Had she finally pushed him too far? Had he finally had enough?

The door clicked closed behind Alexander and in a catch of her breath, Lucian's mouth slanted down on hers. His late-day beard was rough against her skin as he consumed her mouth with a kiss driven by the sheer will to ravage. This wasn't slow or gentle. There had been no built-up. His tongue had sought hers immediately, his hand clutching the back of her neck tightly. She shouldn't like this. He was too rough, too angry, too dominant…but her body grew weak, her heart sped up, hands and lips desperately trying to match his pace. She was powerless to stop him…and unwilling. Because deep down, she knew this was him. When all the suits, houses and cars were stripped away, this was Lucian Nox. Raw, dominant, powerful. She'd felt it before, when they'd been making love. It hadn't been until he'd let go that she'd felt like he was really there, like he really saw her, felt what she felt, was as lost as her. And she wanted him to be who he truly was. She wanted him to feel free, to know that no matter what he said or did, he would still be loved unconditionally.

Her fingers curling in his shirt, she got up from the stool, pressing her body against his, making her feel just how much he wanted her.

His fingers found her hair, pulling at her curls…

…and then, in a frantic beat of her heart, he broke their kiss.

She drew in some much needed oxygen, numb as she tried to stay on her feet. His chest was heaving and his eyes were hard, focused on her with ravenous intent as she waited. Waited for him to continue. Or walk away. Anything.

"Let's get one thing straight, Salvatore," he finally snarled, his fingers tightening in her hair. "You are my girl!"

His words seemed to vibrate through her, low and thick in the air.

"Just because I won't take you again right away-" he growled. "-doesn't mean you're not mine."

She nodded, the force of his savage look making her shudder.

"Say it," he commanded, his free hand squeezing her hip. "Now."

"Yes," she breathed. "I'm yours. I'm your girl. Always."

She gasped as his lips moved to her neck, his teeth softly grazing over her neck. "Then tell Ryder to fuck off and forget about this."

Her body froze and immediately, he pulled back, snarling, "Damn it, Adrianna!"

She sighed, frustrated. "Look, I'm sorry, but I have to finish this, Lucian. You know I have to."

"Why you?!" he barked, the mood completely ruined. "Why does it have to be you?! I'm sure there are other cops who could do this job, others who have credentials as an accountant!"

"Three in total, including me. One is fifty-five and would look kind of suspicious on Alexander's arm and the other one is a man, so again, with Alexander's reputation, that wouldn't fly as a cover, so I'm-"

"Wait," he hissed his voice lined with ice. "Are you saying that you're not only going to continue to investigate this case-which is already ludicrous enough as it is-but you're also going to continue acting as that fucker's fiancée?!"

"Lucian-"

"No!"

"Honey-"

"I forbid it!"

She flinched as if he'd slapped her, crossing her arms over her chest. "You forbid it?"

"Yes," he gnarled, unashamed.

"You can't forbid me things, Nox!"

"I just did!"

"Well, I'm not going to follow your order!"

Something dangerous shone in his eyes as he moved closer again, only stopping when there was just a sliver of air left between them. For a second, she had to remind herself that they were fighting and her knees had no business getting weak…

"You're not going to follow my order?" he rumbled, his lips hovering only inches from hers. "But you like following my orders, don't you, Cara?"

Her mouth went dry.

"You like being controlled by me. You like to submit to me."

She swallowed hard, raising her chin stubbornly. The bastard chuckled at that.

"Don't pretend with me, Cara. I know you."

"Do you?"

He nodded slowly, those dark eyes dropping to her lips.

"Then do you really think-" she snapped. "-that you can seduce me into abandoning a friend?"

"He's your friend now?"

She narrowed her eyes at the snark in his voice. "He was there for me when I was going through a tough time, so yes, he's a friend."

"What tough time?"

She huffed. "What tough time? You broke my heart, Lucian! I was a mess!"

His face turned hard, that torture back in his eyes and at once, she regretted her words. "I'm not saying that to make you feel guilty. I just need you to understand that Alexander and this case helped me, distracted me from missing you. Not a lot, but it helped me out of bed and forced me to go out. If it hadn't been for him…I don't know where I'd be."

A muscle in his jaw ticked. "What do you think is going to happen when you continue pretending to be Ryder's fiancée? Do you think the asshole who's behind this will just cut his losses and leave you alone? He knows you're a cop. He knows you're after him. You just said so yourself."

"Yes, so if I pretend like nothing happened and continue my investigation, he'll be rattled and slip up. He'll make a mistake, somewhere and when he does-"

"That mistake could be killing you!"

She sighed, running her fingers over his jaw…but he grabbed her hand, holding on to it as he whispered, "You don't have to do this. You know that, right? You don't owe that man anything."

"It's not about owing him. This is what I do. I protect people."

If you're not killing them.

"Adrianna, please," he growled. "It's too dangerous."

"I'll be okay."

"You don't know that."

"I have to do this."

"You don't have to do anything, except stay alive! I don't want you to put yourself in this kind of danger!"

She wanted to listen, to sooth the fear she saw in those beautiful grey eyes…but she couldn't turn her back on this case, on Alex. Not after that car. If there was still any humanity left in her, she was going to hold on to it, harness it and the only way to do that was by helping people again, not kill them nor leave criminals out on the street.

"Please, don't ask me to walk away," she whispered. "If I don't do this and this guy escapes, if he hurts anyone else, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself."

His jaw locked, but she could see the anger in his eyes diminishing just a bit.

"If I threw you over my shoulder right now and locked you up somewhere, to stop you from doing this, would you still love me?"

She smiled sadly. "Yes, I would."

His eyes softened even more.

"But I'd know that you don't truly love me."

"Because I'd want to protect you?!"

"No, because you'd want to lock away a part of me that I can't change. This is who I am, Lucian. You might see it as being stubborn or proud, but this is who I am. I will always go after injustice. I know you don't like it, but-"

"Off course I like it!" he cut her off, sighing. "I love that you want to change the world! I just don't love that you don't seem to care whether or not you survive this crusade!"

"I do care. I don't want to die."

Not anymore.

Growling, he grabbed a handful of her shirt and pulled her against him again. "I can't lose you, Adrianna."

"You won't."

"If something happened to you, I would-" he trailed off, touching his forehead to hers. "I just can't lose you."

"You won't lose me. I'm not going in blind. I'm a good cop, Lucian. And I'm a good fighter, you know that," she smiled, shooting him a playful look when she added, "I have skills, mister Nox."

His eyes turned darker, making her cheeks burn. She could see in his gaze where his mind had gone…and hers was right there with him.

"God-" he rumbled, brushing his fingertips over her cheek. "-that blush will be the end of me."

And then, he was kissing her again, his arms wrapping around her, holding on tight.

"If you forget about this plan-" he breathed in her mouth. "-I'll make love to you again."

"Liar."

His lips twitched against hers. "Okay, maybe not, but I'll make you come three more times before the sun rises. That, I can guarantee."

She ignored the fantasies his words conjured up and put her hands on his chest, softly pushing him away from her aching body.

"Okay," he gnarled. "Fine."

"Fine? Fine what?"

"I'll allow you-"

She cocked an annoyed eyebrow.

"I'll support you-" he corrected. "-in going through with this moronic plan."

"It's not a moronic-"

"But there's no way in hell," he cut her off. "That you're doing this alone."

"I won't be alone. Alex will be there and he has guards who-"

Lucian let out an annoyed sound and then grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the kitchen with him, back into the hallway, his determined pace worrying her.

"Oh, hey," Alex said when he spotted them. "Did you guys work everything out?"

"I think so," Adrianna said, unsure. "I-"

"Here's what's going to happen," Lucian cut her off on a bark, his fingers entwining with hers. "Adrianna is-against my better judgement-going to continue looking into this case like nothing happened."

"Like nothing happened?" Alex asked, his eyes switching back and forth between her and Lucian. "Does that mean-"

"-that she's going to keep up the ridiculous charade of being your fiancée?" Lucian finished for him, his hand tightening on hers. "Yes. Although, for the life of me, I don't get how anyone believed that crap in the first place."

"You do realize," Alex ignored him, addressing Adrianna. "That this guy might come after you again, right?"

"Which is why I'm your new best friend," Lucian snarled, answering in her stead.

"What?" Adrianna said at the same time Alex asked, "I'm sorry?"

"If she's doing this-" Lucian gnarled. "-there's no way I'm not going to be with her every step of the way. Now, since she's supposed to be engaged to you, it would seem suspicious if I just hung around her, so you're going to pretend we're working on an investment deal, which will justify the time we spend together."

Alexander sniffed, not a reaction Lucian appreciated gathering from his tightening jaw.

"You own a chain of clubs," Alex said. "I don't invest in clubs."

"You do now."

"Look, Nox, you really don't have to worry. I have a team of the best bodyguards at my disposal who-"

"-were nowhere to be found when she was kidnapped, drugged and almost killed tonight?!"

Alexander's shoulders slumped. He knew Lucian was right and more than that, he knew there was no point in arguing. Everything about Lucian screamed that this wasn't a negotiation. These were Lucian's terms for letting her continue with this charade and there was no wiggle-room. Alexander could either take it or leave it. Lucian probably preferred the latter.

"So," he continued on a snarl. "My men will be taking over."

"Your men? Last time I checked, she was with you when she was taken, so-"

"My men weren't with me, Ryder! I didn't know she was going to be there!"

"Wait," Adrianna cut in, frowning up at Lucian. "Your bodyguards aren't with you when I'm not there?"

"Off course not. I have no need for security myself. I only hired them when you took up residence in my home."

Even though the warrior in her wanted to point out that she could take care of herself, this softer side of her won out. He'd hired those men to protect her? Even back when they didn't get along, when they did nothing but fight, he'd been watching out for her?

He must've seen the surprise on her face, because he added, "I couldn't be there and you needed protection, so I made arrangements."

He said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world; as if it didn't emphasize what a kind and loving soul he was. How could he possibly think anything about him was dark?

"Look," he said a little harsher, interpreting her silence as a sign of disapproval. "I know you don't like it when I make decisions about your safety without consulting you, but you can't expect me to just-"

He didn't have time to say anything else before her mouth collided with his, pulling him into a long, loving kiss. He made a sound like a growl when he let go of her hand, his arms snaking around her waist.

Just when her fingers found his hair, holding on tight, the sound of someone clearing his throat pierced through the haze of desire.

Adrianna blushed when their lips disentangled-she'd actually forgotten they weren't alone for a moment - but there wasn't a trace of embarrassment on Lucian's face. Just annoyance.

"You do realize you're going to have to keep that-" he waved his index finger between her and Lucian "-in check when we're in public, right? She's supposed to be in love with me."

Lucian's fingers dug deeper in her waist, his jaw tense again.

"Okay, so," Adrianna broke the renewed tension between both men. "Everyone is clear on the plan? We just act like nothing happened, like I'm still your fiancée."

"And my men will see to your protection," Lucian growled, emphasizing with another squeeze of his fingers, "As will I."

"Okay, but how long are we going to keep this up? I mean, the longer that criminal stays in my company-"

"-the more money you lose?" Lucian snapped.

"-the longer Adrianna's in danger," Alexander corrected, his eyes spitting fire. "Look man, I know you don't like me very much-"

"That's an understatement."

"-and to be honest, I don't like you either," Alexander continued. "But if we're going to work together, if we're going to have to act like friends, you should know that this was never about my money. I have plenty of money. I just don't like getting ripped off. That being said, if the day comes that I have to choose between letting this guy escape or getting Adrianna hurt, I'll book that fucker's flight myself. She is more important to me than any of this crap."

If he'd thought that would calm Lucian down, he was sorely mistaken. If anything, Lucian tensed even more, his nostrils flaring.

"Why don't we all get a few more hours of sleep?" Adrianna tried, touching Lucian's chest. "We're all a little touchy, so let's just take a breather."

"Good idea," Alexander said, finally breaking the glare he was exchanging with Lucian. "I have a meeting at eleven, but it shouldn't run late, so come over to the office by twelve and we'll have lunch together, get back into our routine."

"Can't wait," Lucian snapped before Adrianna could answer.

Alexander ignored him, instead heading for the door.

Before he disappeared from sight though, he shot her a sweet look, whispering, "I'm glad you're okay, Anna."

She gave him a little grateful smile and then, he was gone.

"Would it hurt you to be nice to him?" Adrianna sighed, when the door clicked closed.

"Would it hurt him to at least try to hide the fact that he wants what's mine?" he snarled back.

She should've felt annoyed about his possessive behavior, especially since there was nothing going on between her and Alex, but she didn't. At all. On the contrary, it made her cheeks flush with another wave of heat. She liked his possessiveness, his jealousy. She liked belonging to him.

God, what is happening to me?

"He just sees me as a friend," she lied, but she could tell by his expression that he didn't believe her. Not one bit.

"Come on," he rumbled, grabbing her hand. "Let's go."

"Go where?"

"To bed."

Her belly fluttered. "Really?"

"To sleep, Salvatore," he said, his lips twitching. "I swear, you have a one–track mind."

"Only when it comes to you," she teased.

He laughed and then, he scooped her up, carrying her the rest of the way. She wasn't tired or in pain, but she didn't protest. There were worse things in the world than his strong arms wrapped around her and her nose buried in the crook of his neck.

When they reached her room, he plopped her down on the bed, watching her with eyes that promised so much. Trying her luck, she laid back, stretched lazily, knowing full well her shirt would crawl up her thighs.

"Everything alright?" she asked, unable to stop herself from grinning when she noticed his grey eyes drinking her in with a dark expression.

For a long moment, he just stood over her, watching her, trying to stay in control. She almost felt guilty for that torment in his eyes…but hey, she wasn't the one who'd come up with that no sex-crap.

A deep sound emerged from Lucian's chest, making her skin tingle…and then, he was gone, disappearing in his bathroom without another word.

It wasn't long before she heard water rain down. He was taking a shower. Probably a cold one. In that big, glass shower of his… Feeling bold, she decided to join him, but when she tried to open the door, she found it locked.

"Go to sleep, Salvatore!" he boomed from inside.

Oops, busted.

Grinning, she sat back down on the bed, trying to get her mind out of the gutter. Or in this case, the shower.


Hades listened as her tiny feet moved away from the door, the monster inside him screaming that he shouldn't be telling her to stay away, that he should let her inside, that he should fucking pull her into this shower and have her.

Images of Adrianna wet and moaning moved through his mind, images so vivid he could almost feel her against him, kissing his skin, biting his neck-

His fist shot out, slamming into the tiles, cracking them. The pain that shot through his hand won over his lust for a moment, helping in a way.

But not for long.

By the time he held his hand underneath the cold water that was pouring all over him, she was already front and center in his mind again.

Realizing a shower did nothing to still his desire for the girl in the next room, he dried himself off and then sat down on the edge of the bathtub, his fingers buried in his hair. How had this situation gotten so out of his control? All he'd wanted was some time alone with his woman and now, he was going to have to pretend to be best friends with a fucker who clearly wanted some time alone with his woman as well. Just thinking about Ryder made his caveman tendencies bubble up underneath the surface. He'd never been a jealous guy. Hell, when he'd only had Adrianna in his dreams, he'd been convinced that she was out here in the real world, having relationships with other men. He hadn't liked the idea, but it had been an abstract notion. Now that he was actually here with her, whenever he saw a man just looking at Adrianna the wrong way, all he wanted to do was beat their heads in with a rock before throwing her over his shoulder and having his way with her.

Sighing, he slipped on his boxers and took a deep breath before heading back into the bedroom.

Please, be asleep. Please, just be-

He let out a mental sigh when he saw her sitting cross-legged on the bed.

"I told you to go to sleep," Hades rumbled.

"I'm not tired," she smiled, her eyes running down his bare chest. "Are you?"

"Go to sleep, Adrianna."

"It's morning."

"It's three-thirty. That doesn't constitute as morning"

"I already slept."

"Barely."

"I'm really not tired."

"Sleep anyway."

She laughed, shaking her head. "So dominant."

Oh, Cara…you have no idea.

Distracting himself from where his mind was going, he moved to his side of the bed, pulling the sheets back.

"Fine," she sighed, getting up. "You want me to sleep? I'll sleep."

"Good. I'm glad you're finally listening to reas-" he trailed off when she popped a button of her shirt.

"What are you doing?" he growled.

"I can't very well sleep in my clothes, now can I?"

Another button.

Fuck.

His boxers suddenly feeling way too tight, he spit out, "You can sleep in your shirt."

"Well, it's not my shirt. It's yours. An it looks like it cost quite a penny-"

"It did," he snapped. "But I say it's fine. Sleep in it."

She sniffed, shaking her head. "I can't possibly, silly."

He watched, powerless, as the shirt slowly slipped open until it fell into a pool of fabric by her feet.

And then, she just stood there, naked, her gaze sliding down his body. Those damned eyes felt like a hand stroking down his abs, down his dick, making him burn even more.

"I have more self-control than you think, Cara," he lied, his voice as tight as his boxers.

Fuck.

Yes! his monster snarled. Please, fuck!

Silence spread between them, thick and more impenetrable by the minute. Every muscle in his body ached as if he'd spiked a fever, stress coiling tighter and tighter inside him with each passing second. God, he yearned for a release, but a repeat of tonight couldn't happen. Not yet. Not now. She wouldn't admit it, but she needed rest.

"Lucian…"

His name, barely a breath of air on her lips, echoed in the silence of the room. He wasn't entirely sure she even knew she'd spoken, but fuck, he liked it. He would never get tired of hearing her call his name like that. So desperate. Especially not as he drilled so deep inside of her she forget anything but his name, moaning, clawing at his back, tightening around his dick as she came again and again and-

Fuck it.

His resilience snapped and before he could stop himself, he was stalking towards her.

His eyes held hers, determined, ready to-

The loud, shrill sound of his cellphone penetrated his madness, his feet halting at once.

Adrianna let out an exasperated sigh, but Hades thanked the gods for the interruption. If that damned device hadn't rang…

"What?" His voice was still filled to the brim with lust and anger, but the voice on the other end of the line wasn't exactly chipper either.

"Nox?"

He recognized that voice, but couldn't immediately place it. Not until the woman said,

"This is Lucian Nox, right? The man who basically stole my Gomorrah Codex?"

Margaret Grace.

"I didn't steal anything," Hades snapped back, watching Adrianna's eyebrows pull together in a frown as she picked up the shirt again, hiding that delicious body of hers from his sight. "I made a deal-"

"-with Adrianna," she pointed out. "Not with me." He could hear her take a deep breath before she said in a calmer voice, "Speaking off, I've been trying to reach her, but I think her phone's dead or something because I can't seem to get a hold of her and I really need to speak to her. Do you have any idea where she might be or-"

"She's right here."

"She is?"

The witch was clearly shocked by his answer, but Hades didn't go into it, instead handing the phone over to Adrianna. "It's your witchy friend."

"Maggie?" she sang, a sweet sparkle replacing the lust in her eyes.

She grabbed the phone and cradled it to her ear, grinning. "Mags? Is that you? Thank God, I-"

He could her the witch cut Adrianna off, making her smile falter.

"I know," she whispered, sighing. "Maggie, please, just try to understand-"

She was cut off again and even though Hades felt like giving the witch an earful for whatever it was that she was saying that made Adrianna's shoulders slump, he figured she'd rather have some privacy. So, instead of ripping the phone from her fingers, he slipped out of the room, heading straight for his pool again.


"Maggie, please, I get it, but-"

"You get it?! You get that I'm furious at you for asking your brother to kidnap me from my own home?!"

"I didn't ask him to kidnap-"

"He threw me over his shoulder and carried me out, locked me in a car and didn't stop driving for two days straight! How is that not kidnapping?"

Damn it, Killian.

"Okay, he's not exactly Mister Tact, but he did it to protect you. Didn't you get my messages?"

"Messages? What messages?"

"I left you a bunch of voicemails."

"Oh, you mean on my phone?! The phone your brother threw out the window of his car?! His moving car?!"

Adrianna sighed, slumping down on the edge of the bed.

"He actually did that?"

"Yes! He's a brute!"

"Like I said, he's only trying to protect you-"

"-from Rodchenko?! Yeah, Killian said you think he was after me when he killed Lana, but even if that's true, it's a bit overkill to appoint your vampire brother as my bodyguard! Rodchenko is just one man!"

"One man I can't catch! One man who has a vendetta against me! He's dangerous!"

"And I'm a witch!"

"So was Lana!"

"She wasn't a born witch, like me! I can protect myself!"

"I can't take that risk."

Another moment of silence. Maggie was trying to stay calm…something she wasn't very good at. "Are you even close to getting this guy-" she hissed. "-or should I prepare for the possibility that I'll spend the rest of my life with your Neanderthal of a brother?!"

"I'm working on it. Gabriel is surveilling Rodchenko every night, searching for a mistake, a slip up- "

"Gabriel? Gabriel Vasquez?"

"Yes."

"So you're not even working on this thing? You've outsourced it?!"

"I have no choice right now. I'm working on this case that will get me my badge back, which means I'll have more resources to go after Rodchenko-"

"Adrianna, come on! This is ridiculous! Just tell your brother to let me come back! You're the only one who could call him off and I-"

"No."

An icy silence fell and Adrianna knew exactly what Maggie looked like in that moment. Nostrils flaring, face red, her eyes narrowed into slits.

"I'm sorry, Maggie, but it's not safe yet."

"This is bullshit! I can't stay with your brother any longer, Adrianna!"

"He's not that bad."

That silence fell again, but this time, it felt…sadder. Somehow.

"You're really not going to help me?!" She hissed after a long moment.

"I am helping you."

"You know what I mean!"

She ran a hand through her curls, shaking her head. "You're safest with Killian. I'm sorry, but-"

The line was cut abruptly and Adrianna stared at the blank screen, her heart aching. She hated that Maggie was miserable, but she'd hate it more if Rodchenko ever got his hands on her. She was doing the right thing.

But that didn't sooth her guilt.

She wanted to hit redial, but the number Maggie had called her with was labelled private. Killian's phone, no doubt.

Rubbing her eyes, she buried her face in her hands, sighing…until the cell phone rang again.

Private number.

"I'm going to ask you something," her friend said as soon as she'd picked up.

Adrianna frowned. "Okay."

"And even though this has nothing to do with the crap you're pulling on me, I need you to understand that this doesn't mean I'm not angry at you anymore! Got it? I'm still pissed!"

"Okay. Still pissed. Got it. What's your question?"

There was a little pause and then, her friend asked, "What are you doing with Lucian Nox at barely four in the morning?"

Blood rushed to her cheeks again, coloring them bright red. She knew Maggie couldn't see her blush and yet, her friend seemed to know the answer to her own question immediately.

"Oh. My. God! Did it finally happen? Did you finally pop that cherry?"

"Shhhhh, Maggie! Killian-"

"He's not here."

"He's not? Where is he?"

"Don't try to change the subject, missy!"

Missy. She grinned. God, she'd missed talking to her friend.

"You slept with Lucian Nox?"

She bit her lip. "Yes."

"But, the last time we saw each other, you hated him, didn't you? You didn't even want to talk about him."

Adrianna laughed. It felt like a lifetime ago that she'd sat in that garden with Maggie, her heart broken, his mere name bringing tears to her eyes. Everything was so different now, so much better.

"I know," Adrianna smiled, tucking a curl behind her ear. "It's a long story."

"Is it? Long?" She could almost see her eyebrows wiggle.

"Mags, come on," she whispered, blushing an even deeper crimson.

"What?" she snickered. "I don't get any details? Do you have any idea how I've been looking forward to this day?! I can finally talk sex with you!"

"Finally? Every other word that comes out of your mouth is about sex!"

"Yes, but now, we can share experiences! How was it? Did it suck? It sucked, right? Don't let it discourage you! The first time is always-"

"It was perfect."

"It was?!"

She laughed at Maggie's shocked response. "Yes, it was. Lucian was...amazing."

"So, it didn't hurt?"

"At first, sure, but after a while, all I felt was-" she trailed off, the blush from her cheeks trickling down to her neck.

"That good, huh?"

Adrianna sniffed, remembering how he'd felt inside her, kissing her, touching her. "Good doesn't even begin to cover it."

"God, I hate you. Of course you lose your virginity like in a damned fairytale."

A fairytale? She seriously doubted any Disney prince would've taken her the way Lucian had...

"I guess good things really do come to those who wait," Maggie continued, adding on a mumble, "And fickle, hard-headed bastards come to those who don't."

Adrianna frowned, but before she could ask what she was talking about, she heard a door open on the other end of the line and a familiar voice boomed, "What the hell do you think you're doing?! Is that my phone?!"

Killian….I think.

She recognized her brother's commanding tone but there was a slur in his words she'd never heard before. He almost sounded…drunk. But Killian never got drunk. He was too big of a control freak to ever allow himself to become intoxicated. Still, she could've sworn…

"It's just one call!" Maggie snapped.

"One call could be enough to tip of Rodchenko! The GPS-"

"Oh, my God, shut up about the damned GPS!"

There was a loaded pause and Adrianna just knew they were glaring at each other.

"Who are you calling?"

Killian's voice was calm now, but she recognized that tone. She'd been on the receiving end of it more than once. When her brother got calm, you knew you were in trouble.

"It's your sister, if you must know.".

"My sister?! Margaret, seriously, are you trying to get yourself killed?! Is that what you're doing?!"

"Do you see what I have to deal with?" her friend hissed in the phone.

"Do you really think Rodchenko isn't tapping Adrianna's phone?" Killian continued, angry. "Why don't you just post your location on that Book-thing!"

"Book-thing?" Maggie let out a short little laugh. "Do you mean Facebook?"

"Hang up the fucking phone!"

"Oh relax, we're not even talking over Adrianna's cell! We're using Nox's phone."

Adrianna groaned, her entire face turning bright red.

"Nox?!" her brother snarled on cue. "What the fuck is my sister doing with Lucian Nox in the middle of the-"

Adrianna hung up, as if that would somehow undo the damage... But it was already too late. Her brother wasn't an idiot. He would put two and two together and figure out the answer to his own question any second now…

Groaning, she went into the bathroom to splash a handful of cold water in her face. Rationally, she knew her brother would've found out at some point that she'd lost her virginity, but she'd preferred it to happen a little later in the game.

Like, on her deathbed.

Staring at herself in the mirror, she let out a sigh. She looked exhausted. And could anyone blame her? She had a lot on her mind, things more important than her brother finding out she'd had sex. So, she decided to let it go. For now. Besides, there was nothing she could do about it anyway. The cat was out of the bag. And maybe it was a good thing that Killian had found out while he was miles and miles away. That way, by the time he brought Maggie back, he'd hopefully cooled down a bit.

Stretching lazily, she made her way back into the bedroom, smiling when she found Lucian lying in the bed, his arms folded behind his head.

"Hello, detective," he rumbled.

Adrianna smiled. "Hello, mister Nox."

His eyes ran down her body, making her skin sizzle. "Have I told you how beautiful you look wearing my shirt?"

She let her eyes dance down as well, drinking in his bare chest. "Have I told you how beautiful you look without your shirt?"

He laughed, patting the mattress beside him…and that was all the invitation she needed. Grinning, she tiptoed to the bed and slipped under the sheets. She'd barely laid down or his arm slipped underneath her, pushing her closer until she was snuggled into his side.

"Is everything okay between you and your friend?"

She shrugged, her fingers tracing his collarbone absentmindedly. "Yes. Maggie's mad at me, but I expected as much."

"You did the right thing. Rodchenko would've kept coming after her."

Adrianna made a sound in agreement, burying her nose in the crook of his neck.

"You know, it's not too late for us to run too," he rumbled, making her lips curl against his skin. "We could leave Rodchenko and Ryder's thief behind us and just drive. You, me, the open road. It would be nice."

"It would be perfect."

"But there's no way in hell you'd agree to that, right?"

She looked up at him, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I didn't think so," he sighed, his fingers slowly sifting through her hair. "Your friend doesn't like me very much, does she?"

Adrianna frowned at the unexpected question, looking up into his grey eyes. "Since when does Lucian Nox care whether people like him or not?"

"I don't. But I care what you think and she's your best friend."

Smiling, she pressed a kiss to his chin. "You just got off on the wrong foot. She'll come around once she gets to know you."

"I wouldn't be so sure. I'm kind of an asshole."

"Kind of?"

He laughed again, his chest bouncing underneath her hand. God, she loved that sound…

"By the way, how did Margaret get my number?"

"She was using my brother's phone."

"Okay, so, how did your brother get my number?"

She sniffed, resting her ear over his heart. "He's probably had your number since the day he met you. It's what Killian does. When I was a freshman in high school, I was once dumb enough to mention to my family that I liked this boy. By the time I left for school the next morning, my brother somehow knew more about him than I did."

"What happened to the boy?"

"He started dating this really cute cheerleader," she yawned. "And never gave me the time of day."

"Idiot."

"No, he was nice. I think they got married and had a bunch of kids after high school," she whispered, the slow, steady rhythm of his heart lulling her to sleep. "A normal life."

She could feel his lips on her hair, his fingertips tracing the curve of her ear as he whispered from somewhere far away. "Go to sleep, love."

"Mmmmmmm," she murmured.

The last thing she heard before sleep took her was Lucian whispering he loved her and then, she let herself drift into oblivion.

She had no idea what was coming for her; what was coming for him. If she had known, she would've changed her mind about running and left with Hades that very night. Not that it would've made a difference. There was nowhere to hide from the forces plotting against them, both human and divine; forces that wanted them apart and would stop at nothing to see their love destroyed.

But like I said, they had no clue.

So, they slept, happy and peaceful, unaware that it would all come to an end.

Soon.