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I sagged in Gavin’s hold, and he shifted his hand back up to my belly.

He pulled his hand away from my mouth. “Can you stand on your own?” he asked, his voice gentler than before.

“I think so,” I said between ragged breaths. My legs were shaky, but they felt steadier with each beat of my heart.

Gavin’s hold loosened, and his hands trailed down my body before falling away. He stepped to the side and adjusted himself to reduce the obvious bulge in the front of his slacks before moving forward to wash his hands at the sink. His powerful body was wire tight with unspent need.

Realizing I may have overestimated my legs’ steadiness, I leaned back against the wall as I straightened my leggings and tunic.

Gavin watched me in the reflection, both the crescent sigil curved along the side of his face and the bonding sigil wrapped around his neck glowing steadily. “If we didn’t have somewhere to be . . .” His gaze roved over me. Blowing out a breath, he shut off the water and reached for the hand towel hanging on the wall. “But we do.”

He dried his hands, then moved closer to wipe away the blood staining my lips and chin. Once I was cleaned up, he pulled the door open and stepped out into the hallway, where he waited for me.

22

Taking a deep breath,I stepped away from the wall and joined Gavin in the hallway.

Bastian stood at the mouth of the hallway, his hands clenched into tight fists. Thane and Ash waited by the front door, crescent sigils ablaze. Thane’s composure had returned, making him appear the stoic warrior once again. Micah had retreated into the living room to stare out the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Gavin strode past Bastian, the very edge of his shoulder skimming the shifter’s.

“Hey,” I said, stopping beside Bastian and resting a hand on his arm. “I’m fine.”

He clenched and unclenched his jaw, gazing down at me with burning amber eyes. “I couldfeelyou,” he rasped. “Your hunger. Your desperation. Your pleasure. I could feel it all.”

Eyes widening, I trailed my hand down his arm and traced the lines of the bonding sigil wrapped around his wrist. The silver light flared brighter at my touch.

“I didn’t realize,” I said, my voice hushed.

I glanced at Gavin, who now waited with Thane and Ash by the door, and thought of how I had known what he wanted to do to me in the bathroom, even if he hadn’t allowed himself to give in to his desires. Had he been able to feel me in the same way when I had been alone with Bastian in the shower? Had he known of the danger I was in before he even returned to the loft? Had he felt the sweet pleasure Bastian coaxed from my body after?

Looked like we were bound together more tightly than I had realized.

Gavin’s eyes met mine. “Whenever you’re ready,” he said coolly.

I nodded and looked at Micah, who had turned away from the window and was crossing the living room. We clustered near the vampires at the door.

“Wards were etched into the foundation and the steel beams framing this building, preventing shifters from entering,” Gavin explained, his hand gripping the doorknob and his head turned so he could eye Bastian sidelong. “Unless they bear a countersigil.” He looked at me. “But only this loft is warded thoroughly enough to repel ghosts. As soon as you cross this threshold, you will be able to see any ghosts who approach you.”

“But you can’t?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Thatis a gift exclusively held by queens,” he said. “Since no one else can detect the spirits, they make excellent scouts. If your sister or any others do appear, I would very much appreciate you sending them out to keep watch. We’re heading across the street to the basement of a neighboring building.”

I narrowed my eyes. “We’re not driving?”

He sliced his chin to the left and then to the right. “We’re traveling by portal,” he said. “That way, we’re only exposed for a few minutes, rather than hours.”

My eyebrows rose. “A portal?” I had only ever heard of the gateways elementals could create linking two distant places. “I’ve never seen one.”

“You have,” Gavin told me. “You just don’t remember.”

My brow furrowed at his implied mention of a shared past I couldn’t remember. “The wards prevent portals here?” I guessed.

Gavin nodded and turned the doorknob, but he didn’t open the door. “Unless you have any more questions . . .” He looked pointedly at the door. When I shook my head, he pulled it open.

Thane and Ash passed through to the landing first, Ash striding ahead to push the button for the elevator while Thane hung back.

Gavin looked at me and nodded to the landing beyond. “Go on,” he said. “I’m right behind you.”