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This is it. It’s happening.

I hold my breath, waiting. But when Noah teases his fangs over my skin, the memory of Ethan ambushes me. I remember the burning pain and the humiliation that followed it.

I recoil on reflex, pulling back, breathing hard and breaking out in a cold sweat. I begin to tremble as too-close memories attack.

“Hey,” Noah says softly, gently capturing my face in his hands and making me meet his eyes. “Are you all right?”

“I’m sorry,” I breathe. “I?—”

“It’s okay.” He moves his hand to the back of my neck, rubbing gently. “You’re not ready.”

“I am,” I say forcefully. “Try again. I’ll be fine this time, I swear.”

“Piper.” Never has anyone spoken my name with so much gentle affection. “We don’t need to rush this. I’m not going anywhere.”

“If we stop now, it will feel like he won,” I admit, whispering even though we’re alone. “Like he left his mark on me and got between us.”

“Nothing and no one is going to get between us—especially not a dead vampire.” Noah smiles a little. “And we don’t have to do anything to prove that.”

“You still want me, right?” I whisper, hating how small my voice sounds.

He laughs softly, resting his forehead against mine. “If I had my way, we wouldn’t leave this bed all day. But that’s not what you need, nor is it what I promised. So, I’m going to get up, take a cold shower, and we’re going to walk on the beach.”

“What about work? Did you find Alfred last night?”

I almost forgot, probably because I had bigger things on my mind.

“He wasn’t in the hotel Ethan led us to. And now we’ve lost our link to him, so we’re back to square one. But I have the intelligence guys trying to track him down.” Noah runs a hand over my back in slow, reassuring circles. “They’ll call when they find something.”

“That reminds me.” I reluctantly leave Noah’s lap to find my phone. “Sam gave me a number before he left. He said it belongs to someone who can help us find Sophia.”

I should have told him last night, but I was so rattled, I forgot.

“Whose number is it?”

“I don’t know—he didn’t say. Do you want me to call it?”

“Not from your phone.” Noah’s mind is already working, and I know he’s back on the search.

“I guess this means the beach has to wait?”

“Maybe for a bit,” he says reluctantly. “But we can at least take an hour to get breakfast. Do you want to walk to the cafe I went to yesterday?”

“Outside?”

“Just put on sunscreen.” His smile turns into a smirk. “Or let me put it on for you.”

“Okay.” Already feeling a little better at the promise of food and sunshine, I say, “I’ll get dressed.”

I takemy blood and pills, slather myself in so much sunscreen I’m probably going to smell like coconut for days, and now I’m outside. Noah holds my hand as we stroll down the beach, our feet in the wet sand as the warm ocean laps at our ankles. I feel as close to normal as I have in weeks.

“I’ll never take the sun for granted again,” I tell him. “If the temperature would drop about twenty degrees, life would be perfect.”

“We’ll come back this winter,” he promises. “Or anywhere else you want to go.”

My phone vibrates in my back pocket. I pull it out and look at the screen. It’s Cassian.

“How are you feeling this morning?” my conservator asks as soon as I answer it.