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All of it smells foul.

Sorenson just so happens to show up in the city where his ex is living, the one who left him high and dry, the one who only a couple of weeks ago got herself onto the radar of the same government agency he’s visiting? It’s one too many coincidences to be pure happenstance.

I also can’t escape another terrible truth.

Nora’s wrapped up with the Bureau because of me. If that’s how he found her…

Guilt clogging my throat, I set my things aside in the foyer and make my way to where a light is still shining in the kitchen.

Both Travis and Marta, my housekeeper, are waiting in the kitchen when I arrive.

They’ve both worked with me for years. Travis is a demi-fae with some of the keenest hunter’s instincts I’ve ever encountered. Marta’s a half-nymph, half-orc and has a remarkable talent for making people feel comfortable and at ease. Both of them are looking at me with concern as I enter the room.

“Where is she?” I ask.

Marta answers. “In the guest bedroom at the back of the house, the one overlooking the Sound.”

I nod, pleased with that. It’s the best room in the house.

Well, aside from my own bedroom, and as much as I’d rather Nora be there, I’m glad at least she’ll be able to see the amazing view when she wakes up.

“And she’s alright?”

Travis nods. “No sign of Sorenson anywhere downtown. I brought her here straight after she was done working and sent a team to do a sweep of her neighborhood as well.”

“And I made sure she had the necessary toiletries and a few things to wear, per your instructions,” Marta chimes in, smiling softly. “She’s a very kind woman, your Nora.”

My Nora. That’s not quite true, but I don’t have it in me to correct her.

Not in the mood for more small talk, I thank them both for their help tonight and head toward my bedroom. On the way there, I pass by Nora’s door, and everything in me aches to stop, knock, see her, but it’s late, far too late to disturb her.

Still, the urge doesn’t give me a moment of peace as I hop in the shower. It doesn’t abate for a single second as I pull on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, or when I sit down on the edge of my empty bed and massage my aching temples.

Her siren song calls to me now more strongly than ever. Having her so close, knowing she’s here in this place that belongs to me, it calls to something primal and powerful lurking in my soul.

I should keep my distance. I should crawl into bed and surrender to the tendrils of exhaustion that are pulling at my mind and body even now. I should leave her well enough alone, there will be time to talk in the morning.

All those thoughts circle pointlessly in the back of my mind, discarded and ignored, as I walk from my bedroom to hers. Just a look. That’s all I’m going to allow myself. A look to reassure myself she’s truly here and unharmed.

Opening her door with careful ease, I peer inside.

“Elias?”

Nora’s voice pierces the quiet darkness, and it only takes a second for me to find her where she’s sitting silhouetted in one of the chairs in front of the windows. She stands, turning to face me fully.

“I’m sorry,” I say, wincing. “I shouldn’t have disturbed you. I only wanted to make sure you were—”

My words cut off as she runs across the room toward me, and any rational thoughts I might have been holding onto disappear completely when she throws her arms around my neck, pressing herself to me. Wrapping her into an embrace, I hold her even closer, tucking her head into the space between my shoulder and jaw, letting out a ragged breath at the feel of her there.

Mate. My mate. Safe and in my arms. If having her in my home was a powerful, primal thing, then this is something else entirely.

It takes me a few seconds to concentrate on anything other than that instinct and on Nora’s body pressed up against me, but when I do, I realize what she’s wearing. A pair of shorts and a thin cotton tank top that leave her arms and legs bare.

I want to groan out loud.

Though we’re both technically clothed, it feels impossibly intimate, holding her like this. Just a couple of layers between us do nothing to mute the delicious warmth of her skin and the sea salt of her scent.

“How did you get here so fast? Where were you?”