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Moon stripped his lover to his boxers and got him tucked under the covers before slipping into the bed from the other side. Upon returning to the Zhang clan house a month ago, Moon had given up on the guest room and moved into Chen’s room. There was no point in pretending he wanted to be anywhere else. Besides, sleeping in Chen’s bed made it easier to seduce the vampire.

Not that Chen needed to be seduced. The sexy vampire’s appetite was as bottomless as Moon’s.

Except for tonight.

He remained tense even while lying in bed, his eyes staring unblinking at the shadowy ceiling.

“Come here,” Moon whispered, pulling on Chen until the vampire rolled over and rested his head Moon’s chest. His arm curled around Moon’s waist, cuddling him close. A tiny smile tugged at Moon’s lips as he smoothed a hand through Chen’s silky hair. “Talk to me. What parts of our plan have you most anxious?”

“All of it.” Chen’s voice was little more than a low rumble through the darkness. “Any part of it could go wrong, and they could wipe us out. And we’ve done nothing to verify Huli’s intelligence. What if he’s wrong? What if he’s lying?”

“No,” Moon snapped. “He’s not lying. He wouldn’t do that. It’s too dangerous. He has to know Xiao Dan is going to use his information to secure Yichen. There’s no way he’d do anything to risk Xiao Dan’s life. If anything, he stayed too long and risked his own life to make sure what he told us is as accurate as possible.”

Chen lifted his head to look at Moon, who could feel more than see the man’s glare. “You seem to have a lot of confidence in the huli jing’s feelings for my shixiong.”

“He followed you from China.” Moon enunciated each word and then placed a kiss on Chen’s jaw. “Plus, hasn’t he been harassing Xiao Dan for how many centuries now? I think that’s some pretty solid attachment there. He might not be overly fond of the rest of the clan, but he is thoroughly attached to Xiao Dan. He won’t do anything to hurt him, and that includes hurting his family.”

A low huff escaped Chen as he put his head on Moon’s chest again. “I don’t trust him,” he grumbled. “But…finding Yichen for us was a step in the right direction.”

“You are right. Talking to him a month ago, I realized he doesn’t think like us. It’s something we have to keep in mind with him. I don’t believe he’s intentionally malicious or evil. Just…different.”

Chen’s arm tightened around Moon’s waist and he rubbed his cheek on his heart. “I would not see Da-ge hurt by him.”

No, his grumpy and sometimes icy vampire hid a giant heart and all he wanted to do was protect those he loved from pain. If Chen’s job was to protect his clan, Moon’s was to protect his vampire. And that was fine with him. Keeping Chen safe was turning out to be a full-time job.

“Moon? Have you given any more thought to my question?”

Every muscle in his body tensed at once. There was no hiding his reaction from Chen, not when the other man was wrapped up so tightly. There was no question as to what he was referring to. Moon still hadn’t decided if he was willing to become a vampire.

Not the easiest of questions to answer, though it was also one he never thought someone would ask him.

“You…you don’t need to say anything. I don’t wish you to feel forced into anything,” Chen mumbled. His arm was loosening around Moon’s waist, and he could feel the vampire pulling away.

Moon rolled them so that Chen was now lying on his back, and Moon was hovering above him. “This isn’t a question that I want to take lightly, baby.”

“I appreciate that.”

Shifting in the bed, Moon released Chen and inched back. They lay on their sides, facing each other. His fingers tips ran across Chen’s chest, lingering over his heart before slipping down to follow the lines of old scars.

“While everyone was discussing plans, I stole a minute to talk to Fox. Since he’s dating a vampire, I figured Winter might have asked him the same question.” Moon paused and chewed on his bottom lip until Chen placed his hand over Moon’s wandering one, pressing it into his cool skin.

“Did he warn you against it?” Chen asked.

“No. Well, not technically. He’s agreed to allow Winter to change him…in a few years. Or if he’s badly injured. The thing is…no one knows for sure what would happen to a witch if a vampire changes him. There’s a belief that we would lose our ability to use magic. At least, it’s highly suspected for the earth witches. For a blood witch…”

“Any number of strange things could happen,” Chen finished.