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“Okay.” He let go of her and she slowly stood up. “See you in the morning, then.”

“I’ll be here.”

“Good to know.” She went back to bed and slid between the sheets. With an exhausted sigh, she closed her eyes.

“You don’t need to come and find me. You’ll know if I’ve really gone.”

“How?”

“You won’t sense me in your head.”

“That would be a blessing.”

She waited but he didn’t reply, and she gradually relaxed again. She might not have come to terms with him, or anything in her life yet, but she was glad he was there.

In her head.

In her heart?

With a groan, she rolled over and went to sleep.

* * *

“Coffee?”

Vadim held up the half-empty pot as Ella came out of the bathroom.

She stared at him as if he were speaking Russian and briefly closed her eyes.

Her blond hair was standing on end as if she’d stuck her finger in an electrical outlet.

He wouldn’t put it past her. Concealing a smile, he found one of the mugs he’d just rewashed, filled it with coffee and put it on the countertop next to her.

“Do you want me to toast you a bagel?”

She clambered up onto the kitchen stool and nodded, both hands wrapped around her mug of coffee as she inhaled the rising steam. He sliced the bagel, put it in the toaster and went to the refrigerator to get the cream cheese.

“I went out for a run earlier, so I got some supplies.”

She sipped at her coffee, and her shoulders slowly came down from around her ears. It had been a stressful couple of days. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” He turned away and studied the newspaper until the bagel was toasted. “Did you sleep well?”

“I think so. I don’t remember dreaming or anything.”

“That’s good.” He’d had enough nightmares for both of them. He was surprised he hadn’t woken her. “I’m not planning on going into the office today. How about you?”

“Hold it. Stop with the casual small talk.” She pointed her knife at him. “Why aren’t you on that plane going back to Russia with Alexei?”

“Because the SBLE decided I should stay here.”

“Why?”

He shrugged. “I have no idea.”

“They don’t know about…us, do they?”

“I should imagine they’ll work it out fairly quickly when you don’t start going insane on your birthday.”

“Oh, damn. I’d forgotten about that. Maybe I could pretend to go nuts?”

“And lose the job you love so much?” Ignoring her impression of sticking her fingers down her throat, he stuck another bagel in the toaster. “And remember, they won’t necessarily know to whom you’re mated, just that you are mated.”

“But won’t everyone wonder why you’re still here?”

“The last I heard, everyone was hoping I’d stay because I’m the only partner you’ve ever worked with that you respect.”

She stuck out her tongue at him. He handed her another bagel.

“So you’re planning on staying, then?”

Despite the casual nature of her question, he heard the serious intent behind it.

“I thought I’d made that quite clear.”

“Are you afraid I’ll go nuts if you don’t?”

He smiled down at his coffee. “No, I’m afraid I’ll go nuts. I don’t think I would function very well if I couldn’t be with you.”

She slammed her mug down on the countertop. “Morosov, don’t say things like that. You’re supposed to be running away from me, not offering yourself up for more punishment.”

“It’s just the way it is.”

“I don’t like it.” She bit into her bagel and crumbs flew everywhere. He resisted the urge to fetch a dustpan and brush and gather them up. Maybe it would be better to wait until she finished…

“I can’t change my nature, Ella.”

“As to that.” She swiveled on her seat so that she could face him. “What exactly are you? I know you’re a swan shifter and some kind of Fae royalty. Is there anything else you’d like to tell me?”

“Don’t you think that’s enough to be getting along with?” He darn well hoped so. He had no intention of telling her the rest unless he was in mortal peril. “I’m sure you have questions.”

She held out her coffee mug. “Fill this up first, and then we’ll talk.”

He studied her bunny pajamas and tatty white robe. “Don’t you want to get dressed first?”

“Why? We’re not going anywhere, are we?” She slid off the stool and headed for the couch.

Vadim waited until her back was turned and swiftly cleaned up the crumbs, put her plate in the sink and wiped off the surfaces. Picking up his own cup of coffee, he joined her on the couch. She’d kicked off her slippers. Her toenails were bright pink with orange sparkles. He wanted to kiss them…

He was in deep shit.

“So tell me about the shape-shifting first.”

He forced his gaze back up to her face. “One of my…grandfathers is the current swan king. I get the ability from him.”

“It’s not much use is it? What can a swan actually do? Peck someone to death?”

“They can do much more than that.”

“Yeah?” She tucked her feet up under her. “I hear they’re really good at ballet and telling fairy tales, as well.”

He took a long, slow breath and let it out through his nose. “Are you just going to mock, or are you actually interested in learning about the abilities you’ve acquired?”

“You have no sense of humor, Morosov.”

“I believe you have enough for both of us.” He stopped talking and just stared at her.

She sighed. “I suppose you can fly, right? That’s quite useful. Can I do that?” By mating with him, she’d acquired his Otherworld powers, and he’d stabilized her empath abilities. In fact, she’d come out of the deal really well. Maybe she should be more grateful.

“If you practice.”

“Do I have to shape-shift?” She leaned forward. “ Can I shape-shift?”

“I’m not sure. With my other powers, I can just grow wings and fly. I should imagine you’d be able to do that too.”

“That’s kind of cool.” She picked up the cushion next to her. “And if you shed, I’ll never have to worry about stuffing my cushions again.”

He sipped his coffee. “How long are you going to keep this up?”

“The jokes?”

He inclined his head a frigid inch.

“For as long as I can think of them.”

“Fine. Do you have any other questions for me?”

“I sure do, buster, don’t think I’m that easy. Why didn’t you mention that your grandmother is the queen of the Fae?”

“She’s one of the queens. There are several warring factions in Otherworld.”

“I know that, but I asked around the office yesterday, and she’s considered the most powerful one at the moment.”

“I didn’t mention it, because it never came up.”

“Bullshit. You didn’t mention it, because you hate being associated with anything from Otherworld.”

“Maybe that, as well.” He was willing to concede the point if it kept her from inquiring further. “And as I told you before, the more I talk about my Otherworld connections, the more likely they are to become aware of me.”

“Because you’ve been trying to hide out here and pass as human.”

“Obviously not very successfully.”

“You were doing pretty well, until I dragged you back there.”

“Trust me, I’d love to blame you, but Rossa already knew I was here and was keeping an eye on me. It was just a matter of time before my grandmother found a way to try and force me back there.”

“Why does she want you back?”

“Because I performed certain tasks for her and the Fae.”

“Magical ones?”

“Usually.”

“But what good is a shape-shifting swan?”

“You’d be surprised.” She’d be horrified, but he definitely wasn’t going to get into that. He stood up and held out his mug. “I’m getting more coffee. Do you want some?”

“No thanks.” She handed him her empty mug. “Stick it in the sink. I’ll use it later.”

With an inward shudder, he put her mug in the dishwasher and refilled his own. “You’re still a bit low on food. Do you want to go to the supermarket?”

She stretched her arms over her head and yawned until her jaw cracked. “I suppose I should.”

His cell phone went off, and a second later he heard hers ring too. She wandered into the bedroom to get it as he answered his.

“Mr. Feehan.”

“Vadim. We have a situation here. Can you liaise with Ella and meet her at San Francisco General? There’s a man there I want you both to see.”

“I’ll do that, Mr. Feehan. We’ll see you there as soon as we can.”

He looked up to see Ella in the doorway of her bedroom, phone clamped to her ear. “It’s Feehan. He left a message. He wants us to meet him at the hospital.” She pouted. “So much for our day off.”

Vadim shut his cell phone and put it back in his pocket. “How soon can you be ready to go?”

“Give me five minutes.” She checked her cell. “There’s a ferry leaving at ten, if we hurry. Where did you put my coat?”

“In the closet with mine.”

She turned a slow circle. “Which closet?”

“The one by the front door, where you are supposed to hang things.”

“Really?” She wandered over to it and opened it. “I always wondered what it was for.”

She tossed him his coat and suit jacket and retrieved her own. “I’ll just be a minute.”

In less than ten, they were walking down the hill toward the ferry, which had just docked.

A stream of tourists poured from the gangplank, their eager faces scanning the small town and exclaiming at the views back across the bay.

Getting through them made Vadim feel like a lone salmon fighting to swim upstream against the current.

They made it just in time and headed for the top desk.

He would never tire of the view or the experience of approaching a great city by water.

It was the first place he’d ever considered putting down roots.

He glanced down at Ella in her blue and orange knitted hat, denim jacket and pink ripped jeans.

But maybe it wasn’t the place. Maybe it was her.

His grandmother might have meddled in his life simply to force him back to Otherworld, but she’d started a whole chain of events he didn’t even dare contemplate.

He had no doubt that less benign forces would soon be on his tail, demanding his return.

But now he had a mate to fight for and a reason to live.

He slowly shook his head. He was not going back willingly.

They’d have to come and get him, and even in this realm, his powers still trumped most of theirs.

With one snap of his fingers he could annihilate the entire city that lay before him.

He smiled as they approached the pier. Let them come. He’d be more than ready.