Page 38 of Fighting for Her Heart

“Does itlooklike I’mfeeding?” Axe growls so low I can barely hear it, but it rumbles through me like distant thunder.

“My apologies for the interruption of your osculation.” Zuben bows. “But the results of our experiment thus far have been most promising. We cannot risk everything now.”

“Ember, Axe,” Mom calls out. “Zuben was supposed to be inviting you into the kitchen.”

Axe lets me slide down his body, and then we follow Zuben to join Nora at the round kitchen table.

“Anyone want food?” she asks.

“I’m okay.” I smile at her, feeling much calmer now, reassured that Ryker’s okay. “But don’t let me stop any of you.”

“Are you hungry boys?” Mom looks between Zuben and Axe. “I can whip something up.”

Axe frowns. “Using magic?”

She laughs. “I was planning on using the stove.”

Axe lifts his hands off the table, palms toward her. “Sorry. Reflex.”

“That’s okay.”

“Can someone go get Ryker?” I ask, and Axe pushes back his chair and rises.

“No,” Zuben says. “If he enters before sunset, we will not know how long he can last.”

“We’ll know tomorrow morning.” I frown, but Zuben stays stoic. “Can someone at least check on him?” I ask.

“Zuben’s been doing that all day.” Mom tips her head toward him.

Zuben slides his chair closer to mine and reaches for my hand. Electricity shoots through me at his rare touch. In spite of the distance he’s put between us, it’s impossible to deny our chemistry. At least from my side.

Zuben looks into my eyes, and I feel like he’s seeing inside me, appreciating me, touching me deeply with his gaze.

“Ryker is well,” he says calmly. “At least physically. For the past several hours, he has been pacing around the porch. If he had more courage he would venture further.”

I draw a long breath. “He promised me that he’d stay close to the house.”

Zuben squeezes my hand. “This is the third day in a row that he has been able to walk in the light since he took your vein. While this is not yet definitive proof that the effects of your blood can be permanent as Nora has hypothesized, it isveryencouraging indeed.”

Smiling, I nod at him, loving how excited he gets when he’s learning something new or analyzing his experiment’s results. Nora opens the fridge and the light illuminates her smug smile. She knows that the effects will become permanent. But even her smugness warms my heart, reminding me of every time she taught me a lesson when I was growing up.

And I’m thrilled that her claim is panning out. Not only is it great for the guys, if they will no longer be confined to the night, her being the one to suggest the possibility should help the men trust her.

“As long as Ryker does not burn today, tonight will be Axel’s last feeding,” Zuben says.

Desire floods me, thinking of what will come in a few hours—Axe’s fangs in my throat, then his big cock inside me. Then later, Ryker’s too. Or maybe we can try both at the same time again. My cheeks are so hot they must be steaming, and my breaths come more quickly.

The front door to the house opens, and I spring to my feet, my chair clattering back onto the pine planked floor. “Ryker!”

I rush down the hallway and Zuben grabs me around the waist, just as I’m about to pull back the curtain.

“Door’s closed,” Ryker calls out.

He pulls back the curtain between us, and I leap from Zuben’s grasp and into my pirate’s arms.

His skin is hot from the sun but not burned, and he smells of fresh air and the forest.

“I survived another day in the sunlight,” Ryker says, “and now you’re going to squeeze me to death?” He chuckles, shaking my body against his, and I loosen my hold to look into his eyes.