Page 20

It takes me all of two seconds to accept Noah’s invitation.

He welcomes me, pulling me against him when I crawl onto his lap. I drape my arms over his shoulders, suddenly needing the connection.

Yesterday was horrifying. It was violent. But it’s over. Today, I need comfort and reassurance.

Sensing my strange mood, Noah surrounds me with his arms, tucking me close, every touch and kiss infinitely gentle. He cups the back of my head, sliding his fingers into my hair, kissing my bottom lip, then my top one. Silently asking me to trust him.

And I do.

Fireworks bloom in my stomach as he deepens the kiss. I sink against him, feeling molten. Neither of us is in a hurry. The kiss is long and languid.

Noah's cell phone rings. He ignores it.

A couple laughs loudly as they pass by our door in the hall. We ignore that, too.

One of Noah’s hands moves to my thigh. He grips it, his palm warm. I’ve never felt safer than I do right now, reveling in each other’s kisses in our private cocoon, separated from the reality that waits for us beyond the hotel room door.

I’m not sure how long we’ve been making out when my hands stray to the hem of his shirt. The cotton is soft against my fingers, comforting. But I want it gone.

When I tug at the fabric, Noah pauses, stroking the back of my head as he meets my eyes. Releasing me, he pulls his shirt up and over his head, tossing it at the end of the bed.

My eyes drop to his tanned chest and abs, snagging on every hardened ridge.

He draws in a breath when I drag my fingers over him, going still, his muscles firm.

I trail my hand over his side, and then his chest, finally pressing my palm to his shoulder, using him as an anchor. Needing his stability.

“Noah,” I say when the ache in my chest becomes too much. “You know Ethan bit me.”

His eyes flash with anger, but his grip on my leg softens. He soothes it over my skin, his touch tender. “I do.”

“I scrubbed my skin raw last night, trying to get him off me.”

His eyebrows lower slightly, and he moves his hand to my cheek. “I noticed.”

I’m fine now. My body healed from the slight abrasion before I woke up this morning.

“Does it bother you?” I whisper.

Noah’s hand drifts to my neck, and he rubs his thumb over the invisible wound. “A stolen bite doesn’t make you his. You are mine .”

His words are a balm to my internal wounds—a reassurance that Ethan’s unwanted bite didn’t taint me.

“It hurt,” I whisper. “And I was terrified.”

Noah closes his eyes, trying to hide his rage so he won’t scare me, but I can feel it in his muscles.

I press a kiss to his lips. “I want you to erase it.”

He slowly opens his eyes, studying me. His honeyed gaze darkens, and a concerned frown touches his features. “How?”

“Bite me,” I whisper.

His pulse quickens, and the air between us becomes charged.

“Please, Noah.”

I know Ethan’s bite didn’t change my line—it didn’t suddenly make me his.

But bites have power in this strange vampire world I’m suddenly a part of.

Ethan knew it. That’s why he attacked me.

It wasn’t to finish the job he started so we could be together in monster immortality.

It was to dominate me, to make me submit to him, and show I was weak.

And I hate it.

After several long seconds, Noah touches my chin and tilts my face to the side. I’m exposed and vulnerable, but I’m not scared. Not of Noah.

“Are you sure?” he asks quietly.

When I nod, he brings his lips to the underside of my jaw, barely brushing a kiss over my skin, taking his time.

I think he’s nervous.

I’m nervous, too.

Slowly, Noah feathers kisses down my throat. Tentatively, he runs his tongue over my pulse point, making my skin tingle. I tighten my grip on his shoulder, urging him to keep going.

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 take my 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.

“A lot better, mostly because I’m not trapped inside.”

“Are you burning at all?”

“I’m fine so far. We had breakfast in an outdoor cafe, and the seats were shaded.”

“Just don’t overdo it, all right? If your skin starts to feel warm, you need to go back inside.”

“I know what a sunburn feels like.”

“Yes, but you don’t know what one feels like as a vampire.”

“Did you call that number yet?”

Noah ended up texting it to Cassian while I was getting ready.

“I’ve called several times, but I haven’t gotten an answer, and there’s no voicemail set up.”

“Can your NIHA intelligence people track down the owner of the number?”

“I’ve already talked to them. It’s an unregistered phone with pre-paid minutes.”

“Well, there goes that.”

“I’m not giving up yet,” Cassian says, and he certainly sounds determined. “We only have a few more days before the nominations are announced.”

I lower my voice so people passing by on the sidewalk won’t overhear me. “Do you think they’ll really kill Sophia if you accept the nomination?”

“I don’t know.” He sighs, sounding weary. “But it’s not a risk I want to take.”

I want to assure him we’ll find her, but that’s not something I can promise. The only link to Sophia I brought to the table was Ethan, and he’s not talking anytime soon. Or, you know, ever. Cause he’s dead.

A memory of him bleeding on the break room floor makes me shiver despite the humid, sticky heat of the Florida afternoon.

He’s not the first dead guy I’ve seen, but I’m not sure it’s something a person can ever fully get used to. Or something someone should get used to, even if they’re a vampire. We must have something separating us from true monsters, after all.

“Are you back at the hotel?” I ask.

“I got back a few minutes ago. Are you heading this way?”

“Soon,” I hedge.

Again, Cassian reminds me not to stay out too long, and then we end the call.

“Now what?” I ask Noah.

“Let’s get you out of the sun.”

Feeling like a toddler dragging her feet, I follow Noah back to the hotel room.

We smile at an older couple that joins us in the elevator. They get off at the second floor, and then we’re alone.

Noah tugs me into him, holding me. No kisses, no expectations. Just the sweetest embrace.

I lay my head against him, closing my eyes, content after an hour of fresh air.

“You smell like a pina colada.” Noah playfully tugs at my ponytail.

“You smell like an alpine forest covered in morning dew.”

Noah barks out a laugh. “What?”

“Your deodorant smells amazing.”

“Remind me to keep buying that brand.”

Smiling, I step away from him when we reach our floor and the doors open. We leave the elevator hand-in-hand, yesterday’s attack forgotten…until we arrive at the room and find a man leaning against our door.

His sandy brown hair is cut short, and his jaw is smoothly shaven.

Wearing khaki-colored shorts, a navy blue polo shirt, and white boat shoes, he’s the preppiest person I’ve seen in my life.

He looks like he should be sipping expensive mineral water on the deck of a sailboat, talking to his fellow yuppies about the stock market.

He turns toward us, a bored look on his pretty face. “Hello, Montgomery,” he says in a cultured British accent. “I heard you’ve been looking for me?”