Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement, and before anyone could react, they were surrounded by strangers, but also…Harold and Katherine? All armed with bows and arrows. What the fuck?

“What the hell is going on?” Jeremiah echoed his thoughts.

“It’s simple,” Harold announced in an almost lofty manner. “These two are no longer your concern. We chose a side and, alas, it’s not yours.”

Dison and Rebekah exchanged looks of incredulity.

“B-but you’re forbidden to choose sides!” the leader sputtered.

Unfortunately, Dison had to agree with his executioner. “Harold,” Dison said, touched by the gesture to save them. “The rules.”

“The rules can be bent. Helping you escape and ridding the world of filth is a bend, not a break.”

Jeremiah’s hearty laugh echoed through the early evening air, but his fear was apparent. “You know what will happen to you if you touch me or my crew?”

Harold’s cool blue eyes narrowed. “Same thing that happened to us the last time.” He shot an arrow through Jeremiah’s chest. “Nothing.”

Stunned, the leader’s eyes went wide right before he collapsed to bones and ashes.

Katherine and the others released their own arrows, executing the males who were too shocked to move. They simultaneously disintegrated.

His hands freed, Dison rushed to Rebekah. “Did he touch you? Are you all right?”

“Yes, darling, yes. Oh, my gods.” She flung her arms around him.

“I’m okay,” he assured her while she clung to him.

Adrenaline still humming through his veins, he turned to the ensemble, at a loss to express anything but his astonishment.

He stepped toward Harold. “I’d shake your hand but…” He raised it to show the blood from his lethal act.

Harold nodded. “Understood.”

“Dison,” spoke Rebekah. “He’s a Vesser.”

He froze, in shock.

The innkeeper’s eyes crinkled at the corners.

Dison went down to one knee. “Your imminence. Forgive me. I did not know.”

“That’s the point, Mr. Huxford. I insist you rise. I’m hardly on a throne here.”

Dison rose, aghast. He’d never met a Vesser before, let alone unknowingly been in one’s presence for days at a time. How did he not sense Harold’s vampiric aura?

The Vesser answered him before he could ask. “Most of the time, it’s a Vesser’s choice when he or she wants to leave this realm. Years ago, instead of ascending like most, I chose to stay and watch over our kind and Katherine’s kind, in disguise. A lot less influence and esteem, but I like it. You cannot sense my aura unless I reveal it.” A blue, ethereal glow shone around him as proof.

Dison was in awe. “Killing these men won’t be acceptable from a tavern owner,” he said. “Does Miocic know what you are?”

“Ivan Miocic? Is he the one who sent them? Well, I’m not worried about him. It was his risk to send these hoodlums. I conclude that as long as he’s not the one who has to face consequences, he’ll continue to take chances with others’ lives.”

“It’s hard to believe he would go through all this trouble just for me.” And that he sent someone else to do his dirty work. Usually, Miocic handled such matters directly. He looked back at Rebekah. “Did you know this whole time? That he was a Vesser?”

She shook her head. “No. When I came downstairs tonight, Katherine told me. I knew their inn was a safe place for you to hide, but I didn’t know a Vesser was the owner. I went out to my car and that’s when Jeremiah and his thugs jumped me.”

“She was very brave.” Katherine smiled, proud and elegant, even with a hand-held crossbow in her grasp. “Unfortunately, it took us some time to gather reinforcements. Harold isn’t as powerful as he once was so we must call upon our good friends for help.” She sent a look to the silent men who’d accompanied them and they departed in the fog, almost like ghosts. She set her gaze back on Dison and Rebekah. “I trust you will also safeguard Harold’s secret.”

“You have our word,” Dison solemnly vowed.

“Happiness is within your reach,” she said, looking between them. “You will find it, even in the darkest times for your kind. Which are closer than you realize. You two will make it.”

Rebekah came up beside him and took his hand in hers. “You have the sight?”

She nodded. The way Harold gazed at his wife proved why he chose to stay in the earth realm. Odd. A Vesser in love with a human psychic. Dison wondered what kind of story they had to tell. Vessers were on a higher plane of intelligence and knowledge due to their advanced years…mixing with another species just wasn’t done, even after they “retire.” Clearly Katherine wasn’t an ordinary woman.

As the four of them walked back to the inn, Dison frowned. Even though he and his beloved had been spared, their troubles were far from over. In fact, they were just starting. Regardless of where he ran, there would be someone after him. Now he knew how Marex must feel.

While Rebekah went upstairs with Katherine to collect their things, Dison remained on the main floor with Harold, who pulled him aside.

“Dison, I can tell you’re anxious about your future. You should be. However, these things have a tendency to dissolve of their own accord. Especially with a man of your talent and mind.”

“I don’t want to go back.”

Pleased, Harold took his hand and handed him the unmistakable, powerful, and ornate key every vampire would recognize. “Then go to the Centurias. You can gain back the respect and privilege you gave up. Even Mr. Miocic cannot touch you. He’ll have to wait until the Centurias ends. By then you could have a shield of protection even he can’t penetrate.”

Shocked, Dison glanced at the key glowing in his palm. “The royals will be there. It’d be dangerous nonetheless. I don’t need the Centurias to ensure my future. I went pretty far without it.”

“I admire your courage, Dison. Truly, I do. But this isn’t just about you anymore. Think of Rebekah as well. With the right meetings and alliances, you could become more than an advisor, and you both will be protected.”

“You mean I could become one of them. I have no interest in doing that. It cost me years I can’t get back. It cost me Rebekah.”

“Funny how you assume that by me suggesting you become one of them, I’m advising you to change. You’re mistaken. I’m expecting you to do the opposite. Be yourself. Start a fresh leadership. Our kind is starved for it.”

“I don’t want that kind of position.” Saying the words didn’t make them true. A part of him hungered for the opportunity to attend the most coveted of all vampire gatherings.

“Oh? What do you want? You’ve been cast out. An immortal forsaken, if you will. Indeed, the best place for you is back in their midst or else hide from our world indefinitely.”

The Vesser had a point, but Dison couldn’t do that to Rebekah. He’d promised her he’d changed. The thought of betraying her churned his stomach.

As she came down the steps with Katherine, looking so beautiful and alive, he softly cursed and handed Harold his key. “Thank you, but I just can’t.”

While the innkeepers weren’t looking, Dison took some of the cash he had and stuffed it in the guestbook. Enough for them to take a holiday or refurnish the tavern. He knew they wouldn’t accept it otherwise. He had plenty in a Swiss account, and a few gold pieces to pilfer off.

They said their goodbyes to the couple and left in Rebekah’s car with the directions to a cottage where they could stay for a few days, make a plan, and perform the avowal ritual.

Two hours passed and neither of them had said much during the drive. He knew she sensed his distant attitude, and when she suggested he pull over for a break, he reluctantly conceded.

The moon hung bright, energizing and soothing at the same time, but did nothing to lighten his mood. Rebekah climbed out and perched on the car’s boot, waiting for him. He turned off the ignition and joined her.

“Katherine told me something,” she said as he came round.

“What did she say?”

“That knowing your future doesn’t necessarily help you. That’s why circumstances must happen to you without foresight. Otherwise, we’d never learn and grow. For instance, you didn’t leave that life until Kristof was killed. That one moment propelled you to make a move.”

“I’d already decided to leave before that.”

“Yes, but you never did. Not until you were forced out.”

True. Would he have ever left on his own? Or would he have kept putting it off indefinitely?

“Dison,” she said, taking his hand. “You were wasted on the royals. You sought to elevate your station, and you did. But once there, you only cared about helping others. Your family. People who’d lost their pensions and savings by scam artists. You secretly shifted money from the rich to help the unfortunate. And when I heard Eisley had been dispatched to help Nadine and free Marex, I knew it was you who’d sent him.”

He twisted his mouth. Honestly, he hadn’t thought about all the good he’d done over the years. Rebekah saw more in him than he did. “I helped him because I respect his vision. Peace with the shifters would be a brilliant new phase in all our lives. You know…I was friends with Nadine’s fiancé. He was killed for attempting the same mission. Years later, when I told her of this man named Marex making waves toward uniting vamps and shifters, she told me she’d been dreaming of him. That he was her fated.” He sighed. “But then Marex was captured. I knew from the beginning he was framed. Just as they’d killed my friend, they were trying to kill him. So I sent Eisley along to ensure she succeeded in breaking Marex out.”

“You took a chance for a friend. And I agree about an alliance with shifters.”

Another shock of the night. “You do?”

“Hm.” She nodded, sliding her hands up his chest. “I kissed one once.”

“What?” he exclaimed. “I’ll kill him.” He seriously would.

She laughed. “Come now. It happened a long time ago. They’re quite seductive. Especially those alphas.” She pouted at his dark look. “What? You’re angry I kissed someone else, Dison? I don’t even want to know how many females you took to bed—”

“If I did, I don’t remember any of them.” He yanked her legs around his waist.

“Oh, I’m sure.” She linked her hands around him, nuzzling her nose along his jaw. “If you agree making peace with them is wise, then why stop at breaking Marex out? Why not go all the way?”

Desire ignited in him, his cock hardening in his jeans. All he could think about now was being inside her again. “Go all the way to where?”

“The Centurias. I know Harold offered you the key.”

He met her eyes. “I couldn’t take it. I swore to you—”

“And I love you endlessly for it.” She reached in her pocket and produce the antique key on a chain. “While you were stuffing their book with money, Harold gave the key to me, and said we’d have to make the decision together. This is different than seeking a place in high society, Dison. Marex needs an ally like you in his sphere supporting him.”

So Harold gave her the key, and she accepted it? He wondered why the Vesser believed in him so much, when he barely knew him. “I agree, but that would make you and I even more unpopular with the royals, not to mention the humans who will stop at nothing to keep us at war. Not everyone seeks an accord with the shifters. It’s an uphill battle, Rebekah.”

She searched his eyes. “What’s your biggest fear?”

“Losing you. Losing sight of who I want to be. I’ve lost both before.”

“You won’t.” She fastened the chain around his neck and tucked the key inside his shirt. “I know you. You won’t be satisfied living an ordinary life and neither would I,” she emphasized. “I need to be surrounded by art and culture and music. You are everything to my heart and soul, but I require constant stimulation...”

He ran a hand up her thigh. She jerked and gasped. A half-smile moved his mouth. “I’ll stimulate you every day of your life.”

She gave a throaty laugh. “Are you even listening to me—?”

He kissed her, easing her back and lifting her top over her breasts. She arched with a moan. So responsive and open to his love. Back when they were first together, he’d taken their relationship for granted. A part of him had believed he wouldn’t be able to keep her, and that night when she asked him to choose between her and his ambition, well, he’d chosen poorly. He squeezed his eyes against the pain and longing he’d suffered ever since. He’d thought she deserved a better man, and that one day she would find him.

Now he was the better man. Or at least, working his way toward it.

Thank the gods he had her in his life again. By himself, he was strong, but with Rebekah, indestructible. “You’re right. I’m not an idle man and never will be. Purpose drives me. A treaty with shifters? Well, I can’t think of anything more fun than attempting the impossible.” He dipped his head to the swell of her breasts and whispered, “Let’s attempt the impossible together.”

Tracing his mouth along her breast, he vowed to rise above his petty goals for something larger, more important, and stay true. “I love you more than I can bear, Rebekah. Before we attempt anything, we need to perform the avow ritual. I’m not going another day without making you mine before the gods.”

“Yes. Tonight.” She sat up and grasped his face. “Not a day more.”

He kissed her lips with unbreakable promise. “After we leave the cottage, we’ll make our way to Geneva. I need to withdraw cash from a bank account. From there, we can make arrangements to hide out until the Centurias. I doubt Miocic will look beyond the UK.”

“Let’s hope not.” She pulled her shirt down. “I have friends who have houses in every imaginable setting. I can think of a few who can keep a secret.”

He brushed his mouth along hers, the smile on his lips teasing. “You’re the expert in keeping secrets after all.”

“Very funny. I’m sure there are many things you haven’t told me.”

“That’s because I’ve only just found you. Or rather, you’ve only just found me.”

She pushed at him and hopped off the boot, going around to the passenger side. “Liar. You found me several times, Dison Huxford. You know it. I know it.”

Dumbfounded, he climbed in the driver’s side. “What do you mean?”

She slanted a look his way. “Don’t play stupid. You. Showing up in Dublin. Florence? New York…”

He gaped at her. “You saw me?”

“I felt you. I always could. But those times, whenever I looked up, you weren’t there, but I knew. The result was always the same. Every time I went to bed those nights, I cried myself to sleep, as if I’d lost you all over again. You kept coming close to me, but never reached out. It was agony.” She finally turned her gaze toward his. “I didn’t understand.”

So she really had feel his presence? “Why didn’t you tell me? When you knew I ached for you?”

“I couldn’t,” she choked out, shaking her head. “I knew you’d only push me away. You weren’t ready. And truth be told I didn’t want to be part of your world. Not until you walked away from it because you wanted to, not because I asked you to.”

“But I…” He paused. Would he have turned his back in those early days when he’d just started making five figures a month? Would he have given up the rewards of his hard work to be an average vampire again? He would now, but not then. “You were right to keep your distance, as was I. Those times I went looking for you, were when I was going through the darkest of days. I had no one to talk to, no one I took comfort in. So I’d look for you. The search alone gave me life again. And when I saw you…” He cupped her cheek. “By the gods, when I saw you, I could finally exhale. I knew everything wasn’t nearly as awful as long as you were still in the world. It wasn’t just desire that drew me to you, it was feeling whole again.”

She moved her cheek farther into his hand and he sighed, the peace and love inside him a constant now, instead of fleeting. She had to know the depth of his love, and there was no holding back anymore. “Seeing you laugh, or smile, or admire a painting. I remembered how I made you smile, made you laugh, the way you used to look at me when we were happy. I longed to talk to you, touch you, but my hands were dirty.” He frowned. “My life conflicted. The royals… I couldn’t let any of them know about you. That’s why after the third time I found you, I told myself it was the last time.” He prayed they still didn’t know, though it was likely Jeremiah or one of his men had relayed that Dison was being helped by a woman. The longer they didn’t know her identity, the safer she was.

Her lips brushed his palm, eyes closed. “I knew it. I knew when I hadn’t felt you for over two years that I would never see you again. That’s when I got your address, very close to standing at your front door. Then a close friend told me about one of your client’s dubious bank accounts, and the idea hit me to write to you under a disguise. When you wrote back, I felt sane again.”

Knowing that each of them had withstood a state of needing one another erupted a blinding lust Dison could barely contain. It was overwhelming, poignant, begging to be fed. He yearned to pull her on his lap and make love fast and furiously, to ease the need, be inside her, close to her, claim her. But the car was so small, and to linger on the side of the road was a risk.

Because he knew one taste of her lips would start something he couldn’t stop, he picked up her hand and kissed the back of that instead. “We should go. It’s another hour to the cottage.”

“Yes, let’s hurry,” she breathed, the passion in her eyes giving away her own sexual need.

He threw the car into drive and sped off, trying to keep the speedometer needle from shooting all the way to the max.

Neither spoke, the tension thick and unbearable, the knowledge they were getting closer to a haven enough to keep from delaying the course.

That was, until she brushed her hand over his thigh and crotch, awakening his cock with that feather touch. He tensed, slamming his foot on the accelerator, then easing off. “Rebekah, please.” Was it a please don’t? Or a please do? He didn’t fucking know.

The whimper from her made his cock throb and strain even more.

She unbuckled her seatbelt and turned toward him. His grip on the steering wheel tightened, his knuckles white, his mind racing as fast as the automobile.

“What are you doing?” he asked as she dipped her head under his arm. When she unzipped his pants, he groaned, head falling back. Gods… should he stop her? Could he?

As soon as her lips grazed his sensitive head, he didn’t bother to try, shocked, but eager to fill her mouth. She toyed with him at first, pressing small kisses on his head, flicking her tongue, wetting him. He moved his arm to grip the shoulder of her seat, to give her more room, so he could glance down and see her beautiful blonde head in his lap.

She took him in her mouth.

“Fuck!” He slammed the gas again, the needle shooting to a harrowing speed.

On and on she moved up and down on him, the ecstasy scrambling so fast and heady, he knew he was going to come quick. The battle to keep his eyes from rolling in the back of his head and his hands from freeing the wheel was a new rush he kind of enjoyed. His focus was a seesaw of what was more important. To surrender to lust was too easy; keeping the car on the road and maintaining control was the challenge, all the while she deep throated his shaft, her breasts crushed on his thigh.

Holy shit she was a wanton creature, and she wasn’t even avowed to him yet.

Her little noises, the motion of going all the way down on him and coming up, sucking hard on his tip was too much. His hips involuntarily pushed his hips up, the unstoppable rise shooting to his groin and spine.

What speed was he going? The needle started to blur.

Faster she sucked, gripping him hard, stroking him.

“Rebekah,” he choked out, coursing through the bursts of lust leading him to the highest peak. He let out a yell, knuckles white, heedless of the reckless speed, catapulted into perfect physical joy, temporarily blind. He panted and heaved, gritting his teeth, until finally, the pleasure sucked him in. With a deep moan, he released himself inside her mouth.

He pulled back his foot from the gas with a gulp.

Rebekah swallowed, licked the tip, then tucked his member back and zipped and buttoned the pants.

When she pushed up and swiped her mouth with the back of her hand, she appeared the cat who consumed the canary, eyes hooded and shining with satisfaction.

“There. I couldn’t take it anymore,” she said, settling back in her seat.

He gave her a hazy smile. “Well. You did what you had to do.” With a shaky exhale, he ran a hand over his slightly sweaty face, then adjusted in his seat, his body so relaxed he could pass right out. “Not too sure we should try that again, however.”

She laughed softly and leaned back in her seat with small stretch. “If you can keep your sensa from taking up all the air in here, then maybe I won’t.”

He could do no such thing, and she knew it. “We’re doomed. If we can’t keep our hands off each other now, what will it be like after the avowal?”

Her hand came to the back of his nape and caressed. “Paradise.”