Sydney found Kellan in Lucas’s bedroom, kicked back on the bed with his arms behind his head, and Lucas nowhere in sight.

See what I get for doing a load of laundry in order to give them privacy? I missed out on all the good stuff. She’d been gone less than ten minutes, but she’d wanted to wash the outfit she’d worn the night of Emily’s bloodletting. Err, turning.

Which reminded her, she had to address that topic again with Kellan. Unless she intended to remain half-vamped forever.

She cleared her throat and waited until he glanced her way. Sunlight slashed over his chiseled cheekbones and dipped into the shallow dent on his chin. He was truly a gorgeous man, and he was all hers. Or would be, she hoped, after she stopped letting sex speak for her and managed to tell him how she truly felt.

“Where’s Luke?”

“My guess? Doing a futile search of Emily’s apartment.”

She walked over to the bed and sat down beside him. Idly, she stroked his hair. “You told him about Budapest, didn’t you?”

“I owed him that much.”

Sighing, she curled up against his side and rested her head on his chest when he wrapped his arm around her. “Why does it have to be so difficult for them?”

“Like it’s been a cakewalk for us?” Amusement laced the question. “Unless I’m mistaken, you ran out of here in your nightgown with your ex-boyfriend and didn’t contact me for weeks. Weeks I spent mostly in bed.”

She peered up at him. “You did not.”

“I did so. I’d say to ask Luke, but he has other things on his mind at the moment.”

“Why didn’t you come after me?”

“You expected me to,” he replied simply, cupping her cheek to bring her mouth to his.

His lips were warm and soft and he still tasted of her coffee. She knew he drank more of it when he was agitated, and they’d both certainly had cause. At least for the moment they could enjoy each other without worrying about the future or the past mistakes they couldn’t change.

As his tongue slipped into her mouth, she tugged it deeper, sucking hard. He groaned and shifted until she was beneath him on the mattress. Her short sundress tangled around her hips as they rolled over Lucas’s bed, laughing and kissing and pulling at clothes until both were naked and hot skin rubbed against hot skin. She moaned when he took her nipple between his teeth, tugging and twisting while need flared deep in her pussy.

“Kellan,” she whispered, closing her hand around as much of his thick, hard length as she could manage. “I want you to take me hard enough to make me forget the weeks we spent apart.”

His head lifted, gold eyes glittering like the sun. “Such things you ask of me.”

“I think you’re up to the task.” A soft giggle escaped her before she bit her lip against the laughter lurking in her throat.

She shouldn’t be laughing now. Her best friend was on her unholy quest, a newly turned vampire and alone for all intents and purposes. And poor Luke. Though Syd didn’t doubt he would find Emily, there was no guarantee he’d get there in time.

That wasn’t even taking her own predicament into account. She was like a vampire orphan, with no one to take her home.

Maybe she should have argued more with Emily, even insisted that she and Kellan accompany her, although she hadn’t wanted anyone else to know about her stepfather and her plans. But still. She shouldn’t be alone, not now. And here she was rolling around Lucas’s bed, happily nude, with the man she loved.

“Syd?” Kellan rolled his thumb over her lower lip. “Where did you go?”

“I’m sorry.”

He pulled her as close as possible and buried his face in her hair. “You don’t have to be sorry. I’m thinking about them, too. And us. What it all means.”

“Not now.” She wriggled against him, moving up and down until the tip of his cock brushed her wet entrance. “I want you. Actually, no. I need you.”

“I need you, too. Always.” He kissed her hungrily, his fingers cradling her cheeks. “More than I ever thought possible.”

She wrapped her legs around his waist and arched against him in blatant invitation. “Please.”

“The pleasure’s mine,” he said, and thrust deep, swallowing her gasp at his forceful penetration. He reared back and did it again and again until her whimpers echoed in her head. She cupped her own breasts to relieve the ceaseless ache in her core, pushing her nipples together for him to tease and tantalize.

He rolled his tongue over their erect tips and she let her eyes close. This was what she’d been made for. To be here with him. She hadn’t been destined to be alone, no matter what she’d believed deep down.

“Open your eyes.”

His whispered command brought her out of her grateful reverie into the present. His body hammered into hers, his cock so thick and strong inside her. Filling her up in a way she’d never imagined. His hands linked with hers, a bridge between her past and their future, the one they’d make together.

She swallowed hard as she caught her own reflection in his eyes. Seeing herself inside him only increased the speed of her heartbeat and the frantic rise and fall of her hips as she sought to accept everything he offered.

“More,” she gasped when he reached between their bodies to tweak her swollen clit. His finger swirled over her as he pumped harder. Sweat beaded along the stubbled line of his jaw, pearled on his temples and his cheekbones. But those molten eyes stayed focused on her as if she were the center of his world.

Sydney arched, her legs widening to allow him access to all of her. And he took, and gave, until his handsome visage blurred through her tears.

The blinding friction stole the last of her hold on sanity and she rejoiced in its loss. She felt her body tighten and clench before the little death she strained toward, but this time, she wanted to experience it in a whole new way. Even if he couldn’t be her sire, he could give her this much.

Wordlessly, she turned her head on the pillow, baring her neck. She knew he would understand. His hips continued to batter hers and her pussy contracted with each thrust. Heat poured over her in waves, saturating her limbs, and sensitizing her nipples. So close. If he didn’t realize what she needed soon, it would be too late.

His mouth circled her pulse as the fist of need inside her opened up, leaving her shuddering. She was still trembling on that razor’s edge when his fangs pierced her skin with an almost elastic pop, and her body bowed when he pulled her blood into him with the same force as he continued to pound into her.

She craved this mindlessness. This desperation. And knowing he was right there with her made it even sweeter.

Before she’d recovered from the first, another orgasm rolled through her, but this one started from the heated pull of his teeth. God, nothing had ever felt this good. This right, as if she’d lived her life up until now just to get to this moment. Harsh grunts hit her ears and she didn’t know if they were hers or his. But he still hadn’t come yet—his unflagging erection inside her proved that—and she wanted him to, wanted his scalding release to warm her as completely as his slow, drugging sucks on her throat.

Her hands came up to hold his head in place even as she writhed beneath him. Her body was flying apart, shattering into tiny, glittering pieces. But he wasn’t taking enough, she knew that instinctively. He wasn’t trying to turn her.

“Kellan.” His name sounded raw and ragged, as if her throat were lined with glass. “Don’t stop.”

“I’m not.” He rose above her, his lips dark red with her blood, his features taut with need. Through it all, those golden eyes seared into hers.

“Take more.” She tried to pull his mouth back to her throat, but he stayed stubbornly out of her reach even as he pounded into her. Somehow she’d lost the strength to get to him. “I want to be yours. And one lifetime’s not enough.”

“You know I can’t, Sydney. I want to. God, I want.”

The bright sheen of tears in his eyes was her undoing. “I know.” Her voice broke. “But I want to give you more. Every drop I can.”

He wrapped a handful of her hair around his wrist and tugged her up, shifting positions until they were kneeling together in the center of the bed. Somehow he never slid all the way out of her, leaving her impaled on just the tip of him while he tongued her pulsepoint until her blood seemed to boil in her veins.

“I love you.”

He lowered his head before she could reply, but the words sounded in her head. In her heart. His bite didn’t hurt, but the pressure of his mouth invaded the last untouched corner of her mind. He possessed and filled her, even as her vision hazed and her limbs spasmed with pleasure. And she let herself go, giving herself over to the ecstasy of her blood leaving her body at the same time as his climax roared through him and erupted deep inside her.

“You’re mine now, Sydney,” he whispered.

Then she fell into the black.

* * *

Kellan watched her sleep the sleep of the dead and tried not to fret like a worried mother.

What would happen now?

Divorce wasn’t a factor in the undead world, though choice was always involved. Yes, certain physiological and behavioral factors contributed to the chemistry that bonded a human to one particular vamp. But not all humans could be turned. Some died when vampiric blood infiltrated their bloodstream. Some expired after being pierced by a vampire’s fangs. But if a human survived turning, they became subject to the mating rituals of the vampire people. One mate, forever and ever, amen. If either party decided to deny that bond, that was their decision. An irrevocable one, because the sire was then essentially mateless for the duration of his existence.

Two vampires falling in love wasn’t impossible, but it was uncommon. The simple fact of it was that there were many more humans, which offered many more options. Finding your chosen one became easier, theoretically, if you had a bigger pool to swim in.

Kellan brushed Sydney’s hair back from her cheek. He didn’t want another, and he knew he never would. But what if Syd woke up and decided she didn’t want him, after all? It was possible. He couldn’t be the one who brought her all the way into his world. As much as it burned him, he had to accept the rules of the council he’d never even laid eyes on. Hell, he didn’t even know where they were located. Somewhere in Europe was the closest he’d come to identifying their home base.

While he’d been watching over Sydney as she slept, he’d done a bit more research and discovered why Emily had gone through such an easy turn. It had been just as he’d suspected—the blood of a latent was super-potent and imbued with healing properties. Once ingested, the subject would benefit from reduced pain until the blood fully left their system. And in Sydney’s case, she would never suffer as much as others.

He kissed her forehead. She’d been dozing for hours, the natural consequence of heavy blood loss. It was the price a vampire—or a latent human—paid for the spectacular orgasm that came from their blood being sucked. A normal human would sleep after being tapped out, too, but their sleep would be rife with pain, not peaceful and easy like Sydney’s. Any time now, she should open her eyes.

In the meantime, he’d try Luke’s cell. Again.

He wasn’t surprised when the call went to voicemail, but he didn’t expect the phone to then go off in his hand before he’d set it aside. He clicked it on. “Luke?”

“Why the hell is she going to Budapest?”

Relief surged through him at his best friend’s voice. Whatever their differences over the years, Kellan loved Lucas like a brother. An annoying brother, but a brother just the same. He hated the thought of him searching alone for Emily, but it wasn’t as if he and Sydney were wanted on the journey. No, this trip was about the two of them, and their presence wasn’t needed.

And if Lucas didn’t come back, Sydney would forever be caught between two worlds. There was no one else he wanted to sire his woman, and that was even if Luke agreed to do it.

“Kell?”

“Yeah.” He rubbed the vague ache in his temple. Stress was taking its toll. “You’d have to ask Sydney that question. Though I doubt she’d tell you, because she wouldn’t tell me. Emily vowed her to secrecy.”

“Then put her on the phone.”

“I can’t. She’s incapacitated.”

“Jesus, couldn’t wait till I was gone to bang her senseless, huh?”

“It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. The bond between us scares me, Luke. When you love someone this much, the threat of loss is terrifying.”

“Yet you can’t really make her yours.”

“She is mine, in every way that counts. As for the rest….”

“I don’t want to go there. Not now. I have to find Emily.”

“I understand that. But once you have, we’ll need to sit down and talk. The four of us. You know there’s no one else I’d trust her to.”

Silence reigned on the other end of the line for so long Kellan wondered if Lucas had hung up. “Is this where I’m supposed to thank you for saving Emily’s life? And to offer my siring services to your mate?”

“You need time to think.”

“That’s not all I need, believe me.” Lucas let out a breath, a sure sign he wasn’t feeling himself. “What was Em’s change like?”

Kellan didn’t press. He knew Luke would find his way to helping him and Sydney, in time. “She went through most of it peacefully, thanks to my mate’s extra-refined blood.”

“Well, the rest of her’s extra-refined, so it only makes sense her blood is, too.”

“Yes, well, hold on to your memories, because you’re not going to get another shot at her body up close and personal.”

Though they both knew that probably wasn’t true, Luke didn’t argue. “At least remembering will keep me warm tonight,” he muttered. “You didn’t tell Emily about the three of us?”

“Of course not. The goal is to get you together, not to keep you apart.”

“Kell, she’s gone. You saw how quick I left, but she must’ve had somebody clean out her apartment for her. Or she lived like a nun because the place is practically empty.”

“You broke in?”

“No, I coerced the landlord to let me in through some less-than-legal means.” Lucas’s voice was grim. “He’s no worse for wear. Me, on the other hand, I’m not so good. I really don’t want to go to Budapest, especially since I have no clue why I’m going. Well, I know why I’m going, but what I can’t figure out is what Emily could possibly want in Hungary. She’s a librarian, not a world traveler.”

Kellan glanced at the snoozing woman beside him and thanked God she was at his side. “I think Emily was abused.”

“Don’t put that in my head.” Luke’s agitation all but poured over the phone line. “Not now. Not until I can be sure she’s okay.”

“You need to be careful with her. There may be more behind her prickly exterior than just a distrust of men in general. She’s fragile.”

“I can’t listen to this shit now. I’m almost at the airport. I gotta go.”

“Luke—”

“I’ll call,” he said, and clicked off.

Kellan hissed out a breath and tossed aside his phone. Terrific. He’d managed to piss off Luke yet again, when he hadn’t fully gotten over being pissed from the last time. Couldn’t he do anything right?

He slid his hand over Sydney’s and closed his eyes. He hadn’t gotten much sleep lately, and stress fatigue weighed him down.

“Kellan.”

His eyes flew open at once at the rough purr next to his ear. Sydney, awake and rubbing against him like a hungry kitten. She dragged her fingers through the hair on his chest. “Mmm, hungry.” Her lips found his with an insistence that shot his system from slumber to high alert. “You planning on feeding me or what?”

“What would you like?” he asked, barely able to speak. Her sinuous undulations against his side, and then against his hips as she straddled him, robbed him of the ability to think.

She always had that effect on him. His wonderful, perfect Sydney.

She laughed and leaned forward until her breasts bounced inches from his face. Her face was flushed, her eyes dancing with a mirth that bordered on madness. And he could only grin at her when she cupped his face in her hands and kissed him hard enough to dispel every doubt he’d ever had.

“You. With a side of more you.”

Her wandering mouth latched on to his neck. She dug right in, eliciting a groan of pure lust from him as she drew his essence into her throat. Even the sounds of her swallowing his blood increased his arousal. Soon she was moving again, flicking her tongue over his nipples, feathering kisses over his ribcage and lower to the waistband of the pajama bottoms he’d donned. Without preamble, she thrust them down and grasped his already straining cock, rolling her plump lips over the head.

“I never finished this the other night,” she said almost conversationally.

“No, you didn’t.” Yeah, speech was pretty much gone. “Sydney?”

“Mmm-hmm?” She smiled at him fully, letting him see the telltale tips of her fangs. They weren’t as elongated as a full vampire’s would be, but they were definitely closer to vamp teeth than human. “Did you forget something?”

“No. But I have a question.” He exhaled as she lapped up the drop of pre-cum on the head of his erection, slowly enough that her incisors grazed his flesh. “You’re still sure of this? You still want me? Even knowing what we face?”

“All we face right now is a lot of orgasms. The rest can wait.”

“Luke’s headed to Hungary.”

She sobered, but only for a moment. “Once he gets there and talks to Emily, we’ll figure out our next step. In the meantime, we have things to attend to right here.” She smiled slowly, all smoke and sex. Then she peeled back her lips and lowered her mouth until it hovered over his shaft. “I love you, Kellan. And now I’m going to show you just how much.”

He arched his hips as her mouth gloved his length. She was pure heaven, with just enough hell to make her interesting. He couldn’t wait to spend the rest of his life with her. “Syd?

“Mmm?” She hummed the word against his length. Then her teeth sank into his flesh, one delicious centimeter at a time until his blood began to pool at the corners of her mouth.

It wasn’t over. Truthfully, their difficulties were just beginning. Not just his and Sydney’s, but Luke and Emily’s, too. But right now, he couldn’t think of anything but an eternity of pleasure with the woman he loved by his side.

He growled in pure pleasure. “Love really does bite.”