“We’re here.”

My eyes snapped open at the sound of Gate’s voice, and I sat up with a start. “I didn’t know I fell asleep.”

Miles winced, rubbing his shoulder. “Trust me. You did. I didn’t know how right I was when I thought of you as hard-headed.”

“Ha, ha,” I snickered. “I’ll have to keep that in mind the next time I fall asleep near you.”

“No, you don’t have to.” He nuzzled my neck, nibbling my ear before whispering, “You can fall asleep on me anytime you want. So long as you allow me to exhaust you beforehand.”

“We’re not deaf, you know,” Martina snorted from the front seat.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Are you a bit put-off by our affection? Does it make you uncomfortable? Do you want to tell us to get a room?” Miles winked at me, and we both chuckled. “How does it feel?”

“All right, message received,” Gate smirked before getting out of the SUV.

I took a deep breath before following him and the others. We were home. For good.

It didn’t look like much from the outside, that was for sure. A cave. Not exactly the sort of place I was accustomed to living in—which, naturally, made it all the more inviting. I didn’t want anything in my new life to resemble what I’d left behind. I would’ve gladly moved into a tent and stayed there, if need be.

Of course, I wouldn’t have to. From what Miles had told me, the cave would hardly require us to rough it. I could hardly wait to get inside and explore, not to mention the chance to meet the others.

I had my chance to get started before we entered.

I gasped, hands over my mouth, when a dragon swooped low overhead and landed only feet from the mouth of the cave.

Miles slid a protective arm around my shoulders.

“That’s Smoke,” he announced, holding up a hand in greeting. “It’s his turn on guard duty. I’m sure he’s glad we’re back.”

The dragon lowered his head as if to agree.

Martina and I exchanged a single glance—what were we getting into?

I reached up and patted Smoke’s shoulder, smiling as genuinely as I could. The sight of a dragon was still surprising and slightly unnerving, but I was getting better with it.

“It’s good to meet you. I can’t wait to get to know you better.”

Miles squeezed my hand, and I knew he was pleased.

The walk into the cave was a long one, with Gate and Martina behind us.

The tunnel seemed to stretch on forever.

I understood how important it was to keep the living quarters far from the outside world, but it was still surprising.

“Gate! Miles!” The sound of a little boy’s joyful voice floated toward us, and moments later he became visible as he hurtled down the tunnel.

It warmed my heart to see how happy it made him to see his friends again. He threw his arms around Miles’s waist, then moved on to Gate.

“Martina, Savannah, this is Tommy.” Gate ruffled his blond hair, and the little boy shrugged it off while laughing.

“Aunt Cari said you can teach me about writing,” he said, eyebrows raised in hope.

“I sure can, if you want to learn,” I offered.

He turned to Martina. “And you know all about karate and stuff.” He did a few moves, waving his arms and kicking.

“Whoa! Slow down, Bruce Lee,” she laughed. “I’ll teach you how to really do it. Okay? But you’ve gotta promise you’ll be safe, and never use what you learn to hurt anybody.”

“I promise.” He made an elaborate cross over his heart.

The five of us continued down the tunnel together, with Tommy skipping along and chattering a mile a minute.

He made me miss Ainsley, strangely enough.

I looked forward to the chance to chat with her again once she and the others returned to Scotland.

A group of girls waited for us in the kitchen—or, rather, they were in the middle of preparing a big meal when we reached them.

“You’re early!” One of the girls, a petite redhead, embraced the guys before turning to Martina and me. She gave us the same sort of hug, like we were old friends. “I’m Jasmine, and I’m so happy you’re here.”

“Thank you,” I breathed, overwhelmed at all the affection and warmth.

Maybe because I had been without it for so long.

Alina stood at the stove, according to her sister, while Ciera stirred something in a large bowl at the table.

There was a bandage on all five fingers of one hand, and I remembered hearing about how clumsy she was.

“I tried to grab something from the oven with a damp towel,” she explained with a sheepish smile when Miles asked what she’d done to herself this time.

I decided that stirring was the safest task for her.

“Pierce and Fence had to run into town to pick up a few additional supplies,” Alina explained. “We, uh, broke a few plates earlier today.”

Perhaps Ciera needed to stay out of the kitchen entirely.

“Where’s Cari?” Gate asked, clearly trying to change the subject for her sake.

“In the lab, as always,” Ciera replied with a bright smile. “Working on something important, too, I bet.”

“Let’s go see her. She’ll want to hear about how the antidote worked.” Miles took my hand and showed me around as we went further into the cave.

I couldn’t get over everything my eyes fell on.

The rec room—I couldn’t think of a better word for it—with its gigantic TV and game systems and sound system and even pinball and arcade games.

“I’m pretty good at air hockey,” I confided with a wink.

“I’ll keep that in mind for later.”

We passed a library, where I understood Smoke spent a lot of his time when he wasn’t on guard duty.

Several closed doors—bedrooms and such, I guessed.

Finally, we stopped, and Miles rapped on the door before opening it a crack.

“Hello?” he called out.

Good thing, too, since we had obviously interrupted something.

A beautiful, blonde girl slid from a table she’d been sitting on and buttoned her blouse, while a tall, dark-haired man pulled a t-shirt over his head.

I buried my face in Miles’s chest, biting my lip to keep from giggling out of embarrassment.

“Hey, brother!”

Cash and Miles embraced as only men could: patting each other on the back with their clasped hands between them.

Even dragons made use of the bro hug.

“I thought you’d never get back!”

“Sometimes, it felt like we never would.” Miles turned to me. “This is Savannah.”

“Thank God,” Cash grinned. “I thought this one would never find a woman who could stand him.”

“Please. I just got her here. Don’t drive her away yet.” Even so, I laughed. It was nice, seeing Miles unwind that way and joke with his brother. I could feel myself relaxing little by little, letting this crazy, unlikely family pull me in.

“And you’re Carissa,” I said. “This lab is incredible.”

“Thank you. I wish I could take credit for all of it, but somebody was generous enough to get it started for me.”

They smiled at each other, and it was clear how in love they were.

“Your antidote worked a treat,” Miles congratulated her. “We couldn’t have done it without you.”

“I did what I could.” She blushed, ducking her head, clearly not used to such praise.

I liked her immediately, the way I liked the others.

Everyone brought something to the family—except for me. I wondered what I could do. I wasn’t as spectacular as she was, or as smart as Ciera. I wasn’t a healer, like Alina. I wasn’t a leader, like Jasmine. I didn’t have Martina’s strength or her skills. I was just me.

Miles cleared his throat. “This is as good a segue as any.”

“What’s that mean?” I asked.

“I’ll show you.” He took me by the hand and led me from the lab, further down the tunnel.

“I’ll bet you’d like to show me something,” I giggled.

“I would—but there’s something else, first.” He opened a door at random, just enough to stick his head through and look around. “Great. It’s all set.”

“What’s all set? Our room?”

“Not our room.” He grinned over his shoulder. “Your room.”

“Mine?”

He opened the door further, flipping a light switch before stepping aside. I didn’t know what to look at first—the beautiful desk, the high-backed leather chair, the laptop sitting open.

Waiting for me.

“What’s this?” I whispered, tiptoeing into the room. It was beautiful. A TV, a sofa, a wall of books. There was even a small refrigerator and coffee maker in one corner.

“A room for you—or, rather, an office,” he explained. “I talked to Pierce about it before we left St. Lucia. You can decorate it any way you want. But I thought this would be a good start.”

My mouth fell open. “An office? For me?”

“For you. I mean, you’re a writer. Writers write. They need their space and their quiet. Don’t they?”

He shrugged, looking uncomfortable at my confusion.

“Is this all wrong?”

I couldn’t believe him.

Nobody had ever called me a writer before—nobody who wasn’t making fun or patronizing me. He took me seriously.

He made me believe I could do anything I dreamed of.

“Wrong?” I laughed, falling into his arms. “Nothing was ever more right.”