“Are you sure you should be making coffee? You look like hell.”

I slammed the rude customer’s coffee down on the counter with a fake-ass grin on my face. “I’ve never felt better.”

She gave me the stink-eye and must’ve been the defending champ of sneering because her upper lip just about reached her forehead. “I’m going to disinfect this cup.”

“Okay, you do that.” I saluted, dismissing her, and then turned my attention to the next customer in line.

I was sure she was right—I probably did look like hell. Though the scratches and bruises from my harsh meeting with a window last night had faded quickly due to my slayer healing power, the mental scars were still there. I hadn’t slept last night. How could I with memories of what had happened to Tim streaming through my head? It had left me too shaken to eat, sleep, and function as a normal human being, let alone the slayer.

Sylvia sidled up next to me with her back turned to the line of customers and whispered, “Are you okay?”

I nodded since the next customer had finally settled on what they wanted. But no, I wasn’t okay. After the first glimpse of sun bleeding through the morning sky, I’d run across the street from my apartment to a pay phone to call the police anonymously. A few hours later, I’d taken a trip to the bank with the bundle of checks signed Luc Morningstar for one enormous check that I’d promptly dropped in the mail to a cancer research company donated in Mom’s name.

I liked to think she’d be proud of that. Of me too. God, I missed her something fierce. I wished I’d been allowed to tell her about the top-secret part of my life, but the golden letter said I couldn’t. Like, I literally couldn’t. The words magically fled my tongue every time I tried.

After several hours of serving coffee and somehow not killing anyone with how horrible I apparently looked, I started toward my home away from home, the place I’d wanted to be since I’d first stepped foot inside several days ago.  

The door creaked inward before I climbed the steps, welcoming me inside with open arms, and the house immediately sparked its warmth and comfort up my skin. I just about collapsed on the floor, already missing the smell and feel of this house even though I was now standing inside it.

“Hello?” I called.

Maybe they’d gone out for Halloween. It could be there was a vampire friendly night club I didn’t know about, with dancing, Bloody Marys, and maybe even actual bloody human Marys. But the thought of them with some imaginary chick named Mary shot a pang through my chest. I hardly knew them and had zero ownership over them, but I didn’t want to share.

Yet the house didn’t feel empty at all. I stepped through to the living room where the furniture had been arranged to how it had been with the coffee table in the center and no sign of Jacek’s mats. To my left was the kitchen, where on the table waited a steaming mug of coffee and a slice of apple pie. Tears welled in my eyes because this was exactly what I needed. Not food, exactly, but someone who cared. Who would listen. Three someones were even better.

“Sawyer?” I called, my voice warbling slightly.

The front door closed gently behind me, but no one was there. Yet there was a presence here, and it felt like Sawyer’s, silent, authoritative, and hidden in shadow.

“Okay, well...if you’re here, I’ll just start taking off my clothes, then,” I said, more to lighten my own mood.

A low chuckle sounded from somewhere inside the house. “I won’t stop you.”

That was Sawyer, all right. His deep, commanding voice rolled pleasantly to my ears.

“I’m curious. What do you want out of life, Belle?” Sawyer asked. “Other than not having to marry the devil?”

“I want...” A lot of things, but some of those things I wasn’t sure I could put into words, and some of those things involved more of what I didn’t want. Like being the slayer and wearing that burden on my back and having a dark unknown trying to kill me. I heaved a sigh and paced the length of the living room. “World peace would be nice. Also, I would like to talk to an actual vampire instead of this lovely coffee table.”

Sawyer appeared in the hallway, a massive stack of brawn and man, with one bare shoulder leaning against the wall and his long, jean-clad legs crossed at the ankles. His russet skin matched the golden hue of his eyes, and the sun and moon tattoos on his torso climbed up to his black curls sweeping his ears.

“Better?” he asked softly.

A breathy, affirmative sound pushed between my lips. I cleared my throat. “Why hide?”

“I was standing five feet away from you,” he said, stepping closer. His large frame dwarfed mine and shrunk the room until it was just him and me. “That’s hardly hiding, especially when you didn’t look.” He raised his hands and plucked the cotton from my ears. “But you did hear.”

I sighed. I’d put those in as soon as I’d left work. “There’s a story behind that.”

“Does it explain why you’re upset?” he asked, the words tight with concern.

I nodded and swallowed hard. “Last night’s patrol was...uh, difficult.”

“Care to tell me about it?”

I told him every horrid detail, reliving it even though I didn’t want to.

“Did you feel my presence when you got here?” When I frowned at the unexpected question, he bent his head to gaze deeper into my eyes, so deep I didn’t think I had any secrets left, which was totally fine. “Did you?”

“I did.” How could I not?

“So you felt me and heard me but didn’t see me. Why do you think that is?”

“Because you’re part ninja?”

“Because you’re not human. You’re the slayer, but you’re only starting to trust your slayer sense. The only sense that matters. Not your eyes. Not your ears.”

“Well, you are the expert on slayers, I suppose.” I needed to do some research on this whole Necron Brotherhood thing, though I doubted I’d like what I found. But I had to remember that Sawyer hadn’t killed slayer for them and had left them. He wasn’t anything like them, and I could see that clearly.

“You said yourself that you saw and heard some pretty horrific things last night. Some of those things were real, but some of them weren’t. When you rely 100 percent on your slayer sense, you don’t need cotton to block things out or to blind yourself to what’s lurking five feet in front of you.”

“Was that what you were doing? Lurking?”

“Not exactly.” He frowned. “It’s been engrained into my training as part of the Necron Brotherhood to never be seen by a slayer unless I want to be seen. But a slayer who trusts their slayer sense would be able to see me anyway.”

“Why didn’t you want to be seen by me?”

“Because some slayers know that when someone like me appears, painted in Necron Brotherhood ink, it’s because they’re about to be slaughtered. I didn’t know if you knew about them before, and tonight...I could tell you just needed to exist in this house to get your feet underneath you again.”

I smiled, the movement cracking over my skin as if I hadn’t done it in a while. Probably since I’d left here yesterday. “This house gets me, if that makes any sense.”

“It does.” He pointed to the kitchen table where the coffee and pie still waited.

I shook my head. “I’m not hungry.”

He handed me the cotton. “Close your ears. Close your eyes. They’re bound by human restrictions anyway, so you don’t need them.”

“Umm, what’s this that we’re doing?” I asked, taking the cotton.

“Focus your slayer sense.” He brought his fingertip between my eyes and touched me gently. “Let it sort out what’s real and what isn’t. You almost trust it because you heard me even with the cotton. Just...focus on being the slayer. Nothing else.”

I nodded, blew out a breath, stuffed my ears with the cotton, and closed my eyes.

“Where am I?” His voice floated from somewhere above.

I locked onto it instantly. “Library.”

The TV behind me turned on, carrying loud voices meant to distract me.

“Now?” he called.

I homed in on the sound of his voice, separating it from the obnoxious noise, even through the cotton.

“Standing dangerously close to that slice of apple pie,” I said.

A low chuckle and then the TV went silent again. “Now?”

A cool touch skimmed my waist and around to my stomach. Sawyer’s hand splayed there and pulled my back flush to the hard expanse of his body. I melted into him, sagging my head against his chest, grateful for his help and his comfort. He tipped my chin up to him, his powerful golden gaze searching, and lowered his head. His lips swept mine, shuddering a bolt of heat between my thighs.

“Right where I need you.” I twirled in his arms so I could face him, my arms locked around his neck, and pressed against him so he would hold me tight.

He did, making me feel safe and snug at the same time, and covered my mouth with his for a long, searing kiss. I’d never even imagined a kiss like that, one that could burn me up from the inside out. He broke it and pulled away, leaving me as a panting, embarrassing puddle while he pulled the stake and my tie free from my bun. My wild blonde curls tumbled down over my shoulders.

“Beautiful.” He ran his fingers through my hair and then stepped back into the hallway. “Now?”

I blinked into the shadowy hallway but didn’t immediately see him. Focus on your slayer sense, he’d said. I took a breath and blocked out everything but him. Then, finally, there he stood, just as clear as a few seconds ago while wrapped up in my lips.

I grinned. “I see you.”

And damn, I liked what I saw. Especially the massive bulge straining against his jeans and the way he gazed at me as if I were a thing to be worshipped.

“I see you, too. A goddess of the night if there ever was one.” He held out his hand as if in invitation.

Goddess of the night. I liked the sound of that. If I couldn’t rally everyone to call me that instead of vampire slayer, then maybe I could use it as a band name.

Plucking out my cotton balls, I crossed toward him as blood pounded between my ears and took his hand without hesitation, without knowing exactly what I was RSVP-ing for. But I could guess, and I was perfectly okay with it because it felt right. Just like Eddie and Jacek.

Sawyer had said to focus, so I did. The firm grasp of his hand. The slight tug to pull me deeper down the hallway. The crash of my heartbeat as he led me into a bedroom.

Decorated in rich browns and reds, it was just as comfortable-looking as the rest of the house. A large armchair with ornate engravings up the back sat in the far corner next to an enormous bed. Extra-large furniture for an extra-large vampire. Next to my hip stood a dark oak desk, polished to a high shine, with a pair of headphones similar to what an operator might wear lying next to a laptop.

“Do you moonlight as a phone sex operator?” I asked.

“No. I’m an operator for the suicide prevention hotline.”

I whirled to stare at him in wonder, a sudden knot constricting my throat. How was it that I’d stumbled into this nest filled with vamps with so much heart? What kind of lottery had I won when they’d offered to help when I needed it the most? I was the luckiest girl alive.

“There are a fair amount of vampires who call in, but I listen to the humans, too. Sometimes that’s all they need.” He shrugged, a casual gesture at odds with his clenching jaw. “It helps me atone for all my sins.”

I nodded, though I wished I could help him shoulder the burden he carried. Though he was doing what he felt he needed to, and all of it was good, I had to wonder what sins he thought he’d committed. Not murdering slayers like the rest of the Brotherhood. He’d made that crystal clear. Others, maybe? He was a fierce warrior, but with a heart bigger than his chest.

“Hey,” he said, his voice much lighter than it had been. “You said you were going to take your clothes off when you walked in.” He pulled me to him and pressed his forehead to mine. “I’m still waiting.”

I laughed, a breathless, happy sound that sounded almost foreign. My body flamed hot as he wrapped his arms around me. “I was waiting for your help.”

A slight smile quirked his lips as he trailed his fingertips down my spine, storming vibrant pulses underneath my skin. His touch, while cool, melted my clothes off of me while I fumbled for a ridiculously long time with the zipper on his jeans. I was shaking with impatience like a dirty little slayer. Chuckling, he helped, thank goodness, and then we both stood there naked, holding each other while he kissed me deeply.

I’d been held before, but I’d never felt as close to anyone as I did right then. His long, hard cock rubbed at my lower stomach. I wanted to rock my hips against it, stroke it, and take it into my mouth, but I also wanted to be kissed and held like this forever.

This was different. This wasn’t wild and kinky like with Eddie or hard and fast like with Jacek. It was slow and sensual, an intoxicating burn I could feel all the way inside my soul. A welcomed, healing distraction.

“Are you sure about this, Belle?” he asked, his voice rough.

“Yes,” I said, just as I’d been sure about Eddie and Jacek.

Sawyer led me toward the bed and sat, scooting up farther so I had room to spread my legs over his hips. I was more than ready for him, so wet and aching that I reached down and may have squeezed his cock a little too hard between my fingers. He growled and flashed his fangs. Oops. But he seemed to forget all about it when I sank down on top of him. He groaned and lay back, settling his hands on my hips.

Inch by slow inch, I sank farther down, my slick walls accommodating his impressive length. Once he was inside me all the way to the hilt, I found a slow rhythm, forcing myself to take my time like he had.

He gazed at me, his eyes now a vibrant red, with that same worshipping expression while little shudders rippled down his six pack and the sharp V of his hips. It was empowering to see my effect on him as I rode him, to be in so much control over this mountain of a man, when throughout my life, I’d had no control. Being chosen as the slayer so young. Losing my mom. Being chosen as the devil’s bride. Not being able to live past the age of twenty-one because of some big bad evil named Paul. None of those were choices I would have ever made, but this... I wanted to choose all three of my vampires. Scratch that. I’d already chosen them.

Sawyer lifted his hips to push into me farther and groaned. He was close, so I slowed even farther to draw our pleasures out. I took his hands from my hips and held tight to them, my heart expanding with warmth at what I’d found in this magical house. Not just three vampires, but an extensive library, training, and focus. Food for my slayer mind, body, and spirit.

With happy tears watering my eyes, I smiled down at Sawyer and pressed my lips to the palm of his hand. As if reading my thoughts, he pulled my head down toward him and kissed me until I saw stars.

Bent over him as I was, the new angle created amazing friction against my clit, and my hips pumped faster. A throbbing pressure mounted inside me. I broke the kiss then moaned into his neck as he slid his hands over my ass so he could grind up into me. My orgasm spiraled out of me in long, intoxicating pulses.

A second later, he came inside me with a great roar. The trembling walls of my pussy clamped down around his twitching cock to milk it out of him.

“Bite me,” I begged. “Please.”

He shifted my neck closer to his mouth and bit down, his fingertips caressing my face. I melted against him while we continued to ride our orgasms, and then lay joined together, our bodies limp, my heart filled to the brim.

But with just under three hours left until my twentieth birthday and a visit from a demon, I sincerely hoped my heart, including this feeling, could stay mine.