After leaving the computer room, Bion guides me to the room I’m supposed to rest in while I’m here. On our way here, we see Ceric talking to Celmund, but I ignore him. The thought of Ceric warms my blood; his presence fills me with such lust that all I want to do is jump his body.

“Here you go, beautiful. I’ll call when we need to leave. Try to rest. You are safe now, and no one will get to you in the compound.” With that, he leaves, allowing me to enter the room. The first thing I see is an inflatable male sex doll hanging from the ceiling. What the hell?

Looking around, I see one wall covered with sexual toys hanging from hooks or placed on shelves. What kind of room did they give me? Is this some kind of joke? I look towards a king-sized bed that looks inviting, but the thought of what has been happening on it holds me back. A huge-sized mirror on the other side of the room takes up most of the wall that faces the bed.

Whomever this room belongs to has some weird fetishes going by the blow-up doll with the handcuffs. Curiosity draws me closer to the items on display. I don’t even know what most of the things are used for. There is a long leather belt with two buckles on each side. I wonder how they use this one? Walking along, I reach the shelf filled with all different types of dildos. Wow, this looks more like a sex store than a bedroom.

I move towards the bed. I can’t sleep on this sheet—who knows what has been happening on it? Looking around, I see two doors. Moving towards one, I peep in, finding a huge bathroom with a Jacuzzi and a massive shower with various showerheads in different places. What the hell do they need so many showerheads for? Otherwise, the bathroom is beautiful, with black tiles and a light grey marble counter.

I move towards the other door and find a walk-in cupboard. Here, I find only men’s clothes, and right at the end, there are some sheets for the bed. As I walk in, a smell assaults me. I know this smell—it’s leather with a tinge of sweet smoke. It can’t be his room, but the more I look around, the more I’m convinced it’s his.

“Oh, hell no!” I shriek. Walking towards the bed, I tear the sheets away, throwing them on the floor. I walk towards the wall full of his perverted toys and start to toss everything onto the open sheets. Darn it, he’s a real man whore! How can I even be attracted to someone like that? The idea of him using these toys on other women is fuelling my rage. If he even thinks to touch me, I will cut his hands off.

As soon as the sheet is full, I drag it to the door. I struggle to get it through the door with everything in it, but I persevere. If he thinks I’m going to sleep in a room full of toys that he has been using on others, he has another thing coming. I walk back into the room, banging the door behind me. Looking up at the disgusting doll, I wonder how I’m going to get it down.

Looking around, I don’t see anything that I can use to climb up and bring it down. I walk back into his cupboard, trying to find something that will help me bring that thing down. On one of his shelves is an engraved wooden box. Opening it, I see a beautiful set of small knives engraved with different symbols.

Perfect. I take the box and walk back into the room. I throw one of the knives at the doll, and the blade goes right through the doll’s eye and buries itself deep. That was fun. Taking another one, I aim for the doll’s dick. Damn, I missed, hitting it in the thigh. The doll is deflating rapidly; I continue to throw the blades until I don’t have any left. There is a total of six blades hanging from the doll.

Breathing in deeply, I look around. Now that I’m calmer, I dread his reaction when he comes in and sees how I’ve destroyed his room. Darn, I should really start to think instead of reacting in my anger.

His wall is nearly bare—there are only a few objects hanging. I shake my head in dejection as I make my way into the cupboard. I may as well make his bed now that I have thrown the other sheets outside. I hope they don’t retract their offer of helping me get Sam back because of this, but how can they expect me to stay in a room that is so obviously decorated for sex? Huffing, I grab the first sheets on the shelf. “Of course, he would only have black silk sheets. How surprising,” I grumble as I start to make the bed. I’m about to divest the one pillow of its cover when his essence wafts up to me.

Bringing it to my nose, I inhale deeply. Why does this man make me so crazy? I swear, I have never been so taken by anyone as I am by him. Since I met him at the bakery, all I can think about is him. I tried going out with a friend of Sam’s, but I kept comparing him to Ceric. I understand that I’m supposed to be his mate; the Keres explained that Elementals can only bond with one woman. I think in that he must have been mistaken, because looking around, I sure would say that Ceric has been dipping his dick into plenty of women.

The asshole. If he even thinks he’s going to come anywhere close to me after I have seen what a man whore he is, he must be dreaming. I throw his pillow angrily on the bed. Who am I kidding? He just has to come near me and my brain stops functioning.

Climbing on the bed, I bring his four pillows close to me. His essence engulfs me, calming my anger and lulling me to sleep. I didn’t sleep last night, as I was too worried that the Keres somehow would find me.

The next thing I know, I’m waking up to a bang. Jumping up in bed, I look around, startled. “You hellcat, what did you do to my room?” Ceric growls as he charges into the room, Bion and Bjarni right behind him. All three men stop and stare at the deflated doll hanging from the ceiling with the blades still attached to him.

“What the fuck?” Ceric states as the other two men start to laugh uproariously.

“You will notice . . .” Bjarni starts, and then stops with another fit of laughter, “all the blades are near his crotch.” Suddenly, Ceric throws his head back, dissolving in a fit of laughter. The others and him laugh so much that tears run down their cheeks.

The worry that engulfed me when they first entered the room disperses. I suddenly see the humour in the situation and also laugh. “Oh man, this is so bad. I really trashed your room,” I stutter out between peals of laughter, especially when Bion walks towards where all the sex objects had been hanging and picks up a rubber dildo from the floor. It immediately flops in his hand.

“What the hell, Brother? Why the fuck would you hold on to a limp dick in your collection? I hope this has no reference to yours,” Bion teases, throwing it at Ceric.

Ceric sidesteps the dildo, showing Bion the finger. “Oh my, are you saying this was some kind of perverted collection?” I thought he was using these toys; I never imagined he collected them. “What kind of a freak collects sex toys?” Damn, there I go again. Instead of apologising, I’m snapping at him.

“What’s wrong with sex toys?” he growls as he glares at me.

“Oh, nothing, except when you have a room that looks more like a sex store than a room,” I answer sarcastically. “You couldn’t possibly expect me to sleep in here with all those things you’ve been playing with, could you?” I know I’m pushing him—after all, this is his room and I’m only visiting—but when I’m near him, I can’t contain myself.

Suddenly, his frown disappears and a mischievous smile lights his face. “You were jealous. That’s why you destroyed my room,” he says smugly.

“You wish!” But even to my ears, my answer lacks conviction. All I need is for him to know how much I want him and I will never hear the end of it, I’m sure.

“Hellcat, you don’t have to be jealous. I’m all yours now,” he says with a twinkle in his eye. He has his hands in the front pockets of his jeans, his biceps bulging. The tattoo sleeves make my mouth water when I imagine passing my fingers over them. One arm has the face of a beautiful crying woman surrounded by different designs that all blend in so well. I wonder who the woman might be. The other arm has an intricate pattern that catches the eye with its beauty.

“Well, I’m not yours!” I say angrily, but the more I fight it, the more drawn I am to him. I want to just find Sam and get out of here as soon as possible. Even though I want him with a desperation I have never felt before, I can’t be drawn to a man like him, a man surrounded by women at every turn.

“Not yet,” he replies gruffly.

“Okay, enough, we need to go, dude,” Bjarni growls as he starts to leave the room. Just then, there’s a squeal from outside.

“Oh my goodness, look at this, Jasmine! I didn’t know they had them this size.” And then I hear laughter.

“Don’t touch that crap, baby girl,” I hear Bjarni warn. “You never know what Ceric’s been doing with it.”

“Piss off,” Ceric snaps. Huffing, I march out of the room right behind Bjarni, only stopping when I see Aria, Gabriela, and another beautiful woman whom I’m guessing is Jasmine. All three are staring down at the sheet with Ceric’s collection.

“What is that for?” Jasmine asks curiously as she stares at an anal hook. I hear Bjarni groan next to me.

“You use it for your ass,” Gabriela answers quietly.

“How the fuck do you know that, baby girl?” Bjarni roars, a surprised look on his face.

“I saw something like it once,” she answers grumpily.

“Why would anyone want to put that horrible metal thing in their ass?” Jasmine asks, looking over my shoulder. By the hairs standing on my neck, I know Ceric’s standing right behind me.

“Oh, fuck, let’s go. We don’t have time for this,” Ceric says. “Jas, just forget about it, okay, honey?” The tenderness I hear in his voice surprises me. Up till now, I have only seen his cocky side. Maybe there is a deeper side to him. He walks past me and places an arm around Jasmine’s shoulders, and then Aria’s. “We’re leaving now. Are you ladies coming to say goodbye to us?” He’s already guiding them away as he speaks.

Bjarni has pulled Gabriela against his side, an arm around her waist, his hand resting on her huge stomach. Looking at the two of them, I am surprised at the love I see between them. I’m not a believer in love, as everything in my life has shown me that the love everyone speaks about is a pipe dream. There’s lust and maybe affection, but I have never seen deep love before. Maybe these two in front of me have it; looking at Bjarni, no one would ever say that such a dangerous and scary-looking guy would be so caring with anyone.

“Shall we go, sweetheart?” I forgot about Bion. He’s standing next to me with a cocky smile on his face as he presents his arm. I laugh at his playfulness; placing my hand on his arm, I follow the others. I see Ceric look back at us and tense, but then he turns back around and continues to guide the women.

“Where are we going?” I ask curiously.

“To get your friend. Are you ready?” I’m surprised; I thought we were only going tomorrow. I nod in response. To be honest, I’m not. I would rather leave these guys to do it without me, but I need to find out more about what that Keres said to me.

“You know,” Bion says quietly, slowing his pace, “give him a chance. He hides behind that air of cockiness, but you will be surprised at the person he is.” At his words, I stop. Looking up at him, I see seriousness in his expression. Is it possible that the tenderness I heard in Ceric’s voice when he spoke to Jasmine is part of that person Bion is speaking about?

“Why?” I ask, curious to know why Bion thinks I should give Ceric a chance.

“It’s not my place to tell you. All I can say is look deeper than what’s on the surface, and you will see. I think both of you deserve to find happiness.” With that, he continues to guide me until we reach the garage.

I see a guy I haven’t seen before. By the way he is holding Aria, I’m guessing he is Brandr. He’s looking down at her with a tender look lighting his face as she looks up at him, smiling. The two of them look just as in love as Bjarni and Gabriela. Hearing a gurgling sound, I see Wulf holding his son with one arm, and the other is around Jasmine, a frown marring his forehead.

“What the fuck, angel? Why the hell do you want to know that?” I notice he keeps his voice low not to frighten the baby. I’m guessing Jasmine must have asked him about the anal hook, if his expression is anything to go by. I nearly laugh out loud when I hear Ceric groan.

The guys all stop what they are doing when they hear Wulf. Jasmine explains the reason for her curiosity, increasing Wulf’s anger. “How the hell did you see it?” he asks.

“Well, they were all lying outside his room wrapped in a sheet.” At her words, the guys look over at me. Brandr is the first to throw his head back and laugh, and then they’re all laughing, except for Wulf, who is now scowling at Ceric.

“What?” Ceric calls to him. “She would have never seen it if Nova hadn’t thrown all my stuff out.”

“Really? You going to blame this on me?” I ask, annoyed. “It’s not my fault you’re a perv.” Looking at the guys still laughing at Ceric, I say, “Do you know that he even had a male blow-up doll hanging from the ceiling?” At that, I see Draco bend over in laughter.

“Why would he have a male blow-up doll?” I hear Aria ask. Brandr is laughing just as hard as Draco. He tries to answer but can’t.

“Maybe because these fuckers put it there. I didn’t care, so I just left it,” Ceric says.

“Oh, man . . . this is worth all the trouble we went through to put it up there,” Burkhart confesses happily. “It’s even better than when he saw it.”

“You think that’s funny, you should see the fucking doll now. She threw all his Fairbairn Sykes fighting knives at it. It’s hanging there like a limp cock all torn up,” Bion teases.

“Oh, fuck, I have to see this.” Brandr laughs, hurriedly making his way out of the garage. All the guys except for Bjarni, Wulf, and Ceric follow.

“You do know that you have completely destroyed my reputation, don’t you?” Ceric says grumpily as he mounts his bike. His dejected look makes me laugh; he looks like a small kid who’s just lost his candy.

“Hi, sorry I didn’t introduce myself earlier, but I was kind of surprised. I’m Jasmine,” the woman beside Wulf says with a big smile on her face. “I think this is the most I have seen the guys laugh since I met them.”

“I’m pleased to have accomplished that, then.” Before we can continue talking, the guys return with big smiles on their faces.

“Listen up, everyone, let’s get this show on the road. Aria, Burkhart is carrying this small camera with him.” At that, Draco points to a small object pinned to the collar of Burkhart’s T-shirt. “If you want him to stop so you can listen to a specific person’s thoughts, just tell him who it is. He will be using an earpiece and will make sure to point the camera at them.” He then turns, looking directly at me. “Nova, you will be in the SUV with Bion and Caelius. When we get to where we’re going, you will stick to Ceric and do everything he says. Are we in agreement?”

At my nod, he continues. “Okay, then, all we need now is for you to tell us where we are going.”