Sadly, the shower was more than big enough for two people, and with its multiple showerheads that could each be separately controlled, Sam was forced to banish Rik to the far side of the shower so she could actually get cleaned up. Rik grumbled the entire time. Every time he so much as looked at her, however, she pointed.

"Your side," Sam said, then pointed to the ground beneath her feet. "My side. Now be good!"

So, with the prospect of shower sex completely stricken from this morning's To Do List, Rik quickly scrubbed himself clean. Okay, so he may have come across like a petulant child as he slammed things around a little bit. And the stomping out of the shower and angrily toweling himself off probably didn't help with that image, but dammit, his dick was once again rock hard, demanding Rik give in to temptation.

The giggling that was barely drowned out by the shower spray did make Rik reluctantly grin. He may have stomped just a bit in order to make his dick bounce and slap against his abdomen, but damned if that woman didn't make him feel like a randy teenage boy trying to impress a girl.

Toweling himself dry, securing it around his hips, Rik went back into the bedroom, where two stacks of clothes were laid out at the foot of the bed. Also present, his youngest brother. Cousin? Brousin? Couther? Rik sighed, running a hand through his damp hair as he shrugged the problematic terminology off.

"Took you long enough," the boy said, his English holding only a hint of an accent, more British than French.

Rik glared at the smirking teenager. And the boy was a teenager, barely sixteen if Rik remembered correctly. He had a lean, athletic build, with his dark hair cut short and spikey, and their mother's brilliant blue eyes. Wearing a pair of track pants and a black muscle shirt, he was the picture of teenage indolence as he sprawled in one of the room's chairs.

"What do you want, Hugh?"

Shrugging, Hugh's grin was pure insouciance as he replied, "Just wanted to meet your anam cara, brother dearest."

Suspicious, Rik stalked over to the bed. Grabbing up the clothing, he walked wordlessly back to the bathroom and opened the door. Spotting Sam getting out of the shower, he quickly stepped inside and shut the door behind him, pointedly ignoring the muttered, "Spoilsport," that came from his baby brother.

Gritting his teeth, Rik tried to give Sam a smile as he put her clothes down on the counter. "Here, baby. Get dressed and we'll head downstairs."

At Sam's look of bewilderment, Rik huffed, "My pervy baby brother is out in the room, apparently hoping to catch a glimpse of you in flagrante delicto."

Sam rolled her eyes as she wrapped one towel around herself before grabbing another to begin briskly drying her long hair. "Like brother like brother, it seems," she said with a cheeky grin.

"Hey!" Rik held up defensive hands. "I'm only pervy with you, baby. Doesn't mean I want anyone else perving all over you!"

Walking by him, Sam reached up and patted his chest, "Whatever you say, babe. Go entertain your brother, I'll be out in a few."

And like that, he was dismissed as Sam plugged in a hair dryer and began the tedious process of detangling her hair. With a huff, Rik tossed on the sweatpants and t-shirt that had been left for him before he stalked back out of the bathroom.

Hugh looked up from his phone when Rik emerged, shrugged, and went back to his phone upon sighting it was just his big brother—who he'd technically never met in person. To say that things had been tense since Victoria and Wilhelm were anam cara would be a massive understatement. Only the Irish, it seemed, held grudges quite as long as the Sidhe. Rik and his sisters had sided with their father when Victoria had left Colorado, and had spurned any attempts to repair their relationship, particularly since their father had left for Canada not long afterward.

Not quite sure how to approach his youngest sibling, Rik stood there in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes. He wasn't used to feeling so out of his depth. Quietly, he padded to the bedside and grabbed his own phone, and seeing the sheer number of messages, he groaned aloud and began to flick through them.

Ten from Clay. Three from Gen. Twenty-four from Clara. Five from five different unrecognized numbers. And that was just the voicemails. The text messages...he decided to just ignore them all. Shoving his phone into his pocket, he picked up his discarded clothes and put them away, after grabbing his wallet and keys.

Rik then made the bed. And straightened the room, finally noticing that in many ways, it was a reflection of his old room when he lived with his parents. The décor was the same, the same dark grays and deep, rich blues that he preferred. His mother had even chosen similar furniture and placed them in the same layout he had always preferred.

As he spun around, slowly taking in the room that his mother had meticulously decorated and arranged to suit his tastes, the bathroom door opened and Sam walked out. She wore an ivory cashmere sweater, slightly large on her, revealing one creamy shoulder and hanging down to mid-thigh. A pair of black yoga pants hugged the glorious curves of her legs, and made Rik forget for a moment that they weren't alone in the room.

"Hello," Sam said, looking past Rik toward the young man who was staring at her, eyes wide and mouth agape. Nervously, she shifted beneath his gaze, giving Rik a helpless look that shook him from his own drooling fantasies.

Clearing his throat, Rik glared at his little brother, "Close your mouth, Hugh."

When Hugh clapped his mouth shut with enough force, Rik heard the boy's teeth clatter, he had to turn his head to hide a grin. "Ms. Samantha Kelly, allow me to introduce you to my youngest brother, Hugh Jacques Leon."

Sam walked toward Hugh, her hand out in greeting. Remembering his manners, Hugh leaped to his feet and loomed over her. Like all the Leons, Hugh was tall, already reaching six feet in height, but he hadn't filled out yet, still all long limbs and coltish awkwardness.

Clearing his throat, Hugh said, "Bon jour, Samantha," as he leaned over her hand and pressed a kiss against her knuckles, every inch the courtly young gentleman.

Rik rolled his eyes, causing Sam to grin, but she hid it well when the young man rose up from his bow. "The pleasure's mine, Hugh, and please. Call me Sam."

Meeting Sam's gracious smile with a grin of his own, Hugh pointedly ignored his older brother as he placed Sam's hand in the crook of his own elbow. "Shall we, Sam? Maman has made some tea and biscuits, and there's a gentleman here to see you."

Rik growled threateningly at the upstart, but both Hugh and Sam ignored his ungracious response as she dipped her head and remarked, "Certainly, Hugh. Lead the way."

Left to follow after his brother and his cara, Rik muttered under his breath as they headed downstairs to the parlor. Rik's mother swept up to them, wrapping an arm around Sam's shoulder and—much to Rik's secret glee—pulling her away from Hugh's grasp as she exclaimed, "Samantha! Come, dear, you must meet the family and save us from your guest."

"My guest?" Sam said, as bewildered as Rik felt as he followed after them down the hall toward the main parlor.

"Yes," Victoria said with a chuckle, "It seems your guardian has tracked you down, needing to see you were unharmed himself."

Rik's sudden burst of understanding was punctuated by Bertie's wild-eyed emergence from the parlor. The normally gentle giant looked like a berserker as he bore down on Sam and Victoria, sweeping her up into his massive arms and against his chest as he exclaimed, "Thank fuck, you're okay."

Once again, Rik reminded himself that Bertie was no threat, that the mountainous, monstrous brute of a Gargoyle quite firmly batted for the other team. Still, he wanted to tear her from the other man's arms and secure her in his own embrace, and he bit back a growl when Sam returned Bertie's hug.

"How'd you find us? How'd you get here so quickly?" Sam asked, her voice muffled against the big man's huge chest. Damn, was Bertie always that huge?

Setting her back down on her feet, Bertie released her and stepped back, giving Rik a small, knowing grin as he replied, "Our bond. It let me know you were okay. I mean, I knew you'd be okay, but with Rik suddenly discovering the power to Travel, it took me a bit to follow."

"That reminds me? What did you mean when you told me not to worry about the bitch's claws?" Sam asked, looking way up at Bertie.

Bertie shrugged, "You are bound to me, and I may...or may not...have pushed a little magic into you before the fight that made your skin a little bit tougher than normal. When I saw she had poisonous talons, I knew you'd be safe. Little short of a dragon's claws or sacred weapons can cut a Gargoyle's hide, and somehow I doubted she'd have either of those."

This time, it was Bertie's turn to be surprised, as Rik caught the larger man in a fierce embrace. "Thank you," Rik choked out, squeezing the Gargoyle tightly. It was a manly hug. Lots of back-slapping and all that.

Bertie just stood there for a moment before he gingerly patted Rik's back. "You're welcome."

Rik pulled away from the giant, casually wrapping an arm possessively around Sam's shoulder and tucking her protectively against his side. "How'd you get here so fast?"

Bertie shrugged again, "I hopped through a few portals, then flew here once I realized where you had taken her."

Around Bertie's back, Rik caught sight of his other brother, Thomas, and his uncle lurking in the doorway of the parlor. Straightening his shoulders, Rik looked down to find Sam looking up at him. Her hand resting on his chest, she gave him a small, intimate smile that eased the tension of his shoulders.

Smiling back down at her, Rik said softly, "Let's go meet the rest of the family, shall we?"