“We might not be interrupted this time,” he muttered quietly, his lips grazing against mine as he spoke.

“I know.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

He hesitated for a moment, analyzing my face, trying to read my emotions.

“You know what to do?” I asked, suddenly nervous. “You’ve done this before?”

He smiled. “Yes, I’ve done this before.”

I forced down the jealousy that crept up and I wrapped my hands around his neck, urging him closer. It didn’t matter if he’d been with other girls—he was hot as hell, so of course they’d notice him. What mattered was he was here with me now. Piece by piece our clothes fell to the floor. He shifted his weight, pushing me down on the bed. My hands moved over his skin, my heart drumming so hard in my chest that it ached. His arm wrapped around my waist, and the other hand caressed my cheek, moving slowly down my arm, tracing the contour of my body along my hip and down my thigh, igniting my blood as he went. He pulled my thigh up so it wrapped around him. Then it happened…I was having sex.

When it was over, I lay back against him. My body hurt with aches and sensations that I’d never felt before… yet at the same time, I felt content and beyond happy. I’d never expected my first time to be so error free and exhilarating. Then again, I never expected my first time to be in a school with someone seven years older than me, but at the end of the day, none of that mattered. What mattered was it was with the person I love more than anything. It was with the one person who saved my life, risked everything for me and forgiven me for the all bad things I’d done. I was with Eli De Luca—my guardian angel, my savior and my soul mate. I rested my head on Eli’s bare chest and he ran his fingers through my hair.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, planting a kiss on my forehead.

I yawned. “I feel… amazing. How was that for you?”

He ran his fingers down the side of my body and released a low growl from the back of his throat as his hand trailed over my bare hip. “Perfect.”

There was no awkwardness, only contentment. We sat in silence for a few more moments, absorbing each other’s warmth.

“The longer we lay here, the higher our chances of being caught.” I sighed.

“I know, but we need to savor this moment. Who knows when we’ll have another…”

With my index finger, I drew small circles on his hard stomach.

“Tell me something,” Eli said, his voice sounding faint, as if he was going to doze off.

“About what?”

“Anything,” he supressed a yawn, “tell me about this bar you worked at.”

I knew he was fishing for information to see how safe the bar had been. I smiled.

“It was cosy. Nothing too flashy—it’s a small pub, if anything.”

“And the clientele?”

I laughed. “Harmless old men. There were no young, drunken bachelors dressed in expensive business suits in Gerald.”

“If you say so.”

I rolled my eyes and he pulled me closer, squeezing me firmly against him. Even though we’d had sex, the slightest touch of his skin still sent a crackle of electricity through my body.

“Fine, let’s do it.”

“Again?”

He chuckled. “No, let’s run away together.”

My emotions didn’t register. I propped my head on my elbow and stared into his eyes as his words rang in my ears. Was he serious? The way he looked at me told me he was.

“What about what you said about your family?” I asked. “Aren’t you worried you’ll disappoint them?”

“I’m not worried about that anymore. I know my family, they’d be more disappointed if I sat by and let bad things happen to you.”

My heart ached for Eli. I wanted nothing more than to exist with him, alone in our own home. I imagined him mowing the lawn and I’d bring him fresh lemonade. In my vision, we had a kid or two. Life would be perfect, but I couldn’t do that, not now. I promised Mila I’d stay with her and I was going to keep that promise, not because I had to, but because I wanted to.

“I can’t… I promised Mila I wouldn’t leave her again.”

“She can’t possibly remember that, she was beyond drunk.”

“She does remember it, and even if she didn’t, well, I remember. I owe it to her.”

Eli’s face was unreadable. It was hard to determine whether he was relieved or disappointed. “And then there’s Mr. Aleksandrov. If the council is up to something, then I need to protect him from it.”

“You can’t go against the council, Ruby, that’s suicide.”

“No, they wouldn’t kill me. Why would they go through the trouble of making Mr. Aleksandrov the higher power? They broke tradition for me… I have something they want—my powers, no doubt. Besides, I’ve done the impossible twice now. I’ve killed Hank and escaped Lucian—third time’s a charm.”

Eli exhaled, not bothering to lecture me.

“You know I’ll be there for you no matter what you choose to do, right?”

“I know.”

He planted another kiss on my forehead. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

We lay together for a while after our conversation, wrapped in each other’s arms, not saying much. I wish we could have stayed like that forever, but someone was bound to show up eventually, and if they found us like that, things would certainly get real ugly, real quick.

After we located our clothing, got dressed, and exchanged a few more kisses, Eli left, leaving me smiling stupidly to myself. Although it was late, I decided to shower. My muscles ached, and if there was anything that could help my tight, aching muscles, it’d be a hot shower.

In the shower I stood still, letting the water roll over my skin, burning me as it went. I couldn’t shake the images of what happened between us from my mind. If someone had told me last week that I’d be back at Sage and having sex with Eli, I would have laughed in their face. But it happened.

When I got out of the shower, I put on a night gown and climbed into bed. I tried to get comfortable, but something hard was digging into the back of my head. I lifted my head and reached for the object—it was Eli’s whistle. I pulled off the note that was attached to it. This is yours. I love you. I grabbed my pillow and covered my face. Once again I was smiling stupidly to myself. Tonight was so surreal. Eli and I were bonded in ways that magic couldn’t replicate.

I was his.

INTRUSION

The sound of my front door slamming startled me out of a deep sleep. Quickly, I sat up in my bed and waited in the dark until a shadow leaned against my bedroom door. I had to squint just to make out his—or her—silhouette. The whistle was warm in my hand and I contemplated blowing it.

“Mila?” I called.

Silence.

The mysterious shadow stepped forward and I could see that the shadow was tall. My breathing quickened and my heart pounded in a choppy, irregular pattern.

“Eli?”

Silence.

Dark, scared thoughts trickled into me. Heat rushed into my palms as they lit up, giving the dark room a bright new glow. The moment the room lit up, cool breath hit my face and the stranger leaned into me. It was Hunter. My heart lurched and my light turned off. In the darkness, I sprawled backwards until I slammed myself against the wall. He didn’t come closer nor he did he talk. He simply straightened up and stood there. I pinched myself. Was I dreaming? Sage was meant to be safe. It was meant to be protected. My breathing was deep and heavy, I tried to slow it down, but I couldn’t. Hunter crossed the room. When his back was to me, I blew the whistle quickly before stuffing it under my pillow. The lamp turned on and I blinked quickly a few times, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the change.

Hunter stared at me. Aside from being a vampire, he wasn’t doing anything particularly fear invoking, yet I could still feel my pulse beat in my ears. I stared back. I couldn’t take my eyes away from his, if I did—if I broke the connection—I was sure I would die. I’d never felt more certain of anything.

“How did—”

Hunter raised his hand and silenced me.

“You left your laptop on and I read your emails.”

I glowered at him. Of course he’d gone back to my apartment.

“How are you here? Sage is protected.”

Hunter chuckled. “Aw, that’s cute. You honestly thought you were safe here? Hanging with Lucian has its perks, you know. I’ve made connections—powerful connections.”

My hands glowed and Hunter gritted his teeth.

“Don’t make me hurt you, please,” I begged.

“I’m not making you do anything.” Hunter stepped forward.

I flared my sun power and he jumped back. His black eyes darkened and narrowed in on me.

“I came here to warn you, but the overwhelming scent of guardian angel in here tells me I should reconsider and just kill you myself.”

I was sure my blushing could be seen vividly against my scared-to-death, pale skin. Could Hunter tell that Eli and I had been intimate? Was the scent of it still in the air? Did sex even have a smell? Subtly, I inhaled—I couldn’t smell anything. Hunter turned his back to me. This was my only chance. I leaped from my bed and dove for the door, but Hunter was faster and he shoved me hard, so hard that I slammed into the wall. In the few seconds that my vision blurred, Hunter managed to attach something cold and heavy to my wrist. When my vision returned I jumped to my feet and shoved him backwards. I tensed my muscles but the heat that usually came with my sun power didn’t show. I glanced at my hands—at my wrist. A cold, thick metal bracelet adorned my wrist. In the middle was a large, black stone. Somehow this ugly bracelet was preventing me from using my power.

“If you’re trying to win me over with jewelry, you’re definitely going about it the wrong way,” I growled, tugging at the bracelet. It wouldn’t come off. “What did you do?” I yelled, my fear and anxiety turning into anger.

“It’s a Seeyãh stone. When I was in the Middle East, Lucian had a witch make it for you. It blocks your Heelian power.”

“Get it off me now!” I demanded through gritted teeth.

“Sorry, there’s only one way to get that baby off and it’s through a specific witch. Unfortunately for you, I killed her.”

I was mad—no, I was beyond mad. My blood boiled and my vision was tinted with red. I might not be able to use my Heelian powers but I had four other abilities at my disposal. Granted, my other abilities don’t do as much damage as my sun power, but it was better than nothing. I took a few deep breaths and filled my mind with thoughts of crisp, clean air. That was when the screaming started. Hunter dropped to the floor in pain. I sucked more air from his ears. He pulled his leather jacket up over his head, shielding his ears. This was my only chance to escape. I tore through the dark living room and hit my toe on the couch. I fell to my hands and knees. Get up! Get up! Frantically, I climbed to my feet and managed to get the front door open. As my feet came into contact with the porch, I was grabbed from behind and pulled back into the house. Hunter threw me inside and closed the door. My head hit the ground and my vision faltered, but I got to my feet anyway, using the couch arm for support. He rushed over to me and spoke into my ear.

“Once Lucian comes for you on Wednesday, he’ll take us away from here. Then we can run away from him and be together.”

I ignored him and wiped the single tear that rolled down my cheek. I took a step backwards. He grabbed my wrist tightly and pressed his cold, hard body against mine. I tried to push off him but I couldn’t. He was too strong. His index finger slid under my chin and tilted my face upwards, forcing our eyes to meet.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. His eyes softened, but it was too late for that. I cared for Hunter—more than I should. I still cared for him even though he’d all but signed my death sentence.

“Hunter. Let me go,” I said, my voice barely audible.

He buried his face in my neck and I tried to push him away from me, but once again, I couldn’t. The door opened and for a split second fear exploded in me.

“Let her go,” Eli demanded.

Hunter spun around. He lifted his head and a bold smile played on his lips. “Of course you’re here to save the day,” Hunter said in annoyance.

I couldn’t see Eli’s face because my front was still pressed firmly against Hunter.

“I said let her go,” Eli demanded. Even I flinched at his hostility.

“Please,” I whispered to Hunter. “He will kill you.”

Hunter inhaled deeply and let me go. Instantly, I turned on my heels and ran to Eli. Eli stepped in front of me, pushing me out onto the porch, shielding me from Hunter’s jealous gaze.

“Couldn’t find anyone your own age?” Hunter spat at Eli.

“You’re one to talk, you’re not even alive.”

Hunter chuckled.

“How’d you get in?” Eli asked.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

A low growl rumbled through Eli’s chest and he dove at Hunter. Hunter wasn’t expecting it and Eli was fast, so naturally Eli took Hunter down. I bit my lip, fighting the urge to intervene. If I did, I’d lose Eli. If I didn’t intervene, I’d lose Hunter. A wooden stake was drawn and pressed against Hunter’s chest—directly above his heart. I squeezed my eyes shut. I didn’t want to watch. I couldn’t.

“How did you get in?” Eli growled again.

“Kill me, because I’ll never tell you.”