“I would have, too,” she grumbled. “I didn’t want anyone messing with my memories of you.”

  “Why?” His tone was rough, his gaze deep and measuring.

  She swallowed, fighting hard to hold back her tears. “Because they were the best memories of my life.”

  His arm tightened around her back. “Mine too, Lainey.”

  She searched his gorgeous face, trying to read his expression. Recalling the painful reason she’d left, she quietly said, “I can’t even begin to describe how amazing it is to see you, but why are you here, Nick?”

  “We’ll get to that,” he muttered, sounding impatient. “At the moment, I’m about to have you on the nearest horizontal surface I can find. If you want it to be the bed, then you’d better get your ass over there. Now.”

  “But we—”

  With an arresting look on his handsome face that was somehow as affectionate as it was hungry, he growled, “Shut up, Lainey. All I want to hear from you right now is Harder, Nick.” His voice dropped to a husky, provocative whisper. “And Deeper, Nick.”

  Oh…wow. Her body was already melting for him, going liquid and hot and needy.

  “And feel free to scream,” he added with an impossibly sexy smirk, reaching under the hem of her gown and ripping her flimsy lace panties off of her. “I love it when you do that.”

  A second later, he had two big fingers shoved deep inside her slick sex, deliciously filling her, and she gasped, “My God!”

  With that wicked smirk still on his lips, he drawled, “That’s acceptable, too.”

  She was snorting with laughter as he rose to his feet and carried her across the room in his arms, then tossed her into the middle of the high mattress. But as he quickly lost his shirt and jeans, after taking off his boots and socks, and started to come down over her wearing nothing but his tight black boxers, she sucked in a sharp breath and pressed her hands against his chest. “Please, Nick,” she whispered, gazing up at him through a glistening sheen of tears. “I need to know what’s happening.”

  With a heartfelt groan, he rolled to his back beside her and pushed both hands through his hair. “Okay,” he said, and she could tell that he was trying to dredge up enough patience to do this…because it was clear from the impressive bulge in his shorts what he’d prefer to be doing. “Where do you want to start?”

  Moving onto her side, Lainey propped herself up on an elbow, unable to get over the fact that he was lying there beside her. “What happened that night?” she asked. “After you had your brothers take me away?”

  With his gaze focused on the ceiling, he said, “I hunted down every last one of those sadistic bastards. They’re all dead.”

  Her brows lifted with surprise. “You didn’t keep any alive for questioning?” she asked, knowing how important it was for him and his brothers to find out who had been helping the wolves.

  “No, I didn’t question them.” He turned his head toward her, locking her in that deep, scorching blue. “They knew who you are, Lainey. I couldn’t risk one of them getting away and coming after you.”

  “Won’t you be in trouble with your…bosses, though?”

  Nick snorted. “They can try. But the ones I work for know better than to piss me off.”

  She made a small sound of relief. “Good.”

  Reaching out, he caught one of her curls, twining it around his finger as he asked, “Are you going to tell me what happened with my brothers?”

  “Val said that I was the last thing you needed,” she whispered, unable to hide her worry in the quiet words. Not to mention her pain. “He said that if I stayed, you would turn your back on them and give up eternity for me. That you would…suffer because of me.”

  “Val is full of bullshit,” he growled, his dark eyes flashing with anger. “You never should have listened to him.”

  “Are you saying that you wouldn’t die if we were together?” she asked, almost too afraid to hope. Because while they would still have some serious…issues – such as the fact that she would age, and he wouldn’t – in that moment, she just didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was having as much time with the remarkable Nick Santos as she could, and she was greedy as hell for it.

  But instead of answering her question, he got that closed look on his face that was impossible to read as he let go of her hair, then sat up at the side of the bed. With his back to her, he said, “You know vampires can’t commit suicide, Lainey.”

  Frustrated by that half-assed response, she sat up too, in the center of her colorful bedspread, and said, “That’s not what I’m talking about and you know it, Nick. Val told me that vampires who pledge their lives to a human will often choose to feed from only that one source, and in doing so, they begin to age and grow old. Then they die with their…loved one.”

  Moving to his feet, he started to pace across the hardwood floor, the way his powerful muscles shifted and flexed beneath his tight skin the most magnificent thing she’d ever seen. “So you just left?” he ground out, cutting her a sharp look from the corner of his eye. “Without even talking to me about it?”

  Using her fingertips to wipe away the tears that had started spilling over her cheeks, she said, “I’m not… I’m not saying that you love me. But I knew that if I stayed with you, there was a strong chance that you would give up everything.” A watery smile curled her lips. “You wouldn’t have wanted to hurt me by breaking my heart. You’re too much of a gentleman.”

  Shoving a hand back through his hair again, he gave a rough, masculine snort as he shook his head. “Christ, Lainey. You’re the only person in the entire world who would ever accuse me of being noble.”

  “But you are. And that’s why I won’t let you do it. There’s got to be another way, because I refuse to let you die for me, Nick.”

  He stopped at the side of the bed, staring down at her with so much heat she felt burned. “I choose to think of it as living for you,” he husked, grabbing her ankles and pulling her toward him so that he was standing between her legs as she sat on the edge of the mattress. “I wouldn’t want to live on without you, baby. I couldn’t. And I know I should have told you how I felt before, but I’m saying it now.” Dropping to his knees, he pushed his fingers into her hair, his blue eyes glittering with emotion as he said, “I fell completely in love with you in that bunker, Lainey Maxwell. And as sorry as I am that you lost your brother, I’m grateful as hell that you were brought into my life.”

  Breathless and unable to hold back her tears, she whispered, “I love you, too. So much, Nick.”

  With a heartfelt groan, he muttered, “Thank God.” But then he rubbed the callused pad of his thumb across her damp cheek, and a frown wove its way between his dark brows as he said, “I want so badly to make you happy, but you know that life with me isn’t going to be easy.”

  Touching her fingertips to the scar on his biceps where the werewolf had bitten him that first night, she asked, “How are you doing with…everything?”

  “I’ll be better now that I’m with you. I haven’t been fit to be around since you left,” he admitted sheepishly. “But I’m handling the bite okay.”

  “You’re not in any pain?” she asked with obvious concern.

  He shook his head. “It was frightening at first, changing like that. The second night I had more control, though, and even more the night after that. But I’ll never be…normal for you, Lainey.”

  “Normal is so boring,” she told him with a soft smile, running her fingers through his short hair. “I’d hate normal.”

  A wry grin twisted his lips. “I’m glad you feel that way. Because I’m sure I’ll be a handful whenever it’s a full moon. I probably won’t even let you out of bed.” He pushed her hair back from her face, his expression positively sinful. “But knowing you, it won’t be anything you can’t handle.”

  “You got that right,” she agreed with a playful waggle of her brows. “I’m expecting you to be a handful every night in the sack, so the full-moon sex will just be a bonus.”

  A shock of heat flared in his blue eyes, one of those deliciously husky laughs that she loved so much rumbling up from his chest as he said, “Bite or no bite, I’ll always be an animal with you, woman. You just…affect me.”

  “I love that, Nick.” With a serious note creeping into her voice, she added, “So long as I’m the only woman who gets to see that side of you. We never really talked about—”

  “We never talked about it,” he cut in, “because I thought you understood. I don’t share. No other man is ever getting his hands on you.”

  Pressing her palms against his warm, solid chest, she said, “I don’t want any other man. But I feel the exact same way about you.”

  “I sure as hell hope so, because you’re the only woman I want.” His voice was getting rougher, and she could feel the heavy pounding of his heart. “The only woman I’ll ever want or touch or kiss or make love to,” he told her, his big hands suddenly landing on her hips as he jerked her closer.

  “No flirting either,” she warned him, so full of happiness she thought she might burst.

  He got that haughty, insulted look that always made her smile. “Do I look like a bloody flirt?”

  “You flirt with me like crazy,” she pointed out.

  Eyes smoldering, he gripped her ass and gave a sexy growl. “That’s because you’re mine, baby. I can do whatever the hell I want with you.”

  “You got that right.” She cupped the side of his beautiful face in her hand, her smile falling as she asked, “But what are we going to do about the future? Isn’t there any way you can…keep me with you?”

  “I love you, Lainey. That means I’m damn well going to marry you and keep you with me for the rest of our lives.”

  Though she was beyond excited about that “marry you” part, she knew they needed to talk this out. “But my life isn’t like yours. I don’t want you to die because of me, Nick. I couldn’t stand that.”

  “And I can’t stand the thought of hurting you,” he muttered, his voice so low it was almost soundless. “Please don’t ask me to do that.”

  She studied his raw expression and suddenly realized what he meant. “Nick, is there a way that you could…change me? So that I could be like you?”

  His face was tight with tension. “I don’t want to talk about it. Not now.”

  Almost too afraid to hope, she said, “Whatever it is, I love you, and that means that I’m willing to do whatever it takes to share my life with you. The more time we have together, the better.”

  The look in his eyes was dark and wild, and his breathing was getting jagged. “I love you, too,” he groaned. “So much that it scares the hell out of me. And the thought of you giving up your world for mine makes me want to—”

  “Shh…” she whispered, pressing her mouth against his for a soft, quick kiss, knowing that anything more was only going to end one way, and as much as she craved making love with him, there were still things that needed to be discussed. Because she wasn’t giving up on this. “It’s going to be okay, Nick. Just trust me.”

  He drew his head back and parted his lips, and she knew he was going to argue. But then he got a funny look on his face, and said, “There’s someone coming up the stairs.”

  Her eyes went wide with panic. “Ohmygod!” she gasped, pushing him away and clambering to her feet. “That’s my grandmother! She doesn’t believe in knocking and there’s no lock on that door. So get your clothes on! She’s about to bust right in here!”

  His brows drew together in a comical scowl as he stood up. “She just walks into your room without knocking?”

  Rolling her eyes, Lainey said, “I love her to death, but the woman has no concept of personal space.”

  It must have looked like some kind of screwball comedy as they both tried to get back into their clothes before the door was opened. When Nick caught his foot in the leg of his jeans and fell over, his gorgeous body sprawling across the floor, Lainey collapsed against her dresser, laughing so hard she was crying. He’d only just managed to get back on his feet, yanking the jeans up over his lean hips, when they ran out of time. Wiping the tears from her cheeks, Lainey watched as her grandmother’s weathered face came into view around the edge of the door.

  “There something you want to tell me, young lady?” Grandma Kate asked, poking her gray head farther into the room. Her brown eyes were bright with curiosity as she gazed at Nick, who had swiftly moved to Lainey’s side.

  Taking Nick’s hand, Lainey spoke in a breathless, excited rush. “Gram, this is Nick Santos and he’s… Well, I love him! He’s the most incredible, wonderful man. And we’re, um… You see…”

  Squeezing her hand, Nick got right to the point. “I’m going to marry your granddaughter, ma’am. As soon as possible.”

  For a moment, there was nothing but a stunned, heavy silence. Then, with a knowing smile – and a conspiratorial wink at Nick – her grandmother said, “I gotta say that I’m pretty excited about this wedding. It’ll be the first one I’ve ever been to that takes place at night!”

  Lainey shot a stunned look at Nick, whose dark brows were raised with surprise, and then they both started to laugh.

  She didn’t know how or why, but it was obvious that Grandma Kate had known about the existence of vampires all along.

  Epilogue

  Three months later…

  The view of the Pacific this time of day was always his wife’s favorite, and she would often crawl out of bed at sunset and savor her first cup of coffee out on the balcony that extended off the master suite. Knowing that was where he would find her, Nick enjoyed the same magnificent view through the exterior wall of glass as he climbed the stairs up to their bedroom with her mug in hand, the sun glowing like a ball of flame on the horizon, the stars already twinkling in the dusky sky.

  Lainey had only been a vampire for a few months now, and she still wasn’t strong enough to go out in the daytime. But he knew she didn’t mind. Whenever he worried and brought up the subject, she would tell him that he’d already given her more than she’d ever hoped for, and that she was thankful for every day – and night – that she had with him.

  As for Nick, he’d never dared to hope he could know happiness like this. Lainey had brought a light and warmth to his life that he’d never imagined could be his, and he was utterly devoted to her. His brothers teased him ruthlessly about being whipped, but he couldn’t have cared less. He knew that deep down the jackasses were just jealous that he’d found the perfect woman.

  Of course, for the first few weeks that he and Lainey had been together, there’d been countless arguments about their future. Still unwilling to put her through the excruciating process of becoming a vampire, he’d argued for her to remain human and for the two of them to grow old together. But in the end, it was his own greed that had been his downfall. Every time Lainey had talked about having an eternity to spend with him, his resistance had cracked a bit more, because he wanted as many forevers with her as he could get. Then there was the fact that the little imp had refused to marry him until he’d finally done what she called “accepting the inevitable,” and so on a warm, late-summer night, with his family gathered around for support, Nick had drained her of her life’s blood…and then filled her with his own.

  Two weeks later, they’d been married in a breathtaking ceremony at his parents’ vineyard in Spain, in front of their closest friends and family. And after a decadent honeymoon in Mauritius, where they made love on the beach every night beneath the ethereal glow of the moon, they’d moved into the new seaside, cliff-top home they’d found in Malibu. With too many suspicions still about the things the werewolf pack had known, including how they’d learned that he lived in Moonlight Bay, Nick hadn’t been comfortable taking Lainey back to the house there. The estate had since been sold, the beach set up as a nature reserve in Ryan’s name, and their Malibu home, which had the most high-tech security available, was listed in one of their new aliases, making it impossible to trace back to them – even for someone with connections to the Council.

  And although Nick had gone into their marriage intending to quit his work as an Enforcer, it hadn’t worked out that way. Lainey had repeatedly argued that he couldn’t walk away from something that was so much a part of him just because of her…and then the headstrong woman had gone and employed his family’s help. Left with no other choice, Nick had grudgingly given in and resumed working with his brothers. And since Lainey had quit her job in San Diego, she’d decided to put her research skills to good use by helping them with their investigations. Seb and Val now claimed that they didn’t know how they’d ever managed without her, and despite their ribbing, it was obvious that his brothers were crazy about her. Even the dour Val had been caught lingering in the home office that Nick had built for her on more than one occasion, simply enjoying her company.

  The only rough spot had been when the next full moon had arrived. Overcome by lust and love, he knew he’d been too aggressive with her, not to mention insatiable, keeping her in bed except for those brief moments when she’d needed to eat or visit the bathroom. But she’d never complained, promising him that she’d loved every minute of it. There’d even been a beautiful smile on her lips the next day when she’d told him that the full moon was always going to be her favorite time of the month. One she would look forward to, forever counting down the days, and so rather than feel guilty, he’d only been able to marvel at how fucking lucky he was to be loved by such an incredible woman.

  The morning after the night Nick had finally tracked Lainey down in Alabama, she’d had a long talk with her grandmother and had learned so much about her family that she’d never known. According to Kate, her son’s research into ancient texts had convinced him that there was a preternatural world living among humanity in secret. A world that consisted of creatures and species most humans relegated to the realms of fiction and the imagination.