His phone vibrated and he answered it without looking.

“Yes?”

“Hey, brother,” Charles’s smooth voice answered.

Relief flooded him. “Hey, Charles. I could really use some good news right now.”

Charles was silent for a few seconds, and Noah’s grip on the phone tightened. He loosened his hold. Replacing a cell phone with another that couldn’t be traced back to him while cruising next to Mexico was a pain in the ass he didn’t need. “But you don’t have any to give me, do you?”

“I’m sorry, man. I was able to figure out what the push was, but I’m afraid even Alex doesn’t have the clout to counteract it,” Charles said, his light tone burdened by the news.

Confusion washed over him. Who wouldn’t Alex be able to persuade? The man was one of the oldest vampires in North America, and few on The Council wouldn’t be swayed by his reassurance that Noah would be fine on his own for a few more decades. Alex could be on the subcouncil that ran the whole of the continent if he’d wanted to be. But he wasn’t interested in ruling.

Vampires were, above all things, unfailingly honest among themselves. Surely no one would suspect Alex of lying? Hell, Alex had been honest enough to admit he might not make it another fifty years if unbonded, which had resulted in a marriage Alex didn’t want. No one would suspect him of lying for a friend.

His stomach dropped. There was only one person he could think of with the clout to contradict Alex, who also had an interest in Noah’s fate.

“Father. Kane is behind this, isn’t he?”

“I haven’t been able to track him down yet, talk to him in person. Alex is working on it, too. But you know how…difficult he is.”

“You won’t find him until he wants to be found. I know.” Hell. It was over. He would have to go through with the bonding. Escaping wasn’t an option. It wasn’t even a consideration, no matter how much he wished it was. And by going through with The Council’s arranged marriage, he’d be forced to stop seeing Alice.

Unless he didn’t have to. Hell, most vampire bondings were a formality. They had to be consummated—once—for the magic to take hold. But after that, the couple was free to live how they wanted. In all likelihood, his vampire “bride” wouldn’t be any happier about being stuck with him than he was with her.

Just as hope surged through his chest at the thought, cold reality swept it away. No. He couldn’t—wouldn’t—do that to Alice. Even if the bonding was in name only, how could he return to her after sleeping with another woman? He couldn’t. And he wouldn’t continue seeing her if there was no hope of it becoming more than a dalliance. She deserved better.

She deserved everything.

“I wish I could do something. I mean, maybe that neighbor of yours—”

“What about her?” he said, unable to keep the anger from his voice. The whole situation was just so damned stupid, and the timing of it all couldn’t have been worse.

“Well, I mean, maybe you could talk to her. Bring her over.”

Noah couldn’t find a reply to that. The idea of Alice being a vampire both fascinated and scared him. Spending decades—centuries—with her was a heady thought. But she’d have to avoid the sun. And eventually, she’d have to watch her family die.

Granted, she’d have at least a lifetime with them, and it was possible some could be brought over by her after a few years, but that wasn’t guaranteed. To be with him, she’d have to be willing to give so many other things up.

“I know you don’t know her that well, but the two of you seem to have a connection. Might be better than taking a roll of the die with whomever The Council picks. If it comes down to them, you’ll be tied to one so young she needs your strength to keep her from biting anyone who comes in range, and she’ll be a stranger.” Just seems like someone you know—someone you already like—might be a better choice.” Charles let out a long sigh. “Fuck, man. I don’t know. I guess I’m just searching for a way out.”

“I don’t think there is a way out,” he said, but Charles’s words pounded through his brain. He’d only thought about his side of this mess, but what about the poor woman he was bonded to? She was likely to be equally as unhappy about the pairing, and even if she wasn’t, one look at Noah would tell her he was mooning over someone else. That wasn’t fair to anyone, but he was damned if he could see a way out of it.

Bonding and turning Alice—that wasn’t something he was certain he was ready to do. And it damned sure wasn’t something Alice was ready for.

Charles was silent on the other end of the line, but Noah could picture his drawn expression. Charles never lost hope. He was ever the optimist. But a situation had finally hit where all the optimism in the world wouldn’t help.

“Thanks, Charles,” he managed, “I appreciate you trying.” He hit end on the phone, mind reeling.

Why would his father be concerned about him now? After all these years? After the warring between the vampire groups had calmed, not long after Charles was brought over, Kane had disappeared. With the cryptic instruction that his blood sons take care of each other. Alex, Noah, and Charles. Brothers in blood. And Kane, their father in blood, if not in birth.

What the hell was the old man playing at?

Alice unlocked the door to their shared cabin, hands trembling from nerves, two hours after she’d left Noah with the poor excuse of looking for medicine. She carried some ibuprofen with her, although she knew it probably looked weird that she’d waited so long to come back. She didn’t really have a good excuse ready, but hoped he wouldn’t press her for one, anyway.

He’d needed the time alone, no doubt to feed on the blood he’d hidden. And she’d needed to get the hell out of there. Because no matter how safe Noah made her feel, that afternoon on the bench there had been no mistaking his hunger.

And that hunger had scared her.

Not that Noah made her afraid, exactly. But the way he’d smelled her, looked at her. It was as if Noah wasn’t entirely in control of his own body. And it suddenly hit her on a visceral level that he was really a creature that survived on human blood.

Noah sat on the couch, freshly showered and dressed. He looked up as she entered, his face still strained, but he didn’t look hungry. If anything, his frown and flitting gaze suggested guilt.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” Despite seeing his darker side, her heart still skipped the way it always had when she saw him. And whatever fear had gripped her on that bench no longer touched her. He was just Noah, and she hated the line between his brows when he was unhappy.

“I’m good now. Thanks for getting me back to the ship.” He took a deep breath. “And I’m sorry if I acted oddly, I—”

“Don’t apologize. You have nothing to be sorry for.”

He looked like he wanted to argue, but finally he shook his head and turned his gaze to his hands.

She bit the inside of her lip. Something had changed in him. And it felt like a wall was being erected between them. She couldn’t allow that. There might not be a future for her and Noah, but she cared about him. And wanted, so badly, for their time together to be happy. Limited though that time might be.

With confidence she didn’t really feel, she strode to the couch and sat next to him. Her shoulder brushed against his, and she took his hands in hers.

“Everything is going to be okay,” she said, and her voice came out as she’d hoped: confident, clear, and lacking any worry.

His eyes met hers, and the yearning in them stilled her breath. “You sound pretty sure of yourself.”

“I am.” She released his hands and then reached up and held his face gently. “We’re fine, right?”

He searched her face for something before he answered. “Of course.”

The words sounded like a lie, but she wasn’t pushing it. Not today. She leaned forward and kissed him soundly on the lips. “Good. We’d better get going.”

“Where are we going?”

Was he even feeling well enough to leave the suite? He looked—well, he looked scrumptious, but that didn’t mean he really felt well. The man was far too good at hiding his discomfort. “I have to cook that lasagna for Cindy. If you feel well enough to help me, you can come assist. But it’s off the ship, in a bungalow we’ve rented for the day. If you don’t—”

“Does this make me your sous chef?”

She laughed. “I guess so. Do you like lasagna?”

“Sounds delicious,” he said, and the low growl in his voice sent shivers running down her spine. She would bet the man didn’t have food on his mind.

They headed back off the ship, to a bungalow Cindy had reserved for the wedding party for the night. The space was large enough for a group five times their size, and came with an attached galley.

They took a cab to the small house on the beach. The bungalow was charming and bright, and sun was cresting toward the horizon. Waves splashed against the beach, soothing. The salty smell of the ocean draped the air.

“So this place belonged to your parents?” Noah said as he checked out the living room.

If ever a home deserved to be called quaint, it was this one.

“They never owned it or anything, but they did spend a lot of time here. It’s special,” she said.

She rushed Noah to the kitchen, which wasn’t a bad size, and more importantly, it appeared to have all the ingredients she’d ordered in the refrigerator and pantry. There wasn’t much time left to do everything, so she was grateful to have Noah along to help with the prep work.

Whatever had bothered him when she entered the room seemed to lift when they started cooking. And as she chirped instructions at him, she was happy to discover Noah knew his way around the kitchen. Did vampires enjoy eating? She’d assumed they ate to maintain their cover in front of humans, but maybe they liked lasagna as much as any non-vampire.