I felt Nikolas coming closer and I knew he was searching for me. I was about to call out to him when he appeared in the doorway. He entered the room and crouched in front of me.

“Why are you hiding in here alone?”

I summoned a smile. “If I was hiding, I’d be behind the couch.”

“You’d never hide behind a couch.”

“True. There is no dignity in lying in dust bunnies.”

His smile was barely visible in the light from the window. “Want some company?”

“Behind the couch?”

“Wherever you want.”

The huskiness in his voice made my stomach dip. “Yes,” I said shyly, moving to sit up.

He surprised me by moving to stretch out behind me with his arm under my head. The couch wasn’t that deep, and he pulled me against his delicious warmth with his free arm wrapped around my waist. Heat shot straight to my belly, and I tensed nervously before I relaxed against him.

“Comfortable?” he asked softly, his warm breath caressing my ear.

“Yes.” Comfortable wasn’t exactly the word I’d use to describe how it felt having Nikolas pressed against the length of me. Every nerve ending in my body thrummed with electricity, and my lungs seemed to have forgotten how to work. At the same time, I felt completely safe and loved. It was a heady mix of emotions.

“Do you want to talk about her?”

I was quiet for a moment while I gathered my thoughts. “She wasn’t what I expected. I pity her. Except for Adele, she has no one, and she spends her life running and afraid and regretting the love she gave up. I think of her and I realize how lucky I am to have you and everyone else in my life.”

His arm squeezed me. “That’s not luck. You have so many people who love you because you’re a good person. Madeline was always selfish. She proved that when she left home the way she did, and with her behavior since then. I’m not saying she deserves the things that have happened to her, but I do believe she brought most of them on herself. That you can feel sad for her after all you’ve been through shows how kind you are.”

I thought about his words. He always knew just what to say or do to make me feel better. It was as if he could read my mind sometimes.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

“How do you always know when I need you?”

“When you’re hurting, I feel it,” he said gruffly.

“You do?”

“Yes.” He kissed my temple. “So don’t ever try to hide your pain from me.”

“Why can’t I do the same with you?”

“You will, someday.” When the bond is complete. He didn’t have to say the words for me to know what he meant. What would it be like to know someone on such an intimate level? To know him that way? The thought brought a smile to my lips, and I snuggled closer to him.

“I love you, Nikolas.”

He turned my face toward him until he could press his lips to mine. “I love you too, moy malen’kiy voin.”

Lightning flashed and a peal of thunder shook the house as if Mother Nature was giving her approval. Or it was more likely that she was saying, “It’s about damn time.”

All too soon, the world crept into my little cocoon of happiness. I sighed when I thought about starting over in our search for the Master. We were no closer to finding him than we’d been months ago. “What do we do now?”

“I don’t know, but we’ll figure it out together. Like you told Madeline, you found her when no one else could. We’ll go back to California and come up with a plan for what to do next.”

I suddenly felt so world weary, and all I wanted was to see Nate and Tristan and to walk in the woods with Hugo and Woolf. “I don’t want to go back to California,” I said hoarsely.

“Where do you want to go?”

I shifted until I was on my back, looking up at him. “Can we go home?”

The smile that spread across his face stole my breath away. “I thought you’d never ask.”

* * *

I awoke with a gasp as ice filled my chest and made it hard to breathe. “Oh God!” I rolled off the couch and stumbled to the door of the dark room. Down the hallway I heard voices, and I ran toward them.

“Vampires!” I cried as I burst into the living room.

Nikolas was standing by the fireplace with Chris and Geoffrey, and the three of them spun toward me at once. Geoffrey looked confused, but Nikolas and Chris leapt into action. Nikolas was at my side in a heartbeat.

“Where? How many?”

“Everywhere,” I choked out. “At least fifteen.”

Geoffrey ran over to us. “How does she know that?”

“No time to explain. Get ready.” Nikolas grabbed the first sword he saw. “Chris?”

Chris stood by the living room window, peering through the closed blinds with a sword in his hand. “Nothing yet.”

“What’s going on?” Jordan ran down the stairs as six warriors spilled from the basement. The moment she saw my face, she snatched a katana from the wall over the fireplace. “Where?”

Nikolas took charge. “We have at least fifteen hostiles incoming. Jordan and Abigail, you’re with Chris. Elijah, you, Joseph, and Noah cover upstairs. Travis and Oliver take the kitchen. Geoffrey and I will cover the back.”

“What about me?” I asked as everyone ran to take up defensive positions.