Alive. Josh really was alive!

Taking another deep breath, she formed one word and reached into his mind. Josh.

A kind of movement returned, but cloudy and ill formed, a child’s mind.

I’m here, Josh. I can sense your presence. Mother is here.

She felt the warmth of his mind relax in much the same way that Adrien had relaxed beside her while he slept. Mom?

She trembled now. Yes, I’m here. Are you okay? Tell me you’re all right!

I’m fine. Claire is here. She’s taken care of me. Mom, I miss you.

I miss you, too. So much it hurts. She couldn’t believe the amount of energy she was expending to sustain the conversation. Listen, honey, I’m doing everything I can to get back to you, but there are some things that have to be done first.

I know. Mr. Kiernan told us.

Good. That’s good. Pain swelled inside her head. She couldn’t hold this much longer. That’s what I need to know. She felt the power fade. I’ll do everything I can to bring us back together. I have to go. The power began to fade. I’ll find you, Josh. I love you.

Okay … Mom?…

Then nothing. Her telepathy returned to her, however, in an almost rubber-band snap of pain. She put her hand to her head, wincing. But she didn’t care that she hurt. She’d talked with her son. Josh really was alive and a woman named Claire had taken care of him. At least Kiernan hadn’t lied about that.

She didn’t know what she felt for a long, long moment. Not relief exactly, though that was there. Then she felt it: joy. Josh was alive. She’d kept that thought in the forefront of her mind from the time Kiernan had first contacted her, but she’d never quite believed it. Now she could. Her son was alive. She’d felt him, talked with him.

Her son was alive.

She realized she was smiling. She was sitting on the bathroom floor and smiling. Her son was alive. Alive.

And there was one person she wanted badly to share that news with.

The door opened and Adrien, dressed in only his black leather pants, stepped into the room. “I could feel you speaking to someone telepathically. What’s going on?”

Her heart began to race. She wanted to tell Adrien so badly.

“I feel your distress and your excitement. Tell me.”

Slowly, she rose to her feet. “Please don’t ask. I want to tell you but it’s a condition of my part in the hunt for the extinction weapon. If I reveal this secret, I don’t know what will happen.”

Adrien stared at her and nodded.

She slipped back into telepathy. You’re disappointed that I won’t tell you, that I won’t trust you.

His smile was crooked. It’s unreasonable, but yes, I am. I want your trust more than anything.

I do trust you and I wish I could tell you. You’ve become so important to me. I …

She’d almost said the most impossible words of all, that she loved him. She emitted a kind of gagging sound, then turned in a circle as though she could run from the thought. “What’s wrong with me? These damn chains. I feel what you’re feeling and now—”

“I know.” His hands were on her once more, her back to him, but she relaxed and let him touch her.

“The nightmare that wouldn’t end,” she said.

He didn’t say anything but surrounded her in a warm embrace. He was so kind, so loving. He was a vampire—and yet he was so much more than that. She whirled in his arms and hugged him hard, her head resting against his shoulder.

After a moment, he drew a deep breath. “I suppose I should call Rumy, ask if there was any activity after we returned.”

She pulled away to look up at him then told him the plan, first that she had a surprise for him then the gala.

“A surprise? What kind of surprise?”

After she answered or chose not to answer all his questions, she suggested dinner first, after which she would take him someplace unexpected.

* * *

By the time Adrien had finished grilling a pair of steaks, he knew something was up. His chains now hummed against his neck and chest and he could feel Lily’s excitement.

As he cut a bite of rib eye, he asked, “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

She met his gaze. “Just decided to take the advice of a friend.”

He might have argued or at least made an attempt to ply the information out of her, but a new scent rose above the aroma of his meal, which made him pause mid-bite and stare hard at Lily. She wasn’t just excited, she was excited. Her sweet feminine scent floated in streamers of sensation and her desire fueled his.

He shifted in his seat. They’d have some time before the gala and Lily had even gotten their clothes here, which meant they’d have a couple of hours or more to be together.

He brought his fork to his lips, paused, then shoved another bite of steak in. He chewed, maybe a bit harder than he should have, but the thought of taking Lily back to bed had become a quick fluttering of erotic images through his mind.

He also felt a familiar tingling near his heart that told him he’d need blood soon. But Lily was willing and by the scent of her, she’d be more than happy to donate. Over the decades, he’d served the blood needs of many aroused female vampires so he knew what it was for the donor, how stimulating the slice of the fangs and the ensuing suckling could be.

He couldn’t believe how far they’d come down this road. He thought of her as belonging to him, a regular donor now, his lover, even a good friend. Yes, he thought of her as his friend, someone he could count on in the way he could count on his brothers. Was it just the bonding effects of the chains or was there more here, much more than he had ever thought or dreamed possible?

He stole a glance at her as she speared a bite of steak. She had thick lashes, a beautiful complexion, a lovely human.

When she met his gaze, she asked, “What?”

He leaned into her and kissed her on the mouth then searched her face. “Would you believe me if I said I’ve fallen in love with you?”

Her breath hitched. “I don’t know. We’re under the spell of the chains, right?”

He shrugged. “Do you remember when you first came to me in the cave, before you bound me with the chain? I felt something even then, a drive toward you that I still can’t explain.” He felt a deep tenderness emanating from her, almost throbbing in soft waves.

“Me, too. Almost from the first.”

He kissed her again, only this time he let the kiss linger.

When he drew back, she took a deep breath and swore she trembled. “Keep eating,” she commanded. “You’re going to need your strength.”

Because of the chains, he sensed the deep sexual nature of her intention toward him, which caused him to list in his seat. But he obeyed her and focused all his attention on downing his food.

When at last he settled his fork and knife on his plate and she’d eaten the last of her meal, she turned to him and slid her hand along his thigh. “I’ve had something prepared for you, Adrien, and I hope you’ll like it. Also, I can feel that you need my blood and I’m ready to give it up for you again.”

Since she followed up this bold statement by kissing him, his need for her spiked. He slid off his stool and she came with him, a flow of movement that felt just right as she landed in his arms. He kissed her again, this time piercing her mouth with his tongue, which made her whimper and her hips press against his.

He swiveled his hips just enough to let her feel that he was ready for her, which drew her hand gliding down his back and pressing his buttocks as she arched her hips into him. He needed to take her to bed and was about to suggest the bedroom when she pulled back, her hazel eyes glittering with passion.

She lifted her chin just a little. A dare? “I asked Eve if we could use her Rome apartment for a couple of hours and she said yes. I want to take you there. Will you come with me?” Her scent enveloped him.

Adrien’s heart rate climbed. He’d never been to Eve’s apartment though she’d invited him hundreds of times over the past two centuries, from the time she’d bought and refurbished it.

She’d even described in detail some of the specialty equipment she’d installed in one of the rooms.

He swallowed hard. “You don’t want to just stay here?”

“I have something specific in mind, Adrien. Will you let me have my way right now? It will mean you’ll have to trust me.”

“What’s going on?”

He felt both reluctant and ready. Maybe it was the eagerness in her face or the glitter in her eyes, or that right now she had a hand on each of his butt cheeks and was caressing him, but like any man in his right mind, he said, “Let’s go.”

Since they were already in Italy, the flight took about eight seconds.

When they arrived, dozens of candles had been lit and not a single electric bulb burned.

He released her and turned in a circle. Lily had already moved away from him, following what turned out to be a path of small votives on the floor. His heart began to pound.

Eve was all about dominance.

So what had Lily arranged?

And why here?

Lily walked down a long hall, where more candles showed the way. At the end of the hall was a set of double doors, slightly ajar. When she slipped inside, he would have followed, but she stopped him with a hand on his chest. “Give me a sec. There’s something I need to do first.”

He nodded, mouth dry.

When the door closed, he put his head on the smooth carved wood. His heart was now banging around in his chest. If it beat any faster, it would come loose from its moorings.

He’d never been harder.

He scratched softly on the door and whispered, “Lily. What are you doing to me?”

He didn’t expect an answer, but one came, straight into his head. Do you trust me?

Yes. Sweat beaded on his brow. And strangely, that was the truth. He trusted this woman, this human.

You have a choice, Adrien. If you come in, you must do as I say, do you understand? If you choose not to come in, we’ll go back to Rumy’s guest apartment and you can fuck my brains out, but here, you are mine to command. Do you understand?