He let out an appreciative hiss as he looked over her beautiful full br**sts, smooth lightly toned stomach and moved his eyes south until he spotted her cute little toes wiggling as if it would somehow aide in this chore. When he looked back up he was glad to see that half the bag of blood was gone and she wasn't running towards the sink. Her eyes were still shut and she was grimacing, but it did nothing to take away from her beauty.

As she stood there with her eyes closed he gazed at her. As a child she'd been cute, as a woman she was gorgeous. The few times he'd allowed himself to watch her over the years he'd noticed that she'd grown into a very desirable woman, but he never allowed his mind to drift where it shouldn't and now he couldn't help himself.

"What's wrong?" Danni suddenly asked, frowning. "Did I spill blood?" she asked, looking down at her perfect bare br**sts.

"No," he said, shaking his head slightly as he reached out and took the bag of blood away from her. He placed it on a coffee table, making sure that it wouldn't leak before he turned his attention back to Danni.

"Then what are you looking at?"

"You," he simply said as he reached out and cupped her face in his hands as he brought his mouth down on hers.

Kissing her eased something deep inside of him. Being with her made him feel whole, like everything in his world was finally right and that should have made him push her away, but he couldn't. Right now she was everything to him, his heart, his soul, his world and he'd be damned if he'd pushed away the first real bit of happiness he'd ever known.

She would be his savior, he decided in that moment. When nothing in his world felt right or the bitter loneliness that had haunted him all of his life became too much he would call her just to hear her voice and if that wasn't enough to settle his soul then he would go to her. Now that he had her in his arms and he allowed himself to relax and take what she offered he had to admit that he liked the idea of Danni waiting for him.

Her safety was still his number one concern. He would do whatever it took to keep her protected and keep her from experiencing the hell that awaited her, but he liked the idea of Danni waiting for him. Liked the idea of having her waiting in a secluded hideaway where they could enjoy each other as they pretended that the rest of the world melted away and only they existed. She would be his haven.

"Is this another lesson?" she asked against his lips as the scent of her arousal filled his senses.

"Mmmmhmmm, the very best kind," he murmured against her lips as he took his time savoring her taste, her scent and her warmth.

When he thought he was human all those centuries ago he'd decided never to take a wife. Back then he'd been nothing more than the village freak. He had nothing to offer a woman and honestly, he hadn't wanted one. He hadn't wanted any woman to suffer by being married to a freak. Not that any woman would have had him. Up until the day he slipped into a coma and began his transformation he'd looked like a little boy.

After he woke up and discovered that he was changed in more ways than one, he decided that he truly was a freak, a monster as Danni had claimed. Caine never wanted any woman permanently in his life, knowing that he could never reveal what he was. For a very long time he led a life of leisure with no ties and no worries until his arrogance brought him into the wrong bed and once again he became the town freak.

Once he escaped, he took his anger out on the world. He hadn't cared who he hurt or what he did and he sure as hell hadn't cared about himself. He'd hated himself more than anything. It wasn't until a precocious little girl with brilliant violet eyes started to boss him around that he started to realize just how lonely and f**ked up his existence was.

She gave him something to look forward to and quickly became an enjoyable part of his life, something he'd never experienced before. Pushing her away had been one of the most difficult things he'd ever done in his life, but now he realized that he'd been too selfish to do what he should have done to protect her. He wanted to watch over her and make sure that she had the life that she deserved and obviously he'd f**ked that up, but the selfish part of him was happy, ecstatic even.

He would never have to give up the one person that cared about him, loved him and made his existence somewhat tolerable. Better, she'd grown into a beautiful woman, when she was in his arms she made him whole and perhaps even happy. As a child Danni had made him smile and chased away some of the bitter loneliness that ate at his soul, but it was nothing like what the woman in his arms could do. She made him feel like a man, like he belonged and he'd be damned if he ever let her take that away from him.

"What's the lesson?" she asked as she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"How to please your mate," he growled against her mouth before he deepened the kiss.

Chapter 32

Boston Compound

"You might as well come out of there," Ephraim said, chuckling as he leaned against the wall near the elevator panel and waited for his little stalker to crawl out from the crawlspace beneath the back staircase.

With a put out sigh, Marc crawled out and stood up, dusting off his flannel pajamas. "That's not fair, Dad. You cheated," Marc said with a slight pout.

"Uh huh," Ephraim said absently as he gestured for his son to come to him.

Marc struggled to bite back a smile as he did just that. When he was only a few feet away the smile broke loose and he threw himself into Ephraim's arms. He hugged his son tightly against him, needing this more than anything.

"Can you watch a movie with me, Dad?" Marc asked, trying not to sound too eager as he pulled back to watch Ephraim's expression, he waited patiently for his answer.

Ephraim knew that if he told his son no and explained that he was exhausted that Marc would understand and accept his answer without any complaint and that just about broke Ephraim. Marc was a mature, considerate kid and sometimes it killed him knowing that he'd robbed his son of a decent childhood. Marc should be a typical kid, playing with friends, going outside and getting into trouble, but thanks to him he couldn't have that life.

"Of course," he said, smiling as he put his son down and ignored how exhausted he was. He needed a shower, blood and to hold his wife, but his son needed him and he'd be damned if he failed another child.

"Great!" Marc said excitedly. "You can even pick the movie, Dad."

Ephraim chuckled as he shook his head. "You can pick the movie, little man."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Just let me go check on your brother first," he said, knowing that he wouldn't be able to relax until he made sure that Joshua was okay. It didn't matter that he would have been alerted to any changes in his son's behavior or situation, he needed to see him with his own eyes and make sure that he was okay.

"Okay, I'll come too," Marc said with a firm nod, putting on a brave front as he keyed in the security code for the elevators.

"You don't have to, Marc. Go on upstairs and I'll be there in a few minutes," he said, biting back a yawn.

Marc threw a wistful look over his shoulder at the grand staircase before slowly shaking his head. "No, I'll come, too."

"Okay," Ephraim said, smiling down at his son as they stepped into the elevator.