Some of the fear that had been inside of her lessened. That cold, clinging fear that had tightened around her heart dissipated.

The waves rocked against them.

Julian tasted like the sea.

He tasted...

His mouth pulled from hers. "f.u.c.king scared me when I saw you fall." His words were a rumble.

"I...bit him."

His eyes widened. Then they narrowed. "What?"

There was anger in his voice. Jealousy? Too hard to say for sure. But he was holding her even tighter now and going double-time as they headed back to the sh.o.r.e. They didn't speak again until their feet were on the sand. He kept his hold on her wrist as they trudged up the beach.

"Where's the human?" Julian demanded. "The trigger happy one." A deep rumble vibrated his chest. His naked chest. Shifter side-effect. She was sure his clothes were in a ripped pile some place. "The human got aboard the Devil's Prize. That b.i.t.c.h pumped me with tranq."

Once she'd knocked Julian and Marcos out, she must have also steered the Devil's Prize back to sh.o.r.e and secured it to the dock before she'd gone hunting. But the human wasn't a threat they needed to worry about right then. "Leo put her to sleep." Rose's clothes clung to her body and water trickled over her skin. "Julian, when I first found you, it looked as if you were...caught, mid-shift. Frozen. And I was so scared..." Her words trailed away as his expression softened.

"Worried about me?" He finally freed her wrist and his hand rose so that the back of his fingers traced over her cheek. "Better tread with a fine step or you'll make me think you care."

Her chin lifted. "I don't want you dead. I've never wanted that."

"Then you understand, finally, how I felt the night your human life ended." His gaze glittered. "There was no f.u.c.king way I was going to let you go."

"Julian-"

"She bit me." Leo's voice thundered out suddenly and she could have sworn the ground actually shook beneath her. She glanced to the left, almost expecting to see a dragon standing there, but no, Leo was still in human form. Looking incredibly p.i.s.sed, but human.

"I've never been bitten by a vampire, not in all of my centuries on this earth." Fury twisted his face. "That's a killing offense. For someone like her to bite me." He waved toward Julian. "That's your job, right? a.s.sa.s.sin? To take out the paranormals who cross the line. She crossed it. She drank from me. So take care of her."

Had he just ordered Julian to kill her?

But...

Julian didn't come at her with his claws. Instead, he moved his body, positioning himself between her and Leo. "b.u.g.g.e.r off," he snapped at the Lord of the Light. "I don't take orders from you. You aren't the twin I work for, remember? And when Luke finds out that Rose took a bite out of you, he's not going to order her death. He'll probably decide to throw her a f.u.c.king party to celebrate."

She rose onto her tip toes so that she could see over Julian's shoulders. Leo's face had mottled with fury. But she could tell...he knew Julian was right. Even she could imagine Luke's perverse joy when he found out that she'd gotten to his brother. The first vamp to get close enough to damage Mr. Holier Than Thou? Luke might even give her a medal. "It's your own fault," she told him and his eyes turned to absolute slits of fury at her words. "I wanted to get to Julian. I kept telling you to let me go."

"I was trying to help you! Ungrateful vamp!"

She shrugged. "You should have just let me go to him. He was hurting. He needed me."

But Leo shook his head. "You have no idea what you've done."

She'd gotten her shifter back. That was what she'd done.

"The tranqs were stronger than any I've faced before," Julian said. He didn't relax his guard for a moment, and he kept his body positioned between her and Leo. "After the last hit, I had to force my panther to the surface. I knew if there was any chance of me staying conscious, the beast had to be fully in control. But even then...it was touch and go. The panther had to claw its way out of me."

Leo was silent a moment. His face stayed tense and Rose wondered if an explosion was imminent. But then his shoulders relaxed a bit. "You are as strong as Luke always said. Now I see why he made the deal with you." His gaze slid to Rose. "Though it's not a deal I appreciate right at this moment."

"Stop being a baby," she muttered, annoyed. They had bigger problems to deal with right then.

"A what?" It sounded as if Leo were choking.

Rose barely controlled an eye roll. "It was only a few sips. Not enough to do any serious damage to you."

"It's not the damage to me I'm worried about."

What was that even supposed to mean? "Your blood wasn't that good, buddy. I get more of a rush with Julian."

His glower got worse. "I want my angel back," Leo announced. He pointed at Julian. "You were supposed to get your vamp, and stick to her like glue. Twenty-four, seven, remember? That was the deal. You were supposed to find out the ident.i.ty of the Collector. You were supposed to find out where he is keeping his prisoners. You were not supposed to leave the vamp's side so you could get tranqed-"

"Leo, you're bossy as h.e.l.l." And Julian's fingers threaded with Rose's. "Come on, love. We're going to the house so you can get dried off and changed."

She felt a smile curve her lips. He did that a lot. Took care of her. Sure, he was primitive and scary and beast-like, but he had a different side-a protective side. One that seemed to come out with her.

They headed forward but Leo didn't get out of their path. She was pretty sure that Julian would move the guy if Leo didn't get the hint.

Leo kept glaring.

Her skin began to itch. Weird.

"Just so you know..." Julian drawled. "I found out the ident.i.ty of the Collector. It's a guy named Simon Lorne. Thought he was a human at first, then I realized he's the one tossing out compulsions like candy to the mortals. That trigger happy human who pumped me full of tranqs? She was sent out here on his command. Probably because he thought we'd play nice and not hurt her."

Leo's face was a dull red. "Because you aren't supposed to hurt humans!"

Julian seemed to consider the situation. "Maybe she was supposed to be a distraction." He glanced out at the water, then looked back at Leo. "For all we know, Simon could be preparing to close in for the kill, and I'm not just going to stand on the beach like a welcome wagon for him. I'm getting Rose to the house and..." Now he let Rose go long enough to bound quickly over to the Devil's Prize and grab an unconscious Marcos from the vessel. He slung the guy over his shoulder and hurried back to Rose's side. "And I'm making sure my friends are secure. Then I'll hunt the b.a.s.t.a.r.d, just as we agreed. I'll get your angel back. I'll get all the paranormals that he's been keeping."

With Marcos still over his shoulder, Julian took Rose's hand and threaded his fingers with hers once more. "And she wasn't at my side," he rasped, "because I wanted her safe. Her safety comes first for me. Always. You need to remember that."

Leo took a lunging step toward him. "And you need to remember that if I don't get the angel back, you don't get what you wanted."

Rose rolled back her shoulders. The odd itch she felt in her skin was getting worse. And she'd started to feel...nauseous. Since when did vamps get nauseous? Well, okay, it happened...but normally only when she was hungry. When she'd gone days without blood.

They headed to the house. As they hurried up the path, they saw Rayce. A now fully awake Rayce. He had the human in his arms. She was still out cold. Good.

They'd deal with her soon enough.

Rayce whistled when he spied Leo. "This day just got even worse, didn't it?"

Leo grunted back at him.

Their little crew kept trudging to the house-a crew that now included Rayce and the human. Each step...each step became slower for Rose. Harder to take. She felt sluggish and her veins seemed heavy in her body.

Her breath came in pants. And her clothes-even though they were still wet-they felt too hot. Her skin was too hot.

She was too hot. Burning, from the inside.

"Panther." Leo's voice was flat with command. "You need to take care of the vampire."

Julian's gaze swung toward her. She tried to smile for him but...

Something is wrong with me. Something inside. She could feel it. Her heart was slowing down. Everything was slowing.

Julian put Marcos on the ground. Marcos gave a little snore. Definitely still out.

"Rose?" Concern flashed on Julian's face. "Rose, what's wrong?"

She tried to speak, but her throat seized up. She couldn't even gasp. Her whole body was heavy. She felt as if it were shutting down.

"I told you," Leo said, but his voice didn't have a know-it-all tone. Instead, he sounded worried and that scared Rose. "She drank my blood. There will be repercussions."

She was dizzy. The world spun around Rose. Julian caught her right before she fell.

"Get her inside," Leo blasted. "Give her your blood. Do whatever the h.e.l.l you can for her or-"

Is my heart still beating? Rose couldn't tell.

"Or she could die...and if she does, I don't think she'll be coming back."

Chapter Eleven.

"Rose? Love, love, I need you to look at me." He tried to keep the fear out of his voice, but Julian knew he failed. s.h.i.t, he was too terrified to hold his control. Rose was in his arms, and she was burning up. Literally hot to the touch-so hot she was singing him.

She seemed to be burning up, from the inside out, and he was so afraid that he was losing her.

Leo should have f.u.c.king said his blood was poison! He d.i.c.ked around out there while she was dying!

Julian had Rose back in his room, in his shower, and he turned on the water so that it was ice cold. He ripped her wet clothes off her, and he pulled her under that cold spray, desperate to do anything to help her.

Her eyes were open, on him, but the green was weak. Her skin was too pale, but burning hot. She was shuddering, but not making a sound.

She was slipping away from him.

"Drink from me," he ordered her because that had been one of Leo's orders. The guy had said she needed Julian's blood. So he'd give her every last drop if that was what it took. "Drink, love. Drink."

Her little fangs were out, but she didn't move her head toward him. Instead, her head sagged forward. No! He drove his fingers into the thickness of her hair and tipped back her head. "You have to drink because you have to live." The water was freezing, but when it hit her body, steam rose in the air around them. He pushed her head against his neck and her teeth raked over his skin. "Bite me. Do it. Bite."

Her teeth sank into him.

One of his hands slammed against the tile of the shower wall, knocking it hard enough to leave a dent. His other cradled her head, holding her so carefully. Need-dark l.u.s.t-snaked through his body as it always did when she took his blood. His d.i.c.k was rock hard, but he ignored the desire that came from her bite. This wasn't about s.e.x. This was about her survival. This was about her.

She was everything to him. Had she ever realized it?

She drank. Her mouth moved on his neck, sucking him, licking, taking his blood. His muscles were rock hard. The water kept pouring onto him, but it wasn't cooling him down. When her mouth was on him, nothing cooled him down.

His fist drove into the wall again.

Stay controlled. Let her take. She needs this.

His fist hit again. He could feel the blood on his knuckles.

And his other hand tenderly cradled her.

She drank.

Rayce eyed the b.a.s.t.a.r.d who had the b.a.l.l.s to actually saunter into the Lord of the Dark's home. "Luke is going to kick your a.s.s."

Leo looked up-he finally stopped staring at a non-existent wound on his arm. "Only some of the stories say that is the way things end. Some of them actually say I win the battle." His lips twisted. "So maybe you need to think carefully before you go choosing sides."

"I already have chosen. I'm a werewolf. To you, that means I'm an animal who only knows bloodl.u.s.t and death."

Leo's gaze swept over him. "How many people have you killed in your life?"

He wanted to kill someone right then, but he held himself back, barely. Marcos was back in his quarters, sleeping off the tranq, and the human woman-she was on the couch just a few feet away. Still lost to whatever magic Leo had used on her.

"I know what you are...rogue." Leo's eyes gleamed. "So perhaps you should have been put down long ago."

"Perhaps you should have been." And he'd be happy to do the job. He doubted that Leo was truly as all powerful as the guy wanted folks to think and- "Don't you wonder why that one tranq took you out so quickly?" Leo murmured. "I mean, it took three hits for Julian to go down."

"What? Were you just f.u.c.king watching us get attacked?"

Leo pursed his lips. "I think you're actually nearly as strong as Julian-"

Nearly? That was some insulting s.h.i.t. "I am just as strong as him."

"But there was some ingredient in the tranq that impacted you more." His head tilted to the side. "Aren't you curious about just what that ingredient is?"

Yeah, he was. Because anything that made him weak...he hated. He'd been weak before, back when he'd been a kid. Been weak and tortured and he would never stand for that pain again.

"Probably had silver laced in it," Rayce said, rolling back his shoulders. "Those who don't know shifters well tend to think that we all have the same weaknesses."

"Yes...they do. But, of course, silver only works on someone like you."

Wasn't he the lucky one? Rayce crossed his arms over his chest. "When the Collector found out that Rose had a shifter guarding her, he probably a.s.sumed he was facing a werewolf."

"Werewolves are more common."