Vlad arched a brow. "When we descended here en ma.s.se, he tucked his tail between his legs and ran like he had a yellow streak a mile wide up his back."

She frowned. "He's not a coward, Vlad."

"No?" He shrugged. "It was hard to tell with him in such hasty retreat."

She compressed her lips. "He's just been through a lot."

"He'll be through a lot more when I get my hands on him," he shot back.

"Won't you please give him a break, Vladimir?"

"Don't you worry, my pretty. I'll give him lots of breaks...in every limb, when I see him again."

She stiffened until she met his gaze. Although he and Andrei... h.e.l.l, none of them were probably ever going to like Jason, she felt certain none of them would harm him.

She bared her incisors at Vlad before turning to look at Aleksei. "You look well, Sei."

"Well? How the h.e.l.l can I be well with what's been going on in Arizona and here? I leave town for a few weeks and all my younger siblings get their a.s.ses in trouble. At this rate, you're all going to turn my d.a.m.ned locks white in no time. And believe me, Dani is giving me enough s.h.i.t at the moment."

She frowned. "She is? How?"

"She insists that the twins will have her last name-until I marry her."

She blinked at him in surprise. "So marry her."

His eyes narrowed. "Why should I? I don't need the benefit of some piece of paper to prove how I feel. Why isn't my word enough for her?"

She smiled. Males. Sometimes the most basic concepts seemed beyond their ability to grasp. "Who says it isn't? Just because she wants marriage doesn't mean she doubts your word. For a woman... especially some human women, the willingness to marry is the ultimate sign of love and devotion."

"I have no desire to get married."

"Why not?" Mikhel grinned. "Marrying Erica is the best thing that's ever happened to me. Nothing else even comes close, except Dimitri's birth. If you love her, marry her."

"Or get used to Pali and Lexi Tyler," Tat advised.

Aleksei swore softly.

"Had I known you planned to come rushing back in such a foul mood, I wouldn't have called you," Vlad said.

Aleksei swung around and bared his incisors at Vlad, who grinned.

Mikhel nodded. "Although we missed you, there was no need at all for you to leave Arizona, not when Vlad had everything under control."

Tat watched in pleased surprise as Vlad and Mikhel exchanged a long, silent glance. When Vlad bared his incisors, Mikhel arched a brow and smiled. "I love you too, but stay the f.u.c.k away from my wife."

"In your dreams, p.i.s.sant," Vlad growled.

Tat turned her attention back to Aleksei. "So? When are you getting married, Sei?"

"Not a moment before h.e.l.l freezes over. I'd be d.a.m.ned if I'll be blackmailed into doing anything I don't want to do. It's time I reminded her just who the h.e.l.l is in charge here." He bent to kiss her cheek. "If you need me-"

She nodded. "I know."

He turned to look at Vlad. "I knew when I left Arizona that I was leaving our younger siblings in good hands, Vlad."

Vlad shook his head. "No, Sei. You almost made a bad mistake." He sighed and glanced at Mikhel. "I almost didn't help him."

Aleksei clasped his hand. "Almost doesn't count. When he needed a big brother, you were there for him. Mikhel told me how you were prepared to face six full-bloods to protect him. Even when he urged you to leave him, you wouldn't. Like the big brother I always knew you could be, you were prepared to die defending him."

"The h.e.l.l I was! The p.i.s.sant's exaggerating."

"No he's not. It's time you stopped selling yourself short, Vlad. Thanks to you, I can return to Arizona with no fears."

Tat watched her two older siblings share a long embrace. When they separated, Aleksei kissed Palea and Katie before leaving.

Everyone stared after him in silence for several moments.

"Anyone want to bet against his being Mr. Dani Tyler before the year is out?" Mikhel asked.

Vlad shook his head. "Not me. He doesn't stand a chance. All she has to do is start calling the girls Tyler and he'll crumble like a house of cards in a hurricane."

Everyone laughed.

Tat smiled slowly, extending her hand to Vlad. Vlad? About Jason... He took her hand and leaned down to kiss her cheek. I'll let him live, but I'm making no promises not to beat his a.s.s every so often just on general principle.

She linked her arms around his neck. I love you.

Yeah, well...I love you too...on every other Thursday.

She laughed, feeling happy and hopeful for the first time since Tim had turned her world upside down when he'd rejected her. Now she had her entire family back together. Although she knew she would spend some time grieving for Tim, she had an exciting new life with Jason to savor. Loving a vampire hunter wouldn't be easy, but they'd manage it.

She turned her attention to Andrei, who stood a little apart from the others, a shuttered look in his eyes. She reached out to him. Drei? What is it? What's wrong?

He smiled and shook his head. Nothing. I was just worried about you.

She returned his smile, but she suspected he wasn't being truthful with her. Later, when he was ready, he'd confide in her as he always did.

After the others left the room, Katie returned and stood by the door. "There's something I need to tell you."

"Oh Lord, Kattia, not more bad news. Please. I don't think I can handle any more bad news just now."

Katie shrugged. "That depends on what you mean by bad news."

"What do you mean by it?" she asked shortly, impatient for Katie to leave so she could find Jason. Although tired, she needed to feel his body on top of hers... feel his warm lips claiming hers...feel his c.o.c.k sliding thick and hard into her. Then she just wanted to lay in the circle of his arms... forever.

Katie remained silent.

She studied Katie's face, noting the worry in her eyes. She softened her voice when she spoke again. "What is it, Kattia?"

"Jace and I have met before. We made love during my Feast of Indulgence."

"Is that all?"

"You mean you're not upset?"

"No. Why should I be? He's had other lovers, and you know I have. You were going to get to f.u.c.k him anyway, so why should I get upset?"

"There's something else. I know Vladimir and Andrei don't like him. They don't know it yet, but Mikhel and Serge also have reason not to like him."

"Apart from his being a hunter?"

She nodded. "Yes. Just as Aleksei, Andrei and Vladimir are very protective of you, Mikhel and Serge are protective of me."

"And?"

"And during my feast...during my encounter with Jace...things got a little rough. When I woke after he left, Mikhel was there... "

"So?"

"So... I had a few bruises from our encounter."

Tatiana stiffened, frowning. "Bruises? Oh G.o.d, Katie, please don't tell me he beat you," she pleaded. Overlooking Jace's earlier attempt to kill Vlad was bad enough, but if he had beat Katie, that would really be too much to expect the others to forgive.

Katie's eyes widened. "Oh, no! He didn't beat me. We just had rough s.e.x, which we both enjoyed."

"Thank G.o.d! For a moment I thought-"

"But you don't understand. Mikhel and Serge must never find out, or there's very little that will be able to stop them from beating him to within an inch of his life."

Tatiana sighed. G.o.d save her from all these macho full-blood brothers who thought they had to protect their helpless sisters. From what she had seen of Katie, she was every bit as capable of taking care of herself as Mikhel and Serge were. Tat's own strength rivaled Andrei's, but that didn't stop her twin from feeling as if he had to protect her.

"Then we won't tell them, will we?"

"We'd better not." Katie sighed and then grinned. "Is he your bloodl.u.s.t?"

Tat considered the question in silence for several moments. "Bloodl.u.s.t? That's a powerful word and emotion."

Katie nodded. "Yes, I know. Falling into bloodl.u.s.t with Mark is the best thing that ever happened to me. Is that how you feel about Jace?"

Tat lowered her eyelids to conceal the look in her eyes. "Do I love him? Yes, with all my heart."

"But?"

"But bloodl.u.s.t is another story."

"Are you saying he's not your bloodl.u.s.t?" Katie frowned. "Does that mean I don't get to f.u.c.k him after all?"

Tat laughed and waved a hand. "Out, you shameless little she-cat! He's my man and the only one who's going to have carnal knowledge of his d.i.c.k for the foreseeable future is me."

"So you think," Katie laughed.

Tatiana bared her incisors.

Katie's smile turned into a grin. "Oh, I forgot to mention, Andrei and I stopped by your place and packed you a few things."

Tat saw one of her suitcases lying across one of the dressers. She smiled. "Thanks."

"Tatiana?"

"Yes?"

"I'm so glad you're all right. I know we've only known each other for a short time, but if anything had happened to you..."

Katie's eyes filled with tears. Tat opened her arms and Katie rushed across the room to press into her embrace.

She held Katie close, stroking her hair. "I'm all right, but ever so thankful to G.o.d to still be here, able to more fully explore our relationship."

Katie sighed and drew away, wiping at her cheeks. "I have to go. Serge and Mikhel insist I apologize to Derri for thinking she was involved with Mik's abduction."

"Surely you didn't really believe she would have had any part in putting his life in danger?"

Katie shrugged. "I guess not, but I was so afraid when he disappeared and... "

"And you've never liked her?"

"No...I'm so afraid that one of these days she's going to cause real grief between Serge and Mik."

"They both love her. You need to learn to deal with that and move on, my pretty."

Katie sighed. "Maybe...in about a hundred years or so," she said and flashed out of the room.

Tat smiled at the sound of Katie's laughter trailing through Jace's apartment.

She rose, showered, dressed and stood at the living room window, wondering where Jason was. Why didn't he return now that her family had left?

After waiting for an hour, she decided to go find him.

Dacoda sat on her sofa watching Andrei pace the length of her living room. Although he had arrived over an hour earlier, he had made no move to kiss or touch her. Nor had he shown any of the desire she knew she was capable of generating in him.

His ability to display a seemingly insatiable hunger for her at one meeting and then behave as if they were complete strangers the next was frustrating and annoying. "Do you want to talk about it?"

He stopped and turned to look at her. "Do I want to talk about what?"

She shrugged. "Whatever is bothering you."

"What makes you think anything is bothering me?"