She burrowed past Aidan's large frame and caught Joshua to her, dragging him into the protection of her arms. "You're safe now, little buddy. No one is going to hurt you."

"There were dogs, big dogs. There was blood everywhere. Vinnie was being eaten. I saw him."

"Vinnie was very brave and tried to save you from the kidnappers," Alexandria soothed him, stroking the blond curls from his forehead. "He's in the hospital, but he's alive and is going to be fine. So is Rusty. We'll take you to see them in a few days. We should have told you about the possibility of someone trying to take you away from us." She touched his eye with a gentle fingertip. "I'm sorry that I didn't confide in you. You're old enough to know these things."

"Is that why you were afraid to live here?"

"Partly. Aidan is a very wealthy man. Because he loves you, loves both of us, we will always be at risk. Sometimes we will have to have guards. Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you, Joshua? This is my fault, that I didn't make you understand the danger we could be in."

"Don't cry, Alex." All at once Joshua was using a grownup voice. "Aidan came and got me, didn't he?"

She nodded. "He sure did. No one is going to ever take you away from us. Not ever."

"Next time, when Marie and Stefan tell me to stay in the house, no matter what, I'm going to do it,"

Joshua decreed. He examined Alexandria with anxious eyes. "What's wrong with you? You're so white."

"This has been very scary for all of us, Joshua," Aidan said. "Marie and Stefan will look after you while I put Alexandria to bed. She needs to rest. And do not worry about Baron. Stefan kept him safe for you. Your puppy can stay with you while I take Alexandria to bed."

Alexandria shook her head. "I'm not going to leave him, not for a minute. I'll stay here until he falls asleep."

"No, you will not, cara mia," Aidan said firmly. He stood, a graceful, fluid movement that set her teeth on edge. His hands caught her easily, lifting her and cradling her against his chest. "She needs to rest, Joshua. I will bring her to you later."

"That's all right, Aidan," Joshua said, man to man. "She needs to be in bed more than I do."

Aidan grinned at him and took her out of the room, heedless of her squirming. "He is right, you know," he murmured against her neck. "You do need to be in bed. My bed." His breath was warm and teasing, an invitation she found nearly impossible to resist.

"I think you're insatiable," she accused him, but her arms crept around his neck, and her body relaxed against his.

"Where you are concerned, it is true," Aidan agreed. He was moving quickly through the house, into the tunnel, his body already tightening in antic.i.p.ation.

Her hands slid inside his shirt, caressing his chest. Her mouth moved over his neck, found the streaks on his chest, and her tongue wandered, caressed, a loving tribute to his courage.

Once in their chamber, Aidan lowered her to the bed. With his gaze holding hers, he began to unb.u.t.ton his shirt.

Alexandria slipped her sweater over her head and tossed it aside.

He reached out, his hands spanning her ribs, dragging her close, nearly bending her backward so his mouth could take advantage of the invitation her body was offering. She smelled good, fresh, her skin like satin. At once his body raged for release, an urgency he was becoming familiar with.

Her hands were at his slacks, sliding aside the b.u.t.ton, the zipper, pushing the fabric from his hips.

He groaned when she cupped him in her hands, caressing him. His own hands were rougher as they tore aside her clothing so that her skin was hot against his. "You make me crazy, piccola, absolutely crazy," he whispered, and he lifted her into his arms. "Put your legs around my waist."

Her head was bent, her mouth wandering across his chest, her tongue lapping at his pulse. "Feed me," she whispered back, her tone so sensuous, his legs nearly gave out.

His hands were on her hips, holding her still so that he could push into her velvet sheath. He cried out when her muscles slowly allowed him entrance, when she clenched around him, hot and tight and velvet-soft. "Take what you want from me, what is rightfully yours," he murmured, buried deep, welding them together in fire and pa.s.sion. "Do it, Alexandria. I want you to do it."

His entire body blazed into light, into pure feeling, as her teeth pierced his skin. He surged into her, hard and urgent, reaching, straining, wanting to fly high. Her hair draped around them, brushing at his sensitized skin like a thousand strands of silk. Her hands slid over his back, tracing each muscle. Her mouth on him aroused him further.

Aidan slowed his pace, his thrusting hips strong, his hands tight, binding her to him. She was his. The lifemate he had endured centuries of emptiness waiting for. She was his world. The light. The colors he thought he had lost forever. She was the ecstasy he never knew existed. And she was with him for eternity.