I wake up to a pounding at the door, and I shiver as the water I'm in reminds me it has turned to nearly ice.

"Shit, hold on. I'm coming," I yell out.

Leaping out of the tub, I wrap up and ignore my chattering teeth while rushing to open the door. My jaw tries to hit the floor when I see Kane wrapping his arms around me and pulling me to his body.

"You're wet," he chuckles out, looking too damn good to be anything less than a hallucination, and I'm worried I'm still in the frigid water... dreaming - possibly drowning.

"You're... here," I murmur in breathless disbelief, blinking rapidly to make sure I haven't gone crazy.

His smile almost makes me lose my footing, and he scoops my soaked body up to walk farther into the room.

"I'm here. I took a plane to Washington last night when I hadn't heard from you. Then you told me you were here, alone, so I rented a car and drove like hell."

My eyes water. No one has ever done anything like this for me before. Even though it's not safe for him to be here, I still want him with me.

He stands me up in the bathroom and hands me another towel.

"Thank you," I murmur as the first tear falls, and he wipes it away while bending down to kiss me.

"Dry off, and I'll go grab us a plate of food from the diner next door."

My stomach growls as if on cue, and he smiles. I skip telling him the part where I haven't had anything but beef jerky and water for a few days.

"Sounds nice."

He smiles, and then he ducks out, giving me a chance to panic as I rush around to start rifling through the few clothes I packed.

Damn. Not one sexy pair of underwear.

Since my wardrobe is lacking, I opt to go with a pair of pajama shorts, a long-sleeved, tight-fitted shirt, and no panties.

I dab on a little makeup, and then I quickly dry my hair, using a little bit of magic, but not so much that it's obvious. As soon as I spray myself down with some fruity fragrance, the door swings open to reveal Kane carrying a bag of food.

"So, I got us some breakfast for dinner because it was the only thing on the menu that looked promising."

"Sounds good," I murmur while walking into his view, and he smiles when he sees me.

"For the record, I knocked on five doors before I found you. The clerk wasn't very helpful."

I laugh a little while sitting down at the small table by the window.

"Considering you only had fifteen rooms to choose from, I don't think that task was too daunting."

He smiles, and then he pulls his chair closer to me while wrapping his arm around my back.

"I'm glad I'm finally seeing you again. I shouldn't have been missing you so much so soon," he softly confesses.

I instantly dissolve under his gaze, and then I take a deep breath, hoping I don't say anything stupid.

"I missed you, too."

His smile grows, and then he leans over to kiss my cheek before scooping a pile of eggs on his fork. He's human, but he's my hero right now. I didn't want to be here alone, and now I don't have to be.

"So how long are you staying?" I ask curiously.

"Until you find your mom."

My eyes widen a little. He can't be here for all that. We already have changers in our midst, and despite Thad's claim of clean-living, I'm not going to wave my human in front of his face.

"Um, I don't know how that will work out. It's been a little... hectic around here. Besides, I'm sure you've got a lot going on back home."

He shrugs, his grin growing.

"I don't have anything going on. You'd be surprised at how helpful I can be."

I don't feel like coming up with some fabulous lie right now. At this moment, I just want to enjoy him and pretend as though he really could protect me if he had to, though it would be the other way around.

"You're freezing," he says while rubbing the side of my arm, warming me so easily with his heated touch.

Mmm.

"Yeah, I spent too long in cold bathwater."

He laughs a little, and then he stands to grab a blanket from his stuff. He wraps it around my shoulders, and I breathe in his delicious scent that is drenching the blanket.

"Thanks. You're just full of things I need tonight."

"Just food and a blanket," he chirps obliviously.

"And you."

He looks at me, his face expressionless, and then he pulls me to his lips, filling me with his passionate release as I slide out of my chair and move to be straddling his lap. My hands clasp his hair as I pull him closer, and then his hot kiss starts trailing down my neck.

"Kane," I breathe, and he rips me up from the chair to carry me to the bed.

He drops me to it, and then falls between my parted legs as his heated breath and perfect lips ravage my neck and chest. Then he pulls back to stare me in the eyes I'm praying are just blue.

"This isn't why I came here. I want you to know that. Just tell me to stop and I will."

I laugh a little, and then I run my fingers through his hair. With all the drama going on, I just want a night in his arms, something to kill the worry that's eating me alive.

"I really don't think this is why you came all the way to Canada. If one of your friends knocks on the door or calls you though, I'll lose my cool."

He smirks, and then his lips find mine again.

"For the record," he murmurs against my lips, "I would kick someone's ass if they interrupted us right now."

I giggle lightly, but it ceases immediately as his daring tongue starts sliding down my body, trailing down my chest as he pulls my shirt up and over my head. He moans as he cups my bare breasts in his hands before finding my right nipple in his mouth.

My breaths become coarse, harsh, and needy as his tongue and mouth bring my back to an arch beneath him. I feel like we've had nothing but foreplay since we met.

"Kane, please," I hoarsely release, and his hands suddenly grip my ass with a fervent cling.

His mouth moves lower, finding the top of my shorts, while his breath heats my lower stomach. That glorious, expert tongue dips beneath my shorts, and then he pulls back to remove them fully.

"No panties?" he asks, seeming amused and turned on. "Are you trying to make sure I don't last long?"

I let a laugh escape while blushing, as he continues pulling down the shorts the rest of the way.

"Damn, you're too perfect to be real," he murmurs while staring down at me, making me feel a little exposed and vulnerable.

I'm not used to showing someone my bare body, but the way his eyes are looking at me, I'm on fire and I don't care what part of me he sees.

I feel my eyes trying to freak out and go crazy colors, so I shut them tight as his mouth finds its way back to my body. I gasp, spreading my legs wider and pulling him closer, and then his sweet, hot mouth finds that quivering junction between my legs - a place no one has ever gone before.

I gasp louder when I feel his tongue colliding with a spot I had no idea was so sensitive, and then my hands tangle in his hair as he greedily nips, sucks, and plays. Each flick of his incredible tongue pushes me closer to an edge I've never fallen off before.

"Oh... my... fuck," I gush out, and his pace only quickens, forcing a tightening in my lower abdomen.

My legs begin trembling before stiffening, and I arch my back slightly before his hands push my hips into place. Then he slips a finger inside me to push me over the edge, causing me to scream out his name involuntarily.

When he feels my whole body trembling, he smiles against me and slowly starts making his way back up, trailing his lips over my very sensitive skin.

"I love the way you want me," he breathes against my neck, making my whole body shiver.

My legs wrap around his waist as I free his erection with my greedy hands. He moans into my mouth as his lips return, and then I pull him to me, silently begging him to be my first and end my innocent drought.

He pulls his shirt over his head and tosses it to the floor, revealing his perfection fully. Then he jerks his pants off before returning to me. His hand skims over my sex as he guides himself to my opening, and then his lips cover mine as he surges in.

I cry out upon feeling the unexpected strike of pain shooting through me from his abrupt, brutal entry.

"Fuck, I'm sorry. What's wrong?" he worries, staying inside me and giving me a chance to acclimate to his size.

A tear falls from my eye as I shake my head.

"Sorry, I might should have mentioned I'm... um... I was..."

His eyes widen and he pulls out of me as his mouth falls open. He looks down, and then up again while shaking his head.

"You're a virgin?" he says, his face turning pale.

I blush feverishly, my bare body now feeling all the more exposed. The word virgin has never sounded so embarrassing or dirty before.

"I don't think I am anymore."

He grips his head as if he feels regret, and I pull a sheet to my body to cover my growing insecurities.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

I look away shamefully, and then I stare at the ground.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know it would matter. Do you want to leave?"

My heart feels heavy, painful, and foolish as I stare straight down. He tilts my chin up, sincerity in his eyes.

"Alyssa, I don't want to go. I just feel like a jerk because I didn't know. I wouldn't have been so... rough... if I had known. You're... it's just... you're twenty, and well, we sort of got close to doing this the first night we were together. I only assumed-"

"I was a slut?"

He laughs a little and shakes his head.

"No. Not a slut. I just assumed you had been with someone before."

I draw back, feeling all the more stupid as I pull my knees to my chest. I went from feeling like a woman to a small child, and I thought it was supposed to go the other way around.

"I'm sorry," I murmur, trying not to sound like the crying kid I am inside.

His body softens, his eyes now holding pity.

My first time ended after one fucking thrust. I wish I had just bit through the pain and ignored it.

"Alyssa, I'm not going to let this be the way you lost your virginity."

This is humiliating... mortifying actually.

"Don't patronize me, and ugh! Don't say that word."

He laughs as I cover my head up with a pillow, and I feel his hand slipping under the sheet to curl around my bare body, pulling me to him.

"Stop, Kane. You're right. I was stupid and I should have told you," I mumble into the pillow.

"Hey, no. That's not... Alyssa, I'm sorry. I would have liked to have known so I could have made it a little more special for you - not to mention gentle."

I shake my head, and then he removes the pillow from my face before his lips find mine. I try to pull back, but he pulls me tighter to him, refusing to let me recoil again.

"Kane, you don't have to-"

He cuts me off as he moves to be between my legs again, and his hot, demanding tongue slips inside my mouth to silence me more, rebuilding the fire. I never thought it possible to recover from that, but now I'm realizing there's nothing about him that can keep me away... even a botched first time.

"Alyssa, I want you like I've never wanted anything before," he murmurs against my lips, making me feel hot in all the right places as my hands begin to tangle in his hair. "I'm assuming you're not on birth control though."

My mind flashes back to my mother's spell she cast on me when I just hit puberty. It's better than any mortal birth control there is.

"I am."

His lips become more demanding, as does his tongue. He guides his firmness back to my opening. I tense up, and his hand slides down the curve of my ass to angle me differently.

"Relax, baby. I swear I won't hurt you again," he soothes, as his lips stroke slower, more gingerly across mine.