I giggle lightly, and then I start kissing his neck again.

"I'm sorry about that," he says while pointing to the place where his teeth had been.

"Don't be. It felt... good." Ironically enough.

Smiling, his lips find mine, and he turns me over to be on my back.

"You have to wear a dress all the time now. You know that, don't you?"

I giggle louder, sounding more like a fool with every chuckle, and then my fingers tangle in his hair.

"I might just do that."

His eyebrows bounce up and down for a moment, and then a knock at the door interrupts our naked humor.

"What?" Kane groans while I roll my eyes at the intrusion.

"Sorry to disturb your reunion, but Amy and Sierra just called. They said we might have a situation to worry about in town. You coming with?" Deke calls.

"No, but I'll be out in a second."

"What situation?" I grumble.

Obviously Amy is still trying to act out to gain his attention.

"Nothing for you to worry about. I'll be right back. Don't move, and don't you dare take off that dress."

I stare down at the blue, wrinkled mess of a dress that once looked much better.

"I think it needs to be replaced by something that doesn't say look-at-what-I've-been-doing."

He laughs lightly before kissing my forehead, and then he stands up to quickly pull on his pants.

"Stay," he says again, making me laugh.

"I'll be right here."

He smirks, and then he disappears out the door. Almost instantly, there's a shadow in the room, and I hold back a squeal as Gage materializes in front of me.

"Pervert!" I yell in a whisper while gripping my dress and pulling it tight around my legs.

He stifles a laugh, and then he shakes his head.

"I looked away," he whispers back, and then he motions for me to follow him out onto the balcony.

"You looked away?" I grumble as he shuts the glass door. "You knew what we were doing?"

"Close the curtains next time. You might also want to invest in an iron," he teases while motioning to my thoroughly fucked dress.

I roll my eyes, and then his eyes narrow.

"Shit. What'd he do to you?" he almost growls while examining me a little closer.

I flip my hair down, bringing it over the mark I still haven't seen, and then I push away his scrutiny.

"Nothing I didn't thoroughly enjoy. Why are you materializing in the bedroom?"

He leans up, his eyes still studying the spot where Kane left his mark, though it's not visible with my hair blocking the view.

"I was wondering how long you were planning to stay. I need to head into town. I've got a source who spotted a couple of lycans roaming free. I want to find out if they're friend or foe."

"Um... Foe, obviously."

"Don't be so judgmental. You were running with lycans just last week."

"I wasn't running with lycans. I was grasping at straws and taking help where I could get it. Just because I tolerated them doesn't mean I doubted their dark core for one damn second."

"Just like me?" he asks, his eyes narrowing. "You still think the worst of me."

Breathing out heavily, I ignore his statement.

"It looks like I'm spending the night, but don't worry. I'll be on alert."

"If you're staying the night, cast a protection spell. It was far too easy for me to get in."

I suddenly feel a little inept.

"I tried," I mumble. "I did something wrong. When one of the girls tried to leave, it threw her backwards. Can you... um... help me?"

He lets out a laugh, making my embarrassment grow. What witch can't cast a simple protection spell?

Me.

"I would, but I have dark magic. My protection spell could injure you, even fuck with your white magic, if I tried casting it on your behalf. I'll just stick around. I can call a friend to go check out the lycans."

"The hairless beasts you mean."

He frowns while shaking his head in disapproval my tart remark.

"It's fine," I continue. "You don't have to hang around. Besides, I'm not sure I like you listening in on our... moments together."

My face blushes, and he chuckles a little more.

"Fortunately, I can't hear your moments."

What? Immortals have hearing unparalleled by anything else on the planet.

"So your weakness is your hearing?"

"Not in the least. This house is apparently very well insulated. I can't hear a word when the doors are shut. It's pretty nice actually. I don't have to hear all the mushy stuff. I'll stick around. I'll cast an awake spell so I don't drift off."

"You don't have to do that-"

"Believe it or not, I would like to see you still breathing in the morning. No one else is going to be keeping you safe. Your human sure as hell can't. If you're going to be foolish enough to sleep without a protection spell, then I'll stay vigilant."

I grip my head, feeling so... confused.

"That's ridiculous. You should just-"

He clamps his hand over my mouth just as Kane's voice comes into sound. It seems as though they're standing on the front deck.

"Just call me if it gets too rough," he says.

"No prob. We'll see you in a bit," Deke chirps, and then he and Zee start jogging away from the house.

Kane starts to walk back in just as Gage releases his hold over my mouth. Like the true klutz I am, I stumble forward, almost flipping over the rail before Gage can pull me back. Unfortunately, I squeal like a fool.

"Alyssa?" Kane asks curiously, the deck creaking under his feet as he starts toward the edge to see me.

"Um, yeah. Hey," I ramble out, and then I start swatting at Gage, trying to make him leave.

He shrugs innocently, and then I shove him with all my strength - and a little magic - to force him over the railing. He vaporizes and reappears in the tree across from me, stifling a grin.

I scowl at him, ready to knock him out of the tree just as Kane comes into view.

"What are you doing?" he asks quizzically while pushing his hands in his pockets and staring up at me.

Trying to ditch a dark user.

"Um... nothing. I just felt like some fresh air. Everything okay with Amy?" I ask, the bitterness clearly in my tone.

He frowns, and then leans against the side of the house.

"It's not like that... at all. I'll be right up to convince you."

I almost want to smile, but I'm sick of Amy and her needy ways. He disappears around the corner, and Gage reappears on the balcony with me the second the front door clicks shut.

"You've got to get out of here."

"I didn't even tell you what I came to say," he retorts innocently.

"What?"

"I wanted to ask you if you knew any of these people."

He hands me a stack of photos, but no one looks familiar.

"No. None." Then something hits me, making my stomach queasy. The earlier conversation with Kane has suddenly rattled around in my brain with an obvious jerk. "Shay."

"Huh?" he says while studying the beastly man in the top picture in my hand. "He looks more like a Hoss or a Goliath to me."

"No, dumbass. Shay Myers. She's a witch from my old coven. She's got a grudge against my mom."

His face turns more serious, and then he evaporates from the balcony. I look through the glass to see the door opening, and the far too sexy man walking toward me with a salacious grin as he opens the door.

"I love a pretty girl under the moonlight," he playfully murmurs, making me blush despite the fact it was meant to be corny funny.

I hate the moonlight.

Then he frowns as he dusts my hair away.

"What's wrong?"

His lips thin as he studies that damn spot.

"I shouldn't have done that. I almost brought blood."

I give him my best vixen's smile, which is very unrehearsed and probably pathetic.

"It's not like it hurts, and it felt damn good at the time. Stop taking away all the sparkle."

His eyebrow cocks up on one side, and he lets a slight grin free.

"Sparkle?"

"Yes. Sparkle."

He lets a laugh free, and then he pulls me against him.

"How about we go sparkle in bed. I've got a little work to do, but it can wait."

"I do love your bed."

"I do love that you love my bed."

With that, he scoops up me and my very wrinkled dress while walking back inside. I might not be able to stay his for long, but for now, I can enjoy my human.

Chapter Fourteen.

"Did you find Shay or the lycans?" I ask Gage, holding my phone to my ear with one hand while my other holds my fresh cup of coffee. I sit down on the end of Kane's bed.

"My friend lost the lycans. I found Shay, but she's not the one who took your mom. In fact, she has started her own search for her."