"No. You have a point. But we need to know if I'm changing for the better or not. It's not as though I'll just ash in an instant. Unfortunately, we've all witnessed someone staked down, thanks to Decker."

"I never saw it actually happen. He wasn't foolish enough to stake the ones with too much Vampire blood while Lavos and I were around. Our father always sent us on some errand. We would have fought to protect those families."

"I got a front row seat once. Decker thought it was important that I watch, probably to scare the hell out of me and remind me I was on borrowed time. He even sent Boon to collect me."

"I didn't know. Did that bastard hurt you?"

She shook her head. "I wasn't stupid enough to fight one of Decker's personal enforcers. Boon would have loved any excuse to humiliate or make me bleed. I knew I couldn't do anything to prevent it from happening. I would have just died too. It was horrible to see but they blister first, then kind of catch fire. Ash comes last."

"Please reconsider, Kira."

She wrapped the comforter around her back and lifted it, covering her head. "I just want to get it over with. Let's stop wasting time arguing about it. Do you want to put on some clothes? We're naked."

"No. We aren't going for a walk up there. You're so thickheaded!"

"I have to be to deal with you. It takes one to know one."

He laughed. "I missed talking to you. I almost forgot how you never back down."

She grinned. "For someone so weak and small?"

"I actually used to growl that at you, didn't I?"

"Every time we fought. I think you were hoping to insult me enough to make me storm home and end the fight, just so you'd win. I missed hearing you say it."

He closed the distance between them and helped tuck the comforter more firmly around her body to shield her skin. "I love you. I'm going to worry, and every part of me protests the possibility of you being hurt."

"I appreciate and understand that. We still need to know if my Lycan traits are being strengthened."

"But I don't have to like it. It doesn't matter to me what you are, Kira. You're just mine."

"It will matter to the rest of the clan. You can't stay down here with me forever. I need to be able to leave your den with you. So..." She sucked in a deep breath and blew it out. "Let's take my new body out for a test spin in the sun."

"Our den," he corrected. "Fine. You stay behind me and wait until I say I'm ready before you uncover even a finger. Clear? I want to be in a position to lower the lift fast in case you burn."

"I promise."

"No crazy stunts."

"I'd like to keep my arm. I won't do anything too daring."

He let her go and turned, unlocking the door. She followed him to the lift. He squeezed in, putting his back toward where the sun would be once they'd reached the surface. Kira wiggled in against him, her body bulky from the thick bedding.

"I don't like this." He really didn't. It was risky.

"Noted."

He shifted her a little then wrapped an arm tightly around her middle to pull her even closer. "Here we go."

"You didn't build this thing very big."

"I figured only one person would be using it at a time. It was poor planning on my part but I wanted a small footprint to make it easier to hide. Those boulders didn't allow for a lot of room, either. I wanted it located somewhere that would be impossible to spot while I used it during the day."

"I understand."

He had to let her go to push and hold the button that would activate the battery-operated motor to raise the cage up until the latch caught. Fear and worry battled inside him with each foot they rose. Sunlight blinded him for a moment when they breached the ground.

"Don't uncover anything," he warned. "We've reached sunlight."

"Okay."

The latch clicked and they stopped moving. Lorn sniffed the air, not picking up anything that shouldn't be there. He usually peeked above the boulders surrounding him before he'd climb out but today that didn't matter. He wasn't leaving the lift. Sunlight shone directly overhead, no shadows from the tall rocks around them. Her only protection would be him, the blanket, and the shell of the lift. He backed up a little so she wasn't completely pinned.

"Fast, and not much," he reminded her. "I'm right here."

She wiggled under the thick comforter and her hand slid out. He held his breath, watching her for any reaction.

Her fingers didn't blister.

"It's warm but it doesn't burn." Excitement laced her voice. "I'm cured!"

She tried to remove more of the covering but Lorn moved faster, grabbing her. "No. Wait."

"I'm not burning, right? I can't see a damn thing."

He slowly uncovered more of her arm, his gaze locking on her skin as he backed up so direct sunlight touched it. "So far so good." He experienced his own tentative excitement. His blood may have helped her combat the Vampire virus ruling her body.

She suddenly gasped and her pale skin pinkened where the sun touched it.

Lorn's reaction was swift, shoving his body forward and covering hers. He kicked the release, the cage lowering.

"Damn it!" Her muffled voice clearly told him she was upset.

"You lasted almost a minute. That's something. Are you alright?"

"It hurts but the arm is still there. Was it bad? Did it blister?"

"Hang on."

They reached the bottom and he just grabbed Kira, lifting her off her feet and storming down the short hallway and inside his den. He left the door open at his back as he gently placed her ass on the table, shoving the covering off. A large portion of her arm and hand had suffered mild sunburn but wasn't blistered. He sighed, staring into her eyes.

"It's not bad."

Tears welled in her eyes and slipped freely down her face.

"Does it hurt?"

"I thought it would work."

"It is. It took time for your skin to react and the damage is much milder than it should have been."

She nodded. "Right. That's progress."

"Exactly." He leaned over, using his thumbs to wipe away her tears. "We have hope."

"We'll try again tomorrow."

"Damn it, Kira." She drove him to madness.

"Tomorrow."

He held out his arm. "Drink and heal."

"No."

He snarled. "Bite, damn it. It looks uncomfortable."

She gently took his arm in both of her hands and licked the meaty part of his flesh, just above his wrist. He didn't tense as she gently bit, her skill at it improving, since it didn't hurt. He expected her to get turned on and his cock reacted. He always wanted Kira.

It surprised him when she just calmly drank and then let him go, licking the wound to seal it. He inhaled, not picking up arousal from her. "Are you in that much pain?"

She gazed at him. "What?"

"You didn't experience any bloodlust."

"Oh." She grinned. "I didn't." She looked down. "Wow!"

He studied her arm. The redness faded fast, her skin healing at a swift rate before their eyes.

"That doesn't suck at all. I've been sunburned before. It took a long time to go away."

He scooped her up. "Did you sleep?"

"No."

"We're sleeping."

He took her to bed and curled around her. She noticed the condition of his erect cock and tried to roll to face him. He tightened his hold. "Get some rest."

"But-"

"I have three meetings in a few hours. Sleep, Kira. I love you."

She sighed. "I guess the honeymoon phase is over."

He chuckled. "Not even close. I'm behaving because you just got burned and you look tired. Tonight when I get back home, I'm going to spend hours making love to you."

"Tease."

Chapter Fifteen.

Kira had cabin fever. She paced. It drove her crazy to stay inside the cramped den. Lorn had left and wouldn't be home for hours.

Her attention turned to the kitchen and she decided to attempt food.

"Baby steps," she sighed, scrambling eggs in a pan on the single-burner camp stove. The smell didn't make her feel sick as they quickly cooked. She took a seat at the table and sniffed. They were actually appealing.

It felt strange to put a fork into her mouth after days of only drinking blood. The texture was one she knew well. Scrambled eggs were usually a favorite quick breakfast. She only wished she had bread. Toast would have been great with it.

She chewed and swallowed a few bites, paused, waiting to see how her body responded. A few minutes later, thrilled about having no ill side effects, she finished eating them and washed the dishes.

"I need to get out of here." She stared at the door before crossing the room, shoving it open, and entering the lift. "I can't take it anymore."

Fresh air was a wonderful thing as she inhaled once she reached ground level and climbed up one of the boulders. A quick scan of the area didn't show her Kar's heat signature. He wasn't within sight. She leapt off the boulder and landed in a crouch, rose up and smiled.

Scents came to her. Most of them she could identify. The wild flowers that grew in the sun patches between the trees were sweet. A slightly musky smell drew her attention to the far left and she narrowed her eyes, staring in that direction. The dense trees hid it at first but then she saw what looked like a bear.

"What are you doing out?"

She startled and spun, gawking at Garson.

"You're supposed to stay inside Lorn's den."

"I didn't see or hear you." She paused, sniffed. "Or smell you."

"I'm downwind. I didn't want to be tracked here in case anyone from the clan followed to see where I snuck off to. And I rolled around in the grass. It's an effective way to cover scents. I smelled you."

"Do I stink?" She still worried about that since becoming a Vampire.

"You mostly smell like Lorn." He came closer, stopping a few feet away. "I know what you're thinking."

"You do?"

"Vampires can carry a coppery scent from drinking blood, and rogues stink of dirt and other gross shit since they don't bathe enough. Some carry a decayed smell." He inhaled. "I'm happy to say you don't."

"Well, that's good."

"You don't smell the way you did though. The human scent is totally gone. May I?"

She nodded.

He leaned in close to her throat and his hot breath fanned her skin. He sniffed deeply and straightened. "You smell like VampLycan and cooked eggs."