Scuffling with the remaining vampire, Severo shoved him against the wall. His powerful thighs flexed. He forced the vamp's shoulders into the wall. The Sheetrock cracked. A cloud of chalky dust flew about their heads.

His eyes fell upon the cross on the wall. A gift from Bella's grandmother, who had pa.s.sed a decade earlier. He grabbed the foot- long cross and slammed it against the vampire's face. Smoke hissed and the vampire yowled. The cross burned through to his jawbone.

Severo dropped the vamp at his feet. He flicked away the cross, sending it clattering across the floor.

"d.a.m.n, that was real silver." He shook his hand and stalked about, surveying the b.l.o.o.d.y mess.

With intense focus, he marched up to the bed.

Now Bella did cringe. His eyes held the same intensity she'd seen when he'd made love to her, yet it had darkened and grown deeper, if that were possible. Was he in a rage? Some werewolf state that made him violent toward anyone?

He gripped the bedpost and yanked it off. "Mind if I use this?" He wielded the serrated wood stake. "Holy wounds take forever to kill," he commented as he strode back to the suffering vampire. Plunging the stake into the vamp's heart brought his struggles to an end. Another ash reduction and the room fell silent.

And Bella let out a breath she must have been holding since the vampires charged through the patio door.

Severo wiped his b.l.o.o.d.y hands on the white chiffon drape. He looked over the destruction and winced. When he glanced to her, Bella rushed to him.

His bare chest rose and fell roughly. It was spattered with blood, which she didn't want to touch. She took his hand, which he displayed palm up. A deep burn from the cross reddened his flesh.

"Will it kill you?" she asked.

"No. But it'll hurt like a mother for a while. Get back on the bed, sweet. There's gla.s.s everywhere."

Realizing the danger, Bella complied, backing carefully away until she climbed onto the bed.Though barefoot, her lover stood still, surveying his destruction. He must have taken cuts to his feet, yet he appeared only angry about the intrusion, and not at all concerned about his wounds.

"Sorry. I'll have someone come clean this up." He dug a cell phone from his pocket and made a quick, mysterious call. When he hung up, he said, "Stay right there. I'm going outside to check the periphery. You okay?"

Okay? In what sense? A glance to the piles of vampire ash made her wonder if she was safe. Nothing could come back from the ashes, right? "No problem," she managed.

As soon as he marched outside, Bella ducked her head and m.u.f.fled a scream against the pillow. She didn't want to look at what lay on the floor. It smelled so strongly of blood and ash, she didn't need to look.

The sight of the vampire's slashed throat had been seared into her eyes forever. The blood-spattered chiffon. The ash piles that had once been living men.

But he'd saved her. Again.

Now she wanted him back. Holding her. Protecting her. Sheltering her.

"Severo," she whispered. "Please hurry."

He'd woken from a dead sleep to the scent of those nasty longtooths. Not soon enough to prevent Bella from witnessing the b.l.o.o.d.y killing. He hated himself for that. But that he'd kept her from harm meant he'd accomplished his goal-to protect Bella.

Protect his mate. The one woman he connected with on a visceral level. Even Aby he hadn't connected with like this.

You woke from a dream, calling her name, he thought.

Why had he been dreaming of Aby while lying next to Bella? And after they'd made love. That disturbed him. He and Aby had never had a s.e.xual relations.h.i.+p, though they'd been close on other levels.

But he wouldn't think of that. He must not. Bella had captured him by the tail, and he liked that just fine.

I'm afraid that I could fall in love with you. He remembered her words.

How could he erase her fear of him? He knew it was because he wasn't human. Did she fear his werewolf?

He'd been careful not to change when the vampires had attacked. Had he s.h.i.+fted, he could have taken both out with one swipe of a taloned paw. Vampires were no match in physical combat with werewolves. Yet Severo's strength was not to be disregarded while in mere were form.

With one last scan across the horizon from the roof of Bella's loft, he satisfied himself that no others were in the neighborhood. He scented vampires at a distance-probably five miles to the north-but their presence didn't agitate him.

Had the b.i.t.c.h Elvira sent the vamps to kill Bella? That was going too far for jealousy. He owed the mistress of the night a visit.

But first, he had to get Bella safe. She would probably balk at such an idea, but he wouldn't take no for an answer.

Jumping to land before the pool, Severo surveyed the damage as he strode inside the home. The patio door would need to be boarded up, which the cleanup crew would do. As well, they'd sweep up the vamp ash and clean the blood. The flimsy drape was a loss.During the height of the war between the vampires and witches, which had ended only a few years earlier, the need for discretion had grown paramount. As a result, most paranormals carried the number to a reliable cleanup team. No smart wolf left evidence for mortals to peruse and wonder over.

Bella waited on the bed, as if afraid to leave the safe island amid the blood and destruction. She plunged into his arms and he held her tight, the sheet wrapped about her and her limbs s.h.i.+vering against his body.

"Sorry," he whispered. "I heard them coming, just not fast enough. You shouldn't have had to see that."

"You were so brave," she said. "I love you, Severo."

That confession knocked him over, so he had to lean against the wall as he held her. She loved him? It was a wondrous confession that he'd never hoped to hear from a woman-let alone a mortal woman-in his lifetime.

He'd given up on love after Aby.

"You weren't frightened?" he asked.

"Yes, but watching you took away the fear. How is it that you are so much stronger than vampires? Are werewolves on top of the heap?"

"Not always. When I am in were form, I'm a match in strength to a vampire. As a werewolf...well, look out. But they were idiots.

And I did have the cross."

He splayed open his hand. The burn was now a red indentation, as if he'd gripped the thing tightly for a long time.

"It's already fading," she observed.

"The silver didn't enter my veins. I'm fine. Just a burn. You're still clinging like a koala, sweet. Sure you're not afraid? It's okay."

"Of course I'm afraid. But I think it's that I want to be sure you're solid and real, and that I didn't just lose you. Kiss me."

Her lips quivered at his mouth as they connected gently. He wanted to indulge that tremor of her fear; it was what had first attracted him to her.

He wasn't human, and he was different from her. He fed upon the different, the unusual. And Bella's fear fed him.

"Your skin is goose b.u.mpy," he whispered as he slid a hand up her back. That induced a real shudder from her, but he sensed it was a sensual reaction to his touch.

"I want to make love again," she said. "Right now."

So the adrenaline rush had the same effect on her as it had on him? Unfortunately, they couldn't indulge right now.

"I called for cleanup. They're usually very prompt. And I don't think you should stay here any longer than it takes to pack. You're not safe here, Bella." He tucked her hair behind an ear and kissed her eyelid where it tasted like soft woman. The flutter of her lashes tickled his mouth. "Come stay with me."

"At your house? Where do you live?"

"About twenty miles north of the city. You'll be safe there. I have protection wards against vampires, demons and others. No one messes with me out there."

"Leave my home? I'm not sure." She glanced about the havoc, still clinging to the sheet wrapped about her. She was still frightened, he knew, but too proud to admit it. She impressed him with such bravery.

"I have my work, and tomorrow I practice at the studio. This is all happening so fast," she said. "I've only known you a few days."

"It doesn't take a lifetime to fall in love, Bella."

"Love. Yes. I said that, didn't I?"

Maybe he had been too quick to grasp for the untouchable. "It's the adrenaline talking."

"No, I...I think I meant it." She stroked his beard and kissed him again. "But is it because I've fallen down the rabbit hole?"

He quirked a brow. "The rabbit hole?"

"Alice's tumble into the wild and weird. First there's you-and believe me, that's all good. But now vampires want to kill me and my best friend?"

"And they will if you don't take action. You cannot beat them here, unprotected and vulnerable. You need my protection to stand against them. Will you take it?"

She stared at his outstretched hand. Once before she'd accepted that offer.

Could he win her? She'd confessed love, and that felt splendid. But she hadn't fully entered his world yet. And indeed, it would be a tumble down some kind of rabbit hole.

"You can do your work from any computer, yes?"

She nodded.

"Come with me, sweet."

Bella slid her fingers over his. "Yes."

The cleaners arrived as Severo toted Bella's suitcase out the front door. He paid them in advance and shuffled Bella out before she could see their equipment. They were not overly respectful of the dead. A Hoover vacuum picked up vampire ash "real swell," as one of the cleaners commented. Severo was cool with that, yet he didn't want to push Bella over the precipice she'd been forced to toe this morning.

There was yet a good amount of tumbling down the proverbial rabbit hole to be done.

The sun dashed a thin line of orange across the horizon as they stepped out onto the sidewalk.

"Where's your car?" she asked, yawning. They'd had about an hour of sleep after a night of making love.

"I don't normally use it. We can hail a cab." With a suitcase in each hand, he headed a few blocks up, closer to the businesses.

She followed, clicking along beside him in the high heels she'd tugged from her closet. He loved that she was a practical woman who did unpractical things, like slipping into spike heels at dawn.

"You don't drive? But how do you get from your house to town?" "I drive on occasion. Gotta take the Mercedes out for a spin once in a while. But usually I walk or run."

"As a wolf?"

He chuckled. "No. When I change shapes from wolf to man, I'm naked. The clothing doesn't change with the rest of me."

"So what if you wolf out during a fight with some vampires? Does that leave you...?"

"Naked, but successful. I tend to carry extra clothes with me in my backpack." He looked up the street. "There's a cab. You can sleep as soon as we get to my house. You need it after the night we've had."

Chapter 9.

B ella woke to find herself eye level to a tray with orange juice and breakfast sitting next to the bed. Warm, b.u.t.tery toast, and fresh-picked strawberries sat atop the ramekin of sweet jam.

She didn't remember much after arriving at Severo's mansion in the country. Exhausted after a long night, Bella hadn't taken the time to look around. Her lover had carried her to his bedroom, like some kind of knight delivering a princess to her slumber.

The last thing she recalled was him kissing her on the forehead, her chin, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, and he must have navigated lower, but she had nodded off by then.

Long dark velvet curtains, half-closed, allowed but a narrow strip of bright afternoon sun down the center of the room and across the bottom of the bed.

The bedsheets were soft white and the comforter was a deep navy satin. Piles of pillows supported her as she sat up and reached for the orange juice.

Cold and freshly squeezed, it hit the spot.

She took her first opportunity to look around.

The simple room was huge, as big as her whole loft. The walls stretched to a barrel-vaulted ceiling painted with pastoral scenes.

All the overstuffed, overlarge furniture was upholstered in the same navy velvet as the curtains.

A painting on the wall opposite the bed attracted her interest. Looked like birch trees. The face of a wolf was cleverly hidden among the birches, so a glance might have never picked it out.

At the end of the room were two doors-the closet and the bathroom. Bella went to shower.

After the shower, with a towel wrapped around her, she found Severo waiting at the end of the bed. He wore boxer briefs and no s.h.i.+rt. Daylight surfed across his broad chest, glinting on the dark hairs.

"Waiting for the shower?" Bella asked.

She boldly stepped between his legs and he eased his hands about her hips. His hopeful gaze pleased her.

"I would have liked to join you, but I just got in. Will this work, then? You staying with me?"