Chapter 23

23

I sleep surprisingly well for witnessing a vampire staking. When I wake, I lie in bed, listening to a robin chirp from the blue spruce in the front yard. Other than the bird, the morning is quiet.

The clock on my phone says it’s twelve to six. It’s my favorite time of day, especially in the summer when the sun rises early. It’s still cool outside, and everything smells like damp earth and fresh dew.

The daylight coming through the curtains is subdued, and when I push them aside, I find heavy clouds and the promise of rain. If I’m going to get out this morning, I need to go now.

I get dressed, brush my teeth, wash my face, and slather on sunscreen just in case, eager to spend a few quiet hours in the misty garden. Once I’m ready, I slide my phone into my back pocket and leave my bedroom, walking quietly past Noah’s hall so I won’t disturb him.

I’m almost to the stairs when a groggy “ Where are you going? ” nearly scares me half to death.

I whirl around, my lips parting as my eyes sweep over sleep-rumpled Noah. He wasn’t lying—he’s not in pajamas. Instead, he wears soft, breathable workout shorts. His T-shirt sits slightly askew, making me think he just pulled it on.

His feet are bare, and his short hair is rumpled.

“Do you have an alarm on my door?” I demand.

Noah smiles, his eyes a little hooded. “I heard the water running in your bathroom.”

“I was just going into the backyard to work for a bit.”

“Let me grab shoes, and I’ll go with you.”

“You don’t really seem like the gardening type—though I won’t object if you’re offering to pull weeds.”

“On second thought…”

I smile. “You don’t have to go with me.”

“Ethan has people monitoring the place.”

My good mood dissipates. “You think they’re watching the back?”

“I think it’s possible, yes. In fact, it’s likely.”

“But won’t they be vampires? It’s past dawn. I can’t believe that many people have volunteered for the clinical trial of the daylight medicine.”

“It’s overcast. Final stage vampires can’t be out long, but they can be out.”

“Okay.” I force a smile, knowing he’s right. “Grab your shoes, and we’ll go together. I’m going to make a smoothie while you get ready.”

“Don’t go outside without me.”

I grunt, turning toward the stairs, feeling very much like a prisoner in my own home.

I’m just twisting the top onto the blender cup when Noah steps into the kitchen. I glance at him over my shoulder. “I made enough for both of us. I figured I’d pour out your portion when it was finished and then add blood to mine.”

He rests a hip on the counter, crossing his arms. His biceps bulge , incredibly distracting. “I don’t want a smoothie.”

“Well, I didn’t want steak before, and you told me to deal with it. So suck it up, because smoothies are what I’m making.”

He doesn’t answer, and I turn on the blender. The frozen banana pieces and strawberries whir together.

“I have subscription bouquets and store orders to deliver tomorrow,” I say loudly, so he’ll hear me over the roar of the blender. “And I forgot I have flowers for a wedding at the end of the month that I need to plan. Thankfully, I pruned my roses early in May, and they’re doing well, so there should be plenty.”

I jolt a little when Noah’s arms wrap around my middle. He’s so solid.

He presses his chest to my back and rests his chin on my shoulder. As soon as the blender shuts off, he says, “I’m not a bunny like you, and therefore, I need real food in the morning. You know—bacon, eggs, sausage. Protein. ”

“There’s yogurt in here,” I argue, enjoying our position.

“Yogurt isn’t meat,” he chuckles.

I turn my head, and my cheek accidentally brushes against his. “Yogurt has protein in it.”

“So you say.”

I swallow when he turns his head so we’re looking at each other. His lips are right there, and his breath smells like fresh peppermint.

Before I realize what my traitorous body is doing, I press a soft kiss to his lips.

Noah goes perfectly still, his arms tightening around me.

“Is this okay?” I whisper, my lips brushing over his.

“No.” But then his mouth moves against mine, kissing me back. Once. Just briefly.

Feeling my pulse race, I meet his eyes.

His gaze locks on mine as I slowly turn in his arms. Once I’m facing him, I stand on my tiptoes and kiss him again. My nose brushes his, and I angle to the side, focusing on his bottom lip. It’s slightly fuller than his top lip, warm and soft.

He groans, a low noise of reluctant pleasure.

Surprised at my daring, I pull back again and whisper, “That’s probably not okay either?”

Noah swallows, his chest pressing against me as he takes a deep breath. “It’s not.”

I kiss his jaw, just to the side of his chin. “And this?”

“Not okay,” he breathes, tightening his grip on me.

I’m locked in his arms, crushed against him. His muscles are tense with restraint, solid like bands of steel. I sense the thrum of his heart, the way it pounds for me. It’s a new sense, foreign. I can’t hear or feel it, but I know its rhythm.

Enthralled, I feather kisses across his jaw, moving down, my own heart racing as I kiss his neck, pausing over his pulse point.

“Careful, baby vampire,” he grits out.

“I thought I wasn’t contagious?” I kiss him again, darting my tongue out to taste his skin. Then, unable to resist, I graze my teeth over him—softly, gently.

Noah’s welcome groan turns into a growl, and he roughly grabs my shoulders and pushes me back.

The pressure of his hands doesn’t hurt, but the sudden movement is startling. One minute, he’s crushing me against his chest, and the next, he’s holding me at arm’s length.

“I’m sorry.” I blink at him. “I thought you were playing—I didn’t realize you actually wanted me to stop.”

“Piper.” He says my name like he’s in pain.

“What?” I whisper.

He softens his grip on me, rubbing gently instead of gripping. “We just need to quit, okay?”

I nod numbly. “Okay.”

Noah drops his hands.

And though it makes me feel like a child, I whisper, “Are you angry with me?”

Or is it worse? Is he repulsed by me? Like, obviously, he wanted me. But…

Noah’s face softens, his eyes full of misery, and he slides his hands onto my shoulders—gently this time. “No.”

“So…do you want to try the smoothie?”

Laughing softly, he drops his forehead to mine. “I don’t want the smoothie, Pip.”

I gasp, backing up. “Don’t you dare.”

His smirk returns, soothing some of my worries. “It’s cute.”

“If I was a boy cat, maybe. ”

He grins, shaking his head.

I turn back to the blender. “What are you going to eat for breakfast?”

“Do you still have steak?”

“My fridge is fully stocked with cow.”

“I’ll make steak and eggs then.”

“Such a carnivore. It’s not good for your heart, you know. At least eat a carrot or something.”

He laughs as he pulls out the cast iron pan, but my attention is pulled away with a text.

Max: Is Olivia working this morning?

Piper: She might be. I forgot to ask.

Olivia often has painting parties in the morning at the studio. Since it’s Wednesday, she probably has a senior group.

The doorbell rings, making me jump. I look at Noah for guidance, again feeling like a kid and hating it.

“I’ll see who it is.” He abandons the package of meat on the counter and leaves the kitchen. I tiptoe to the window over the sink to look into the front yard.

My anxiety eases when I see Cassian’s fancy car—though I’m not sure that’s the right response to have to the vampire. Either way, my heart is already slowing to a normal pace when Noah returns to the kitchen with him in tow.

“Good morning.” The vampire is in a navy blue, short-sleeved shirt with a subdued floral print, khaki-colored shorts, and a pair of white tennis shoes that shouldn’t look good but do. It’s a summer-in-Venice sort of style, completed by a pair of aviator sunglasses carelessly hung from his front pocket. Few men could pull it off, but he does it spectacularly well. “I was afraid I might wake you.”

“I’m an early riser,” I say, not fully trusting the vampire who looks like a model in an expensive watch commercial.

He nods knowingly. “I’ve recently become a morning person myself.”

“Because of the daylight medicine?” I ask.

Cassian gives Noah a pointed look. “For not liking me, you certainly talk about me a lot.”

“She asked how you can go out during the day,” Noah says dismissively, going back to his steak. “I answered.”

Cassian turns to me, a hint of a crooked smile on his lips. “I like that even more.”

He’s a chronic flirt, and he’s had several hundred years to perfect his art.

“Yeah, okay,” I say. “I just wanted to know since my doctor and the billion pamphlets she gave me said vampires couldn’t go out while the sun was shining.”

He chuckles, turning his eyes back on Noah. “It looks like I arrived just in time for breakfast.”

Noah slaps the massive hunk o’ beef into the skillet. “Sorry, there’s not enough.”

Cassian laughs, taking Noah’s inhospitality in stride.

I study the two of them, suddenly burning to know what caused the rift between them. But Noah is a closed book when it comes to the subject, and I don’t know Cassian well enough to ask.

Noah pulls his phone out of his pocket and then grunts. It’s not a happy grunt.

“What’s the matter?” I ask.

“I forgot about my introductory appointment with Colin today. Emma just sent a reminder.”

I slowly slide onto a stool. Short of begging him to quit, I’m not sure what to say. And, obviously, I’m not going to do that.

“Piper and I will be fine.” Cassian makes himself right at home and opens the fridge to inspect its contents. He grimaces when he sees the glorious rainbow of fruits and vegetables taking up residence on the shelves. Closing it gingerly like he thinks a radish is going to leap out and bite him, he turns back. “Won’t we, Piper?”

“I’m not feeling overly confident, no.”

Noah’s phone buzzes again, and he mutters a curse, looking like he doesn’t know what to do. “I’ll see if I can postpone the meeting for a few hours. Call Max and ask him to come over.”

“Max works on Wednesdays.” I paste a reassuring smile onto my face. “Don’t reschedule your meeting—I’ll be fine. I’ll just rub garlic all over my neck.”

“Any vegetable or fruit would be sufficient.” Cassian smirks.

“How do I know you’re not going to kill me the minute Noah leaves?” I ask the vampire bluntly.

Cassian looks at Noah. “Do you trust me?”

Noah works his jaw. “I’ll just quit NIHA.”

“You’re not quitting.” Cassian rolls his eyes. “Piper is safe with me, and you know it.”

Noah levels Cassian with a hard stare. “If you bite her, I swear I’ll kill you.”

“If I bite her, I’ll stand for the stake.”

Cassian says it like a solemn vow.

Noah contemplates him a few minutes longer, and then he turns back to the sizzling skillet. “Okay.”

“Why can’t I just go with you?” I ask Noah.

“Because the first meeting is full of private information,” Cassian says. “A conservator needs to build trust with his pre-vamp.”

Sighing, I pour my abandoned smoothie into a glass and then realize I forgot the blood. As if sensing it, Cassian opens the fridge, turns his nose up at the produce, and fetches the open prescription bottle.

“Thanks,” I say. “How’d you know I needed it?”

“I didn’t smell it.”

“At what stage does your sense of smell become sharp? I swear I’m noticing things I didn’t before.”

“You begin to pick up things at a greater distance in the first stage,” Cassian answers. “Second stage, a little more. But the final stage is when the sense becomes highly acute.”

“That must be annoying. I’m assuming it’s not only good smells you notice.”

“You get used to it,” Cassian says.

Noah looks over like he wants to say something, but he turns back to the steak. Satisfied it’s done, he transfers it to a plate, chooses a knife and fork from the silverware drawer, and sits next to me at the counter.

“You forgot to cook that,” I say.

“Steak is best rare,” Noah answers. “Have you ever watched a cooking competition on TV?”

“No.”

“This is how they prepare it.”

“Suit yourself.”

Cassian stands across the counter, frowning at us.

“What?” I ask him.

“Nothing.” He turns away, cleaning up the mess I made while making the smoothie.

Noah eats in silence, brooding. When he’s finished, he rises, rinses his plate and utensils, and then moves them to the dishwasher.

Both men are tidy houseguests.

When Noah can stall no longer, he looks at the clock on the microwave. “I need to get going. Colin lives in New Castle.”

He pauses in front of me, almost like he’s going to kiss me goodbye. I swallow, looking up at him.

“Don’t leave the house, okay?” he says.

“Maybe you should put a tracker on me.”

A smile tugs at his lips, and he leans close, dropping his voice. “Maybe I already did.”

When my eyebrows shoot up, he chuckles. “I sent you a request to join my family group. Check your phone.”

“Oh.”

Family group.

I pull my phone from my back pocket and see another text from Max.

Max: She’s not at work.

“You’re being needy this morning,” I mutter after I read the text.

Piper: Why do you need to get a hold of her so badly?

I close the messaging app and bring up the notifications. Noah uses the same location-sharing app as my grandparents. They added all of us to a family group before they left on their RV adventure, just in case they go missing and someone needs to track them down.

Noah York has invited you to join his family group. Accept his request?

My heart lurches a little when I read the notification, but I quickly reprimand it.

Don’t get ahead of yourself, Piper.

I click accept, and then there we are—two little circles on a map. Just Noah and me.

I show him my phone screen. “One flaw in your plan—I can keep track of you, too.”

“I’m okay with that,” he says.

“Yeah?” I ask, feeling squishy.

A smile flickers across his stupidly handsome face. “Yeah.”

He’s supposed to kiss me now. I can feel it. He can feel it. Even the vampire watching us like we’re a daytime soap can feel it.

But instead, Noah clears his throat. “I’ll be back in a few hours, okay?”

“Okay.”

He stares at me for a few more seconds, his eyes lingering on my face, and then nods once and leaves the kitchen. I trail after him, waving at him from the front door as he gets in his SUV and rolls away.

“Let’s not leave the door open,” Cassian says, tugging me into the house. “You’ll invite vampires in.”

I cross my arms and study him, disconcerted. On some level, Noah obviously trusts him a little, or he wouldn’t have left us alone.

“One already got in,” I say petulantly.

That only delights Cassian. His dark eyes light with good humor, and he flips the lock. “You fell in love with your conservator, didn’t you?”

I roll my eyes.

“Ah, it’s a tale as old as time,” he says, following me into the kitchen.

“Pre-vamps often fall for their conservators?”

“No, women often fall for Noah.”

I give him a sharp look over my shoulder.

“But that’s not what I find curious,” he says.

“You might as well tell me instead of dragging it out.”

“I think Noah likes you, too.”

I check the blood, deciding it’s the right consistency, and then I stir a little into the smoothie. “I thought so, too.”

I can feel Cassian’s gaze, but I ignore it. “You thought so?”

“I barely know you, and you’re Noah’s frenemy. I’m not gossiping about him with you.”

Cassian chuckles. “Frenemy. Language is such an interesting thing, isn’t it? We didn’t have such a useful word when I first came to America.”

“What did you do that made him so angry?”

“That’s not my story to tell, and I thought we weren’t going to spill the tea? ”

“Don’t.” I turn back to him, cringing. “It’s weird when parents use slang. It’s weirder when ancient vampires do it.”

He smiles. “You think I’m sus , don’t you? I haven’t swayed you with my rizz ?”

I laugh despite myself, but only because it’s painful.

Cassian crosses his arms, proud of himself. “Let’s talk about you instead. Tell me more about Ethan.”

My phone vibrates with another text just as I’m taking my first sip of the smoothie. “Good grief, Max. Needy much?”

Max: She asked to meet for coffee this morning, but she never showed up.

I read Max’s text twice. Olivia would never, not in a million years, leave Max hanging.

Just as I’m prepping to call her, another text comes in. This time, it’s a photo.

I draw in a sharp breath when I see Ethan posing in a selfie next to Olivia.

A text soon follows it.

Ethan: Your friend is delightful, but I prefer your company. Why don’t you join us?