Filled with a tenderness he had never felt before, Zack kissed her cheek, the curve of her throat, her eyelids. He toyed with the idea of carrying her up to his room and seducing her. It would be easy, so easy. If only she wasn’t a nice girl. If only he didn’t love her with every fiber of his being. But someday—someday she would be his, body and soul.
A sudden heaviness in his limbs told him the sun would soon be chasing the night from the sky. His eyelids grew heavy, his breathing slowed.
Time to put Kaitlyn to bed and seek his rest. Cradling her in his arms, he carried her up the stairs. He had just reached the door to her room when her mother appeared at the other end of the hallway.
“Put your mind at ease, Elena. Everything’s okay. We were downstairs, talking, and she fell asleep on the sofa, that’s all.”
“I believe you. I was just coming to make sure she’s all right. I guess I’m being overprotective, but with everything that’s happened . . .” She shrugged. “I can’t help it.”
She opened the door to Kaitlyn’s room, then turned down the covers on the bed.
Zack lowered Kaitlyn to the mattress, drew the covers over her, then bent down and kissed her cheek. “Sweet dreams, Katy darlin’,” he whispered.
Elena regarded him a moment, then said, “I can never repay you for what you did. I don’t know what we’d have done without you.”
“You don’t owe me anything. I’m in love with her.”
“I know. She loves you, too.” It was easy to see why. He was tall and strong and handsome, loyal, willing to risk everything for the woman he loved.
“How do you feel about that?”
“I’m not sure,” Elena replied honestly. “Everything would be so much easier if she’d fallen in love with one of her own people. But I trust her judgment.”
Zack nodded. “Good night, Elena.”
“Good night.”
Elena stood there a moment, gazing down at her daughter. How quickly the years had gone by. Her little girl was all grown up. Once upon a time was past. She just hoped Kaitlyn would find her own happily-ever-after.
Kaitlyn woke in her own bed with no recollection of how she had gotten there. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep in Zack’s arms. She had hoped to wake up there—which probably wouldn’t have been very smart. No doubt her parents would go ballistic if they thought she was sleeping with Zack—an idea that grew more appealing with every passing day.
She glanced at the clock on the nightstand—five P.M. She was the only one in the family who didn’t know instinctively what time it was, though she was able to internally discern whether it was night or day.
Zack would be awake soon. She grinned, thinking how surprised he would be if she was in his bed when he awoke.
Pleased by the idea, she threw back the covers and went into the bathroom, where she took a quick shower and washed her hair. After drying off, she applied her makeup and a dash of perfume, then spent the next twenty minutes trying to decide what to wear. Although she had taken all her favorite clothes to California, her closet at Wolfram was nowhere near empty.
She decided on a pair of black skinny jeans and a cranberry-colored cashmere sweater. A nightgown would have been her first choice, but she didn’t have enough nerve to hop into his bed wearing something that blatantly said come-and-get-me.
Barefooted, she padded down the hallway to Zack’s room, opened the door, and peeked inside.
He was still asleep. She stood in the doorway, her gaze moving appreciatively over his broad shoulders and strong arms. A sheet covered him from the waist down; his bare feet poked out from under the covers. The thought that he might be naked under the sheet brought a rush of heat to her cheeks.
Her flush deepened when the man she thought was asleep said, “Are you coming in? Or are you going to stand there gawking at me all night?”
Kaitlyn closed the door behind her, then hurried across the room and slipped under the covers.
Zack’s arm went around her, drawing her close. “So, what brings you here?” he asked, a note of amusement in his voice.
“I can always leave.”
His arm tightened around her. “Wanna bet?”
“I never bet against a gambler,” she retorted, hiding her smile.
“Smart girl.” He brushed a kiss across her cheek. She smelled of lavender soap and toothpaste. And woman.
Kaitlyn grinned as the sheet suddenly tented above Zack’s groin.
“Sorry,” he muttered. “Some things just can’t be hidden. Or controlled.”
She laughed and blushed at the same time. “I guess you carried me back to my bed.”
He nodded. “Yeah. About that—”
She propped herself up on one elbow. “What about that?”
“Your mother caught me carrying you to your room just before dawn.”
Kaitlyn’s eyes widened in alarm. “Does my dad . . . ?”
“No. Just your mom.”
Kaitlyn slumped back down on the bed, her head resting on Zack’s shoulder. Had her mother told her dad? She considered that a moment, then shook her head. Her mother hadn’t snitched on her the last time. Besides, if her father knew, she would have heard about it by now. Big time.
“Katy.”
She looked up at him, alarmed by his solemn tone.
“Yes?”
“You know I’m in love with you.”
“Yes.” A thrill of excitement fluttered deep inside her.
“And you love me.”
She smiled. “Yes.”
He blew out a sigh. “I never thought I’d say this to anyone, but will you marry me?”
“Marry you?” She sat up, wondering if she looked as stunned as she felt.
Zack sat up, too. “I know your father won’t approve, but . . .”
“Oh, Zack!” She threw her arms around him. “Of course I’ll marry you!”
He grinned at her. “I thought you’d say no.”
“Why would you think that?”
He shrugged. “I’m an outsider. One of the Others. Your father hates me. I’m not sure about your mother.” He paused. “I can never give you children.”
“It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters, as long as you love me.”
“Never doubt it, Katy darlin’,” he murmured. Falling back on the bed, he carried her with him. Cupping her face in his hands, he kissed her long and slow and deep. He might have made love to her then, in spite of his vow not to defile her, but the decision was taken out of his hands when the bedroom door flew open and an angry father stormed into the room.
Kaitlyn bolted upright, her heart racing even as she told herself to calm down. She hadn’t done anything wrong. And even if she had, she was a big girl now, old enough to make her own decisions, her own mistakes. But all her inner arguments melted away in the face of her father’s fury.
Zack kissed Kaitlyn on the cheek, then gained his feet. “It’s customary to knock before entering someone’s bedroom.”
Drake snorted. “You are lucky I do not drive a stake into your black heart.”
“You can try.”
“Dad . . .”
“Keep out of this Kaitlyn Liliana,” her father said. “This is between me and Zack.”
“Why don’t you calm down?” Zack suggested. “She hasn’t done anything wrong. If you’ll notice, she’s fully dressed.”
A muscle twitched in Drake’s cheek. “I am grateful for your help last night, but I think you should leave here. Now.”
Kaitlyn leaped off the bed to stand beside Zack. “If he goes, so do I.”
“Am I missing something?” Elena asked, coming into the room.
Kaitlyn smiled at her mother. “Zack asked me to marry him, and I said yes.”
“You will not!” Drake roared.
“Yes, I will!” Kaitlyn replied, her tone as irate as his. “I don’t need your permission.”
All the anger seeped out of Drake’s expression. “Perhaps not,” he said quietly. “But what about my blessing?”
Kaitlyn’s shoulders sagged. Tears stung her eyes.
Zack put his arm around her waist and gave her a squeeze. “I don’t want to come between you and your family, Katy. I won’t make you choose.”
She looked up at him, her gaze searching his as she tried to hold back her tears. And failed. “What are you saying?”
“I withdraw my proposal.”
“Enough!” Elena moved to stand in front of her husband, more angry with him than she had ever been in her life. “Are you happy now? Look at your daughter’s face. She loves him, Drake. And he loves her. Have you forgotten how that feels? How you would have done anything to be with the one you loved?”
“Elena . . .”
“Don’t ‘Elena’ me. You went against your father and your people to marry me, remember? Everyone thought it was a terrible idea, but you didn’t listen to them. You even changed your laws. And now you’re acting just like your father!”
As always, when he wanted to silence her, Drake did the only thing that worked. He took her in his arms and kissed her.
“Not this time,” Elena said, pushing him away. “Our daughter’s happiness is on the line. What are you going to do about it?”
Drake looked over Elena’s head to where Kaitlyn stood beside Zack. “You love him?”
Kaitlyn nodded.
Drake turned his gaze on Zack. “And you love her?”
“You know I do.”
Drake blew out a sigh of resignation. “All right,” he said with as much good grace as he could muster. “I know when I am outnumbered.”
“Thank you, Dad!” Kaitlyn hurled herself into her father’s arms. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Drake slid his arm around Kaitlyn’s waist. “Just one thing. Whatever plans you have already made or hope to make will have to wait until Nadiya is no longer a threat.”