If I still had a heartbeat, it would be racing by now, but I’d lost that—for the most part—when I’d changed from a half-breed into a full vampire several months ago. My eyes turned bright green as fangs slid out of my teeth.

“Showoff.”

He leaned down until our faces were only an inch apart. “Now, my lovely captive, with you trapped beneath me, what’s to stop me from having my vile way with you?”

The knife I still held dropped from my hand as I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Nothing, I hope.”

Bones, my vampire husband, gave a low, sinful laugh. “That’s the answer I wanted to hear, Kitten.”

Being underground in a cave wouldn’t make most people’s favorite last-minute accommodations list, but it was heaven to me. The only sounds were the smooth motions of the underground river. It was a relief not to have to tune out the background noise from countless conversations that were all too audible with a vampire’s hearing. If it were up to me, Bones and I would stay here for weeks.

But taking a time-out from our lives to get some R&R wasn’t in the cards for us. I’d learned that the hard way. What I’d also learned was to grab moments of escape when we could. Hence the stopover to rest the dawn away in the same cave in which, seven years ago, my relationship with Bones began. Back then, it had been me in the chains, convinced I was about to be eaten by an evil bloodsucker. Instead, I ended up marrying that bloodsucker.

Helsing, my cat, gave a plaintive meow from the corner of the small enclave, scratching at the stone slab that served as a door.

“You don’t get to explore,” I told him. “You’d get lost.”

He meowed again but began to lick his paw, giving me baleful looks the whole time. He still hadn’t forgiven me for leaving him with a house sitter for months. I didn’t blame Helsing for his grudge, but if he’d stayed with me, he might have gotten killed. Several people had.