Chapter 22
Rook
The cabin sits where the road gives up. It’s located high in the mountains and far enough north that the air sharpens and the pine trees grow bigger and thicker.
This, right here, is deep New England wilderness, the kind people talk about but don’t actually go looking for.
We built this cabin ourselves years ago.
Me, Kane, and Calloway. We hauled the beams, laid the foundation, and cut the forest back just enough to be able to reach the cabin but still keep it hidden.
At the time, I thought we were just building a place to get away, someplace to allow ourselves to go completely off-grid.
In hindsight, it’s almost as if we were preparing for something we didn’t know we were preparing for.
It’s nearing midnight. Kylie and I came straight here after Gammy’s.
We didn’t take any stops or detours, and a trip that would take hours by car took us a fraction of that by the speed of my feet.
Vampires are fast. Some would say inhumanely fast. And I can vouch that’s very much the case.
Though, genuinely speaking, when the goal is to blend in, showcasing otherworldly speed and strength is something we keep under wraps.
Clearly, the cat’s out of the bag now. At least with Kylie.
Cal and Kane are still working to get intel. And thanks to their help, I’m certain no one followed Kylie and me here.
Our cabin is truly in the middle of nowhere. There are no neighbors and no lights beyond the small lamp on the porch. There’s not even much of a cell or Wi-Fi signal unless you know exactly where to position yourself to get it.
Kylie stands on the porch behind me, arms wrapped around herself, eyes studying everything. I watch on in fascination as her gaze takes in the wooden beams of the cabin, the stone chimney peeking out from the roof, and the faint glow from the windows inside.
I could read her mind right now, but I don’t want to do that.
I want to give her space to make her own observations and let her decide if this is a place that could feel like home.
Though, when the silence stretches out into the forest, I can’t stop myself from asking.
“What do you think?”
“I love it,” she says, a soft smile covering her pretty mouth and her eyes meeting mine. “It’s…cozy and rustic and…like something out of a fairy tale. I think I’ll gladly stay here with you. For as long as we have to.”
“I’ll take care of you, Kylie,” I tell her, and I mean every fucking word. Safety, money, food, human needs, I will do whatever it takes to provide and protect. “You have nothing to fear, okay?”
“Okay.” Her nod is hesitant, and I lean forward to press my lips to hers.
“I love you.”
“I love you too,” she whispers and presses another small kiss to my lips. Then a giggle escapes her throat. “Though, in a strange way, the word love doesn’t feel like enough.”
I laugh. I can’t help it. “I know exactly what you mean.”
Her smile lights my whole world on fire, and I take her hand, guiding us inside the cabin.
Instantly, the smell of woodsmoke and pine surrounds us. Kane and Cal came by earlier while Kylie and I were at her grandmother’s, so a fire is already going in the fireplace.
I glance around at the familiar surroundings—the thick rug on the hardwood floor, the worn but cozy couch in front of the fireplace, the kitchen table and chairs Kane and Cal made from pine trees.
Everything here was built to last. To shelter. To protect. There are even three bedrooms with attached bathrooms in the cabin—one here on the ground floor, one below in the basement, and one upstairs.
Honestly, looking back, it’s almost comical how prepared we are for this very situation.
Kylie sets down the bag my brothers grabbed from her house—clothes, her phone, her laptop, toiletries—and turns slowly, taking it all in. “Where are Kane and Calloway?”
“Doing what they need to do,” I say. “Watching. Listening. Making sure no one gets close to us.”
Her mouth curves in a small smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. And her shoulders dip like the weight of everything has room to settle now that we’re alone.
“Kylie,” I say quietly.
She turns—and then she’s moving.
She crosses the room in three quick steps and throws herself into my arms. Her arms lock around my neck like she’s afraid I’ll disappear if she doesn’t hold on tight enough. She presses her face into my chest, and I feel the heat of her tears soak through my shirt.
I can’t lose you, her mind whispers.
And I don’t hesitate.
I wrap her up completely, one hand cradling the back of her head, the other firm at her waist, while I hold her shaking body steady against me.
“I know you said I have nothing to fear, but I’m scared, Rook,” she whispers through shuddering breaths. “Everything you and Gammy said…it’s all so big. And dangerous. And I…” She sucks in a breath. “I just can’t lose you. I can’t fucking lose you.”
I pull back just enough to look at her.
Her eyes are red and glassy and full of fear she’s been holding back since we left her grandmother’s house this evening.
“You’re not going to lose me,” I say firmly.
She shakes her head. “You don’t know that.”
“I do,” I reply. “Because us not being together isn’t an option. My entire being revolves around you and me, Kylie. I’ll do everything I have to do to keep you safe.”
Her hands clutch at my shirt like she’s anchoring herself. “Rook—”
I cut her off with a kiss.
And I kiss her like I mean it when I say she’s safe. Like I mean it when I say I’m not going anywhere. She kisses me back with the same intensity, her fear bleeding out into the space between us until all that’s left is heat and need and the quiet understanding that we’ve chosen each other.
When I lift my head, I rest my forehead against hers.
“I’ll carry the fear,” I tell her. “All of it. You don’t need to.”
Her lips tremble. “You can’t do that alone.”
“I’m not alone,” I say. “I have you.”
That seems to settle something in her.
She kisses me again, and when I lift her into my arms, she lets out a small laugh through her tears and wraps her legs around my waist as if it’s the most natural thing in the world.
I carry her to my bedroom—our bedroom—down the hall, kissing her the entire way.
I lay her on the bed and slowly remove our clothes.
Nothing about this moment is rushed. It’s slow. It’s steady. And it’s focused on us. On just being together.
When I slide my hard cock inside her, she’s wet and aching and needy, but I don’t move with haste. I move with care and gentleness and every ounce of love I feel for her.
“Feed on me, Rook,” she whispers into my ear before pressing her neck to my lips.
Her blood calls to me like a fucking beacon. And my mouth is already watering at the thought of sinking my teeth into her skin and tasting her. Hell, it only makes my already hard cock harder.
But I swallow down the urge and lean my forehead against hers, locking our eyes while I continue to move my cock inside her.
“No,” I say gently. “Not yet.”
She frowns. “Why?”
“Because I’ll never take from you at the expense of your well-being,” I tell her. “Not tonight.”
She studies my face, and I hear her mind trying to find a way to get me to feed on her. She wants it as much as I want it; I have no doubt about that. But her safety and health will always come first for me. I simply can’t feed on her if I feel it’ll make her weak.
“I love you,” I tell her. “Fuck, I more than love you, Kylie.”
“I more than love you too, Rook.”
Eventually, we come together—slowly, deliberately—letting the world outside the cabin walls fall away. The fire crackles. The night presses close. And for the first time since this all began, I let myself believe that here, in this place, she’s truly safe.
I hold her until sleep takes her again. And I spend the rest of the night listening to the quiet thrum of her heartbeat and the steady breaths of her lungs.
All the while, my mind makes a firm decision—I will fucking burn down anything that dares to take her from me.