“One other thing.”

Katie’s brother looked over his shoulder.

“I haven’t fed. Any chance you could send over some packaged blood, given that I can’t leave Katie alone?”

Haven motioned to the end of the corridor. “Katie keeps blood in a fridge in the pantry. You know, for visitors like me and my mate. Help yourself.”

“Appreciate it.”

With a grunt, Haven disappeared. Moments later, Luther heard the garage door being operated and a car drive out. When the garage closed again and everything went quiet, Luther relaxed. From above he heard the sound of a shower running.

Instinctively he felt the need to run up there, but he pulled himself back. He was here to protect Katie, not devour her like a hungry beast. And he was hungry, starving in fact. Drawing on every last ounce of willpower, he marched toward the kitchen and entered it. In the pantry he found a small refrigerator. Its only ingredients were bottles of blood, neatly stacked in rows, sorted by blood type.

He reached for one, not caring what type it was and popped the twist top open. He gulped the liquid down greedily until the bottle was empty. But he wasn’t satisfied yet. He tossed the empty bottle into the recycle bin next to the door and pulled a second bottle out. Only when he’d emptied that bottle too, did he feel somewhat better. In prison, he would have had to survive on this amount of blood for several days, which had taught him to control his hunger. That’s why he was so surprised at the amount he needed now to satisfy his hunger.

However, deep down he wasn’t sated. He knew why. Because the reason why stood underneath the shower on the second floor. His feet carried him up the creaking wooden staircase. On the landing, he inhaled and caught her scent. The door to the room at the end of the long corridor was ajar. The sound of the shower was coming from there. Katie’s master suite.

He hesitated. It was best to show restraint. Katie had been through enough during the preceding night. She needed to rest. And he needed to cool down. Maybe a cold shower would help bring his priorities back into focus.

Luther walked along the corridor, the rug underneath his feet swallowing his footsteps. He opened several doors, until he found a bathroom. He slipped inside and closed the door behind him. It wasn’t long before he’d shed his clothes and was standing underneath the spray of the shower, willing it to wash away the need that was twisting his body into knots.

What had he gotten himself into? He’d taken on the responsibility of protecting Katie from a crazy vampire. And if he failed, not only would he forfeit his own life, worse, he would never be able to forgive himself.

He tilted his face to the ceiling, letting the water rain down on him. “Why?” Why was fate so cruel as to put this woman in his path? Katie, who made his heart beat with excitement, who was offering him a second chance, a chance he didn’t deserve. And because he didn’t deserve this, he knew how it would end: fate would take it all away again.

He turned off the water and stepped out of the shower stall. With a towel he found in the linen closet, he dried himself off, then wrapped it around his lower half and turned to where he’d set down his clothes.

He froze in mid-turn.

Katie stood in the open door, wearing only a thin red robe, her hair towel-dry.

“I was looking for you,” she murmured. Her eyes trailed down his body.

He couldn’t help but notice how her lips parted and how she pulled in a breath of air. Her chest lifted, drawing his gaze to her breasts. Hard nipples pressed through the thin fabric.

Involuntarily, Luther groaned.

When her hands went to the belt of her robe to loosen it, he took a step toward her and grabbed her hands, stopping her.

“Don’t.”

She lifted her lids and locked eyes with him. “Luther, please, I need you.”

He shook his head. “I have nothing to give you. I can’t promise you anything, Katie.”

“Then don’t make any promises. I’m not asking for anything. All I want is today. It doesn’t have to mean anything beyond the here and now.”

He sighed, knowing he’d already lost that argument. “Oh, Katie.” He released her hands. “And tomorrow? What’s gonna happen then? You know I can’t stay.” He made an all encompassing gesture. “This is not my life. It won’t do either of us any good to pretend we can change that.”

“What are you afraid of, Luther?”

She raised her hand and reached for his face. He let it happen, allowed her to trace the contour of his lips.

“Aren’t you tired of running?” she asked softly.