He kissed the top of my head and said, “You make me proud. Every day.”

“Love you, Daddy,” I said into his shirt.

He turned to Patti, who stood behind me. Dad pulled a strand of her curly hair, like a little kid, then let his hand rest on her shoulder. They said nothing. She patted Dad’s hand and tried to smile. Good-byes were never easy.

Without looking back, Dad picked up his bags of clothes and walked out of the house into the dark, leaving us in silence.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE—

NO GIRLS

It was late when Jay and Marna went for a walk. Blake and Ginger played video games on Jay’s game system, and Kaidan and I chatted with Kope and Z. A tiny strand of discomfort still permeated the air between Kaidan, Kope, and me—a leftover from the kiss I’d shared with Kope and the jealousy between the two of them.

Kopano made a solid effort to get past the tension, wanting to hear more about my interactions with Marek, the son of Shax.

“He’d be a great ally,” I told them. “He freaking stole my car keys from under my nose. But I couldn’t get a good read on him with Caterina there. He definitely isn’t a fan of hers, which gives me a little hope about him.”

“Strange to think her father is an ally,” Kaidan said.

“Yeah,” I agreed. It was also strange to think of Jezebet as Caterina’s father at all. He was now a woman. Jezebet was the first Duke to ever take a female body. His change of guard must have happened just after he’d fathered Caterina. As far as I knew, Jezebet was Dad’s only ally among the Dukes, but Dad was known to keep his secrets close.

When Jay and Marna returned from their walk, Jay took out his guitar. He was decent at it, but the piano was his best talent. He couldn’t get a certain riff right, so he handed the instrument to Kaidan, and my heart flipped.

I recalled him saying he played guitar, but I’d never actually seen or heard him play. Kaidan began to pick at each string, testing and tuning with his full attention. I watched the way his hands moved across the wood and strings, gently, reverently, his body seeming to curl around it as if it were a part of him. . . . I felt my hands getting sweaty, because watching Kaidan get lost in music did crazy things to me. My breathing became ragged and I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

He looked up at that moment and caught me staring hard. He knew. He knew what it did to me! I could tell because his badge expanded.

He angled himself away from the others and signed to me, I want to be alone with you tonight.

Patti did have a lot of guests staying in the house. I signed back, I’ll work on it.

“Excellent,” he whispered, a hot grin sliding onto his face.

“Hey, Kai,” Jay called from across from us.

“Yeah, mate?”

“What’s the difference between a drummer and a large pizza?”

Kai held back a smile. “I’ve no clue.”

“A large pizza can feed a family of four!”

Everyone cracked up.

Blake said, “Thank God for Daddy’s money, huh?”

“Bloody right.” Kaidan turned his attention back to the guitar. When the first rich notes of a popular ballad met my ears, I stared at his forearms and lower biceps, then his fingers as they moved, seemingly without effort. The way he concentrated and fell into his own world fascinated me. Each sound was clear and vibrant, stirring my blood until I had a dizzying head rush. Yep, I was taking this guy home tonight. He was all mine.

I went upstairs and found Patti making the second guest bed. I got on the other side to help straighten the sheet. “So . . . I was wondering if you minded if Kaidan and I went back to my dorm tonight, since you have a houseful and all? We’d be back first thing in the morning.”

She tried to keep a straight face, but I could see her fighting a smile. “Sure thing, honey.” She may have been the woman who raised me, but she was also a romantic.

Kaidan and I weren’t the only people walking across campus close to midnight, but we might have been the only sober ones. At one point while we were walking I heard distant cheers, then Kaidan busted out laughing next to me. I followed his eyes and the sounds until I spied the backs of three naked guys streaking across the quad.

Kaidan covered my eyes, but we were both cracking up.

We passed a big group of girls who were talking at top volume, giggling like crazy. They got quiet when they saw Kaidan, putting all their energy into staring as hard as they could. Kai didn’t even glance their way, but his fingers tightened around mine as if to reassure me.

The moment we passed them, they broke into another round of giggles and began talking over one another about how all the hottest guys were taken. It was strange to think we looked like an average college couple. Kaidan released my hand to put his arm around my shoulder, and mine went around his waist, my thumb linking through a belt loop. We threw all caution to the wind, but Kaidan’s eyes stayed always on alert. Always searching.

When we got closer to the building, I wondered if I was allowed to bring him in. Probably not since it was an all-girl dorm. I made Kaidan wait for me at a side exit while I went in and then came to get him. As soon as the heavy door clicked closed behind him, he pinned me to the wall with a hard kiss. I let myself pull him close and melt into him, savoring our aloneness. I forced my mouth from his so I could talk.

“For the record, you can play guitar for me anytime.”

Dark hair hung in his eyes as he loomed over me, so hot. “Liked that, did you?”