I'd grown accustomed to waking up standing next to my bed, and I probed my brain for a memory of what happened during my sleepwalking adventure. I got nothing, but I stood there a moment enjoying the image of Vincent's naked form sprawled across the sheets. Even in slumber, he appeared to be thinking deeply on something, with his brow furrowed and his lips pursed. Maybe dreaming of a complicated corporate merger, like the one we were facing with his domus.

A shadow slipped past my peripherals, and I turned toward the window to find the silhouette of a winged beast beating out a rhythm on the other side. Was it gollum or demon? I padded across the room as my heartrate ramped up, and when I drew back the curtain, Christoph's face greeted me. He looked frightened, which freaked me out, and he signaled for me to open the window. Glancing over my shoulder, I checked Vincent's status on the bed. He hadn't moved, so I unlatched the lock and slid the window pane up, crouching down to speak through the screen.

"Christoph, what are you doing here?"

"Can I come in?"

"What's wrong? Are you in danger?"

"Yes."

The tension in his voice had my body snapping into action, and I opened the window as wide as it would go. Christoph quickly yanked out the screen with his talons, entering the room with stealth despite the small space he had to squeeze through. Once inside, he hauled me backward and pinned me to the wall, wrapping his wings around me in a protective cocoon. That's when I realized he was buck ass naked.

"Christoph, what the hell..."

Christoph silenced me with his lips, just like that night in the greenhouse, and the time on the beach when he wanted me to believe gollums were the enemy. I tried to fight him off as he forced his tongue into my mouth, exposing my lips to his sharp fangs. Vincent still had not woken up, and this fact had me more than alarmed. Had Christoph somehow drugged him? What was happening?

Christoph left my lips to tease the lobe of my ear with his canines. "I need you, Reese. I want to be more than friends."

"I'm in love with Vincent. Please, stop Christoph. Let me go."

"I can't. You're inside my head. I want to be inside you. Take off your panties."

"No."

"Don't force me to do it. I don't want to hurt you."

"Christoph, this is not okay. I love Vincent."

"Take off your panties, Reese, or I'll rip them off."

"I'm on my period."

"I don't care."

His kiss had taken over my brain, subduing me with a sedative fog, and I struggled to maintain a grip on reality. "What have you done to Vincent?"

"You're wasting your time with Vincent. He doesn't love you. How could he? Your veins run with the blood of the enemy."

"I am not the enemy."

I felt a sting at my hip as Christoph's claw tore through my lace panties. "Reese, don't make me do it."

I knew what he was talking about. He wanted me to pull out my tampon. "I'm not wearing..."

"Good. I'm going to make you forget all about Vincent." Christoph recaptured my mouth, and I tried to fight his siren call as he pressed himself between my legs. His possession had my blood pumping to my nether regions, and my head lolled against the wall as a final plea escaped my throat.

"Please, stop."

"I can't stop. I don't want to stop. Oh, Reese... Reese..."

Christoph repeated my name as he drove into me, sparking my desire as well as my guilt. Then he slapped my cheek and my eyes snapped open, but instead of Christoph's face, I found Vincent standing there, his skin a whiter shade of pale, eyes like silver blades. Christoph had vanished. It was only a dream.

"Vincent. Thank God you're okay." 

"Christ, Reese. What the fuck was that about?" Vincent slouched forward, grabbing his knees, and I realized he was panting. I also noticed his prominent erection.

"I was sleepwalking," I said, shaking away the image of Christoph trapping me in his wings and slaking his lust.

"I think there was more to it than that." Vincent lifted his gaze, capturing me in the stormy depths of his eyes. "You were being attacked."

"Yes, I was. Did I say anything... out loud?"

Vincent nodded. "Christoph, this is not okay. I am not the enemy. I'm in love with Vincent. Please, stop." He caught his breath before adding, "I'm going to kill the son-of-a-bitch."

"It was just a nightmare, Vincent. I have dreams when I'm sleepwalking."

"In dreams our darkest thoughts are revealed. It's clear you have feelings for Christoph or he would not have come to you in a dream."

"That isn't fair. I have no control over my dreams."

"But, you have control over your thoughts when you're awake, so Christoph must be occupying them."

"Of course, he is. He and Josh are tracking me."

Vincent stepped closer, pinning me to the wall just like Christoph had done. "I want to be the only one occupying your thoughts. I want to be the only one making you come."

"You are. The rest is just necessary distractions."

Vincent stared at me through heavy cloud cover, shaking his head. "You have no idea what I went through watching you grind against your invisible attacker. When you spoke Christoph's name, I nearly punched a hole in the wall. But the more you muttered, the more I understood what was happening. I'm sorry I had to slap you. Yelling didn't work."

I lifted my hand to my face, pretending to be injured. "Maybe you should kiss it and make it better."

A smirk touched his lips, and he leaned into my cheek, dropping a kiss onto it. He lingered there until his breath evened out, then he continued kissing to my ear, speaking words into it. "I am your alpha and your omega. The dark to your light. The road leading to your happiness."

"You're quoting my horrible Dear John letter."

"It was far from horrible. Your words stayed with me during my mission to rescue you. I felt your sincerity in every word, and I will carry that weight until the day I die."

Vincent swooped in and kissed my mouth roughly, seeking entry with his tongue as he ground his naked body against mine. Damn, he was primed. "Is it wrong I want to fuck you hard enough to make you scream?"

"Like a punishment? Do you want to hurt me?"

"No, baby. I want to conquer you."

"You already have."

"I need to be reminded. I need to take you, Reese... Hard."

"Would you stop if I screamed?"

"That would depend on my will power, which is shit around you."

"Should I be running for the door?"

"I would catch you." Vincent wrapped his hands around my wrists and lifted my arms, holding them to the wall. "If you don't want me in you, tell me now."

For the first time since our first time, I hedged before jumping on and riding him to the next rest stop. He had a desperate look in his eyes, and his scent could power a small country.

"Reese..." My name rolled out of Vincent's mouth on a groan as he waited impatiently for my libido and my better judgment to duel it out in my head. I sucked at duels.

"Take me here. Against the wall."

Vincent made quick work of my panties, pulling them off before taking my ass in his hands. "You wreck me." He panted the words as he sunk into me, starting out at a punishing pace, like a man training for a marathon.

With my body imprisoned against the wall, Vincent satisfied his need to conquer me, and his hedonistic attack only brought me closer to climax. We rocked into each other until sweat anointed our skin and our breaths came out in gasps. With a feral groan at my throat, Vincent came, and I shattered with him, my nails pressing into his back.

I barely registered the pain when it happened, and it wasn't until I felt warmth drip down my neck that I realized...

"He will never have you!" Vincent growled as his teeth sunk deeper.

"Et receptum release!"

Responding to my command, Vincent stumbled backward, and I escaped from his imprisoning grip, bolting over the bed as I slapped my hand over my neck. When I reached the bathroom, I closed the door and locked it. I hated to do it, but I didn't know what Vincent was capable of. Maybe I needed to focus more on battle training than flight training.

The water stung as I splashed the wound, but the antiseptic spray stung worse. Vincent had done a helluva job. Four large punctures just below my ear. No amount of makeup would cure this hickey.

"Shit," I cursed as the gaping holes released a fresh flood of crimson.

"Reese, I'm... Please, don't... I'm so sorry, baby." Vincent's pathetic voice echoed through the door as I heard it creak with his weight. He sounded crushed, like a man suffering a devastating loss.

"I know." My response came out more clipped than I intended, but I was busy assessing the extent of his crime.

"How bad is it?"

"Let me put it this way. We won't be hiding our little secret from your family."