“It will not happen.” His voice broke. “And it does not matter if she is human. I have sworn my protection over her. She is under my personal aegis. Do not think to attack her or send someone who might. Attacking her is the same as attacking me.” The soft voice grew hard. “And will be dealt with in the same manner. Do you understand?”

The other vampire’s voice was acid. “I understand you have lost your reason. I only hope you come to your senses before this has gone too far.”

She heard footsteps approaching and darted into a coat closet she’d just passed. She heard the steps slow, then speed up, a low female voice muttering in Spanish about what, she couldn’t understand. A second set of feet approached and the door creaked open.

“She could smell you in here, you know.” He parted the coats she’d hidden behind. “She could sense you on the stairs.”

“Did you leave your family because of me?”

Baojia held out a hand. “How did you sleep?”

“Answer me, please.”

He sighed and leaned against the doorjamb. “It was for a number of reasons. You were part of it, but not the whole. Can we leave the coat closet now?”

Natalie brushed past him, unsure of how she was feeling. Worried. Elated. Nervous. Grateful.

“You show everything and nothing on your face,” he called to her back.

Natalie spun around. “I could say the same thing about you.”

“Are you hungry?”

“No.”

He stepped closer. “Thirsty?”

“I drank some water in your room. Which looks an awful lot like our room now.”

Baojia sped to her side, making her eyes swim as he rubbed her shoulders. “I don’t particularly want you out of my sight.”

“How very caveman of you.”

He grinned. “Still thinking abol twanut that cave, aren’t you?”

She blushed and saw his fangs lengthen in his mouth. His eyes watched her with predatory awareness.

“Baojia?”

“Are your human needs met?”

“Yes, but—”

“Then we can talk later.” He picked her up and ran so fast she thought she was going to throw up.

“Okay, motion sickness is not sexy, George.”

He laughed and slowed down a little as they reached the bottom staircase. Within seconds, they were at the door and he was kissing her again, making her head spin for a whole new reason.

“Baojia—”

He wouldn’t let her talk. He just kept at her mouth. Then her neck. She felt his fangs scrape against her skin as he laid her down on the bed and went to secure the door with a combination of way more numbers than just her birthday.

“Did you… did you just change the code?”

“Yes. We’ll have to think of a new password every dawn.” He moved back toward her, intent clear as he pulled off his shirt. “I will not take any chances with your security, but I do not want to keep you prisoner during the day.” He lay down next to her, shirt gone, playing with the edge of her T-shirt. “You’ve had quite enough of that, am I right?”

She pulled off her T-shirt. “But not enough of you. I should take a shower.”

The smile dropped from his face and he dove toward the newly revealed skin. Her green bra turned into a scrap of lace when his teeth encountered it. The now-familiar sensation of his amnis flowing over her skin caused her to moan.

“Later,” he whispered, his mouth already busy on her breast. “Much later.”

Much much later, after Natalie had discovered just how entertaining showers could be with someone who controlled water, they lay in bed. It was still an hour or so before dawn. His cool fingers ran over her still-flushed skin, and his other hand played with the red hair splayed over his chest.

“I am very…” He spoke softly.

“What?”

“Content. I am very content, Natalie.”

She smiled against his chest. “I’m glad. I’m sorry you fought with your sister.”

“She is not my sister anymore.”

Pulling back a little, she looked into his eyes. “Yes, she is. Feelings don’t just disappear because you fight.”

“She brought me to him. When I was human, it was Paula who found me and took me to Ernesto.”

“But you said you weren’t forced to become a vampire.”

“No.” He took a deep breath. “I was willing.”

“Why?”

Frowning, he rolled to the side and then turned her over so she could meet his eyes. “You have to understand what was expected of me. My family was in China. I was sent here to work. For them. So they could eventually pay passage and move, too. There was no future in China, my father said. He was, in his own way, very American.” Baojia smiled. “He thought our family could have a better life here. There were so many rumors of gold, but also regular jobs. On the railroads. On farms. Shops. Just jobs, which were scarce in my village. I was sent over and worked on the railroad at first. Then for a mining company. Every place I could. I sent a little bit home, but mostly I saved it. I slept in the cheapest lodging I could. I bought nothing for myself. I would have been able to do it. I e tst

“What happened?”

“In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act. No Chinese immigrants were allowed. They said it would be for ten years. I had been here working, had saved up so much… But it didn’t matter. No matter what I did, they would not have been able to come. There were smugglers, but I could not afford to pay them. And there were no guarantees they wouldn’t take my money and leave my parents in their village anyway.”