"Ow."

"Quit your whining."

Peeking out from beneath the covers, I glared at Vincent where he sat propped against the headboard. He had a sated smile on his face and mirth dancing in his eyes. The late morning sun had gilded my entire bedroom in shades of gold, but I still hadn't been able to make myself move. Waking up wrapped in Vincent's arms for the second day in a row was surreal experience, but definitely one I could get used to. However, his morning-person attitude needed to take a back seat. Pronto.

"You weren't bent into twenty-seven different positions last night."

"It was only twenty-six, princess."

I chucked a pillow at his head, and he caught it with a laugh.

"Don't you have a job to do?"

"Lucas and Brandon have it covered for today."

"And what are your plans?"

"I don't have any," his eyes skimmed along the skin that he could see, which was only the tops of my shoulders. "Did you have anything in mind?"

I burrowed farther into the comforter just to spite him, and from the smirk on his face, he knew what I was doing.

"Tonight is my night to help Dante with inventory, but other than that I'm free."

"Then I have something I want to show you."

That piqued my interest. "Oh?"

"Mhmm." I squeaked as he snagged my wrist in his grasp. He yanked me into his arms with a firm tug, and before I knew it, we were fully entangled again. "But first, I think I need to eat."

And then he slid beneath the covers, and I knew we wouldn't be leaving the bedroom anytime soon.

* * * * *

Just over an hour later, we found ourselves back in the kitchen. We were both freshly showered, and I braided my hair back away from my face. Dexter sat next to Vincent in the kitchen, probably hoping he would slip him another slice of bacon when I wasn't looking. A smile graced my lips as I watched them. It was always nice to see Dexter warm up to someone. Lately, he had had plenty of new faces.

"Is it bad that it shocks me how domestic you are sometimes?"

"Have you been stereotyping me?"

My eyes rolled as I slipped into one of the chairs at the dining room table. "Don't act like you haven't fit quite a few of them."

"Fair enough."

He made his way over to me with a cup of coffee in his hand. I peaked at it when he set it in front of me. He winked as he walked back to the stove. The heat from the mug seeped into my hands as I wrapped them around it. When I took a sip, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was exactly how I normally drank it. My eyes narrowed on Vincent as he came back over and set a plate in front of me. He had made bacon, and it was cooked to perfection just like the day before. He also had cut up the strawberries in the fridge and placed them on top of a fluffy pancake.

"You really didn't have to do all this," I said, eyeing him as he took his place across from me.

His broad shoulders raised in a shrug. "I wanted to. Does everything look okay?"

"It's perfect." I ran my index finger around the edge of my coffee. "How'd you know?"

"I'd love to say that I'm amazing and just knew, but I text Lucas."

A soft laugh escaped me, and I shook my head at him. "I should've known."

"He spends an awful lot of time here," he mused.

"You're the one that took him off watching over me."

"So, one would think he would spend his time doing other things."

"Vincent," I teased, trying my damnedest not to grin at him. "Are you jealous?"

"Only of the fact that Lucas seems to pay more attention to you than his actual job. But not at him being here. Not at him spending time with you. I like that the men are comfortable around you. That they seem to see you as one of their own."

And that struck a chord with me. I had never thought of it like that. Had never considered that the boys spent so much time here because – somehow – I had become a place of familiarity to them. My heart warmed at the thought, and I ducked my head to hide my smile.

"They're not so bad."

"I'll be sure to tell Lucas and Brandon you were speaking so highly of them."

"Don't you dare. They'll never shut up about it."

He chuckled, the sound light and warm. We fell into a companionable silence as we ate. When I was pretty sure he wasn't paying attention, I studied him from underneath my lashes. There was something about seeing him like this, with his defenses down, that made something inside me settle. These stolen moments we were getting more and more often felt as natural as breathing, and that scared me as much as it excited me. I knew it was a bad idea to always be waiting for the other shoe to drop, but I had lost the two most important people in my life in some of the worst ways. It was a hard habit to break.

But I was willing to try. For this. For him.

If Vincent could put his feelings for me before his fear of losing someone else as a consequence of his world, like the entirety of his family, then I could do the same. I owed him that much. I owed myself that much.

"You're thinking awfully hard over there, princess."

I threw my last piece of bacon at him. To my surprise, he caught it in his mouth. Because of course he did.

"What did you want to show me?"

"Are you finished eating?" I nodded. He collected our plates and placed them in the sink before turning back to me. "It's a little bit of a drive. You up for it?"

"You haven't finally decided to kill me, have you?"

"Juliette." And that snap of warning in his voice had my blood running hot all over again.

"I know, I know," I muttered, standing from the table before making my way to the bedroom to get changed. "But yes, I'm in. Just let me take Dexter out."

I swapped my over-sized t shirt for a pair of dark jeans and a thick sweater. As I was grabbing a pair of socks out of my dresser, I heard the front door open followed by the jingling of Dexter's tags. A smile overtook my face as I finished getting dressed. And sure enough, a few minutes later when I emerged back into the living room, Vincent and Dexter were just reentering the apartment. Vincent gave me a cool look before glancing back at the security system. That I had forgot to engage when we got in the night before.

My eyes rolled. "You are the one that attacked me the minute we got it," I reminded him.

"Are you ready?" he asked, unclipping Dexter from his lead before hanging it on the back of the door.

"As I'll ever be."

"Don't sound so excited."

A smirk twitched at the edge of my lips. But I decided not to comment as we left the apartment. Vincent watched me with an eye like a hawk as I engaged the security system behind us. When I turned to head for the front doors, he snagged my hand in his. The action startled me, and I whipped my head around to look at him. He arched a brow at me, raising our entwined hands to kiss the back of mine. I had no choice but to follow him in a stupor as he made his way to the SUV.

I'm not sure why I was stunned speechless by the simple gesture of holding his hand, but it had completely short-circuited my brain. I didn't make a sound as he helped me into the car. There was a knowing glint in his green eyes as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, and my eyes narrowed in response. My ire only served to amuse him, if the laugh the tumbled from his full lips was anything to go by. When he got settled in the driver's seat, he flipped the radio on. At the familiar sound of the piano notes he typically had playing, a knot in my shoulders that I hadn't been fully aware of let loose. I slumped into the seat, letting my eyes fall closed as Vincent maneuvered the car out onto the road. I didn't have any idea where he was planning on taking me, but I was excited. Trepidatious, sure, but excited all the same.

It had been longer than I cared to admit since I had left the city. With everything I had ever really needed being within walking distance, I had never bothered saving for a car. Both of my parents had been only children, so there wasn't any family to go visit. The idea of travel had always just seemed expensive, so I had never let myself entertain the idea of it. In fact, I was pretty sure the last time I had left Valarian was the trip to the boardwalk near the Atlantic that my parents had taken us on when I was seven. One of the many times they had gotten along over the years for my sake.

I had almost been able to convince myself on that trip that they would get back together, but it hadn't happened. They would always have love for each other, but they butted heads too much to have ever had anything stable between them. I could see that – admit that – now.

"You're awfully quiet," Vincent said sometime later. His voice snapped me out of the recesses of my mind, almost enough to give me whiplash as I refocused on the present. As my eyes focused on the trees slipping by outside, I realized that we were quite a way outside of the city. A glance at the dash clock told me we'd been driving for nearly an hour.

"I was just thinking." He nodded, his gaze flicking to me for the briefest second. "It's been a long time since I've been outside Valarian. Any chance you'll give me a hint as to where we're going?"

"It's a surprise."

"Vincent," I whined, drawing his name out in the most annoying way I could. He just laughed, shaking his head a little as he shifted so he could hold the steering wheel with his left hand. His right slipped across the seat and settled just above my knee. He gave me a quick squeeze, and then his hand moved just a little higher. I had to focus to keep my breathing even as heat seeped out from his touch. For once, I was able to keep my breath from catching. My heart, on the other hand, had a mind of its own as it took off at full gallop in my chest.

"Something tells me you'll love it," he said, giving my leg another reassuring squeeze.

I huffed, but settled back into the seat. Vincent didn't remove his hand. He just focused on the road, and his thumb moved in lazy strokes, almost as if he wasn't aware of the idle movement. But this was Vincent, and this man didn't do anything without intention. And from the twinkle in his eye, I knew he had something up his sleeve.

The piano notes shifted into a song I had never heard before, and I closed my eyes in order to absorb it. The piece was haunting, as most of what I had heard whenever we were in the car was. But there was something about this piece, something about the way the notes flowed that pulled at my heart.

"I've always been curious as to who this artist is," I murmured, letting my head fall back against the head rest.

"It's a recording of one of Alana's recitals."

And just like that, I was fighting back tears.

"When was this?"

"Back in school. She never continued it after, she threw herself into her work. But every once in a while, we'd find time for her to play for me. There's a studio in the heart of downtown that her instructor owns, and he'd let her use one of the practice rooms whenever he didn't have class. I think he hoped that she would come back to it full time."

"She was incredible."

The softest of smiles graced his lips and his eyes shone. "She was."

Before I knew it, the SUV was making its way up a steep incline. Perking up, I all but pressed my nose against the window to see where we were. All I could see around us were towering trees, nearly blocking out the sunlight that had been blaring the whole way here. A wry smile crossed my lips as I thought – for the umpteenth time – how easy it would be to hide a body up here, but I kept my mouth shut. Something told me Vincent wouldn't appreciate the joke.

We pulled off the road onto a dirt path that the SUV barely fit on. We drove for about another five minutes before there was a break in the trees. Sitting in the heart of the clearing, was a small house. It was a modest size, and it looked well taken care of. Vincent killed the engine when we pulled to the end of the hard-packed dirt. There was softness in his eyes as he stared at the dark house ahead of us. There was a porch swing moving in the soft breeze, but other than that there was no sign of life in the clearing.

"Vincent?'

"This was where we grew up," he told me. "Well, before we lost our parents. This was the family home. I bought it after I lost Alana. I needed something to tie back to everyone, so when I saw it was on the market, I snatched it."

My lips tilted up and I took his hand in mine. Our fingers entwined without a second thought, and I couldn't ignore the feeling of rightness that fell over me. We gazed out at the house, and I wondered how many others new the place existed. With Alana's playing wrapping around us, I leaned back against the seat and let my eyes slip closed. There was a steadiness in me that I hadn't noticed how much I had missed. I hadn't felt this settled since my mom died, and I still couldn't believe that it stemmed from the man sitting beside me.

"Does anyone else know about it?" I asked.

"Just Lucas, Brandon, and Arkin. And the only reason they do is so that if anything ever happens to me, they can make sure it's taken care of." His eyes drifted to me. "And now you."

"Thank you for bringing me here."

"I had an ulterior motive." My eyebrows lifted. "You've said it yourself, I've never hidden anything from you. And I won't. Anything you want to know about the ins and the outs of the gang, you ask. If you're in this with me, I'm not withholding information. So, if anything ever goes sideways, you come here, got it?" That darkness that always spoke to me wrapped through his words. "None of my enemies knows this place exists. All of the paperwork is under a fake name, so the cops wouldn't even know to look for me here."

"A safe house?" He nodded, one small dip of his chin. "Thank you."

"I want you safe, always."

The stupidest grin broke across my face, and I leaned across the arm rest to kiss him. He smiled against my mouth, and when I pulled back, he caught my chin between his thumb and forefinger. The hold was gentle, I could pull away if I wanted to. But with the way his eyes searched mine, grazed over my features as if he were trying to memorize them, I had no desire to. His thumb brushed my bottom lip before he dropped a kiss on the tip of my nose and withdrew from me. He threw open his door and got out of the car.

Following suit, I hopped out and met him at the front of the hood. He slipped his hand in mine as if it were second nature and tugged me along behind him. The scent of wild honeysuckle danced around me on the wind, followed by the heady scent of the pine trees that towered over us. As we mounted the steps up to the porch, the planks groaned with disuse under Vincent's hulking figure. When we made it to the front door, I noticed that it didn't just have a lock that you would fit a key into. It was operated by a code. Vincent punched it in and then glanced at me.

"What?"

"I'm going to change the code," he murmured. He punched a series of buttons, and the panel flashed green. "That way you and I will be the only ones who know it. 58537," he said as he input it.

"Any significance to that?"

There was a coy smile on his lips, but he vanished inside the house without answering me. My eyes narrowed on the spot he had previously occupied. Fine then.

When I entered the house, I let my eyes wander. The inside was cozy. The tones of decorations were similar to what was in Vincent's apartment, but that was where the similarities ended. Where Vincent's loft was sweeping and immaculate, this place was overflowing with warmth. The couches and chairs arranged around the living room to my left were overstuffed, mismatched, and looked well worn. The entire atmosphere seemed suited to nights curled up in front of the fireplace on the far wall.

"How often do you come up here?"

"At least once a month. I don't want it to ever feel unoccupied. So, the guys and I will come up here sometimes when we need a breather or to plan. Anything that we need to hide comes here as well. There's a huge barn buried back in the trees, and we've used it for storage ever since I got access to the place."

"And the furniture?" Because there was no way this was stuff that he had bought new. I felt like I had walked into the home he remembered – where he must have grown up. But if the property had changed hands multiple times before he got it again, there was no way that it was that old.

"Hand me downs. Whenever the gang or I get something new, we transfer the old here if it's needed or wanted."

No wonder it felt like a home.

Vincent towed me along with him as he showed me the three bedrooms, letting me know which one had been who's. The two rooms that he and Alana had occupied were split by a Jack and Jill bathroom, and I laughed as he told me how often they had bickered over who got first dibs. It was nice to see him relive the memories of the good times. There was a sparkle in his eyes that I rarely saw when we were in the city. The same sort of peace seemed to have seeped into him that had me.

Before I knew it, we were making our way back out onto the porch. It was encroaching on the time when I would have to start getting ready to meet Dante at the bar. But as I went to step down, Vincent towed me over to the porch swing. The faintest smile crossed my mouth as he pulled me down with him, arranging my legs across his lap so that he was all but cradling me in his arms. He was so warm, and with the weather turning colder, I snuggled into him. The chains creaked in a smooth rhythm, and a soft sigh slipped free. He tucked my head under his chin as he used his legs to move us.

"Thank you again for bringing me here," I murmured, keeping my voice low to keep from disturbing the quiet that blanketed the landscape.

"You're the only other person I've ever trusted enough to show it to."

My breath hitched. I craned my neck back a bit to meet his eyes. Out here, with the foliage surrounding us, I realized how right I had been in comparing his eyes to a forest. In the dimming light of dusk, they were damn near the same color as the pine trees. And with the light that was shimmering within them, even if I was being a romantic sap, I knew that he was telling me the truth. But I couldn't help but prod.

"There's never been . . ." I trailed off, catching my bottom lip between my teeth.