By the time all talk of how to find and defeat the hostile witch had ended and Haven had said his goodbyes to Wes and Kimberly, daylight was approaching again. A blackout van took him and his captors to the Twin Peaks neighborhood, where Thomas’ house was located.
Haven was painfully aware of Yvette’s presence in the van. Sitting close to her, yet not nearly close enough, his body heated with desire. They hadn’t exchanged a single private word since they’d escaped their prison, and if he had to wait much longer before he could touch her, he’d go up in flames.
He let his eyes dance over her body. Clad in tight black-leather pants, she looked as hot and sexy as in her halter dress, but he would have preferred her in a dress. It would take precious seconds to tear those pants off her, whereas a dress he could simply push up and he’d be home in an instant.
Haven shifted in his seat, hiding his growing erection. He’d long given up trying to suppress his body’s reactions to her, knowing it was no use. She turned him on, and there were just no two ways about it. He had to make the best of it.
Thomas drove the van into a garage. The moment the garage door came down behind them, everybody scampered out. Haven looked around. Apart from an unpretentious SUV, several motorcycles lined the large space. Somebody clearly had a love for bikes. It explained Thomas’ leather outfit.
“Come, I’ll show you my digs,” Thomas said lightheartedly and waved Haven to follow him up a narrow staircase.
Without looking behind him, he knew Yvette was following, close enough to touch. He’d never been so aware of another person.
At the top of the stairs, Thomas opened a door. Sunlight streamed in and hit Haven in the face, blinding him for a moment. He caught a glimpse of a window—no blinds or shades covering it. Panic struck him, his heart leapt into his throat and lodged there, hammering furiously.
“Shit!”
Knowing he had not a second to lose, he swiveled on the stairs, grabbed hold of Yvette behind him and slammed her against the wall, covering her body with his, hoping none of the sunlight touched her. He pressed her head into his chest, feeling her hot breath against him. Her hands dug into his shirt.
“Baby,” he whispered. “You okay?”
The roaring laughter from further down the stairs made him snap his head around. Zane stood there slapping himself on his thigh, laughing in wide-mouthed glee. Somehow he’d thought the guy wasn’t capable of laughing, but it appeared Haven had underestimated the vamp. Next to him, Eddie chuckled too.
“You’ve quite a protector there, Yvette,” Zane teased.
From the open doorway, Thomas reappeared. “Haven, I think you can let her go. What you see isn’t natural light. It’s safe.”
Looking at Thomas standing there, the light silhouetting him, he had no choice but to believe him. Thomas would have been burned to cinders if the light really were sunlight. Reluctantly, Haven released Yvette.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I didn’t know—”
“Don’t be.” Finally, she addressed him directly. “It’s the thought that counts.” Yvette was still clutching his shirt, and he hoped she didn’t notice that he made no attempt at separating his body from hers. When he looked into her eyes, the need to kiss her overwhelmed him. It had been too many hours since he’d tasted her. As if pulled by invisible strings, he lowered his lips to hers.
“Are you coming or what?” Thomas asked, breaking the spell.
Haven backed off and turned. When he reached the top of the stairs, he took in the view. He’d entered the living area of Thomas’ house. It was surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows. And none of them were covered with drapes, affording a stunning view of San Francisco. A stunning daytime view.
“Quite realistic, isn’t it?” his host asked and waved at the windows.
“I thought you guys burn in sunlight.”
“We do. But that’s not sunlight. What you see is a movie screen: live feed. And the light is artificial, but very natural looking. I designed it all myself. You can’t get that at Home Depot.” Thomas grinned.
Haven nodded and turned back to Yvette and her colleagues, who’d crowed into the room behind him.
“Don’t know about you guys, but I’m beat,” Eddie declared. Then he turned to Thomas. “I guess Haven can take the guest room, and Yvette can have my room. I’ll just bunk with you.”
A quick flash of panic appeared in Thomas’ eyes before he quickly hid it. “Sure, no problem.” He looked at Zane. “You okay taking the living room?”