Lily wore a white cotton nightgown with small pleats across the bodice, which made her look youthful, even fragile. Her hair was clean and she swept it back with one hand to rest over her shoulder. As she lifted her spoon and dipped, Adrien didn’t know what to make of this woman or her sudden appearance in his life.

She didn’t look at him as she ate. The trip of her spoon from lips, to bowl, to broth and back, became a slow, steady progression.

He waited until she had finished the last bite, then rang the bell. The housekeeper returned to take the tray.

Adrien knew the time had come to tell Lily what needed to happen next, but she was already sliding out of bed. “We need to get to that club. What time is it? Wait, I didn’t sleep through the night, did I?”

He glanced at the clock. “No. We have several hours till dawn, but Lily, we’re not going there, at least not yet.”

She sat on the edge of the bed, and her brows rose. “Why not? I mean, I’ve recovered. I feel fine. I really do.” The whiteness of her complexion belied her true condition. Hell if he didn’t admire her all over again.

“Gabriel will be here shortly with a new set of chains, a double set. He said it wouldn’t take long to get this thing done.”

“I don’t understand.”

Absently, Adrien touched the chain at his neck.

Her eyes widened. She reached out and grabbed his wrist, hard. “No,” she cried. “No. We decided we’re not doing that.”

“You’re not doing anything. And all I’m doing is becoming something I should have become when I first flew you to Paris.”

She glared at him in response.

“Don’t look at me that way. Lily, you drowned. Don’t you understand? You were almost gone when I pulled you out of the lake. Once we were airborne I might have tried to fly you slowly, but another, larger group of assassins was on us. I can’t risk your life again. I can’t because if you die, then I’ll die and Daniel will kill my brothers. I have to keep you alive, just to stay alive myself.”

“But I know how much you don’t want to do this thing. I can feel that it’s almost unbearable to you.”

“My mind’s made up.”

She grabbed him harder and leaned forward. “No. I won’t allow it.”

“At this point, you don’t get a say. Or do you want to be dead? And frankly, you are too much of a liability for me not to add a new power level to my arsenal.”

Adrien felt like a strong wind blew over his face. He didn’t recognize the sensation right away, but he was stunned. He’d only known Lily a little over two nights, and she sat here gripping his arm, standing in his corner, battling for him. What made it more intense was knowing that his kind had taken the lives of her family, changing and ruining her life forever. Yet she cared about him enough, after so short a time, to want him to hold his course.

Maybe that’s what settled everything in his mind: As much as he detested what he was about to do, saving Lily’s life was worth it. She hadn’t deserved to have her family ripped apart, or to be somehow forced onto this mission of hers. And she sure as hell didn’t deserve to die because of fanatics that apparently wanted them both dead no matter what.

He covered her hand with his once more then leaned in and kissed her.

She drew back, surprised. “What was that for?”

“Thank you,” he said, with emphasis. “You’re a true friend and I’ll never forget that. In all my long centuries, I can count on just these two hands the people in my life who would have stood up for me as you just have. It means a lot.” He drew in a deep breath, then said, “Now, here’s how this is going down.”

An hour later Lily was dressed in appropriate sex-club attire: a shimmery, low-cut blue halter, a short black leather skirt, and long sexy boots.

She teased up her hair and added more eye makeup than she usually wore, hoping to create a different appearance so that she wouldn’t be easily recognized.

Gabriel had arrived with the more powerful bonding chains. Apparently, no more was involved than for Adrien to put on his chain and let the process work through him. She’d reap the benefits, too, in terms of taking on more vampire abilities.

Even though Adrien stood just on the other side of the wall, she felt his unease about taking this step. From all that she understood, his father had been evil and powerful. Whether he still lived, she didn’t know, but the last thing Adrien wanted was to be like him. “Lily, we’re ready when you are.”

The room had a full-length mirror so that she could get a good hard look at her reflection. Her heeled boots finished off the look better than anything else could have, and a zing of pleasure went through her knowing that Adrien would probably like this look on her.

He’d told her to wear anything she wanted. She’d considered another pair of jeans, but this was the better choice.

“Lily? What’s going on?”

She rolled her eyes. He’d probably sensed her sudden excitement. Those chains again.

She moved toward the doorway and, after taking a deep breath, crossed the threshold.

Adrien turned toward her, his mouth agape as his gaze drifted slowly down her body, rested for an eye-popping moment on the stilettos of her boots, then retraced the journey to her face. “Holy shit,” he murmured.

She shrugged. “I thought I’d blend in at Rumy’s.”

He nodded. “Yes, you will.”

He moved toward her, dazed, and took her arm. She felt his desire for her like a hot, sizzling wave that washed over her and left her tingling head to toe. “You look really nice, Lily, but then you always do.”

She shifted to look up at him. He wore black leather again, more weapons no doubt, ready for anything. “Thank you. So do you.” The chain at her neck vibrated heavily, and if Adrien’s friend Gabriel hadn’t been standing a few feet away she would have thrown her arms around Adrien’s neck and kissed him.

She wondered suddenly what would happen between them once Adrien wore the new double-chain.

He nodded once more, searching her eyes. “You okay?”

“Overwhelmed.”

“I know what you mean.”

She turned her attention to Gabriel. Adrien made the introduction.

Gabriel had short spiked black hair and warm gray eyes. He was nearly as tall as Adrien and wore a tailored shirt and slacks as well as a fine silk tie.

“Nice to meet you.” Her gaze fell to the cloth-covered board Gabriel held in his hands and to the double-chain clamped in place on top of the cloth. Then she felt the vibration of the chain even at a distance. “So this is it.”

“Yes, it is.” Gabriel turned slightly in Adrien’s direction. “You just put them on. The chains do the work.”

Lily sensed a sudden rush of anger from Adrien, and she caught his arm. “It’s not too late to stop this. I’m willing to take the risk.”

At that, he met her gaze once more, but the flecked teal of his eyes darkened. “I’ve put this off far too long. And maybe if I hadn’t, I could have stopped Daniel before he got this far.”

With that, Adrien closed the distance between himself and the chains, pulled the double-looped silver set out of the clamps, and without skipping a beat slid it over his head.

At the same time, he jerked the single-loop blood-chain off his neck and threw it on the floor.

Lily blinked.

A second passed, then two.

A new vibration entered her chain and a wave of dizziness hit hard. She weaved on her feet and even held her arms away from her sides to balance herself.

Then her head began to hurt all over again.

Adrien saw that the new chain had put Lily off-balance and he wanted to go to her, to steady her, but he couldn’t move. The natural power, Ancestral power, that he’d felt from as early as he could remember flowed through him in a succession of almost painful waves.