She shook her head. “I wasn’t stupid enough to fight one of Decker’s personal enforcers. Boon would have loved any excuse to humiliate or make me bleed. I knew I couldn’t do anything to prevent it from happening. I would have just died too. It was horrible to see but they blister first, then kind of catch fire. Ash comes last.”

“Please reconsider, Kira.”

She wrapped the comforter around her back and lifted it, covering her head. “I just want to get it over with. Let’s stop wasting time arguing about it. Do you want to put on some clothes? We’re naked.”

“No. We aren’t going for a walk up there. You’re so thickheaded!”

“I have to be to deal with you. It takes one to know one.”

He laughed. “I missed talking to you. I almost forgot how you never back down.”

She grinned. “For someone so weak and small?”

“I actually used to growl that at you, didn’t I?”

“Every time we fought. I think you were hoping to insult me enough to make me storm home and end the fight, just so you’d win. I missed hearing you say it.”

He closed the distance between them and helped tuck the comforter more firmly around her body to shield her skin. “I love you. I’m going to worry, and every part of me protests the possibility of you being hurt.”

“I appreciate and understand that. We still need to know if my Lycan traits are being strengthened.”

“But I don’t have to like it. It doesn’t matter to me what you are, Kira. You’re just mine.”

“It will matter to the rest of the clan. You can’t stay down here with me forever. I need to be able to leave your den with you. So…” She sucked in a deep breath and blew it out. “Let’s take my new body out for a test spin in the sun.”

“Our den,” he corrected. “Fine. You stay behind me and wait until I say I’m ready before you uncover even a finger. Clear? I want to be in a position to lower the lift fast in case you burn.”

“I promise.”

“No crazy stunts.”

“I’d like to keep my arm. I won’t do anything too daring.”

He let her go and turned, unlocking the door. She followed him to the lift. He squeezed in, putting his back toward where the sun would be once they’d reached the surface. Kira wiggled in against him, her body bulky from the thick bedding.

“I don’t like this.” He really didn’t. It was risky.

“Noted.”

He shifted her a little then wrapped an arm tightly around her middle to pull her even closer. “Here we go.”

“You didn’t build this thing very big.”

“I figured only one person would be using it at a time. It was poor planning on my part but I wanted a small footprint to make it easier to hide. Those boulders didn’t allow for a lot of room, either. I wanted it located somewhere that would be impossible to spot while I used it during the day.”

“I understand.”

He had to let her go to push and hold the button that would activate the battery-operated motor to raise the cage up until the latch caught. Fear and worry battled inside him with each foot they rose. Sunlight blinded him for a moment when they breached the ground.

“Don’t uncover anything,” he warned. “We’ve reached sunlight.”

“Okay.”

The latch clicked and they stopped moving. Lorn sniffed the air, not picking up anything that shouldn’t be there. He usually peeked above the boulders surrounding him before he’d climb out but today that didn’t matter. He wasn’t leaving the lift. Sunlight shone directly overhead, no shadows from the tall rocks around them. Her only protection would be him, the blanket, and the shell of the lift. He backed up a little so she wasn’t completely pinned.

“Fast, and not much,” he reminded her. “I’m right here.”

She wiggled under the thick comforter and her hand slid out. He held his breath, watching her for any reaction.

Her fingers didn’t blister.

“It’s warm but it doesn’t burn.” Excitement laced her voice. “I’m cured!”

She tried to remove more of the covering but Lorn moved faster, grabbing her. “No. Wait.”

“I’m not burning, right? I can’t see a damn thing.”

He slowly uncovered more of her arm, his gaze locking on her skin as he backed up so direct sunlight touched it. “So far so good.” He experienced his own tentative excitement. His blood may have helped her combat the Vampire virus ruling her body.

She suddenly gasped and her pale skin pinkened where the sun touched it.

Lorn’s reaction was swift, shoving his body forward and covering hers. He kicked the release, the cage lowering.

“Damn it!” Her muffled voice clearly told him she was upset.

“You lasted almost a minute. That’s something. Are you alright?”

“It hurts but the arm is still there. Was it bad? Did it blister?”

“Hang on.”

They reached the bottom and he just grabbed Kira, lifting her off her feet and storming down the short hallway and inside his den. He left the door open at his back as he gently placed her ass on the table, shoving the covering off. A large portion of her arm and hand had suffered mild sunburn but wasn’t blistered. He sighed, staring into her eyes.

“It’s not bad.”

Tears welled in her eyes and slipped freely down her face.

“Does it hurt?”

“I thought it would work.”

“It is. It took time for your skin to react and the damage is much milder than it should have been.”

She nodded. “Right. That’s progress.”

“Exactly.” He leaned over, using his thumbs to wipe away her tears. “We have hope.”

“We’ll try again tomorrow.”

“Damn it, Kira.” She drove him to madness.

“Tomorrow.”

He held out his arm. “Drink and heal.”

“No.”

He snarled. “Bite, damn it. It looks uncomfortable.”

She gently took his arm in both of her hands and licked the meaty part of his flesh, just above his wrist. He didn’t tense as she gently bit, her skill at it improving, since it didn’t hurt. He expected her to get turned on and his cock reacted. He always wanted Kira.