Sally looked down at the bracelet and she had to admit that it did look amazing.

“I got the brown diamonds because they match your eyes, my brown-eyed girl,” he said gently.

A sharp pain shot through Sally’s skull and she gasped, grabbing at her head.

“Sally, are you okay?” Jericho asked as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him.

The pain was gone just as fast as it had appeared.

“Yes,” she said a little breathlessly. She looked up at him, her lips mere inches from his. Suddenly, she had a desperate urge to press her lips to his.

Jericho must have seen the desire in her eyes. “Do it,” he whispered, his voice dripped with desire as he waited.

Sally had been fighting their relationship the whole time. Sure, she liked Jericho, but she had thought it was only friendship. But now, sitting this close and staring into those bright eyes, she wanted him.

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. The kiss was gentle and innocent at first, but it didn’t take long before Jericho was pressing her down into the couch. His hands roamed over her body and his tongue danced with hers. There was still this tiny voice telling her to stop before it went too far, but she couldn’t. Her body was moving of its own accord and when he picked her up and asked “can we go to your room?” she nodded yes.

Jericho laid her down on her bed and climbed on next to her. They picked up right where they left off.

The more he touched and kissed her, the more she wanted him to continue. Before she realized it, she was undressed, with Jericho every bit as naked as she was, in her bed. She felt as if everything was moving too quickly for her mind to register. His mouth was on hers, then on her jaw and down her neck. She felt a sharp pain just at the junction of her shoulder and neck, but then it was swept away as his tongue swirled on her flesh.

At some point, she swore she heard Jericho growl, but she couldn’t be sure. Her mind was muddled. Her desires warred with what her mind was screaming at her. “Stop!” it yelled at her, but she didn’t.

Jericho stared at the sleeping woman next to him. He couldn’t believe the bracelet had actually worked. Alston had been concerned that he wasn’t making progress with Sally fast enough, especially after Peri showed up. They needed to ensure that Sally was tied to their group, sooner rather than later, and mating her to Jericho was the only sure way to do that. Jericho hoped that maybe, if he made love to her, she would become more attached to him. He had definitely grown attached to her, and he thought that, perhaps, what he was feeling just might be love as well. He also like the idea of having someone in his life again. Alston had enchanted the bracelet for him, explaining that the receiver of the bracelet would longingly desire the one who’d given it. And oh how she’d desired him.

He knew she was going to second-guess her actions afterward, and he’d have to talk her down off the ledge, but that didn’t matter. He could just remind her of how good they were together. He smiled to himself. Sally might not remember her mate, but she certainly remembered how to mate. For a split second, he felt bad for the mate she’d left behind, but then he remembered their cause. They needed a gypsy healer and she was their best chance at getting one.

His next step would be to tell her about the supernatural world. If he were the one who introduced it to her, she would surely feel a connection to him. It was important that he keep reinforcing his role as her protector, lover, and friend. That way, when it was time to talk to her about the Order, she would trust him.

He turned over onto his back and willed himself to stop replaying the images of Sally in his mind. Instead, he focused on how good everything would be once the Order took over. After the humans were subservient, then it will all have been worth it.

Costin’s eyes snapped open. He knew where she was. Over the course of the past week, he’d begun to have flashes of thoughts and feelings that weren’t his own. It was the bond. Once he realized the bond was returning, he strained with every fiber of his being to reestablish the connection. He had screamed until he’d nearly lost his voice. Finally, sometime that morning, he’d felt confusion, shame, and dread. Then, at some point, boom, the words Oceanside popped into his mind.

He stumbled about as he searched for the exit from the In Between. He was going to get his mate. He just hoped that no one stood in his way. He didn’t want to hurt Decebel, Fane, or Vasile, but he would if it meant getting to Sally.

“I’m coming, Brown Eyes,” he muttered to himself.

Sally still couldn’t get her mind off what had happened with Jericho. He’d gone early that morning, and she was left standing in her kitchen feeling very confused. A couple hours later there was a knock at the door. Sally hurried to answer it and found Peri/Stacey, Jacque, and Jen on the other side.

“Good morning,” she said, smiling at the girls and hoping that they couldn’t tell just how shaken she was from the previous night’s events.

The three women came in and all three seemed to freeze at once. “Everything okay?” she asked.

Jen was the first to answer. “I just realized I really would like to wear my hair up. Do you have any extra hair bands?” She was already moving toward Sally’s room. “Don’t worry, I’ll find one real quick.” Sally wanted to yell at her to stop but Jen was moving faster than Sally’s brain could react.

She looked back at the other two ladies. Jacque was smiling, but it seemed strained.

Jacque’s head tilted slightly to the side. She took a breath before finally asking, “How was your night?”

Jen stared at the rumpled bed and the smells of the previous night’s events hit her like speeding train. She knew she had smelled Jericho as soon as she walked in, and she also thought she had caught a whiff of lust as well. She had been right.

“I’m going to check on Jen,” she heard Peri say.

As soon as the high fae walked into the room, Jen growled, “Block our conversation please.”

“Okay, speak,” Peri told her.

“She slept with him,” she said as she turned to face Peri. Jen pointed at the bed. “Jericho was in that bed with her last night and they weren’t sleeping, sleeping.” Jen was growling. Her wolf was pissed. Sally was the gypsy healer to the Serbian pack. She was also Jen’s best friend. In short, Sally was hers, not Jericho’s.