Selene’s mouth snapped shut.

Having a vampire reaper as her guard was the best stroke of luck ever. Well, it was either luck or Fate, and at this point I was betting on Fate. It was hard to know how each and every piece of the crazy puzzle fit together. But I knew that bringing Selene back was the right choice. For now. And having Ray here had been no coincidence.

“Okay,” the Princess chimed in, this time with exhaustion in her voice. We were all tired. “We are ready. You must go now. It’s been many minutes since your brother left.”

I inclined my head at her. “One last thing.” I held the summoning stone out to her, my hand stuck between the ropes. The Princess picked it up and placed it under my tongue, nodding her head at me, her pupils expanding.

“I owe you much,” she said, acknowledging everything that had gone on between us. “Have a safe journey. I will do my best here with the sorcerers and launch my imp spies. I will be in contact.”

“Thank you. If I need you, I know where to find you,” I replied. “We’ll be ready to go on three.”

Rourke counted down as two demons placed their hands on our shoulders, glancing at their Princess for her okay. “One, two… three!” he yelled as they pushed us with enough force to send us flying into the billboard.

Once we were through, the free fall was immediate.

It was much colder than the witch’s circle and we began to twist and spin quickly. “Hold on!” Rourke yelled.

Doing my best, I said internally, keeping my mouth closed tightly, which wasn’t a problem since the force made it difficult to do much else.

As we twirled through the vortex it began to get hotter and hotter.

“Jesus!” Rourke roared, his voice echoing in space.

We were spinning so fast I couldn’t get my bearings. The air around us started to shift and move, hurricane-like winds tearing at our bodies and clothes. The ropes held, but just barely. I couldn’t see or hear anything.

After a few more minutes, just when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, we slammed into the ground with surprising force, hitting so hard we broke apart, each of us tumbling in a different direction.

Once I stopped I couldn’t move for a full minute.

“Holy shit,” I coughed. I moved my body and cried out. The pain was intense. “I have so many bones broken,” I moaned. “This is going to take a while.” I gritted my teeth as my body began to mend itself. As the bones popped and knitted back together, I forced my mind to think about something nice, like getting my hands on my man again.

“Christ,” Rourke muttered from a few feet away. “That was the worst way to travel ever.”

Once the pain had ebbed somewhat, after what felt like an hour but was likely only about three minutes, I finally raised my head up.

I was totally naked.

The portal had literally stripped us of everything, including our clothing. My scalp tingled as new hair began to grow back. I hadn’t lost it all, but there were definite patches missing. I reached an arm up to feel my head, assessing the damage. Sand trickled down on my face. “Hey,” I said, spitting the tiny grains out of my mouth as I realized where we’d landed. “I think we’re on a beach. This isn’t the worst place we could’ve been sent.”

“I don’t care if we landed in the middle of a five-star resort. We’re never doing that again.” Rourke eased his massive frame up. I knew he hurt as much as I did, but he hadn’t complained once. He was behind a screen of scrubby brush and I couldn’t get a good look at him. He was healing faster than me because he was older, but I wasn’t too far behind. “Are you okay?” he asked as he stood. “All your pieces back together?”

“Working on it,” I said, trying not to groan as I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. Another cascade of pain rippled through me as more bones set and the gashes healed. Hard shells and rocks poked me from underneath and the ocean roared not too far away. “I think we’re behind a dune or something,” I mumbled. “I don’t scent any humans.”

He rose and walked out from behind the brush—I opened my eyes and he took my breath away, effectively making me forget any pain I was in. He was so perfectly made, with his incredibly defined abs, broad shoulders, those muscles that made a delicious vee toward his very ample… parts. His body glowed with energy. The heat from the portal, coupled with the quick healing, had covered him in a sheen of sweat. It didn’t even matter that half his body was covered in sand.

The man was magnificent.

“We are indeed at the beach.” He grinned down on me. “It’s almost dusk and the ocean is right over that hill.” His head inclined to the right. “I don’t hear or scent anyone either, but you’re proving to be quite a distraction right here. I don’t think I need to investigate anything else.” His eyes flashed with intensity as he knelt down beside me. “Are you still in pain?” His hand lightly caressed my forearm. “Your body looks well on its way to being healed.”

I angled an arm up to caress his chest. “I’m not in pain any longer,” I replied. “Everything is finally right with the world.”

He growled as he scooped me up.

His lips met mine, our tongues intertwined instantly and our kiss deepened as he lifted me like I weighed nothing. I moaned in pleasure. Without stopping, or looking back, Rourke walked us over the dune and straight into the ocean.

My hands tugged at his hair as the cool water lapped deliciously around our naked bodies, rinsing us clean in a single instant. There were no big waves, only beautifully calm turquoise waters. “You know,” I teased, breaking our kiss, “we could’ve landed in the middle of the desert. Possibly during a migration of wildebeests. Or maybe in a den of hungry hyenas. But instead we landed on a deserted island. This was a very lucky break.” I didn’t bother to dwell on the fact that nothing in my life thus far had been lucky.

Except for meeting Rourke.

Fate had played its part in us coming together, but I also knew how very lucky I’d been that it’d happened when it did. Or at all. Our paths could’ve been separated for much longer, but now, looking at him and feeling his closeness, I couldn’t imagine finding my way through this life alone.

“Luck may have had something to do with it.” He grinned. “Or Fate has finally decided to give us a five-minute break. But I plan on showing you exactly how lucky we are right this minute.” He readjusted me in his arms. I gripped his shoulders as he slid me down his chest. I wrapped my legs tightly around his waist as his hands kneaded my backside.