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Aerin shoved her bag behind her back, and he wondered what the book contained that she didn’t want to show him.

In the basement, he yawned as the long day and the rollercoaster of emotions caught up with him. He caught her watching him pull his shirt over his head. Her eyes lingered on his chest. Thankfully, with all the blood, his muscles had returned, and he no longer looked like a shell of himself.

“Are you going to bed?” she asked shyly.

“Want to hop in?” he asked, eyeing the space beside him. Vampires didn’t share their coffins, where they were most vulnerable. But he wanted to share it with her. He expected her to say no, to try to coax him upstairs, but she climbed into the coffin with him, and he held her close.

“This is kind of creepy.” She chuckled, snuggling closer to him. “But cozy.”

“Go to sleep,” he ordered, loving how it felt to hold her in his arms.

“Is this okay?” She wove her fingers through his.

“More than okay,” he said, pressing his lips to the back of her head.

Chapter Fifteen

Aerin

“It’s far too early for callers,” Gideon grumbled, snuggling closer to her. The knocking grew louder the longer they ignored it.

“It must be important. Kennie might’ve wrecked a ship, or a ship needs to be guided away,” Aerin said, turning in his arms. After being up so late, she had missed Kennie’s feeding. This close, she noticed the small flecks of freckles so pale across his nose they were practically grey. Uniquely beautiful was the only way to describe him.

“Then everyone’s probably too dead to save, and we can go back to sleep,” Gideon said, kissing her neck and pulling the blanket over them.

“That’s a terrible thing to say.” Aerin swatted at him, but he held her tighter. She wanted to give in, but her phone buzzed on the floor. Reaching for it, she found her eyes springing open, and any thought of returning to sleep evaporated.

“It’s the electrician. Carlson’s here to fix the fuse box! I can’t believe I didn’t set an alarm.” Three missed calls.

“He’ll come back,” Gideon countered lazily.

“I’ve to get the door,” Aerin said, trying to get out of bed, but Gideon’s heavy arm snaked around her waist.

“The sun hasn’t risen yet.” His possessiveness would have been charming if it wasn’t putting her access to electricity at stake.

“Besides, he is too busy with the festival prep, so I can’t risk him leaving. He’s the only electrician in town who can handle my old, rickety house.” She sprang upright and texted him that she would be right there. “The rest of the electricians take one look at this house, have a panic attack, and refuse to touch it unless I rewire the entire house.”

“I’ll pay to rewire the whole house if you come back to bed.”

“Nice try. He’s already doing me a favour coming so early. You made me forget with all your distractions.” Aerin tossed his shirt at him. “Now, get up and hide the coffin under the tarps so he doesn’t think I’m keeping a vampire hostage down here,” she ordered, hurrying to the stairs.

“Your wish is my command,” he said, pulling on his shirt. “I wouldn’t want to upset the lady of the house.”

As reluctant as she was to leave his embrace, Aerin felt a weight lift from her chest. With the electrician’s early call, they didn’t have to talk about last night, how she had lied to him about the book about his family lineage or the potential auction. She really was going to tell him, but then he brought flowers, asking to court her all cute and vulnerable; she couldn’t bring herself to tell him about what could possibly let him leave sooner, when they were getting so close.

Running through the foyer, Aerin stubbed her toe on the gargoyles she had rented to decorate the roof. She meant to ask Gideon to put them up last night, but they had got distracted. With the throne and fake treasure chests scattered about, it looked like she had a hoarding problem rather than a haunted house decorating one. Rewiring was another task she still hadn’t got around to. Selling antiques at auction didn’t fetch a fortune, and the house was a sinkhole; she patched one wall, and the other crumbled.

“Mr. Carlson, thank you so much for coming by so early,” Aerin said, welcoming the old warlock into her house. With his long white beard and soulful eyes, he really did look like a wizard from the ages, or a little like Santa Claus in the overalls.

“No trouble at all. I thought you’d forgotten all about me,” he said, following her inside.

“Me, never. This house wouldn’t survive without your magic touch.”

‘That fuse box does require a special touch,” he said, already heading for the basement. “I won’t be long. It’s a good thing you sirens are cold-blooded, or you’d have frozen,” he said, opting to keep his thick coat on.

“Thank you. There will be a coffee waiting for you in the kitchen when you’re done,” she called after him, as Gideon headed upstairs out of sight with two stone gargoyles over his shoulders. It really was helpful having an extra set of hands around, especially one that’s easy on the eyes.

“I’d better get the power going again so it’s hot.” Mr Carlson distracted her from her gawking at Gideon. He headed down to the basement, his flashlight in hand.