"Sorry there's nowhere else you can sleep." Domnik pumps the manual air compressor, and I watch silently as the grey air mattress slowly inflates.

I glance down at the little dog sleeping in my lap and drag my finger down his body from his head down his spine, smiling as his tiny tail wags.

"It's okay. Still better than sleeping in my grandparents' house all alone. That house is creepy when it's empty." I shudder and look at the digital clock hanging on the white textured wall.

6:45.

A knock on the door draws both of our attention, and Domnik's mother pokes her head into the room.

"Hey you two. Do you need anything?" Her dark green eyes drift over the room and settle on her son inflating an air mattress. "Ah. Making my son work for affection. Good idea." She winks at me, and my grin widens.

"The sad part is that this was his idea. I was perfectly capable of doing it myself."

"It won't hurt him to have to work a little for his girl."

Domnik's jaw twitches, and he starts pumping the compressor faster, showing how uncomfortable he is.

"Ooh, he likes you. Good luck on keeping him away."

"Mom!" Domnik throws the plastic pump away from him, and I can only describe his expression as hilariously anguished.

"Relax. Everyone here knows it. April, I might have some clothes you can wear instead of those jeans. I can wash them if you'd like."

She waves it off, opening the door wider to let me out. "It's no problem. Just don't let him be a bully. I know his bark is worse than his bite. And he won't even bark at you." She winks again, and Domnik groans and crawls behind the bed.

"Just go! Stop talking, or at least go somewhere where I can't hear you two."

"Okay. I guess I can stop embarrassing you. For now."

I laugh and get up, then hand the still-sleeping puppy to Domnik, who accepts it without hesitating.

"Don't have too much fun while I'm gone."

"I know you love him, but how much fun do you think this dog is right now?" He gestures to the snoring dog who's laying on his back, his little legs twitching happily.

"Touché."

I walk back to his mother who's still waiting patiently at the door. We walk out, and I shut the door quietly behind me.

"Would some sweats and a tee shirt be okay?"

"That sounds amazing. I really think that I could sleep in anything right now." I smile and run a hand through my snarled hair, cringing at the snarls they catch on.

"Oh, my son would never forgive himself if that ever had to happen. You'll probably walk into the bedroom and find him giving you his sheets and using the guest ones on his bed."

"Probably. He's a lot nicer than I was expecting."

"A lot of people find that out. My son is a good man, but when he lost his sister, it changed him. It hardened his emotions." She sighs and grabs a small stack of clothes from a small closet lined with shelves. "Here."

I thank her and grab the clothes and walk to the bathroom, pulling my hair out of its ponytail before inspecting myself for a moment in the mirror.

My hair falls over my shoulders, tangles increasing the volume of my hair. I frown and run my hands through my hair, biting my lip as they tear through snarls and tangles.

"Owie owie owieee!" I stomp my foot and yank my hands out of my hair. "I give up."

I quickly change clothes, surprised at how well the clothes fit. I open the door and find Coal scratching at the ground, perking up when I step out.

"Where the hell did you go, you little--oh. Sorry about that." Domnik quickly scoops up the dog and pats him on the head woodenly, obviously annoyed at him.

"It's okay. I'll be done in a second, I just have to go give these to your mom." He needs and turns back down the hallway, while I head the other way.

"Thank you. Here are the clothes. If you want to burn them, please do. I mean, unless you think they're salvageable.

"They should be fine. Just need some patching up and some bleach for the shirt, and your clothes will live another day. You need to go get a some sleep. I know from personal experience that sleep deprivation does not equate to good hunting."

"Okay, but if I sleep longer than ten, wake me up." I laugh and turn away.

"Deal. Good night, and tell my son not to be a jerk."

"Will do. G'night."

I walk slowly down the hallway and stop in front of the door, hesitating before swinging the door open and walk in.

"Hey. Long time no, see, eh?" Domnik grins and plays with the puppy, pushing him back and forth from one part of the bed to the other.

"Yeah. It doesn't help that I'm half asleep." As if to illustrate my point, I yawn, and my eyes begin to tear up from the ticklish feeling in the back of my throat.

I crouch down and throw the blankets off of the air mattress and flop down, my eyelids already sinking. The floorboards creak as Domnik stands and walks over, covering me up to my chin.

I smile involuntarily and snuggle under the warm blankets. I feel Coal flop onto my back and circle around before lying down. I gasp from the extra weight, and Domnik laughs.

"Your sister wasn't lying when she said you were getting the troublemaker." He pets the dog lightly and stands.

"Good night, April."

"Good night, Dom."

He turns the lights off and climbs into bed, and I hear him snoring just before I fall asleep.
***************************************************************
"April, get up. Come on. What do I need to do to wake you up? I swear." Domnik pushes my shoulder over and over again, making me grumble and slap his arm away.

"Annnd there she is! Come on, my mom made breakfast." He throws the blanket off of me and pushes me off the mattress. My eyes snap open when my head hits the ground. I narrow my eyes at him and jump over the messy "bed", pushing him over.

He groans as I land on top of him, knocking the breath out of his lungs.

"That's what you get for waking me up at...10:15. You know, I really hate it when you're right."

He pushes me off and rubs his side. "Yeah. Me and my cracked rib are kinda getting that impression." He pushes himself off the ground and smooths out his shirt.

"So, what is this delicious food thing you woke me up over?" I pull my tangled hair back into a messy bun and look around the room for Coal, even crawling partially under the bed to look for the black dog in the dark (stupid, now that I think about it, I know).

"Looking for someone?" Domnik yanks me out from under the bed and to my feet in one fluid motion, purposely making me fall straight into his arms.

"No, I was looking for my new car keys. Duh, why else do you think I'd be under your bed?" I duck under his arms and cross mine, glaering at him impatiently.

"God, relax. I was kidding. My dad took him to the vet to check him out. We don't want him giving Nacho something."

My face screws up in confusion. "Nacho? What?"

He rolls his eyes and pats me on the head sympathetically. "Oh, sweet little April. So slow. Nacho is my Great Dane."

I punch him in the arm and snort derisively. "Ha! If anyone's slow, it is definitely you. Just wanted to clear that up."

I saunter past him and out the door, but realize I don't know where to go, never mind what to do now.

"A little lost, are we?" Domnik walks up behind me and hooks his arm around my waist.

My breath catches in my throat, and I cough in an attempt to clear it. "No." My voice squeaks, and I feel the sudden urge to bang my head against the wall repeatedly. I claear my throat and repeat myself, consciously monitoring my voice. "No."

He pats me on the head again, this time gentler. "I heard you the first time, Squeaky."

I shove him toward the wall with my shoulder, grinning as he crashes into it and stumbles before falling.

"Oopsie. I guess I lost my balance for a second." I smile innocently, and he shakes his head.

"Suuure." He pushes himself off of the ground and snakes his arms around my waist again. "Any allergies my dear mum should be aware of?"

"Just those snarky comments you keep throwing my way. But I should be fine." I smile brightly and flutter my eyelashes, my eyes snapping open in surprise when he flicks me on the nose.

"Well, I'm allergic to girls who are annoying, so we'll both have to take our allergy meds until we adapt."

"Fine. But you should know that I have no way to repay your family for anything, especially not the vet bill."

He grins cockily and pulls me closer toward him. "Oh, you know there's a way. You just aren't being creative enough."

I laugh sarcastically. "Maybe I'm just not a creative person."

"For sure you are. You are very, very creative, my dear." His voice carries an undertone of suggestion, and I roll my eyes.

"Please stop. It sounds like overkill with your accent and the tone. Just ugghh." I shudder and roll my eyes into the back of my head.

"Well, I can still think of some way you can repay me." I know from his sly grin, that I shouldn't ask, but God knows I'm not too smart at some times.

"What?"

"Naah. It'd need a live demonstration." His tone is dismissive, but he darting glance he throws at me dares me to inquire.

And I (quite stupidly) do.

"Tell me, or I swear to all that's-" I'm interrupted as Domnik leans down and presses his lips to mine, pulling away almost as quickly as it takes surprise to register in my mind.

"Ta-da. Debt repaid." His expression is flippant and confident, but his voice belies his anxiety. It's shaky, and cracks at the end of his short, sardonic comment.

"You make it sound like a Visa Card transaction," I say, narrowing my eyes at him.

"I don't think any Visa Card was ever as pretty as you." His voice is level again, and he holds out his bent arm for me to latch onto. I take it and lean against him, ignoring as he stiffens, then relaxes again.

"Thanks. I just was not expecting that. I mean, I guess I was a little, but I really wasn't...you know what, I'm just going to stop talking."

"My rambling little Squeaky. How I love you so." I hear the grin in his voice and slap him.

"Keep calling me Squeaky, and I'll never. Ever. Kiss you again. I'm sure you can understand that, yes?" As he sucks in a speechless breath, a small grin turns up the corners of my mouth.

"Yes! Don't leave me! Pleeeeeze! Have mercy!" He drops to his knees and holds my hand between his, cranking the theatrics scale of 1 through 10 to 20.

"Get up. As hilarious as this is, I don't want to give your sweet mom a heart attack because she thinks you're proposing." I pat him on the shoulder and walk past him.

"From the way she's been acting, I think she might actually throw a party," he grumbles, taking my hand to help himself up.

"Sorry, too early for serious talk. Must have caffeine and sugar." I run in front of him and into the huge kitchen, greeted by the scent of fresh coffee and the quiet gurgling of the machine.

I snatch a mug from the dish drainer and hastily pour a cup of coffee, careful not to spill any on the light shirt and pants.

"Thank a for making me some coffee. You're a really nice person." Before I can react, Domnik has already comandeered my cup, and all I can do is watch sadly as he downs the full cup of coffee faster than I ever thought possible with hot coffee.

"You suck." I glare at him for a moment before I turn back to the coffee pot and begin to make another cup.

"Come on, now. Man up." I hear the grin in his voice and glower.

"You are so lucky my hands are busy, or a little bird would be telling you how I feel." I grumble to myself as I finish adding things to my coffee, and pick up the mug, ignoring the pleas of my burning hands to put the cup down.

"So," I ask as I sit down at the red oak dining room table, "What are our super awesome hunting plans for today?"

He sits beside me, laser focused and frowning at something on his phone. "We both need to go to training today. I need to know exactly how good you are at hunting. And the leader of another hunting party wants to know for whom I risked my best men."

"Tell him he can mind his own business until you risk the lives of his best men." I sip my coffee primly as Domnik laughs, holding his sides.

"Oh, I can't wait for Emerson to meet you. He won't know what hit him, and half his guys'll wish you had."

"Okay, you're enjoying this way too much. Stop having fun. Now. Damnit, I said right now!"

"Yeah, you are meeting Emerson today. There is absolutely no way I am missing this opportunity to make Emerson feel like my subordinate." Domnik slowly stops laughing and stands, putting his cup in the sink.

"Wait, where are you going?"

Domnik glances at me curiously from the sink. "To go get ready..? Is that okay with you, My Queen?"

I ignore him and walk past him, looking for his mother.

"Mrs. Petrov?" I walk down the long hallway where I talked to Domnik's mother, relieved when I hear a reply.

"In the laundry room, April. What is it?"

I open the door and find her pouring laundry detergent into a top loading machine that seems to have passed its prime.

"I was just wondering if my clothed were clean. If not, no rush, I mean-"
"Sweetheart, relax. Theyre clean and folded on that shelf behind me. Come find me if you need anything else."

"Okay. Sorry. Thank you again, and thank you for the coffee."

Her face screws up in confusion. "Coffee? I never made any coffee. I didn't even realize we had any. We've been out for almost a week and a half."

"Oh. Well, thanks again."

Did Domnik really go out just to get coffee? If he did, why not just tell me outright instead if pretending your mom made it?

I shake my head, dismissing the thought. I had enough going on. I don't need to worry about Dom's motivations or what he did.

"April! We gotta get going soon! Emerson's gonna be at the training grounds, and he's going to want to talk to me." Domnik's voice carries to me, and I roll my eyes before I answer.

"Okay. I'm not a five-year-old, so cool it."

"I don't know. You seem pretty childish to me."

I weigh my words before I speak, but shrug. What the hell. "Visa doesn't think so."

"April, so help me."

"You're right. I'm childish. Sue me." I yell as loud as I can. Just in case he couldn't hear me.

"Hurry up and get your skinny ass ready to go, or I will drag you along with me whether you like it or not."

"Hurry up and get your skinny ass ready. Blah blah blah, I'm a jerk who wants to get punched by a girl. Blah blah blah." I mimic Domnik's voice angrily, yanking my jeans on in the bathroom. I run my fingers through my hair and pull it back into a French braid before twisting the braid into a bun; my hair completely out of my face.

"April! I swear to God, hurry up!" Domnik yells again, but this time his voice has the biting edge of annoyance.

"Its been all of thirty seconds, Domnik. You need to look up this new word: P-A-T-I-E-N-C-E."

"And you need to look up the word A-C-C-E-L-E-R-A-T-I-O-N. It means hurry the hell up."

I roll my eyes and pull on my sweatshirt, ignoring Domnik's continued ranting.

I step out of the bathroom, turning off the light and walking into the living room where Domnik is waiting impatiently for me to join him.

"Took you long enough. Do you think we can go now, or do you need to go do something else?"

"Nope. There are no sharp sticks in the immediate vicinity, so you should be fine."

His expression is deeply confused, then flattens to annoyed amusement. "What? Oh. You're reverting back to your childish nature again, I see."

"Damn straight." I sling my crossbody bag on and lean against the wall, my arms crossed leisurely.

"You got the keys, big man. Hoppy chop chop." I clap my hands together and saunter out the door, not bothering to wait for Domnik.