This man. I can't believe I ever doubted this man's love for me.

As soon as he pulled me into his arms and his hallway melted away, I closed my eyes so that when we landed wherever we were going, it would be a surprise.

And when I opened them, my heart nearly exploded.

In front of me is nothing more than a house. A two-story brick home with black shutters and wisteria trees in front, and a mailbox in desperate need of a paint job.

It's my parents' home.

This man brought me to see my mom and dad.

"Elias? You—this is the surprise? You brought me to see my parents?" Tears fill my eyes and I hug him harder.

He smiles and says in a strained voice, "Yes, Cordelia, but if you don't ease up, you're going to squeeze me to death. You forget how strong you are."

I laugh and loosen my hold on him but stand on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. I want to do more, but we haven't gone there yet, and I don't want to be the first to make that move.

"Thank you, Elias. You have no idea what this means to me. Besides seeing you, it's all I've wanted for months."

"I know, and they miss you too. I promised them that as soon as I found you, I'd bring you home to them. So this trip isn't just for you; I had an oath to fulfill."

My dad had told me in the dream that Elias was checking in on them. It moved me then but seeing it in real life... It's like he has engraved his name on my heart. He will always be there etched in deep.

I run to the front door and don't bother knocking. Bolting inside, I yell, "Mom? Dad?"

My parents come rushing out of the kitchen. Dad wears a suit and tie with a button on his lapel that promotes my mother's YouTube channel. And Mom... I laugh at the sight of her oversized shirt that reads I Hunt for Dead People. She looks exactly like I remember with her dark hair cut in a bob and sparkling earrings running along the entirety of both ears. My dad's silver eyes fill with tears as he rushes forward and hugs me tightly.

"It's good to see you, baby girl."

"You too, Daddy," I say, squeezing him tighter, but loosening up, remembering what Elias said about how strong I am now. "I'm so sorry I didn't listen to your warning about Cane."

When we met in my dream, he was so concerned and made clear his feelings about the other Dagon brother. The moment Cane turned up the charm, I let my father's good advice fly right out the window.

"Shh. That isn't important now. What matters is that you're home," Dad says.

Mom comes over and joins us, wrapping us both in a hug. "Cordelia, your boyfriend said he'd bring you here as soon as he found you. We knew he wouldn't let us down. That boy came here so often to just visit with us because we all missed you so much."

My head snaps in Elias's direction, and he laughs. "It was sort of sad, wasn't it?

"You came just to see my parents because you were all...sad?" My heart cleaves in two.

My mom brightly smiles and wiggles her eyebrows. "He is not only kind but so handsome. He really lucked out picking you as his girlfriend. And I'd say you are pretty lucky too."

Elias slides his hands into his pockets and grins like the cat who caught the mouse. "I definitely got the better end of the bargain."

My dad lets me go and extends his hand to Elias. "Of course you did. My girl is the best." They shake on that, and Dad ends by patting Elias on the back. "Thank you for not giving up and bringing her home. Olive and I owe you a fancy dinner."

"No dinner needed. I would have never stopped looking for her."

I turn back to Elias and wrap my arms around him and whisper so only he can hear, "Thank you, herra minn. You have no idea what this means to me, especially after being manipulated into believing that you could have found me at any time and just didn't want to. This is everything."

His lips tilt up in a weak smile. "I suppose I have some work to do to prove just how far I would go for you. I'm going to make sure you never doubt what I would do for you, Cordelia."

My dad clears his throat, and my mom makes a sound that teeters between a giggle and a sigh. Elias and I part, and my parents lead us into the kitchen. Now that we have our reunion out of the way, I have a thousand questions for my parents. The last time I saw them together, I had no clue that I was a Dreamwalker. Elias wasn't the only one keeping things from me.

We sit around the kitchen table with mugs of coffee in our hands, and finally, I ask the first question that comes to mind. "Mom, are you supernatural in any way?"

She laughs and shakes her head. "No. I just happen to have a love for all the things that I found out one day weren't just in my head. I always had a feeling they were real, my whole life...and then I met your dad." She reaches over and squeezes his hand. "And he confirmed it all."

"That's lucky," I say, taking a sip of my coffee. "And Dad, isn't it hard to...deny your power? I feel mine coursing through me all the time. You're full-blooded Dreamwalker. I'm only half."

"Oh, you bet it was hard in the beginning. It felt like I was wasting away some days, but it was what was best for us when we found out we were having a baby. We wanted to raise you in a world without all of that danger. Because as you well know...being a Dreamwalker is dangerous. We're highly coveted amongst every kind of supernatural creature who has the desire to take advantage of others. Of course most everyone is good-natured now, but there are those few that ruin it for everyone. Now, it isn't hard for me at all. I know I did the right thing by you."

"And even though you were upset by us sending you off to Wicked Encounters like we did, I still stand by it," my mom cuts in. "Because you met your mate." She gestures toward Elias. "Do you regret that?"

"No," I say immediately. I don't even have to think about it. "I am in sort of a bind now though. I didn't just find one soulmate but two. Cane thinks he has a claim to me, and I don't think he will stop at anything to get me back. I'm worried for the both of you."

Dad and Elias exchange a look before Dad says, "I know. Elias has taken precautions to ensure our safety. I feel confident that your mother and I are well-protected, but I don't think this is the best place for you."

I fold my hands on the table and lean in. "What are you saying?"

Mom covers my hands with hers and chimes in. "We want you home, Cora. We really do, but we don't have the means to protect you that Elias has. Until this is all over with Cane, we think you should stay in the supernatural realm with Elias."

My stomach does a mixture of two things. Drops because I miss my parents, but twists because the thought of staying with Elias for the long-term makes me nervous in all the best ways.

I look up at Elias and say, "What do you think? Is it okay if I stay with you?"

Elias shakes his head and wears that same expression he had when he told me he was going to do better proving to me that he would do anything for me. It's clear that I didn't have to ask. "My home is your home, Cordelia."

The butterflies that took residence in my stomach the moment I met Elias flap their wings and burst their way out of the cave they'd been hiding in.

"Okay," I whisper, finding where his hand rests on his leg and squeezing it tight. I look back at my parents. "That's what I'll do then. But let me grab some stuff, including my phone so I can at least connect it to whatever WiFi y'all have in the supe realm. I miss playing Wordle."

Everyone laughs, and my dad says, "Go take your time and get what you need, then come back down. We'll have dinner ready when you get done. We have a few sides left to make and the roast is almost finished."

"Shoo," my mom says, scooting us out of the kitchen.

"Okay, okay," I say, grabbing Elias by the hand and dragging him up to my room, which hadn't really been touched since the summer break before I graduated.

I turn to him before I open the door. "Listen. Let me explain something to you. I didn't live at home. I lived at an apartment near campus and only came home for summer and holidays. I graduated and right away they sent me to Wicked Encounters. I just want to be clear; I am not a 24-year-old woman living at home with mom and dad just for kicks. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but—"

"Cordelia, my love, you're rambling. Just open the door," he says with a cheeky grin.

I sigh and do as he says, thanking the goddesses that my mom seems to have cleaned my room recently. My white down comforter is clean and wrinkle-free, my bookshelves are neat, and everything is in its place. My phone is on its charger on my nightstand just as it always was when I lived here.

"I like your room," Elias says, and I shoot him a glare. "What?" He grabs me around the waist and pulls me close to him. "I was going to say that I like how secluded it is from the rest of the house."

I suck in a sharp breath. "Oh! Well, in that case...thank you," I say, looking up at him and giving him a playful grin. "It did have its benefits when I was younger."

He sits on the bed and watches me open my drawers and closet, searching for anything I might want to bring with me. Leaning over, he opens my nightstand and looks inside. His lips turn down in a thoughtful expression before slowly closing it.

"What were you looking for?" I ask.

"I just know you're prone to keeping...helpful devices next to your bed. I was curious if younger Cordelia did the same."

My cheeks heat and I bump his shoulder as I sit down next to him. "I only kept one of those here in my room and I brought it with me to the island. And now...well, if you brought my bags back to your house, I guess you've had it all along."

"You only had one?" he asks, lifting an eyebrow.

"Just the one."

"Then I suppose I have it along with a few lacy unmentionables."

"What about you? Do you keep any helpful devices in your nightstand at home?" I ask, bumping him with my shoulder.

He chuckles and spares me a glance that makes me feel like my panties might melt right off. "I guess you'll have to wait and find out."

My lips part and close at least three times before I finally just clamp them shut. If I don't, I might do something stupid like ask him if he kept those lacy panties he spoke of close by.

"Are you asking me to sleep in your bed with you, Elias Dagon?" I say, batting my eyelashes at him.

He leans in and his breath is warm against my ear as he whispers, "I'm asking you to let me sleep wherever you are. I don't care if it is my bed or yours or a fucking thorn bush; I just want to be where you are, Cordelia Ashling."

Turning toward him and brushing my nose against his, I say, "Well, that works out because I never want to be apart from you ever again."

His palm slides up my arm and over my shoulder. I shudder when his soft touch tickles the side of my neck, and his warmth covers my cheek. Brushing his lips over mine, he says, "Done."

The kiss he places on my lips is so gentle. I question if he even touched me at all. Then he goes in a second time, and I have no doubt. Every nerve ending in my body sparks to life. I feel him all over on my lips, under my fingertips, right down to my toes. This is the connection that I longed for and could never get the past weeks. Only Elias can make me feel like this.

I turn my whole body toward him, pulling one leg underneath me on the mattress and resting my knee on his thigh. Gripping the front of his shirt, I pull him even closer and open up to him, welcoming him all the way in. He groans and pushes his tongue through the seam of my lips, and I match his kiss with my own. I feel myself losing control, and I don't particularly want to do that here in my childhood bedroom with my parents just downstairs, but I can't seem to stop.

I may have had a bond with Cane, but it is in name only. It's a side effect of DNA shared by him and Elias. Elias is the man I fell in love with, the man who would turn over two realms to find me. And he did.

Giving into my need, I push him back on the mattress and straddle his hips. Elias grabs my waist and presses me down on him. The hard length of his cock and his zipper give me just the right amount of friction. I grind into him, chasing the high only he gives me.

My fingers move to the buttons on his shirt, and his hand slides down the back of my leggings. Our kiss grows deeper as we move against each other.

"Cordelia! Elias! Dinner is ready," my mother calls from the end of the hallway.

We jump away from each other like a bolt of electricity sparked between us.

"Coming," I yell back.

"Don't I wish that was the case," Elias mumbles.

My eyebrows dart up. "For you or me?"

He finishes buttoning his shirt and kisses my temple. "Both of us, dolce tentazione."

I don't even try to hide my smile. We can try to ease back into things, but the truth is that Elias and I are unable to keep apart. It's only a matter of time before we give into our desire for one another. I just pray we can control ourselves until after dinner.