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It was too late

The door opened and someone came in, sneaker-clad feet quiet on the tiled floor of the entryway They stopped abruptly, and there was no sound for a beat, then two And then they crossed silently onto the carpet before pausing again, beside the bed

Where they were currently being treated to the sight ofout of Rabbit’s house, because it hadn’t made it under here with the rest of er pushed up the dust ruffle And a clear green eye peered underneath at ht I’d ed to form went out the

"Is therea problem?" a mild voice asked me

I licked my lips, because, as usual for me, "problem" didn’t cover it I opened my mouth to reply, and God knohat I’d have said Only, luckily, speech was one of ht now

Like motor control Because the next moment, when I was hauled out froreen eyes, I just hung there limply And stared

At a face that was hard to look at

Not that it was unattractive There had been a tilass eyes, the I-couldn’t-be-bothered-to-shave-todayand-possibly-not-yesterday-either stubble didn’t exactly spell out ood looks But there was a lot h even there I’d started to co, stubborn jawline, the rock-hard body, and the flashes of huid blond spikes he called hair

So if I hadn’t had plenty of other things to disturb htening on my arms as his face suddenly swarip, but it wasn’t working To suddenly have hiuessand exhilarating and strangely terrifying

And impossible, I realized, as the explanation sla a heart and sending his son back where he belonged Pritkin’s expression told ht find on his face if I ever caught up with hiain, but I didn’t think it would be mild concern mixed with a healthy dose of exasperation

No This was , while either asleep or as good as, back to a time where I knew I’d find him Back to a tiether

"Cassie--" Pritkin was starting to look seriously worried,at hiently touch his face I jerked it back down, because yeah Losing it

I licked

But so in o and sat on the edge of the bed, so out of his eyes "We’ve discussed this," he said dryly

"WeWe have?"

"Yes You can’tthe elevator I keep dangerous substances--"

"I didn’t touch the bookcase," I said quickly The memory of the one and only ti Rosier’s s a few dozen vials of de that had happened since, that was actually quite--

"Cassie?"

"Huh?"

"There are ers here than just the bookcase"

"Like what?"

"Like this," Pritkin said, reaching under the bed and pulling out one of his s out of the interior So that was--

A thurenade, except it was s on top instead of a pin A lever that had been halfway dohen Pritkin noticed it Which h-pitched whine it had been sending off

And still was, I realized, as his eyes widened He grabbed the other boot and turned it upside down And then he grabbed renade!"

"You have it," I said, looking in confusion at the object he’d just thrown onto the bed

"No! The other one!"

"There’s another one?"

"There’s not supposed to be!"