“I’m sure.”

“Considering I killed your father.”

The atmosphere altered. The young demon changed into a soldier right before Ivan’s eyes. “Excuse me?” Logan asked.

Ivan forced a smile. The promise of death in the kid’s eyes didn’t unnerve him even a bit. “You heard me.” He expected an explosion and a string of threats. What he got, instead, was dark silence.

He swallowed. Maybe he would have to kill the kid before Felicity arrived.

Chapter 24

Daire’s penthouse was still smoky, and the boarded-up window turned the place a little dark and gloomy. He ignored the state of his once pristine place and concentrated on his mate, nudging her toward the bedroom. The talk with Zane had exhausted her, and she’d been through enough of an emotional turmoil for now. So it was time to take care of her.

Zane sat in an only slightly damaged chair by the stone fireplace, reading property records, while Felicity had been drinking tea in the kitchen. When she’d returned, she’d looked pale and wan. “You need a warm shower and some sleep,” Daire said.

She shook her head. “Ivan will call.”

“No.” Daire leaned down and smoothed hair from her face. “He’s going to let you stew for a while, and he’s going to make plans for the moment you walk into his trap. He’s not hurting Logan, but he’s preparing for a fight.” Daire turned her around and pushed gently. “In order to fight, you need a hot shower and sleep.” She’d been pale and shivering since they’d talked in the rain, and he was finished with that.

Zane glanced up from the table. “I agree, Mom. Shower and sleep.”

Felicity rolled her eyes. “Don’t gang up on me.”

Daire pointed at her still wet socks. “Go. Warm. Up.”

She twisted her lip and glanced down. “A shower wouldn’t hurt.” With a defiant toss of her still damp hair, she grabbed her cell phone off the sofa table and squished over the wooden floor to the bedroom.

Zane waited until the bathroom door had closed. “I don’t think Bychkov will call tonight.”

“I agree. It makes more sense to wait it out and make us tense.” Daire rubbed a hand over his hair. “He’s also not interested in Logan and doesn’t have a history of torturing people.”

Zane nodded. “Are you trying to reassure me?”

“Aye.” If it was Daire’s brother being held, he’d want all the logic he could get. “Bychkov goes for the quick kill, as you know, and he won’t kill Logan while your mother is safe here.”

Zane nodded. “I know.”

Daire exhaled slowly. “There’s a guest bedroom off the kitchen. Both your brother and Garrett have stayed there, so I make no claims as to the cleanliness, although I do have a service that comes through once a week.”

Zane leaned back in the chair near the fireplace. “You are not setting foot in that bedroom.”

Daire grinned. He couldn’t help it, although the last thing he needed right then was a fistfight. “Listen, kid. That horse is out of the barn.”

Zane leaned forward. “I can put the horse back if I cut off your head.”

True. “Your mother is a grown-up, and she can make her own decisions. If she wants me out of the bedroom and here on the sofa, I give you my word I’ll be out here.” Daire turned for the bedroom.

“I’m more worried she wants you in there,” Zane grumbled.

Daire swallowed down a chuckle and shut his bedroom door, heading immediately for the bathroom, shucking clothing on the way. He was nude by the time he reached the bathroom.

Steam coated the mirror and the phone set on the counter. He prowled across the stone tile and stepped around the stone wall to find Felicity, pale in the soft light, under a hot stream.

She jumped when he walked in behind her. “Daire.”

“It had better be,” he rumbled, sliding a palm down her hair.

“Um, you shouldn’t be in here,” she said.

He grinned and squirted shampoo in his hands. “This is exactly where I should be.” Indulging himself, he threaded the soap through her thick hair and then rubbed it into a lather. “You have the most beautiful hair I’ve ever seen.” His fingers went deeper, and he massaged her scalp.

She leaned into his hands with a soft moan.

The sound licked along his skin to kiss his cock. He kneaded her nape, noting the knots and working on each one until she’d relaxed. She turned around.

He bent her back. “Close your eyes.”

She complied, and he washed the suds from her hair. He wiped a couple of suds off her forehead. Her eyes glowed a dark onyx in the steam, a sexy contrast to her light hair. The warmth cocooned them. “We shouldn’t.”

He chuckled. “There’s nothing else for us to do right now.” A part of him wanted to relax her so she could sleep, while another part, one deeper and more primal, wanted to plant himself deep inside her and keep her safe. “I know you want to meet Bychkov by yourself, but that can’t happen.”

She flattened her palms over his pecs. “Getting him alone has always been my plan.”

Crazy woman. Why did her insanity arouse him so? He reached around and palmed her ass, lifting her up against the stone. “The idea of you in danger makes me want to really hurt somebody.”

She smiled and clapped her knees around his ribs. “Ditto.”

Now wasn’t that sweet? He lowered her and pressed against her sex.

She hummed and lifted her head, arching against him.

He slowly slid inside her, taking his time, enjoying the devastating heat surrounding his shaft. The warmth slid through him to take root in his chest. If he had a heart, she was in there.

Her cheeks flushed and her eyes darkened. “I love when you’re inside me.”

Such sweetness. He leaned down and took her lips, teasing her with soft licks at the corners of her mouth. “There’s nowhere else in the world I’d rather be,” he said, meaning every word. He’d lived long enough to contemplate the afterlife, and he was fairly certain heaven existed. But he knew without question that heaven on earth did, and right now, he was there.

Her smile was slow and so sexy his heart ached. “Just so you know, even though it has been crazy, I’ve really enjoyed the last week,” she whispered, tilting her pelvis and taking more of him.

He pulled out and thrust inside. “As have I.” He stilled as her words sank in. “That almost sounded like a good-bye.”

“No.” Her nails dragged down his chest. “It’s a true statement just in case. We don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow.”

He did. He was going to take down Bychkov, get Logan home safely, and keep her away from danger. Everything had happened so quickly between them, and there had been excitement after dangerous missions after close calls. She needed time and peace to figure out what she wanted, and he was going to give her that. Then they could figure out the mating and slowly get to know each other.

He’d never been in love, but this was probably how it happened. Forget docile and sweet. He wanted wild and willing.

She bit his bottom lip.

Desire roared through him. He kissed her deep, seducing her mouth, tasting the desire in her kiss. His hips moved on their own, thrusting harder, taking him home.

Felicity returned the kiss, moaning under his onslaught. The cool stone behind her back was no match for the heated male along her front. He angled her up, just enough that he brushed across her clit.

Stars flashed behind her eyes. A moan built in her throat, and the muscles in her thighs trembled.

He held her weight with such ease, butterflies winged through her abdomen. His hot mouth peppered desperate kisses along her jawline and down her neck to nip the bite wounds near her shoulder. His bite.

Her body convulsed around him in a mini-explosion. More. There was so much more coming. The steam surrounded them, providing haven in a dangerous world. The man holding her so tightly, dedicated to keeping her safe, was more than she could’ve wished for while so alone the last few decades. Her last love had been calm and gentle, and she’d appreciated him.