Zenon flew above the compound, circling the building’s perimeter for the tenth time. Going in held no appeal. Every room in his apartment reminded him of Mia. Even the goddamned elevator made him think of her, of holding her in his arms.

It had been a week since he’d hurt her—the last thing he’d ever wanted to do. But seeing that look in her eyes, the way her whole face softened when she looked at him, he’d known in that one perfect moment just how badly he’d screwed this up.

She truly cared about him. What happened to him.

Everything he’d ever wanted had been staring back at him in her beautiful blue eyes.

And he’d lost it. He’d never felt so much rage in his entire life. Because he had to turn away from it, turn away from the female he wanted with every fiber of his being. So yeah, he was angry.

But what choice did he have? If he stayed and carried on with what they were doing, it would only hurt her more when he was gone.

When Zenon landed, he strode from the balcony into the control room, keeping his head down. Avoiding people had worked so far. He’d been giving his brothers a wide berth. The last thing he wanted was to talk. Talking led to questions, and right then he didn’t have the answers. None he was willing or able to give.

But as soon as he stepped over the threshold, he knew something was wrong. Low level electricity skittered across his skin, lifting the hair on his arms and the back of his neck. Something was way off. Rocco sat at one of the desks, his booted feet propped up on its surface, tapping away on the keyboard resting in his lap.

“What’s going on?”

Rocco looked up. “Well, I’m up to level twenty-seven on Angry Birds Star Wars. You?”

Zenon growled. “Can’t you feel it?”

Rocco dropped his feet to the floor and stood. “Feel what? What’s going on?”

“Where’s Mia?” He was already moving toward the door.

“In the training room, far as I know—”

Zenon was out the door and pounding down the hall toward the stairwell before Rocco finished his sentence. Shoving the door open, he jumped the rail to the lower level, then the next, and the next, and the next, until he hit the floor with the training rooms.

A weird kind of static buzzed through the air, its intensity rising with every second. He hissed, pleasure and pain assaulting every molecule in his body.

Shit.

When he reached the training room door, he could feel Mia inside. He didn’t hesitate and kicked the fucker in.

The sight that confronted him stole his breath. Mia stood in the middle of the room, her long red hair flying around her face and shoulders. Eyes closed tight, tears streaked down her cheeks. Her hands were held out in front of her, glowing fiery orbs of energy flying from her fingers. They hit the opposite wall, leaving behind singed circles in the padding that smoldered around the edges.

James stood to the side, holding his arms up, looking freaked.

Zenon stepped farther into the room.

“Stay back, Zenon.” James’s voice sounded distant.

Like hell. His heart pounded as he felt a familiar need crawl up his spine, hitting him in the back of the skull. Stepping to the side, he put himself in the line of fire. The first one that hit knocked him to his knees. He grunted but staggered back to his feet and took another step toward Mia. Her eyes flew open and she tried to turn away, but Zenon called her power to him, and each ball she sent flying changed course midair and came at him, nailing him in the chest.

Oh fuck. So good, so fucking good.

He kept coming at her until he was standing beside her. “Stay back. I…I can’t stop,” she cried.

Grabbing her wrists, he forced her to face him and pressed her hands against his chest. The intensity of all that power moving through his body had his eyes rolling back in his head. Each hit jarred his body, sending pleasure-pain streaking through his nerve endings. Mia fought him, her screams echoing around the room, but he was too far gone to explain what was happening.

After the last hit he dropped to his knees at her feet. Rough hands grabbed at him, pulling him back up. Voices talked over the top of each other but he couldn’t make his jaw unclench enough to tell them he was okay. Finally, the last wave of energy pulsed through his system and he slumped against the big body at his back.

When he opened his eyes, he realized he was surrounded. Every knight stood watching him. Chaos was at his back, holding him up. Mia stood to the side, sobbing silently, her arms wrapped around herself.

Shrugging out of Chaos’s hold, he moved toward her on unsteady legs. She backed up like she was afraid of him, and he couldn’t blame her after that little show. He didn’t stop until his chest brushed hers. Cupping her chin, he forced her to look at him. “I’m okay, Mia.”

“But, I…but you…”

He shook his head. “I’m not like the other knights. I’m more demon than angel,” he said, repeating what he’d said to her when she’d looked after him, hoping she knew where he was going with this. “You wanted to know if you could help me? You…you just gave me what I need.” He could barely believe it. Emotion swamped him. “You gave it to me, Mia.”

Her eyes searched his. So much there, so damn much. “I did?” she whispered.

“Yeah.”

“But how?”

“I don’t know.” He’d only known Helena to possess such a power. Hope surged through him. Could Mia be the answer to his freedom?

“I was so scared. I thought I’d hurt you.” She wrapped her arms around him. Her soft body pressed against his, her curved belly and lush breasts. Christ, her scent…

That’s when he felt it.

His dick twitched, lengthened, and filled until it strained painfully against the fly of his jeans.

Holy shit. Holy motherfucking shit.

He was pressed close to her and he saw the minute she felt it, that she felt him, his hard, aching cock against her soft curves.

Her eyes went round as saucers, and she sucked in a breath.

“What the fuck just happened here?” Chaos barked.

Reluctantly, he stepped back and turned to face the males who had had his back more times than he could remember. As much as he didn’t want to reveal his shame, he wanted his freedom. And after what just happened, he had hope for the first time in his shitty life.

Zenon explained his need for the energy Mia had just given him. The pain he suffered when he was drained of it. They listened without interruption but he could see the question in their eyes, see the realization flicker across their gazes. Putting the pieces together. His unexplained absences—what Amen had said during questioning.

But it was Mia who asked the question. “How have you survived all this time? Who gives you what you need, Zenon?”

He had imagined this moment in his mind many times, telling his brothers what he had been, still was. But telling Mia? He could never have prepared himself for that. The urge to dip his head, to hide was almost overpowering, but he held her gaze as he spoke. He focused on her, his brothers at his back like they always had been and, he realized in that moment, always would be if they got the chance.

“I’m a slave, Mia.” A soft gasp slipped past her lips and her hand flew up to cover her mouth. “I didn’t come to Earth alone. My mistress brought me here after she attempted to overthrow Diemos. She failed. Leaving was her only option. Silas has her contained, but I need her to survive. When the pain becomes too much, I have to go to her, and she gives me what you just did, gives me what I need to survive…for a price, until the next time.”

Muttered curses and what sounded like a fist to the wall could be heard behind him. “Why didn’t you tell us?” Chaos said. “We could have done something, helped you.”

Zenon turned to face the other male. “No one can help me. Not even Silas has that power.” But now that he didn’t need that bitch to survive, maybe… “I have a few things to discuss with you all. Tomorrow night before we head out?”

Chaos looked like he wanted to disagree. Their leader wasn’t known for his patience, but his gaze moved to Mia standing silently behind him and he lifted his chin in agreement. Then he moved in and held out his hand. Zenon took it, and Chaos pulled him in, one big mitt going to his back. “We will make that bitch pay. I promise you that, brother.” Then he turned and strode from the room.

One by one the others did the same, showing their loyalty, letting him know they would always have his back, no matter what. Zenon didn’t know what to do, what to say. Shit, he was too choked up to reply.

When they left, he turned back to Mia.

She bit her lip. “That’s why you pushed me away, because of her?” Her voice was soft, shaky.

“Yes.”

“Do you have feelings for her?”

He felt his face twist in disgust. “I fucking hate her.”

She walked over to him and looked up. Her eyes held nothing back. It was all there to see, all the emotion she’d been hiding from him since he turned his back on her in this very room over a week ago. Jesus, he needed that, craved that look from her. His heart started bouncing around in his chest like a fucking hamster on speed.

And just when he didn’t think he could take much more, she said, “Will you make love to me, Zenon?” She licked her top lip, and the sight had his cock on the verge of punching through the front of his jeans.

He didn’t know if Mia had the power to set him free, but he wanted the chance to find out. What had happened just then was a goddamned miracle. Somehow Mia had cut through the hold Helena had over him. There was no way he could deny himself this.

“Mia.” The single word came out rough, needy as hell. He struggled to draw breath. Was this truly happening? How could this amazing, beautiful female want him? He wrapped his fingers around the side of her throat, reassuring himself with the feel of her smooth, warm skin beneath his palm, the way her pulse fluttered madly, beating at the same rapid pace as his own. She was real all right, and right then she was his.

An almost violent tremor moved through his body. His need for the female standing in front of him was something he had never experienced in his entire life. No, he wasn’t a virgin, but in every way that counted this would be his first time. “It would be my honor, my privilege…” He shook his head, struggling to find the words. “Being with you, in that way, it’s more than I ever allowed myself to dream.”

He took her hand and led her from the room.

Zenon had pushed her away, avoided her, turned his back and walked the other way when he’d seen her in the halls, but he hadn’t hidden it. Even suffering her own pain, she hadn’t missed it in him, the way it flashed across those yellow eyes or twisted his beautiful face. Now she knew why. Her beautiful, strong male had suffered, was still suffering, and she wanted nothing more than to make it better for him. She just wished she knew how.

Zenon didn’t speak as he led her down the hall to his room, didn’t say a word as he swiped his key card and opened the door. The silence was heavy, filled with anticipation.

They walked in and he turned to her. “This is your last chance to turn around and walk away because I’ll never do it again. Do you understand? You’re mine, Mia. I don’t know what will happen after this, but know I’ll protect you with my life.” His chest rose and fell rapidly, his fists clenched and unclenched at his sides. “Do you understand?”

The decision wasn’t a hard one. She didn’t want to be anywhere else, not anymore. “Yes.”

He squeezed his eyes closed for several seconds and her chest tightened.

She cupped the brand on his cheek. “Kiss me.”

When his mouth came down on hers, she reveled in it, drank him in, and hung on for dear life. She’d missed this, missed him. If she was honest, she hadn’t been whole without him. He lifted her off the ground, wrapped her legs around his hips, and strode through the living room into the bedroom.

“I don’t think I can go slow,” he growled against her ear. “I’m sorry, but I need you too badly. Shit, I don’t want to fuck this up, Mia.”

“Zenon.” He wouldn’t meet her gaze. His admission embarrassed him. “It’s all right.” She slid her hands up to rest on his shoulders. “Look at me. Please don’t hide from me, not anymore, not now.”

His eyelids slid open, yellow eyes, clear, unique, and beautiful, and she shivered at the dark intensity staring back.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him close so their lips were touching. “I want you. And I’ll take it any way you give it to me.” His big body shuddered then he strode to the bed and lay her on the mattress.

He stripped off his shirt, revealing the hard ridges and sinewy muscle under all that inked skin, toed off his boots, and removed his socks. His head dipped, his hair falling forward when he dropped his hands to the button of his jeans, popping it open.

Finally, he slid down the zipper and shoved them down.

Oh my God.

Zenon stood at the foot of the bed, naked and aroused, completely exposed—beautiful. She couldn’t take her eyes off him. She couldn’t speak, her synapses short-circuiting. There wasn’t an ounce of excess flesh on his body. He was a honed fighting machine. He moved toward her, coming around to the side of the bed. She was mesmerized by the way he moved, like a big cat about to pounce, the way the heavy slabs of muscle bunched and shifted under his skin.

“Stand up, Mia.”

She did as he said and got to her feet. Like this, they were almost the same height. He wrapped the fingers of one hand around the back of her head, thrusting his fingers into her hair, and took her mouth, kissing her deep and growling low. They broke the kiss briefly so he could lift her shirt over her head, followed by her bra. He tossed them aside and growled again right before he bent down and took an aching nipple between his lips and sucked. She clung to his shoulders while his hands moved down to work the front of her jeans, sliding them down her legs, taking her underwear with them. Then he stood back and took all of her in.

“Looking at you like that, shit, makes me forget I need to draw breath.” His big callused hands slid down her sides to rest on her hips. “Lie down.”

She lay back, and Zenon moved onto the mattress beside her.

“Open for me,” he rasped.

Her mouth went dry with need, liquid heat flooding her sex. She did as he asked, and Zenon moved up so he was kneeling between her thighs. His dark gaze traveled over her body and she felt it like a physical touch. Without warning, he slid two thick fingers down her cleft and pressed them inside her.

She gasped and arched into the touch, a moan escaping from between her lips. “Oh God.”

“You ready for me?”

She heard the desperate need in his voice.

His thumb moved over her clit with sure stokes and she squirmed, managing only to nod in reply. Zenon knew what she needed, how she like to be touched. He dominated her body like he always did, sending her need skyrocketing, and within minutes she was close.

Zenon removed his fingers, moved up, leaned in, and covered her body with his. Then his cock was prodding her entrance, sliding inside her, stretching her, filling her so thoroughly all she could focus on in that moment was where their bodies joined.

She gasped at the full sensation.

He looked down at her, tension lining his face. “You okay?”

She ran her hands over his shoulders to the side of his neck, fingers gliding over rough scar tissue. “Yes. It’s just this is the first time I’ve done this. I don’t want to disappoint you or do something wrong.”

His gaze sharpened. “You’re a virgin?”

“Yes.”

“Fuck, Mia.” He buried his face against her throat. A low groan vibrated through his chest then he lifted up again and kissed her with everything he was feeling, all the emotion he kept bottled up inside. And she felt all of it, felt it to the depths of her soul.

He cradled her face in his big hands. “You could never disappoint me, do you understand? Not ever. Shit, I don’t deserve you.”

Holding her gaze, he thrust forward. They both moaned when he went deep, so damn deep. He buried his face in her neck again and his thrusts became hard, rough, and he ground against her every time he pushed inside. She wrapped her legs around his hips, trailing her hands down his back, feeling the thick ridges of scar tissue crisscrossing his back beneath her fingers, and squeezed her eyes closed, trying not to think of how they got there or the pain and humiliation he must have suffered.

She tightened her hold on him. “Don’t stop, please, don’t stop,” she whispered into his ear, letting sensation take over again. This felt amazing, right—perfect.

He lifted up on his forearms. “Look at me.”

Seeing all that heat, all that unrestrained need aimed at her was all she needed. Arching her back, she cried out as her body contracted around him, gripping his repeatedly.

A low growl rumbled from deep in his throat, animistic. “You feel amazing.” There was wonder in his voice and her chest tightened. She watched him, the strain on his beautiful face, the way the muscles of his chest and arms tensed and bunched as he drove into her. He was wild, his tightly held control blown all to hell.

This was the part of him he’d been holding back, the part she’d wanted him to trust her enough to reveal. She never wanted him to feel like he needed to hide any part of himself from her again, never again.

“Fuck,” he hissed. Zenon didn’t slow; he moved faster, drove into her harder. He thrust deep, grunting as he ground against her. Mia felt that amazing pressure building again and tightened her limbs around his big body, afraid she’d fly apart if she didn’t hang on for all she was worth. Then she was coming again.

He shoved his face back into her neck. Mia loved the feel of his body pressing into hers, his weight, his harsh, ragged breaths against her skin. She felt him swell, grow bigger inside her, then he jerked his head back and his face twisted. There was a brief flash of almost panic, but then he cupped the side of her face and locked those fierce eyes with hers. “Only you, Mia. Only you.” His lips parted and his eyes drifted closed. His harsh breaths turned to groans and he came inside her, his big body shaking with the force of his release.

She clung tighter to him, not wanting him to leave her.

But he didn’t try and move away. He stayed where he was, still buried deep inside her. His body covered hers, hot and heavy and perfect, as he kissed and stroked her skin, making his purring sound and letting it vibrate through her.

She had no idea how long they stayed like that, tasting each other, touching, hands smoothing over slick skin—soothing each other as they came down. She wanted to stay like that forever. Running her hands over his back and hips, she held him tighter, reveling in his weight, his scent, the racing beat of his heart against hers.

“Are you all right?” he rumbled low, lips pressed against her temple.

“More than all right. You?”

“Princess.” It was all he said, all he needed to say. Her name spoken in that way, in that deep raspy tone, held more meaning and emotion than anything else he could have said in that moment.

He tried to move, but she tightened her legs around him. “Not yet, don’t leave me yet.” She felt him start to harden inside her again.

He lifted up and started to move again, gliding in and out of her body slowly, reigniting the sparks of pleasure, bring them back to life. He leaned in and kissed her, then whispered, “Thank you.”

She didn’t miss the emotion on his face, dampening his eyes. Reaching up, she smoothed her fingers over his skin and wiped the moisture away. “I can’t imagine what you’ve been through, Zenon. And I don’t know if you’ll ever be able to share any of it. I truly hope that one day you’ll feel safe enough to share some of that burden with me.” He stilled and went to dip his head, but she brushed his hair back, not letting him hide. “What I do know is just being in the same room with you gives me something that has been missing my entire life, something I never knew I needed until you walked into my apartment. Something that I’ve come to realize I don’t want to live without.”

He sucked in a harsh breath. Maybe she’d said too much, pushed too hard too soon, but right then she didn’t care. She wasn’t letting him send her away again. Rubbing her thumb across the vicious scars that ringed his throat, she said, “So you don’t need to thank me, because there’s nowhere else I would rather be, and there is no one else I will ever want to give myself to. No one else but you.”