Amaya swallowed down the lump in her throat. “I already told you, he died in a car crash the day I was born.”

“Then who is your mother?”

“My mother died in childbirth. I never knew either of them.”

Bane folded his hands. “Gold dissects your eyes, Amaya. There is only one reason why a human has gold like that in their eyes. I thought you were like Scarla, a Halfling created from a human and an UnHallowed. The contact lenses fooled me. One of your parents was an angel. It’s not Michael because the punishment is death for an angel procreating. So, who?

She snorted. “My parents were human, and they died. My grandparents raised me.”

“I don’t need to see into your soul to know you’re lying. There’s no need when the evidence is in your eyes.”

She shrugged. “If that’s all the evidence you need, then I don’t have to confirm it.”

He sat preternaturally still while anxiety had Amaya practically twitching. She wouldn’t tell him. He could jump to conclusions, believe whatever his mind strung together as the truth, she would take her secret to the grave.

“You honor Michael with your loyalty when he doesn’t deserve it. Cling to your lies, Amaya. I hope it brings you comfort.”

His words hollowed her out. Her lies didn’t give her comfort, but it was all she had. All she ever had.

At first, the doctors thought she was blind. When they discovered she wasn’t, they tested her to find out how it was possible she could see with such an anomaly. She was an infant, a preemie that shouldn’t have survived. She won’t remember anything we do to her, they told her grandparents.

But she did remember. Braile’s gift made her sentient. She was a preemie that understood the world around her, not just her bodily needs. She understood language, all of them, and the meaning of what was being said. Her mind was light years ahead of her premature body. Her vocal cords weren’t developed enough to speak and when they were, she had to be careful. An infant speaking in complete, complex sentences, the tests would have never ended. She’d have been no better than a lab rat.

His muscles rippled as he rose and reached for his coat.

Her mind lurched back to the present. “Where are you going?”

“Back to the farm. I’ve been away too long.”

Relieved, she glanced at the bedside clock. Four a.m. “I’ll drive you there…damn, my car is at the bar.”

“I’m taking the shadows.” He pulled on his coat and headed for the door.

Amaya hated to say it, but she didn’t want him to leave, and it wasn’t because she had more questions, which she did. He opened the door and paused before crossing the threshold.

Then he leaped over the balcony rail and, between one blink and the next, vanished into the night.

Not so fast, buddy. This conversation wasn’t over. She needed her car and the farm was too far to walk. Damn it. Amaya pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket.

Thirty minutes later, the taxi rolled to a stop in front of the farm house. “This is the old Newton homestead. Nice couple. Didn’t have any children to pass the property on to. You family?” the elderly driver asked.

“No, I purchased the property a week ago.” She paid her fare and opened the door.

“Is that so? Well, welcome to the community.”

“Thanks.” She waited until the taxi drove off to wade through the foliage. A motion light flicked on when she cleared the tall grass. Whatthefuck?

The porch was different. No, not different. It was rebuilt into a duplicate of the porch she bookmarked in Home and Garden. Repainted with white and green details, a sleeping swing hung at one end and there was a set of white rocking chairs at the other end. Also, all the planks were off the windows.

Amaya crossed the porch and opened the front door. She stood in the foyer with her mouth hanging open. Every stick of furniture, every light fixture filled, and every small detail she’d circled in the magazine was now decorating her home. The foyer with a cushion bench, the living room with a glass coffee table bracketed by a plush, azure suede sofa and two high back chairs. A collection of pillar candles flickered brightly on the mantle and a stack of logs were ready to burn in the fireplace. The dining room with a perfect antique chandelier over the cherry wood table that sat eight. And ohmigod the kitchen was remodeled with brand new cabinets, double sinks, marble countertops and backsplash, and steel appliances.

Hand pressed to her racing heart to keep it inside her chest, she turned to the darkest corner in the room. “Why did you do this?”

He stepped out of the corner and flicked on an overhead light. “Did I make a mistake? I thought you’d like it. I can change everything back.”

“Don’t you dare!” That earned her a genuine smile, one that tripped her heart. “When did you have time to do all this?”

He shrugged. “I started the moment you left until I found you at Lusted.”

“You left the Cruor unguarded to do this?”

“It’s been safe for months without us. One night won’t make a difference. And if we can’t find it, I doubt anyone else can or they would’ve already.” He pointed to a seven-inch monitor on the countertop. “I did hedge our bets and place motion sensors around the property. It won’t protect the farm from Darklings, but there are other things that go bump in the night.”

“I’m…don’t…” She couldn’t gather her thoughts to explain what everything he did meant to her. Sunlight filtered through the closed curtains and Bane stepped into the corner. “Don’t go! Umm, not yet.”

She closed the distance between them and paused an arm-length away. “No one has ever done anything so nice for me. You didn’t have to. I was gonna do it myself. I didn’t need you to do this for me…but thank you, Bane. Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome, Amaya.” Shadows swirled at his feet and crawled up his legs. He was fading before her eyes.

Sunlight cut through the opening between the interior shutters and curtains, and painted a quarter of the kitchen. “Wait!” She rushed forward, grabbed his shirt, and pulled him to her. On tiptoes, she kissed his cheek. His arm circled her waist when she pulled away. Cheek to cheek, she leaned into him and he drew her in until they were chest to chest, abdomen to abdomen, groin to—Oh hell!

He cupped the back of her head and she turned, dragged her cheek against his, and stopped just short of their lips meeting, even though the thought of tasting him consumed her.

Bane didn’t stop.

His lips were cool and firm…and utterly delicious. Her lips parted and he followed suit. She didn’t give him a chance to lick into her mouth, she licked into his. The first touch had her fisting his shirt, angling her head and pulling him closer as lust stormed through her blood. His taste was a heady mix of wine, drugging her will, a narcotic to her system. She wanted him, his taste in her mouth, his hands on her skin, his cock in her—

His hand moved from her waist to grab her ass and yank her into his body, fulfilling her first two needs. One hand yanked his shirt up to skim across his tense back, up to his broad shoulders. His growl reverberated through her and he pushed his erection against her belly. Her clit responded with a deep throb.

He twined his hand in her hair and deepened the kiss. Their tongues wrapped around each other, caressed and played until she was dizzy for air and grinding herself against him, trying to relieve the unbearable ache between her legs.

Bane pulled away. A whimper settled in her chest, a plea for him to continue.

“Look at me,” he ordered. Only then did she realize she’d closed her eyes.

His handsome, arrogant face filled her vision, but all she could see was the wide strip of red that circled his eyes. Amaya yanked out of his embrace and stumbled away. She touched her lips, shocked at what she’d done and the passion winding its way through her body. She kissed him—an UnHallowed—and loved every second of it.

In slow motion, his hands dropped to his sides and the red faded from his gaze. Wintry aquamarine eyes stared at her as the shadows crawled up his body and took him.