A lot.

“You...” He glared down at me, the tips of his fangs exposed. “You...”

“What?” Clutching his shoulders, I was breathless and it had nothing to do with the jump and everything to do with how close we were.

“You’re maddening,” he said, pressing in, and a deep pulsing throb sent a shiver down my spine.

My eyes widened as I stared up at him. I wasn’t even sure if he was aware of what he was doing. He was furious. That much was clear, but there was something heavier and thicker riding that anger.

“You’re out of your mind.” One hand slid from my waist, over my hip, down to my thigh. His hand clenched, the sharp claws snagging the thin fabric of the leggings.

Okay. He knew what he was doing.

“You’re utterly reckless and completely impulsive,” he continued, and I tipped my head back against the shed, finding it difficult to get air into my lungs. “If you do something like that again...”

“What?” I squeezed his shoulders as his wings lifted and came down, cocooning us. Before, the utter darkness had caused me to panic, but now, it made me bold, like I could do anything in the shelter he created. “What are you going to do?”

“Something.” His words were hot against my neck, causing all my muscles to tense.

My fingers touched the edges of his hair. “You need to give me a little more detail on that,” I told him. “Because I’m a hundred percent going to do that again.”

“I’m going to need to get a leash for you.” He shifted his body and my entire body seem to jerk against the unexpected hardness between his hips.

Oh God.

My heart was pounding as heat pooled. “If you got a leash for me, I’d choke you with it.”

His husky chuckle burned my lips. “You would.”

“Yes,” I told him, agreeing and giving permission for something he hadn’t asked for but I wanted to give him. Something I think he wanted to give me.

He was so still and so quiet and then he said, “The second you kissed me in the training rooms, I knew you were going to be trouble.”

“Is that why you ran from me?”

“I’m not running from you now,” he said. “It seems I’m running after you now.”

Then the barest brush of his lips against mine caused my entire body to arch. My lips parted, giving him access, and I felt the wicked tip of one fang against my lip. I shuddered against Zayne, and he made this deep, throaty groan that was nearly my undoing.

“We shouldn’t...” He trailed off, dragging that sharp fang across my lower lip. “We shouldn’t be doing this.”

I couldn’t think of any damn thing we should be doing right now other than this. “Why?”

“Why?” He laughed, low and soft against my lips. “Besides the fact this complicates things?”

“I like complications.”

“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” His forehead rested against mine. “You’ve been through a lot, Trin. You have a lot on your mind, and I’m not—”

A sudden screech ripped through the air, forcing us apart. Zayne lowered me to the roof and spun, tucking his wings so I wasn’t smacked upside the head by one.

I didn’t see them at first, not until the two creatures landed on the roof. They looked like bats—huge, walking bats. Moonlight streamed through their thin, nearly translucent wings.

“Imps,” Zayne sighed.

I unhooked my blades and braced myself. Imps weren’t known for their intelligence, but they made up for the lack of brains with their violent tendencies. “Don’t they normally hang out in caves?”

“Normally. Guess they’re out sightseeing.”

“Do you think they’re looking for me?”

“Well, we’re about to find out.”

One of them screeched and rushed Zayne. The other took flight and landed nimbly in front of me. It was too dark to risk throwing the blades so this fight was going to be hand to...bat wing?

I giggled.

“Do I really want to know why you’re laughing over there?” Zayne asked, catching the imp around its neck.

Grinning, I darted back as the imp took a swing at me. I dipped under the demon’s outstretched arms and sprang up behind it, then spun and slammed the iron blade deep into its back.

It let out a high-pitched shriek before bursting into flames. I turned in time to see the other demon do the same. I started toward him—

Jerked backward, I nearly lost my grip on my daggers as talons snatched me by my shirt. A stuttered heartbeat later, I was lifted off my feet. I shrieked as the imp started to take flight. The material of my shirt began to tear.

Zayne spun to where I dangled several feet off the roof. “Christ.”

Lifting my daggers, I swept them back in wide, high arcs, catching the imp’s hind legs. The wickedly sharp blades cut into the creature’s skin and bone. Wet warmth sprayed into the air. It screamed, a sound that reminded me of an angry baby—if an angry baby was also part-hyena. The thing let go, and I was falling.

Into nothing.

A roar of wind and night air rose up to snatch me. I couldn’t even scream as terror exploded into my gut as I fell.

Oh God. Oh God. Oh God, this was going to hurt. This was going to hurt bad—

Arms caught me around the waist, jerking me up and back into a hard chest. The impact knocked the air out of my lungs, but I knew it was Zayne.

Zayne had caught me.

Air whipped around us as his wings spread out, slowing our fall, and then he landed in a crouch, the impact jarring me to the very core.

“Holy crap,” I whispered as I blinked rapidly. My hair had come free from its bun and was plastered to my face. The handles of my daggers felt like they were embedded into my palms. “Holy crap, I didn’t drop my daggers.”

“Are you okay?” Zayne’s voice was tighter than normal as let go of me, and I quickly spun toward him. “Trinity?”

“Yeah.” Sheathing my daggers, I checked my shoulders. “It didn’t claw me. I think it was trying to carry me off. Thank you.” I looked up at him. “You probably just saved my life there.”

“I think I totally saved your life there.”

“Totally,” I agreed, looking around and realizing we were in the alley near the fire escape. “Are you okay?”

“It got me in the chest.” He looked down, cursing.

My stomach dropped as I reached for him as concern blossomed. “How bad?”

“Not that bad,” Zayne said, stepping back from me. “But we should head back. I’m going to need to clean this up.”

Worried, I quickly agreed and desperately tried to ignore the sudden, arctic blast rolling off Zayne.

29

The thin strip of light from the bathroom door pulled me from my sleep, alerting me to the fact that I had fallen asleep without Zayne.

After we got back to his place, he’d cleaned up in the bathroom and then had announced that he was making it an early night. The lights in the living room had turned off, a clear sign that he wanted his space, and I had stayed in the bedroom, thoroughly confused. Unlike all the nights before, he didn’t come into my room and it had taken an eternity for me to finally fall asleep.

But either he or Peanut was in the bathroom.

Sitting up, I slipped my legs out from underneath the blanket. The cement floor was cool under my feet as I padded quietly toward the bathroom. I placed my hands on the door. “Zayne?”

“Sorry,” came the gruff reply, several moments later. “I didn’t mean to wake you. Go back to bed.”

The corners of my lips turned down. He sounded...weird, his voice terse and strained, more so than normal. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” he barked.

I bit down on my lip. Was he in pain? He’d been looking pale by the time we’d gotten back, but he’d insisted he was okay, and I’d asked that question about a half dozen times. Knowing I probably shouldn’t, I went ahead and opened the bathroom door.

What I saw was a bloody mess. Zayne was in front of the mirror, shirtless, and he was... He was plucking something out of his chest with...with tweezers? Bloody towels were on the vanity and there was something milky in a mason jar.

“Good God,” I exclaimed.

“Dammit, Trinity,” Zayne growled as he turned away from me, reverting to my full name. “Do you ever listen?”

Not particularly. “I was worried.”

“I’m fine.”

“You do not look fine.” He was a ghastly gray color, and his fingers, slippery with blood, trembled around the silver tweezers. “What happened?”

“It’s nothing,” he grunted, turning back to the mirror.

“It doesn’t look like nothing.” I inched closer to him, grateful that the sight of blood didn’t freak me out, but what he was trying to do to his chest did. “Can I help you?”

“Yes. You can help by going back to bed.” He did a double take. “And is that Elmo’s face on your shorts?”

“Don’t talk smack about my shorts.” They were a gift from Jada—a gag gift, but they were the most comfortable shorts I’d ever owned. “Look, I really don’t need you passing out or dying from trying to do surgery on yourself. So, stop acting like a stupid alpha male and let me help you.”

His back tensed and then he looked over his shoulder at me. “Did you just call me a stupid alpha male?”

“Yes. I did.”

One side of his mouth kicked up as he dipped his head, looking down at himself. Several strands of hair fell forward, shielding his face. “That damn imp got me in the chest.”

“I know, but you should be healing...”

Reaching for the towel, he sopped up the blood leaking from his chest. “Yeah, well, one of its claws broke off in me. Got most of it out.”

Ice trickled into my veins. “You...you have an imp claw stuck inside you?”