Ava buried her face into the pillow, breathing in the delicious hint of tobacco over notes of sandalwood and spice, like an old gentleman’s club. Not that Ava picked those up herself. She’d gone out of her way to read the ingredients on Calix’s cologne once, to find out what made him smell so mouthwatering and masculine.

Gods, the male brought out some primitive part of her that made her want to devour him. The sight of him had stolen her focus, the moment he’d stepped in the room. It reminded her of the first time she saw him stroll into one of Ryke’s parties like he owned the place. Every female had had her eyes on Calix, commanding the space in his fuck me jeans and button-down shirt. Dark hair and cerulean eyes, paired with a chiseled jawline and the body of a god, made him look like he’d walked right off a magazine.

When Ryke had introduced him, Ava had to push the words right out of her mouth to speak—his virility and sex appeal radiated from every pore on his body. A year later and he still had her heart leaping in her chest.

Warm silk slid across her skin, a reminder that, while she’d lain chained to a cot with the smell of mold and rot and death lulling her to sleep, comfort still existed somewhere, and all she’d had to do was wait for the moment when she’d feel it again. The moment had finally arrived, and Ava could’ve stayed in the bed for the rest of her life. Even if nothing else worked out afterward, she’d relive the moment over and over in her mind.

She scissored her legs across the sheets, letting the soft fabric glide beneath her skin, as she breathed in the delectable scents.

Heaven.

The door clicked, and the silhouette outlined the frame of the only person in the world who could make her feel even better.

She lifted her head just enough to catch Calix’s eyes skimming across her bare legs that peeked from beneath the top sheet.

“Are you comfortable?” he asked, strolling across the room to the chair beside the armoire.

“Very.”

“Good.” He fell back into the chair, allowing his legs to casually splay open as he drummed his fingers against the plush upholstery. “Why are you here?”

Falling back on the pillow, she remained on her side, tucking her hand beneath her cheek as she watched him, the chain still tugging at her throat. “There was nowhere else I felt safe.”

“What makes you think you’re safe here?”

“Do you no longer care for me, Calix? Is that what this is about? You’ve given up on me?”

“I never gave up on you. I scoured the streets every night. Every club. Every ugly corner of this fucking city. All for you.”

Tears welled in her eyes, and she gave a subtle brush of her finger to wipe them away. “Why? Why would you do that after I … after I betrayed you?”

He shook his head, eyes casting away from hers. “I asked myself that every night.”

Ava’s heart sank at that.

His gaze lifted to hers once more. “But then I asked myself why I wouldn’t. If I could live in a world without you in it.”

Shame tore at her so much, she could hardly lift her gaze to him. “I don’t deserve your forgiveness, Calix. I won’t ask for it. But if you give me another chance, I promise you, I won’t betray you again.”

It could’ve only been a matter of seconds that passed in what seemed like minutes, before Calix cleared his throat. “These demons who are after you. What claim do they have on you? Why do they think you belong to them? Have you … have they laid claim to you?”

His venomous words shot through her like flames, stoking up the kind of anger she hadn’t felt in months. The man she’d fallen in love with seemed to have grown bitter and cruel in her absence. Perhaps she deserved it, but she hadn’t had a choice at the time. She’d be frying alongside her sadistic brother in Stygius, had she opted not to release Draven and steal Calla away from the mansion. “Burn in Stygius, Calix. I was a fucking prisoner for months!”

The anger on his face snapped to surprise, and Ava internally chided herself for the confession. Why she’d felt the need to keep it secret, she didn’t know. Calix and his brothers were certainly formidable enough to eliminate Oliver in one swoop. Something about that compound felt bigger than her bumbling captor and his henchman, though. From what Ava had learned of the Sang, entire races had once been wiped out by their kind.

“Tomorrow, I’ll leave,” she continued. “I’ll leave, and you’ll never have to hear from me again. I just needed a place to feel safe for a minute.”

“You’re safe here. I’ll watch over you tonight. And in the morning, we’ll figure out where we go from here.”

With a nod, Ava pulled the sheets up to her chin and lay on her side, watching Calix as he watched her from his chair.