“My brothers found me.” He petted her hair with loving, comforting strokes. “They killed the vamps. Kept one alive to give me back my sight.”

She almost asked why they hadn’t used a dead vamp as an eye donor, but duh, they had a tendency to flame to ash when they were killed.

“And then?”

“I went with them to New York, where I spent the next few decades wasting my life. I was worthless. Lived like a rat in sewers, eating junkies and drunks, losing myself in any way I could. Then E and Shade started the hospital. I didn’t want to learn how to save lives, but they didn’t give me a choice. Taught me to read and write. Got me straightened out. Mostly.”

“Dear… God.” His life had been a waking nightmare.

He snorted. “God abandoned me a long time ago.” Gripping her hand, he squeezed gently. “Look, Serena, by human standards, I’m a bastard. Hell, even by some demon standards I’m that. I’ve always been selfish, not giving a shit about anyone or anything but myself. I knew what losing the charm would do to you, and if I could give it back, I would. I know you don’t believe this, but… I love you.”

Her eyes stung, and her stupid heart responded with several stuttered beats, because it believed him. “You don’t need to lie to me anymore.”

“I’m not. Never again.”

“Easy to say when I’ve only got hours left to live.”

He made a sound low in his throat. “Don’t say that.”

“It’s time to stop denying it.” Strangely, it felt liberating to say it.

His hard swallow was audible, his voice strained. “I know.”

She propped herself up on her elbow so she could see directly into his eyes. “I hate you.”

“I know,” he whispered.

“Kiss me.”

He didn’t hesitate. His mouth met hers in a bruising kiss. For the first time, he opened up and let her explore with her tongue, let her feel the sharp points of his teeth. Now she knew why he’d always led the way with his kisses, why he’d pulled away when she’d made aggressive moves. Even now, he reared back a little, but she grabbed the back of his head and forced him to stay still. This was for her, not him. He owed her, and she was going to take what she wanted.

His groan rolled through her, caressing all her erogenous zones and waking up nerve endings. Her lungs hurt and her gut cramped, but pleasure began to override the discomfort and pain.

Greedily, she reached between them and palmed his erection. She squeezed him through his pants, and he made a raw, male noise. “Were you lying when you said you couldn’t come like this?”

“No.” His tongue swept over her bottom lip. “My kind can only achieve release inside a female.”

“Then get inside me.” God, she couldn’t believe she wanted him this badly, but with such little time left, the insanity of all of this seemed so distant and unimportant.

His eyes shot open, and she drew in a startled breath at the beautiful gold color they’d gone. “Are you sure?”

His concern pissed her off. He had no right to worry about her after what he’d done. “Just do it,” she snapped. “Now.”

Hurt flashed in his eyes, but then he was tearing open his jeans, shoving her shirt up, and ripping off her shorts, and in an instant, he was inside her. She cried out at the invasion, the incredible sensations that shot up her spine.

“Gods,” he growled into her ear, “I can smell your need. It’s taking me over the edge.” His tongue dragged over her throat, and for a moment she thought he was going to bite her. Some dark, wicked part of her wanted him to bite her. “Mmm. You taste oddly… salty.”

“Its the disease,” she whispered. “It causes salty skin.”

He stiffened, and a small sound of pain broke from his lips. “I—”

“Stop.” She grasped his face, used her thumb to trace the markings on the right side of his face. “Don’t ruin this for me.” She was being selfish, but she shoved aside the tiny bit of guilt she felt.

A shudder wracked his body, but he closed his eyes and nodded. He began a slow, grinding pump with his hips, and little sparks popped all over her skin. She raked her nails across his back, and though he hissed, he hissed, “Harder.”

Pleasure cascaded across her mind as he grew more aggressive, until he was hammering her into the mattress while whispering sexy, raw things into her ear. The things he wanted to do to her flipped like erotic pictures through her head, propelling her to a white-hot cl**ax that wouldn’t end.

She cried out, calling his name. His real name.

“No.” He nipped at her lobe. “Call me Josh.”

“Yes… Josh!”

He roared in his own release, filling her with a hot splash that triggered another orgasm, and another. Her body felt out of control, a lightning strike of sensual energy that wrapped around them both and locked them into an electrifying series of cl**axes.

Gradually, the storm of pleasure dissipated, and she’d never been so exhausted.

It was a long time before she had the strength to speak. When she did, her voice was raspy, her breathing wheezy. “On the train…” She had to pause, swallow, work some moisture into her mouth. “You said someone slipped an aphrodisiac into my drink. It wasn’t a stranger, was it?”

“No.” He rolled off her but kept his strong arms around her, gathering her close. His biceps bunched up hard, his skin was coated with a fine sheen of sweat. “It was my semen. I didn’t mean for it to happen.”

She wracked her brain to bring that night back to the surface of her hazy mind. She’d been crazed with lust, begging him to have sex with her. “You could have taken my virginity then, but you didn’t. Why not?”

“I couldn’t.” He buried his face in her neck and breathed deeply, and a soft purring noise rumbled up from deep in his chest. “That’s why I was leaving. I changed my mind about everything, Serena. Even though my decision would have killed my brothers, too… I couldn’t betray you like that.”

“Your… brothers?”

“They were dying too. My illness and theirs were connected.”

Time slowed as she digested what he’d just said. She knew how much he loved his brothers, and yet, when it came down to a choice between their lives and hers, he’d chosen hers.

He’d just turned everything she’d ever learned about demons—from the nuns she’d grown up with and from Val and his monstrous library of books—upside down and inside out.

He checked his watch. “I wish I could stay, but I don’t have much time. Byzamoth plans to start the war of wars in a few hours.” He smoothed her hair away from her face, his touch light and tender. “I’m going to get your necklace back. I’ll stop him, Serena. If it’s the last thing I do, I will stop him.”

“But… you’re a demon.”

“So why would I want to stop him?” At her nod, he lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Most demons living among humans like things the way they are. Imagine your worst apocalyptic scenario, multiply it by a hundred, add a lot of chaos, gore, disease, and demons, and you’ve got Sheoul. The idea that everything could become like that? Freaks a lot of us out. There are going to be a lot of demons fighting on the side of good in this battle.”

“And you’re fighting on the side of good.”

He flicked his tongue over a fang, one corner of his mouth turned up in just a hint of a cocky grin. “Well, historically, good can’t fight for shit. Really, they need me.”

Damn him for charming her and turning her on at the same time—while she was on her deathbed.

A commotion outside the door had Josh leaping out of the bed and yanking the covers up around her. The sounds of angry shouts, running footsteps, and flesh striking flesh came through the thin walls as if they were made of paper.

“Serena!”

“Val?”

Josh cursed as Val threw open the door, flanked by Eidolon. Shade was struggling with David and another man in the hallway, and if the more distant sounds were any indication, there was a battle going on elsewhere in the house.

“What the hell is going on?” Val looked between Serena and Josh, who was buttoning his pants. “Jesus effing Christ, Serena! He’s a demon!” He stalked into the room, glaring pure murder at Josh.

Serena sat up in bed, tugging the sheet up even though her top covered her. “Calm down, Val. I know he’s a demon—”

His hand clenched reflexively at his hip, and she wondered if he had a weapon concealed beneath his bulky shirt. “Do not tell me this is the bastard you gave your charm to.”

“Then don’t ask.”

He scrubbed his hand over his face. “Oh, Serena. How could you have been so stu—”

“Finish that sentence,” Josh said flatly, “and it’ll be your last.”

Val turned purple with rage. For a moment, she thought he’d blow, but David laid a restraining hand on his shoulder. “Let it go, Dad.”

Shade moved fully inside to stand near Josh, and suddenly the room filled with people. Total strangers. And here she was, wearing nothing but a tank top and in a bed where it was pretty obvious she’d just had sex. With a demon.

“Everyone needs to just calm down.” Eidolon crossed to Josh and Shade.

“Fuck you,” David said. “We don’t take orders from demons.”

Josh bared his fangs. “Yeah, you do. Because right now, I’m your best hope to defeat Byzamoth. So if you don’t want to spend eternity bent over and holding your ankles for him, you’ll back the f**k off.”

Ky, Gem, Tay, Shade, and E all crammed into the bedroom, followed by six local Aegis Guardians and six members of the Sigil. Luc, Reaver, and several local Aegi made for a tense party in the other rooms of the house, and there were more agents patrolling outside

And that a**hole Lore was tied up in the hall. What the hell was up with that? Ky had no idea.