Shade and Eidolon exchanged looks, as if they had a secret between them. For a moment he was tempted to get inside Shade’s head the way he always had and find out what they were hiding from him. But Shade hated that, and violating his brother’s mind would make his pretty plea for forgiveness yet another lie.

“I get it.” Wraith backed toward the door, bumping against the frame. “It’s too late—”

He couldn’t picture himself barbecuing hot dogs and playing f**king family board games anyway.

“Wraith, it’s not that,” Shade said.

“Doesn’t matter. Serena’s waking up. I need to go to her.”

Shade called his name as he left, but Wraith just held up a hand to cut him off, and kept going. They might not trust him to be a functional member of the family yet, but they would. He’d earn their trust eventually, but right now, his focus was all on Serena.

She was tying the drawstring on a pair of scrub bottoms when he walked in. “Hey,” she said, tilting her head to the side as she studied him. “It’s so weird seeing you without that face tattoo.”

“I figure I’ll be in for one hell of a shock the next time I look in a mirror.” A good shock, though, like he’d had when he saw that his hourglass glyph had been set right again. He took her hand and pulled her against him, reveling in the feel of her soft curves against his hard body. “You feeling okay?”

“Never better.” She smiled, and the points of her fangs peeked out from her parted lips. It was so freaking sexy Wraith wanted to throw her down and get inside her while she sank those hot little teeth into his throat.

What a difference a day makes. He was really starting to understand her hard-on for vampires. He was getting one himself. Literally. “Babe, we so have to get out of here.” His swelling c*ck was way onboard with that plan.

“Where are we going?”

Such utter trust. Her faith in him tugged at his heart and at the same time scared the crap out of him. What if he broke her trust, failed her?

“You won’t,” she said softly.

“How did you know what I was thinking?”

“I felt your fear. Didn’t take a genius to figure out what it was about.”

He groaned playfully. “This bond is going to be a pain in the ass.”

“Really?” She reached low and cupped him. “Because I can feel your arousal, too… and it’s definitely sparking mine.”

Oh, yeah. He could feel it coming through the bond like an erotic drumbeat. “So, maybe the bond won’t be that bad.” His words came out on a moan thanks to the stroking action she’d started.

“So… you were saying?”

“Right. We’re going to my place… ah, Gods, keep that up, just like that.” He arched into her touch. “And after I ravage you, I’ll start teaching you about life in my world. Are you all right with that?”

She flicked open the top button on his fly. “Do the lessons have to start right away?”

“Probably a good idea,” he gritted out, but then she dropped to her knees. “Lessons? What lessons?”

“That’s what I thought.” The look in her gaze, the erotic promise, the trust, the love, brought him to his knees in front of her. She meant the underworld to him, and in that moment, he knew.

He would never fail her.

And the faith in her eyes said she knew it, too.

Thirty-three

“They’re here!” Serena forced herself to walk calmly to the front door, even though she wanted to sprint. Runa, Shade, and their babies would be on the other side—and she and Wraith would be meeting them for the first time.

It had been nearly a week since she and Wraith had arrived at his place—a very male bachelor pad in Manhattan—and after days of doing nothing but enjoying each other, they’d decided it was time to enjoy his family.

Especially because her family had already come and gone.

She’d called Val the moment she and Wraith left the hospital, and he’d been so happy she was alive that the fact she’d become a vampire hadn’t bothered him. Much. He’d come to visit yesterday, and though they hadn’t had enough time to work out all the issues they faced, from the relationship he’d had with her mother to his reasons for keeping the truth from her, to David, to Wraith’s deception and her becoming a vampire… well, truthfully, it was still a mess.

But Val was willing to repair the damage and heal all wounds. Chances were that he and Wraith would never bond over a game of golf, but she figured it wouldn’t be long before they stopped eyeing each other warily over the rims of their whiskey glasses. The fact that they hadn’t tried to kill each other was a start.

As for David… she had a feeling things would never be right between her and her half brother. If he was ever released from Aegis custody for betraying the human race to a fallen angel, anyway.

-Wraith—she’d finally gotten used to calling him that—met her in the foyer. “You ready for this?” He took her hand. “Because we can do this another time. They’ll be at Kynan and Gem’s wedding.”

That had been fun news. The pair had dropped by this morning to invite them to Hawaii next week—a wedding beneath the stars, a night ceremony so she, as a vampire, could attend. Wraith had groused and grumped about being asked to be Kynan’s best man, but she’d caught him smiling for hours after Ky and Gem left.

“I’m ready.”

He’d warned her that his brothers and sisters-in-law could be overwhelming, but the little ones made her far more nervous, and he knew it.

She’d always wanted children, but as a vampire, she’d learned she was unable to conceive. The maternal ache drilled deep, but she couldn’t complain. She was healthy and alive. Sort of, as Wraith liked to tease her.

“Let’s meet the family.” She opened the door, surprised to find only Shade standing there with a squirming, blanketed bundle in his arms, Eidolon next to him.

“Runa’s going to be pissed that you lost some kids,” Wraith drawled.

Shade’s dark eyes sparked with an emotion she couldn’t place. “All three of our babies are home with Runa.”

Wraith and Serena stepped back to allow his brothers to come inside. “So, what,” Wraith said, “you just picking kids up off the street now?”

“It’s yours, bro.”

“My what?”

“Kid.” Eidolon tugged on the blanket, exposing the child’s right arm and the dermoire that marked it. “It’s yours.”

Serena wasn’t sure who got it, who really got it, first, Wraith or herself. He stared at the baby, a little wild-eyed. She just stood there, afraid that what Eidolon had just said wasn’t true. That this was a sick joke.

Wraith had made a baby with someone else, a fact that might have upset her if he hadn’t explained his breed, his past… and if she didn’t understand how committed to her he was.

But somehow she just couldn’t see this innocent life as anything but a wonderful gift and an answer to her prayers.

Shade hefted the infant closer to his chest, gently, protectively, and she turned to Wraith, who was still watching the baby as though unsure what to do.

“Hey,” she said, softly. “You okay?”

He nodded numbly.

Surrounded by silence, Serena approached Shade. The baby stilled, his big brown eyes taking her in with that wisdom all infants seemed to be born with. He was beautiful, with Wraith’s nose and mouth, and in an instant, she fell in love.

“May I?” she asked, and though Shade hesitated, he handed the child to her. In her arms, he felt right, and her heart swelled. She walked over to Wraith, slowly, afraid she’d spook him, because he still had that half-feral look in his eyes. “Look at him. Look at your son.”

He swallowed, locked his gaze with hers. “My… son. I never thought…”

“Just look at him. He’s gorgeous.”

The moment his gaze connected with his son’s, his expression softened, became one of wonder. “The mother?” he murmured, and Eidolon cleared his throat.

“Suresh.”

Wraith’s hand shook as he very carefully offered his finger to the baby, who wrapped his tiny fist around it. “You’ll be able to teleport someday, little guy.” He glanced at Serena. “I’m sorry. This must not be easy for you. The female—”

“It’s okay,” she said, and she wasn’t lying. “I know what you are, and what you were before we met.” She put the baby in Wraith’s arms. He held his son as if the child were made of glass. “He’s yours, and now he’s ours.”

Wraith closed his eyes. “Are you sure? Because… I’m afraid.”

“Don’t be. We’ll learn about this parenting thing together. You’ll be wonderful. Your heart is so big.”

He hooked his arm around her neck and brought her in close, so they were all sharing one big embrace. This was the moment she’d lived her entire life for. The one she wanted to hold onto and never forget.

“I love you, lirsha,” he murmured. “All I ever had before you was nightmares. But now I dream. Because of you.”

“I’ve always dreamed,” she whispered. “But I never thought they’d come true.” She pressed a tender kiss to the infant’s forehead, and then brushed her lips over Wraith’s. “I have everything I’ve dreamed of and more.”

And when Wraith smiled down at her, she knew he felt the same way. For all eternity.