I always found it odd that Everett's emotions were…somild, at the funeral. He was concerned and frustrated, but that was all. I used to think maybe he was just in denial about his best friend's tragic ending, but what if…
What if he knew something I didn't?
What if Ian has been alive all this time?
My head is spinning, but barely a second has passed. Asher and the stranger are still arguing as Ian's mouth quirks up slightly. He swallows hard, but I can't feel his emotions thanks to a mytherun pin I see on his black sweater.
"Hey there, Sunshine."
His voice is low and rough, but it's all Ian.
I immediately burst into tears, launching myself forward past Asher before I can think better of it. The vampire's arms wrap tightly around me as I cling to him for everything I'm worth—but the instant his bare arms come in contact with mine, he inhales sharply, jolting as my intense emotions crash into him.
Right.
Gods, what am I thinking? I can't touch him.
I start to pull away, wiping at the tears rolling over my cheeks and trying to talk through the pathetic meltdown I'm having.
"S—sorry, I—you shouldn't have to feel this, I didn't mean to?—"
"Shhh, stop. No apologies, Sunshine. Come back," he insists hoarsely before I'm wrapped up in his strong arms again.
I can tell he's braced himself for my feelings this time because he doesn't even flinch. I should really pull away again and get control of myself, but I can't stop more tears of shock and relief from surfacing.
It feels like I'm crying against his chest forever while he keeps telling me that everything's okay and gently repeating my name as he comforts me.
But finally, I release him from my death grip and sniffle, sure my face is blotchy from crying. At least I got dressed and put on makeup to cover my birthmark while Asher was gone with the car, though. My hair's less chaotic, too, in a braid over my shoulder.
"Sorry," I half-laugh, half-sniff as I glance at Asher Douglas and the other stranger who are watching. "I promise I'll stop blubbering."
My bodyguard is surprisingly difficult to read right now, standing with his arms folded as he quietly observes our reunion. But the third gorgeous guy on my porch—the one who called me Candy for some reason—grins at me, his steel-colored gaze warming.
"For what? Even your tears are pretty. Not as pretty as your cunt, though," he adds like that's the most casual thing in the world to say.
My mouth drops open. I can tell that Asher and Ian are both about to tell off this stranger, but Jessica snorts from where she floats in the doorway behind me.
“Okay, then. Guess your half-demon learned English, after all. Maybe a little too much of it."
Wait a second.
"You?" I blurt.
And then my face and neck turn eighty million degrees as realization hits hard.
Thisis the guy who was keeping me alive in the Nether? The guy I begged to use me when the pain from the heat was driving me insane? With all that panty-melting fixation and that aftercare and the exceptionally gifted tongue and fingers that took the edge off the worst heat of my life without him ever actually fucking me because he didn't want to cross my boundaries?
Holy crap. He's crazy hot.
I'm so stunned that I forget my rule about not talking to Jessica in front of others.
"You were right," I whisper to her, my blush eating me alive at this point.
I'm really glad I finished my latest heat on suppressants several days ago, because if I was coming up on one, I'd be so screwed with these three guys and their comforting scents all around me.
"Right?Right?"Jess hisses. "You know I dipped out to give you two some privacy while he was helping you with that heat, but now that you see him, can I please get a little recognition for how big a sacrifice that was on my part? Becausehello,he's so fucking?—"
"Right about what?" the half-demon asks, still looking beyond pleased to see me.
