Athanis is scandalized and quickly reaches up to cover her eyes. "Do not lust after my friend! His nobility is of the highest order, and he is here for Elise."
I can't look away from the warm, adoring depths of the shifter's eyes as he gazes down at me. He could be rushing toward me again out of impatience. Instead, he's hanging back, glancing curiously at the other men in the room as if trying to understand this situation.
"Either of you two believe this fucker?" Ian asks in a calm voice, his gaze pinned on the smear of blood drying on the shifter's shoulder. "Or can I rip his head off now that he's wearing mytherun?"
"Don't," I panic, scrambling to get out of the cradle of Asher's deliciously muscled arms now that I don't feel like there's a knife wedged in my shoulder anymore. I get to my feet and hold up my hands to put a buffer between Asher, Ian, Zak, and the new guy. "No one hurt him. He wasn't going to attack me."
"Are you sure, Sunshine?" Ian asks, glancing at me. "Do you know him?"
I fidget, glancing again at the beautiful shifter. He's still watching me with all the patient, adoring softness in the world—except for his very not-soft, very ready-to-go dick, which I'm trying my best not to look down at.
If Marwood or his goons find out this ancient experiment is here, they'll be pissed. I'll be even more screwed than I already am. After all, a lot of people already believe I was trying to steal from the fae.
But it's not stealing to set someone free so they can avoid a horrible future. So whatever extra trouble it may get me in, I decide I'm not letting Athanis's friend out of my sight again.
I take a deep breath before turning to the others, all of whom I'd trust with anything. "Can I swear you guys to secrecy?"
All three of them nod before Zak adds, "Ian loves swearing to things before he understands them.”
Ian shoves the half-demon's shoulder. "Shut up."
I give them a quick summary, letting them know this is a shifter from thousands of years ago, that I sensed him and other experiments sleeping under the citadel, and that I recently helped uncover them. I don't mention seeing ghosts or how Athanis urged me to open the sarcophagus.
I finish by explaining that if Chancellor Marwood gets this shifter back, I get the feeling he's going to do something terrible to him.
"So this fucker's the real reason why you got hit by a bus," Zak muses, eyeing the shifter.
"It's not his fault," I defend quietly, fighting another yawn. "It was no one's fault, just a dumb accident. Butplease, can you all keep him a secret?"
Asher squints dubiously at the shifter. "What's your name, Birthday Suit?"
Athanis translates before the gorgeous, somewhat confused warrior meets Asher's eye.
"Kaenon."
"Great," Ian says before darting forward. He's suddenly peering deeply into Kaenon's eyes, looking up slightly since the ancient warrior is a couple of inches taller. When he speaks, thestrangest feeling settles on my skin. "If you hurt her,Kaenon, you'll choose to stop breathing until your heart stops."
I startle, realizing he's using hypnosis. "Hey! Ian, don't?—"
"I'm not taking any chances with your safety," the vampire cuts me off, not looking away from the shifter. "Show me you understand."
Kaenon's brows furrow, but hypnosis must transcend language barriers because he nods.
My doe is strangely distressed by the show of mistrust between them. I'm also irked by Ian's display of vampiric powers. Still, it seems to do the trick, because everyone else in this room relaxes.
"Great. Then we'll keep this guy a secret for you, Sunshine. Won't we?" Ian adds, looking pointedly at the others.
"Yup," Zak agrees easily, unabashedly distracted as he stares at my ass.
The half-demon's fixated emotions are warming with a lust that confuses my pulse, making my stomach flutter despite the tiredness weighing down my still-healing body.
"Asher?" I check, glancing hopefully at my bodyguard.
He's watching the three newest newcomers to my house with guarded speculation. "Whatever. What's one more obsessed-ass stalker to keep an eye on?"
Given his personality, I'm going to take that as a resounding yes.
Relieved, I smile at Kaenon, ignoring the way my inner animal is preening inside my chest. "Hi. I'm Heidi, and I'm going to help make sure you're not locked up in a laboratory again. Okay?"
