“Because of the moral compass in your heart?” I asked incredulously. “You did it for a reason—so what was the reason?”
The smile faded from his lips as he stared at me, and his eyes turned hard once again. Then he disappeared from my kitchen, the aura of power that accompanied him leaving with him.
It was dark when Zehemoth dropped me off outside Callum’s home on the vineyard. He took flight right away and flew to the wildlands, where he could rest while I waited for him to come back for me.
I could see the light from the windows, see the shadows flicker and dance like he had a fire roaring in the hearth. It was a nice place, much bigger than my villa, and far too big for him alone.
I walked up to the door and knocked.
My heart would normally be racing in anxiety and excitement at the prospect of seeing him, but now I just felt anger…and fear.
What if it were true?
If it were true, would he tell me?
He opened the door almost immediately, standing there shirtless and in his trousers, looking like a god in every sense of the word. The light was bright behind him, casting him in a slight shadow. The beard along his jaw was a lot thicker than usual, like he’d abandoned shaving. His eyes took me in for a moment of disbelief before the intensity followed, like he hoped I was there to forgive him and be his again.
I lost my strength the longer I stared at him, my confidence in his strong presence waning. “I—I need to talk to you.”
A pail of water doused the flames of hope in his gaze. He wordlessly stepped aside.
I entered the home, the ceilings high, a dining table that could easily fit eight people near the kitchen, and then the large sitting room, cozy with a fire. It was a beautiful home with paintings on the walls, colorful rugs, and throws over the couches.
But it didn’t suit Callum at all.
He pulled out a chair for me before he sat at the head of the table, his body pivoted to the chair I would occupy.
I sat in the chair, face-to-face with a man who came to me every night in my dreams.
He didn’t offer me anything. Just stared at me like he needed to devote all his strength to not reaching across the table, grabbing me, and kissing me. His arms rested on the surface of the wood as he regarded me with his fathomless gaze.
“You’ve never lied to me, and I have no reason to believe you ever would.”
One of his eyebrows immediately lifted when I broached the subject, like this was the last way he expected me to start the conversation.
“So I’m going to ask you this once, and I’ll believe whatever you say.”
Even with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, he was the most handsome man I’d ever seen. Big, tall, and muscular witha masculine definition to his face…but absolutely kissable lips. “Ask your question,Xivin. On my honor as a man, I will speak only the truth.”
I didn’t get upset by the use of the nickname. In fact, it was nice to hear it again. “When the Covenant removed your title and you were trapped in the underworld while I remained above, were you with anyone else?”
“Was I with anyone else?” he asked. “I’m not sure what you mean by that.”
“Did you fuck anyone, Callum?” I said more bluntly, not liking his initial response.
His eyebrows furrowed once again as if he didn’t understand the question. But then a poignant sadness crept over his face when he realized how serious I was. “From the moment I laid eyes on you, I’ve been reverently and irrevocably in love with you, Lily Rothschild. I’ve been with no one else since that moment. I’ve never looked at another woman or considered another woman or dreamed of another woman. My heart beats and bleeds for you alone. I’m not sure what I’ve done to make you ever question that.”
“Unless, you know, it was just sex, and it didn’t mean anything.”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “I don’t feel desire for anyone but you.”
It seemed to be the truth, or maybe I just wanted to believe that was the truth. “I believe you.”
“Why do you ask me this?”
“Remember, you showed me my father’s past? When his wife and daughter died?”
“Yes.”
