Sin & Salvation (Demigod of San Francisco #3)(42)

“Thanks,” I said, my heart full.

Kieran looked at his phone for a moment before his gaze came back up to mine. He slid back in beside me. “Speaking of the kids, they want to go home.”

My heart sank. With all that was happening right now, home wasn’t a good plan. I’d recognized the logic of that from the beginning, I’d just been wary about the strings attached to the place Kieran had bought. That ship had sailed.

“What about Henrietta’s place? Will they stay there?” I asked.

Kieran’s stare held mine. “That’s what they meant by home.” He paused for a moment, and I knew what was coming. “Will you accept it?”

A tear welled in my eye, though I wasn’t sure why. “Yes,” I said softly, and just like that, I knew everything between us had changed.





18





Kieran





Kieran awoke as light filtered into the room. A warm body snuggled up to his side and Alexis’s sweet, feminine fragrance delighted his senses. He took a deep breath and let his head fall toward the window, listening to the soft crash of the distant waves. His body ached because of all the intense love making last night. He’d been a machine. Every time he’d so much as thought about the act of claiming her, all systems had fired up.

Arousal hardened his cock and a flash of desire stole his breath.

There it was again, the need to take his woman until she was panting in pleasure. It was more primal than the usual fire he felt for her. It was a fundamental need to mark the female he’d chosen. And that need had kick-started the foreign part of his magic that had exploded out of him last night. A magic he didn’t understand the purpose of. After climax, it dissipated, leaving no trace of its use behind.

She had liked it, though, so he hadn’t worried about it. Besides, she’d done her own job on him with her magic. She’d strengthened their soul connection. For a brief moment, a weird scene had filled the room—a midnight black line slashed through with glowing blue-purple, pulsing at him. It was Death, waiting to call him home. He could feel his soul’s acceptance of it. Its need to be swept away. And though that should’ve scared him, he hadn’t been afraid. The feeling had been welcoming, as though the great beyond were no big deal. It wasn’t forever, it was just another area one could visit in life.

The logic made no sense, but then, that was often the case with magic.

He pressed his lips gently to her head and slid his fingertips over her exposed upper arm. He listened to her rhythmic breathing, nestled comfortably in his arms. Peace settled over him and the song of the ocean drifted through his blood. Their soul connection hummed softly.

Fuck, he was happy. Staying with her—lying with her—made him content in a way he hadn’t known a man could be.

To love a woman is to admit your ruin, son. You’ll lose your sense, and with it, your dignity. Don’t be a fool like I was.

Kieran swallowed hard and pulled his arm up from around Alexis. That was the warning his father had given him when he was young, one he’d repeated recently, after Kieran’s mother died. He now understood the words in a new way.

Will that happen to me? Will I continue the family tradition by losing my sanity and imprisoning the one I love?

He pushed back the covers and climbed out of bed while grabbing his phone from the nightstand. A few messages waited for him. The first was from Zorn. The kids had settled into their new home easily and had met in Mordecai’s room to discuss how to make the situation permanent. Then Daisy had disabled the monitoring device outside of her door, found the listening device in her room and taken that out, and proceeded to lock herself inside. She hadn’t turned out her light until the small hours of the morning.

Zorn’s message held some strong notes of pride. Apparently, he had installed the devices to see if she’d look for them, but hadn’t actually expected her to find them. She’d proved to be a more cunning and insightful protégé than he’d originally expected.

The last message from Zorn made Kieran smile: She’s plotting something.

The pupil was trying to out-do the teacher. That should keep Zorn on his toes.

He didn’t bother replying. He didn’t want to spoil their games.

The next message was from Donovan: One of the cameras was disabled at Lexi’s house. Can’t tell what knocked it down. Nothing seemed amiss around the property. Don’t think there’s anything to be alarmed about if she’s staying with us.

Donovan again: btw-I bought the kids new laptops. Theirs was beyond shitty. You might get Alexis one.

He frowned as he set his phone aside to slip on some sweats. Scenarios of his father’s people knocking down a camera played through his head. Possibly someone of Flara’s skillset might’ve resorted to such an obvious attempt to create a blind spot, but if that had been the case, Donovan would’ve noticed their intrusion on the property.

He snatched up his phone again, thinking it through as he headed downstairs. Jack waited at the island with an open laptop next to him. His phone sat off to the side and he had a half cup of coffee in front of him. He was manning the mobile security feed for Alexis’s home house.

“Any news?” Kieran asked, heading straight to the coffee pot.

“Breakfast is in the oven.” Jack absently gestured that way, his eyes not leaving the screen.