had already been burned once by a complete sleaze of a boyfriend. Chloe couldn’t imagine her gun-shy stepsister exposing herself to that kind of risk again.
“It’s true,” he told her, and she was more than a little surprised to find that she’d been wrong. “Aiden bought her a rock for Christmas that just about blinds anyone who gets too close.”
“And what about Jamie?”
His expression softened at the mention of her three-year-old niece, his mouth curving with an easy smile. “They’re going to raise her as their own. Ade is already slipping into his role as daddy like he was born to it.”
“It seems too surreal that you could actually know our little Jamie,” she mused in a soft voice.
“Know her? Hell,” he drawled, “we’re Disney buddies. I’ve watched Hercules with her probably ten times now.”
“Are you serious?”
His smile flashed at her disbelieving tone, revealinga dimple in one of those carved, shadowed cheeks. “You want me to quote it? Sing one of the songs? Because I probably know ’em by heart by now.”
She covered her mouth with one hand as she struggled to hold back her laughter. “Oh, God, I know it’s wrong to laugh, considering the circumstances we’re in, but I can’t help it.”
“Hey, Jamie’s a charmer,” he told her, sliding down the wall until he sat on the floor, the soft denim of his jeans hugging the rigid muscles in his thighs. The pose was casual, his arms resting on his bent knees, his hands hanging loose and relaxed, and yet, she could still sense the wild, crackling energy that was so much a part of him thrumming just beneath his surface. “To be honest,” he added, “she has all of us wrapped around her little finger. Especially Noah.”
“Noah? Raine mentioned him, as well. Isn’t he…doesn’t he have Casus blood?”
Since the immortal monsters had wasted away into mere “shades” of the powerful beings they’d once been, after so many years trapped within Meridian, the Casus were forced to take human hosts once they’d escaped. Thanks to Raine, Chloe also knew that Noah Winston, a recent addition to Kellan’s Watchmen unit, was descended from a human female who had been raped by one of the Casus before their confinement, which meant that his family could be used as hosts by the escaping Casus shades.
“That’s right,” he said in response to her question about Noah’s bloodline. “It makes him motivated as hell to end this thing. He’s determined to keep his family from becoming what he calls ‘meat suits’ for those Casus pricks.”
With more than a little doubt in her tone, she asked, “And you trust him?”
He didn’t even hesitate. “With my life.”
“And he’s good to Jamie?”
“Noah spoils her almost as much as I do.”
The slow, sexy smile that accompanied his words was too gorgeous to resist, so she didn’t even try. “Well, if Jamie likes you guys, then I guess you’re both okay.”
“Like?” he scoffed. “That kid adores us. Me especially. She cries like a banshee every time I leave the house.”
“Okay, okay, I’m convinced,” she said, holding up her hands. “You and Noah are saints. And Aiden, too, for making my sister happy. He does make her happy, right?”
“If he made her any happier,” he drawled, “we’d have to soundproof their whole floor, instead of just their room.”
Chloe blushed, but she laughed, too. And it felt…good. “I miss this,” she sighed, propping her shoulders against the wall at her back.
“What?”
“Laughing.”
Sounding strangely fascinated, he asked, “What else do you miss?”
She thought about it for a moment, staring through the bars of the cell again, then said, “Being warm. At night, this place gets so cold, and the fire doesn’t give off enough heat.”
“I’d give you my bedding,” he rasped, “if I had any.”
She swung her gaze back to his, her eyes wide with anger. “They didn’t even give you a blanket?”
“Nah, but I
“It’s true,” he told her, and she was more than a little surprised to find that she’d been wrong. “Aiden bought her a rock for Christmas that just about blinds anyone who gets too close.”
“And what about Jamie?”
His expression softened at the mention of her three-year-old niece, his mouth curving with an easy smile. “They’re going to raise her as their own. Ade is already slipping into his role as daddy like he was born to it.”
“It seems too surreal that you could actually know our little Jamie,” she mused in a soft voice.
“Know her? Hell,” he drawled, “we’re Disney buddies. I’ve watched Hercules with her probably ten times now.”
“Are you serious?”
His smile flashed at her disbelieving tone, revealinga dimple in one of those carved, shadowed cheeks. “You want me to quote it? Sing one of the songs? Because I probably know ’em by heart by now.”
She covered her mouth with one hand as she struggled to hold back her laughter. “Oh, God, I know it’s wrong to laugh, considering the circumstances we’re in, but I can’t help it.”
“Hey, Jamie’s a charmer,” he told her, sliding down the wall until he sat on the floor, the soft denim of his jeans hugging the rigid muscles in his thighs. The pose was casual, his arms resting on his bent knees, his hands hanging loose and relaxed, and yet, she could still sense the wild, crackling energy that was so much a part of him thrumming just beneath his surface. “To be honest,” he added, “she has all of us wrapped around her little finger. Especially Noah.”
“Noah? Raine mentioned him, as well. Isn’t he…doesn’t he have Casus blood?”
Since the immortal monsters had wasted away into mere “shades” of the powerful beings they’d once been, after so many years trapped within Meridian, the Casus were forced to take human hosts once they’d escaped. Thanks to Raine, Chloe also knew that Noah Winston, a recent addition to Kellan’s Watchmen unit, was descended from a human female who had been raped by one of the Casus before their confinement, which meant that his family could be used as hosts by the escaping Casus shades.
“That’s right,” he said in response to her question about Noah’s bloodline. “It makes him motivated as hell to end this thing. He’s determined to keep his family from becoming what he calls ‘meat suits’ for those Casus pricks.”
With more than a little doubt in her tone, she asked, “And you trust him?”
He didn’t even hesitate. “With my life.”
“And he’s good to Jamie?”
“Noah spoils her almost as much as I do.”
The slow, sexy smile that accompanied his words was too gorgeous to resist, so she didn’t even try. “Well, if Jamie likes you guys, then I guess you’re both okay.”
“Like?” he scoffed. “That kid adores us. Me especially. She cries like a banshee every time I leave the house.”
“Okay, okay, I’m convinced,” she said, holding up her hands. “You and Noah are saints. And Aiden, too, for making my sister happy. He does make her happy, right?”
“If he made her any happier,” he drawled, “we’d have to soundproof their whole floor, instead of just their room.”
Chloe blushed, but she laughed, too. And it felt…good. “I miss this,” she sighed, propping her shoulders against the wall at her back.
“What?”
“Laughing.”
Sounding strangely fascinated, he asked, “What else do you miss?”
She thought about it for a moment, staring through the bars of the cell again, then said, “Being warm. At night, this place gets so cold, and the fire doesn’t give off enough heat.”
“I’d give you my bedding,” he rasped, “if I had any.”
She swung her gaze back to his, her eyes wide with anger. “They didn’t even give you a blanket?”
“Nah, but I
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