“The book wouldn’t absorb my blood.” I take in a shaky breath and wrap my arms around Lucas’s waist. He folds his muscular arms around me, and everything feels better.
“What book?”
“It’s like a witch census. You sign when you join a coven and you sign if you leave the coven willingly. I signed when I was a kid before…”
“Before your father unlocked some of your angelic powers.”
“Right. When I signed just now, my blood pooled together.”
Lucas’s brows furrow. “They will question you about it.”
I nod. “Tabatha must have had her reservations about it. She and Evander staged this whole big thing.” I shake my head. “I hate that she’s getting more and more involved in my lies. It’s not right to put them at risk.”
“They put themselves at risk,” Lucas says, trying to comfort me. “They care for you.”
“I know.” My breath hitches in my chest. “But that doesn’t make it right. They covered for me—for us—before, and now they’re covering for me again.”
“What would the Grand Coven do if they found out you were a Nephilim?” Lucas asks carefully.
I slowly shake my head. “I honestly don’t even know. They wouldn’t persecute me, I’m sure of that.” I let my eyes fall shut. “They could offer protection, but the more people who know who I am, the more at risk I am for my lovely relatives finding out about me, which would then lead them on a murder spree. This is so fucked up.”
“Breathe,” Lucas tells me as he gently runs his fingers through my hair. “Let’s go inside and get back to our evening of doing nothing until your friends arrive for dinner.” He runs his hands down my arms. “Or we could talk a walk. It’s a nice night.”
I nod and look up at the sky. A few wispy clouds stretch across the star-studded sky. “It is nice. And I’m not sure Evander and Felix will make it.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
Pouting, I look up at Lucas. “If it weren’t for Felix, you might be…be…”
“Dead,” he says harshly. “I’m aware. But I’m also aware your ex-lover is still in love with you.”
“Not everyone who dated me is still in love with me, you know.”
“How could they not be?”
I roll my eyes, feeling a slight blush come to my cheeks. “I’m a bit of a basket case, you know.”
“You’re my basket case,” he growls, lowering his head to mine.
“Remember how my hot-mess, psychotic side turns you on now, because in a few years you’ll be ready to put up the padded walls so you can lock me away.”
“Never.” Lucas draws his fangs and tightens his hold on me, pressing my body against his. The wind blows, and suddenly, I’m aware of everything.
My heart pounds silently in the night, beating along his still body.
Pounds of muscle and flesh press against me.
“I love you,” I whisper. “And I only care about you loving me.”
“Good,” he grunts, tipping my face up to his. He kisses me softly and then pushes my hair back. “You did mention the house has at least one place clean enough for me to strip you down and fuck you senseless.”
“I did,” I say with a smile.
“Multiple orgasms are always a good distraction,” he goes on, though he doesn’t have to convince me.
“They tend to get my mind off troubling things.” My heart swells in my chest. I love him so fucking much. I’ll miss the Covenstead, but I know, without a doubt, I made the right decision. “But I have to pee first. Is Eliza still here?”
“Yes. She was waiting until you got back to take off.”
“I’ll let her know I’m alive and kicking and then will use the bathroom.”
Lucas takes my hand, and we walk back inside together. Binx shadows ahead of us, going to tell the others about what went down back at the Covenstead.
“You can go home to Miss Piggy,” I tell Eliza on my way upstairs. She’s in the living room, watching Gossip Girl. “I’m alive for now.”
“For now is the key word there.” Eliza stands, going over by the front door. “Good timing, too, because Dom is almost here to take me back to Chicago.”
“Right. We all rode here together,” I say, thinking back to the stressful car ride from Chicago to the house. Lucas owns more cars than I can count, and most are in a garage somewhere out west. He has garage space at his multi-million-dollar estate in Lincoln Park, and his most expensive cars are parked inside. I suppose he could bring the others here, but I’m pretty sure Eliza had him keep them parked on the street so no one else could have the parking spots.
We have plans to put in a large pole barn at the new house that will be heated and air conditioned just for Lucas’s cars. I would roll my eyes at it, but I haven’t had a covered spot for my car—ever. It’ll be nice not to have to clear snow off in the winter or get into a hot-as-hell vehicle in the summer.