An hour later, I sat on the edge of a mattress that was more metal springs than cushion, dragging my fingers through tangled wet hair after what would have been a disappointing shower under any other circumstances. It had taken ten minutes to wash the shampoo out of my hair, and I didn't know if that was because of the low water pressure or the expired, off brand shampoo the motel provided. Forget conditioner. Residue from the bar of soap clung to my skin—no amount of scrubbing expunged it, but I would take tangled hair and scummy skin over smelling like smoke and sweat.

At least the out of the way motel had one thing going for it: it was a no-tell motel. Cian produced cash from god knows where, provided a couple of fake names, and without even asking for ID, the clerk handed over a key and went back to reading her smutty romance novel. And that's when I knew this day was truly a shit show, because I wasn't even remotely interested in getting a better look at the book.

The bathroom door opened and steamed from the bathroom flooded into the small room. Cian stepped out of the cloud of mist, his t-shirt clinging to his damp skin and leaving nothing to the imagination. And because I still had a pulse, a warm tingle grew between my legs. But possessed by lust as I might be, I couldn't forget that just an hour before, he'd almost choked me to death. It was a good reminder that no matter how different he might actually seem from the other Andariens; he was as much a dangerous monster as the rest of them.

Bed squealing as I shifted away from him, I looked at the dark paneled walls and braided my hair while he moved about the room. His shadow fell over me. My hands dropped into my laps, and I fiddled with my fingers while the tail of my braid dripped water down the pale pink t-shirt I'd found laying on the bed when I got out of the shower. It declared love for some place called Ellisville, and I wondered if he'd stolen it from a room or if the little motel had an actual gift shop.

"Bria."

"Think I'm going to get some sleep." I pulled back the covers. They were so thin the yellow light of the bedside lamp burned through them.

"Bria, look at me."

"Goodni—"

He grabbed me, not ungently, and turned me around. With his free hand, he touched my chin, tipping it up, forcing me to meet his blue gaze before he lowered his eyes to my neck. And for one terrible moment, I thought the monster in the car had returned as his pupils swelled.

I knew what he saw on my skin. Broken patches of blue and black. They were already forming by the time I undressed, and I stood shivering in the bathroom while the water heated, unwanted tears filling my eyes as the bruises appeared, looking like dead flowers in the snow.

"Fuck, I'm sorry," he said, tracing every painful spot.

Heat followed behind his fingers, and while I knew it was his magic sinking into my skin, removing all traces of damage, my body was a lust filled traitor. My nipples strained against the thin fabric of the shirt, and when I didn't scream at him to stop touching me, he continued to moving those fingers down my throat, far beyond where the bruises had been, stilling only when he reached swell of my cleavage.

"I think—" my voice was thick, and I ran my tongue over my lips and tried again. "I think we should get some sleep. You were injured recently."

Removing myself from his embrace, I slid into the bed, mentally celebrating the rare victory of reason over desire. That vanished almost as soon as something sharp poked my shoulder, forcing me to scoot toward the middle, which gave Cian the perfect perch. The bed dipped as he sat, and I slid until the curve of my back pressed into lower hip. Deciding it was worth the risk, I twisted my neck and a bit of my anger and fear dwindled when I saw his face was in his hands.

"What happened back there?"

I sat up and moved to the other side of the bed, which was thankfully free from any protruding springs. Not that it looked like we were going to sleep soon. Cian's tortured countenance and my need for answers wouldn't allow it.

"You are right to be afraid of me."

"No shit," I muttered, hand going to my throat. He looked over his shoulder. The lower half of his face was hidden, and damp, dark hair fell in front of his eyes. Guilt radiated off him, and even when I pulled my hand away from my neck, his gaze lingered there still.

"I told you we left Andarie as refugees."

He slid his hands over his muscular thighs before turning and seating himself fully on the bed so he could face me. I nodded at him in encouragement even as I tugged on the blankets to put something besides air between us. To protect myself... or to protect him from me, I wasn't certain. This man turned me so upside down.

"Andarie society follows a caste system. At its top are the gods of old. Below them are their children, born from unions with the most powerful members of the third group, the native humanoid creatures who were there when the old gods arrived. At the very bottom are creatures..." Cian swallowed hard and exhaled. "Creatures like me."

I pressed my lips together, trying not to gape at him. The power he exuded. The strength and healing and those wings of silver... Cian was magnificent, but here he was telling me he was at the bottom rung of his society.

"Why?" I whispered.

"The gods grew bored and experimented on the beasts of Andarie. They merged men with wyverns and wulves. With the phoenix and boarhounds. Created monsters, and eventually, they perfected it. An entire race of half beast men and women. We became tools, chained to our creators. Our entire lives were designed to serve their whims."

"Cian." The bed protested as I crawled closer to him, putting my hand on his arm. He flinched but didn't pull away.

"You asked me once if Andariens were sex demons..." A small smile teased the edges of his lips, and my stomach fluttered. "My mother was Erosi. Similar to the succubi here, though they don't feed on sexual energy as much as exude it. She told me they used it to protect their tribes from invaders. Not that they didn't benefit from the energy created during sex. Many creatures feed of sex energy without realizing it."

"And I'm guessing you inherited some of that?" I asked breathlessly, feeling relieved and somewhat foolish. On the one hand, I hadn't completely lost my mind and become a sex fiend, but on the other hand, maybe the crazy chemistry I sensed between us was just a byproduct of his genetics.

"A bit. I take after my father more, though."

"And he was?"

The smile completely vanished, and Cian's lips flattened. "Not important."

Daddy issues. Noted. "Fair enough. So, eventually you revolted?"

"Eventually." Cian shoved a hand through his hair. "I just wanted you to understand what you saw. I'm part animal, and it is always fighting to take over me. It's harder to control when I'm weak or in a rage state, and today, when you went running... and I saw Tiffany following you. I gave into the animal because I thought that might be the only way I could get to you and save you."

Ah, yes. Gods forbid the Shard fall into the wrong hands and keep him from going home. Back to a world where he's the prey instead of the predator. I pulled my hand away and went back to the other side of the bed, the sheets chilly from my absence, but I welcomed the cold. Anything to shock my system and remind me he cared nothing about me.

"Say something."

"What do you want me to say? I get it. It was an accident, and I'm sure things will go smoothly over the next two days as we make our way to Synod."

"I promise you they will."

"Awesome." I flopped on the pillow and winced. Hard and flat. A winning combination. Staring at the ceiling, I finally said, "I have one question."

"What?"

"Why are you so eager to go back? It can't be just the shortened lifespan."

"Why not?"

Propping up on my elbows, I fixed him with a hard stare. "Because you seem like the kind of man who values quality over quantity. Surely, it's better to die free than go back and live for centuries as a slave. So, you're leaving something out, or you're not the man I thought you were."

"You don't know me at all."

He stood and dragged his t-shirt over his head, and the biting retort I'd planned curdled on my tongue as my brain short-circuited. There was no doubt the gods intervened in his creation. How else would he have such perfect abs or the most delicious v that disappeared below his pants? Not even the scars on his flesh subtracted from his beauty, and I was so mesmerized by the vision before me, I didn't protest as he slid beneath the covers next to me. But once his sculpted body disappeared, I snapped back to reality.

Shrieking, I jerked away as his arm brushed against mine. "Excuse me. There is a couch you can sleep on."

Eyes closed, he replied. "I checked it while you were in the shower. I think something died on it."

"You are not sleeping in this bed with me."

"Are you proposing we do other things?" His eyes opened slightly and icy blue glittered at me between the slits. My lady bits pulsed, all too eager to be on the receiving end of his attentions again, but even though he'd healed my bruises, my memory of the incident in the car was just enough to keep me strong.

"Stop with the Erosi magic. I know what you're doing."

In between one blink and the next, Cian rolled over the top of me, pinning me between his thighs while he dragged my hands over my head, forcing my body to arch so my breasts were practically in his face, and his cock rubbed against my heated center. A whimper pushed past my lips, only the sheerest force of will stopping me from forming actual words that begged him to fuck me.

"Bria, if I had planned on using that kind of magic on you, I would've already done it. I told you earlier that I desired you, and I didn't lie. But I do not believe in using it to force myself on women. So whatever desire you're feeling right now. That's all you."

He released my hands and slid his down my arms, over my sides, and settled on my hips. Lifting me slightly, he ground down and hit the sensitive bundle of flesh between my legs, making me cry out. Then he rolled off me, reached over to turn off the lamp, and settled into his pillow. I laid there in the dark for several long minutes, urging my breath to return to normal, all the while debating on sliding my hands beneath my underwear to finish what he started.

"Don't."

I snatched my hand away. He hadn't moved.

"You're a bastard."

"I never said I wasn't," he said, his words an echo of our conversation in the car before all hell broke loose. "And Bria—"

"What?" I snapped, punching my pillow, which did absolutely nothing to make it more comfortable.

"If we end up in a situation tomorrow like we ended up today, do not run again."

"Or what," I muttered. "Need I remind you I saved your ass? I would've escaped otherwise." It didn't matter that he healed just fine with no help from me.

"You don't want to find out."