He grinned as he kissed her. He loved it when she teased him. When she laughed. It was happening more and more as time passed.

“You’re my hope too, you know.”

He paused. “What?”

“What was I before I met you?” she asked. “Lonely. Lost. Never fitting in anywhere. Ruining any relationship I tried to have.”

“Human men would never have been good for you.” A sudden spike of jealousy. No other man would touch her. Not as he did. His mate belonged to him alone. He picked her up and carried her to the bed.

“I know that now.”

She let him roll over her, strip her clothing off so that he could feast on her. Breasts. Knees. Thighs. He bit the soft swell of flesh on her belly. No inch of her body was safe from his ravening mouth.

And she coaxed him with her words.

“I love your mouth,” she whispered. “Love what you do to me. No one has ever made me feel like you do.”

“Ava—”

“I was so lost without you.” Her voice choked on the words. “So lost, Malachi. Only my dreams kept me sane.”

He groaned and pressed his mouth to her breast, turning his head to listen to her pounding heart. To her, he had been gone. A painful memory. But to him, she had been a siren. His only touchstone in a world that made no sense. And he could only hold her in dreams.

Now she was real. With him. Not a dream. Not a memory.

Ava was everything.

“Come here.” She pulled at his clothes, as hungry as he was. “I need you.”

And when they made love, she dug her fingers into his shoulders. Anchoring him in their joined flesh, even as his magic flared. Reached for hers. He could see the glowing silver talesm on his arms.

“Sing to me,” he whispered in her ear as they moved together. “Sing for me, Ava.”

She remained silent, but he felt the curl of her magic wake, and her mating marks flickered in awareness.

“Canım,” he said.

“Malachi.” Her hands tightened in his hair.

“My hope, Ava. You are my hope.”

THEY rented a scooter the next day, climbing up the hills of the Italian Riviera where Jasper Reed had rented a secluded house. They told no one they were coming, and Malachi only hoped that the man who had disappointed Ava so many times would not do so again. It would pain his mate, and Malachi would be hard-pressed not to vent his anger on the human.

Ava leaned against his back, her cheek pressed against his shoulder as they drove over the twisting roads. The sun shone down on them, despite the bite of cold in the air. It was Italy, but it was still winter, and clouds were gathered on the horizon. But Ava had wanted to rent a scooter instead of a car, and he had indulged her.

The address Max had given them led them past a small village and up another steep hill. They came to a gate on the road with the number of the house. He could see it at the top of the hill. Ava opened an unlocked gate and began to climb. A steep fall of stairs cut into the hillside brought them to another gate, this one guarded by a solid man Malachi guessed was American. His stance said professional; his bearing spoke of experience. He was younger than Malachi but would be a reasonably skilled opponent if he were not human.

“Hey, Ruben,” she said, her voice a little breathless from the climb.

“Ava.” The guard’s tone offered surprise, even if his eyes were invisible behind dark sunglasses. “I didn’t know—”

“Yeah, I know I’m a surprise. You gonna let me in, or do I have to call him?”

“I…” Ruben hesitated, but then his shoulders relaxed a fraction and he opened the door. He glanced at Malachi, gave him a little nod, then turned back to Ava and took off his glasses. “He’s not expecting company.”

Malachi noted that he’d been assessed and filed away as Ava’s bodyguard. It was incredibly strange to be among humans who just expected to have armed men following them around for security.

“Really?” Ava raised an eyebrow. “He’s not expecting company?”

Ruben sighed. “Okay, he’s not expecting his daughter. You know how he is. Ava, I wish…”

Malachi realized, quite suddenly, that this bodyguard was more than familiar with Ava. That he actually cared about her.

The guard had probably known her for years. He might even live in her father’s household. Did she consider him a friend? They might have traveled together. Eaten together. How strange to live and travel with people you employed. Were they friends? Was true friendship possible when one was employer and the other employee? The thought added a new layer of loneliness to Ava’s history.

“I know how he is, Ruben.” She brushed a hand along the human’s arm. “It’s fine. Is Luis here?”

“Not right now. Went into town to do some stuff. There’s no Internet up here.”

“I bet he loves that,” she muttered. “Do me a favor and don’t call Luis, okay?”

Ruben’s tone was pleading. “Ava…”

“Fine.” She sighed. “Call your boss so you don’t get fired. Is Jasper alone?”

“Right now? Yeah.”

“No girls expected?”

Ruben shook his head. “Not until later.”

“Got it.” She took his hand. “This is Malachi. He’s with me.”

Ruben examined him with newly suspicious eyes.

That’s right, human. I am much more than her bodyguard.

“Hey.” He held out a hand. “I’m Ruben.”

“Malachi.” They shook hands, and Malachi was relieved the human didn’t do the idiot measuring hand squeeze. That never ended well for humans. He did, however, make a point of meeting Malachi’s eyes. The threat was unspoken but clear. The man considered Ava his responsibility.

They stared at each other until Ava said, “And it appears we all have plenty of testosterone. Ruben, let go. Malachi’s my… boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend?” Ruben was definitely surprised. He dropped Malachi’s hand and stepped back.

“I really don’t like that word,” Malachi said.

“What should I call you? My lover? Husband? Ma—”

“Boyfriend is fine.” He squeezed her hand, glanced at Ruben, then nudged her toward the door. “Don’t you need to see your father?”

“You’re so cute when you’re annoyed,” Ava said lightly, and he could read the tension in her voice. She was nervous and trying to hide it.

“Come on.” He let go of her hand and put a steadying arm around her waist. “Ruben, where can we find Jasper?”

The guard’s keen eyes flipped between them, but he said, “Probably out in the gardens.”

“Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

Malachi let her guide them up another set of stairs, this one shorter than the last. When they walked through the last gate, the garden opened up to a graveled walkway lined with olive trees interspersed with flower-filled urns. Ava didn’t stop to admire the view but went straight up the path, heading for the large house he could see towering over the gardens.

They passed the front door and the covered patio beside it, still following the path to the side of the house where he could hear the faint sounds of a guitar and the recognizable voice of one the most celebrated human musicians.

Jasper Reed was known for performing rock and roll, blues, and American folk music, but he’d collaborated with classical musicians and even written scores for movies. He was, without a doubt, one of the most gifted human musicians of his age. And when they finally rounded the corner and came upon him, Malachi knew his talent wasn’t merely rumor.

The man sat on a low bench, guitar in his lap, several empty coffee cups on the table in front of him along with an overflowing ashtray. Several of the domestic staff watched him from a shaded doorway, one smoking, two whispering, but all of them with rapt eyes on the man.

Reed appeared to be in his forties, but Malachi knew he had to be older in human years. Dark hair like Ava’s. A classically handsome, unlined face. And a soft voice laden with a practiced breathy rasp.