"What the hell did you let her do to me?""She was trying to save your life. The Dark Ones--""She is a Dark Spawn. Damn it, I never should have trusted her. Or you, a child stupid enough to think a Dark One can be your friend. I--""She may be dead because of you, my lord." Mila thrust hard against him, but of course he didn't budge. "Because of me. Because I brought her into this. She led the Dark Ones away from us.""Perhaps that's what she wants you to think." He had no patience for her feelings right now. With disgust, he released her and managed to make it to his feet this time, though he had to fight the desire to lie back down. Because his voice was hoarse, he cleared it twice before he got the words out. "What did she do to me?""You're human." She flinched at his expression. "It's only temporary. At dusk, your true form will return. Until . . ." She bit it off and looked away. "It will return at dusk."His eyes narrowed. Gods, his head felt like someone was pounding a mallet

His hand slid up, his thumb finding her nipple and making her moan softly. Closing his eyes, he forced himself to focus. Goddess, it was as if he hadn't sated his lust in eons. What was it about her? Rationally, he knew it could be something the witch had done. But his heart knew differently, for an angel's heart knew truth."I'm off balance, because despite all that, I'm enthralled by the way your hair lies on your shoulders, how anger flashes in your eyes like heat lightning. The flush of your cheeks, the way your nipples have hardened against that thin shirt just from my barest touch." He folded his hand around her throat and cheek, tucked her head under his chin, and let sensuality give way to comfort.When Mila let out a resigned sigh, coiled her arms around his upper body, he felt that curious relief again. "I'm angry, because in the midst of all these things, I want you. So I strike out at your desire for me, so new and clean. It's beautiful, Anna, a miraculous gift to any male

She'd wanted to see his face for more than that brief glimpse. Did he fear what she would see? Beauty and the Beast was one of her favorite fairy tales, because an empath could see it all. The monster beneath the flesh, no matter how beautiful the mask. The beauty of the soul, no matter the disfigurement. But she hadn't wanted to assess the balance within him. She'd needed to look into his eyes for a reason she couldn't define, but it had been all-consuming. If she'd seen the darkness in him outweighing the light, would she have clung to him anyway, because he needed her? It was a desperation that went deeper into the soul than even she'd ever delved. Down to the dark, frightening places where children screamed but no mother came, pain and fear were the air one breathed, and the earth had no magic beneath the soles of the feet."Isaac?"A warm light had spread over her skin. She raised her gaze to her father's dark eyes. Apparently when she hadn't responded right away, he'd intensifie