“That poor child,” she breathed.
“Laylah, don’t,” Tane murmured, brushing a comforting kiss over her furrowed brow. “For now there’s nothing we can do but protect Maluhia and trust that Jaelyn will eventually send word of her whereabouts. Once we have Ariyal in custody he should be able to locate his missing kin.”
Laylah sighed. So many ifs.
If Jaelyn was still with Ariyal. If the Sylvermyst could be forced to reveal the location of his fellow fey. If Sergei was still with the crazed Tearloch. If the babe was still …
She grimly forced away her gnawing concern. Tane was right. For now there was nothing they could do.
Instead she turned her thoughts to a suspicion that had been nibbling at the edge of her mind.
“Was it just me, or was there a weird vibe between Jaelyn and Ariyal?”
Tane grimaced. “That bastard would give anyone a weird vibe.” “I’m serious.”
He shrugged, his expression revealing his opinion of the handsome, overly arrogant Sylvermyst. “Jaelyn is a hunter.”
Laylah lifted her brows. “What does that mean?”
“She’s been hired to capture the Sylvermyst.” He shrugged. “She won’t let anyone interfere in her duty.”
She shook her head at his smooth confidence. Typical of a male to miss what was beneath his nose.
Lifting her hand, she trailed her fingers down the length of his stubborn jaw.
“I seem to remember you saying something remarkably similar,” she teased. “Nothing would be allowed to interfere in your duty.”
Grabbing her hand, he pressed her fingers to his lips. “I discovered there are some things more important than duty.”
She smiled at the hunger that smoldered in the honey eyes.
“Should I guess what things?”
With a swift motion, Laylah found herself lying flat on her back, Tane’s large body pressing her into the soft mattress. Gently he framed her face in his hands, his expression so tender it made her heart ache.
“You, Laylah,” he said, his voice husky. “You and Maluhia. There’s nothing in the world more important than you and I will devote the rest of my life to your happiness.”
A ridiculous flood of tears filled her eyes at his soft words. Damn. It was so … girly.
“Oh.”
Tane stiffened. “Why are you crying?”
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, anxious to reassure him.
“I’ve hidden from the world for so long that I lost hope that I would ever find a place to fit in, let alone that someone would ever love me,” she confessed.
“I love you with a desperation that terrifies me at times.” With a low groan he buried his face in the curve of her neck. “If anything ever happened to you…”
“Nothing is going to happen to me,” she hastily interrupted. She adored this vampire, but she was wise enough to realize he would have her and Maluhia living in a virtual prison if she allowed it. “We’ve already proven we can survive whatever fate throws at us.”
“I suppose you have a point,” he grudgingly conceded, his lips stroking down the neckline of her flimsy excuse of a nightgown.
Laylah shivered, her back arching in silent encouragement. “Besides, our days of adventure are at an end. From now on you, I, and Maluhia are going to live in secluded peace.”
With an ease that never failed to astonish Laylah, Tane had her nightgown tugged over her head and flying across the room. It had barely hit the floor before he had her breasts cupped in his hands and his thumbs teasing her nipples to tight buds of need.
Now that was the kind of skill a woman could appreciate.
“Hardly secluded considering the menagerie of vampires, Weres, Shalotts, Oracles, and occasional goddesses that wander through this lair,” he said dryly.
She slowly smiled, a warmth she never thought to experience easing the bitterness that had plagued her for so long.
“Our family.”
His lips twisted. “A strange and dysfunctional family.”
“The best families always are,” she said.
If Marika had taught her nothing else, it was that sharing blood didn’t mean a damn thing.
“Hmmm.” His head lowered to flick his tongue over her straining nipple. “If you say so.”
For a minute Laylah was lost in the sheer pleasure of his touch. When she was in Tane’s arms the world disappeared and nothing mattered but the storm of sensations that consumed them both. Then the lingering thought of families had her tugging Tane’s head up to meet her worried gaze.
“Speaking of families.”
“I’m fairly certain we weren’t speaking,” he growled, his fangs flashing and his eyes smoldering. “Has Uriel contacted you?”
He smothered his impatience, able to sense her genuine concern. Her mother might be a virtual stranger, but she was anxious to have her rescued.
“Not in the past few days, but don’t worry, he won’t give up until he has rescued your mother and brought her to you. Uriel is …”
She frowned as his words came to an abrupt halt.
“What?”