Page 49 of Hers to Keep

Serena had clearly convinced him somehow, but he had never mentioned what happened to her mother afterwards.It was as if they had made an agreement between them not to discuss her.

He ran a hand along her spine, seeking to reassure her.“Yes.She wanted to disappear after escaping your father, so I helped her do that.I know where she is, if you’d like to contact her.”

Mari let out a long sigh.She’d been so angry with her mother for abandoning her for so long.All of those unkind things she’d thought about her mother over the years weighed on her.But like so many hard truths in life, the reality was more complicated than a hurt teenage girl could understand.“I’d like to talk to her in person.”

“I can bring her to Las Vegas, but I’m not sure that’s a good idea right now.”

She’d thought that, with Basilio dead, there was no longer any threat to Serena.What wasn’t she seeing?“Why would she be unsafe?”

He pulled back to look down at her, his expression serious.“It has to do with who your father is.”

Mari jolted in his arms.Nothing in the goddess’s memories pointed to who it might be, but Ashdei clearly knew.“Who is it?”

He shook his head and looked unhappy about having to deliver this news.“The Forest Lord.They had to harness a god to create a god, and he was one they already knew how to summon from when they had banished him.I don’t know if he’d remember your mother’s role in what happened, but we do know he holds a grudge.”

She sat still, completely stunned.She was the daughter of the Old One?The origin of all the paranormals on Earth?“He doesn’t know about me?”

“I don’t think so, or he would have been much more interested in you from the start.”

“I’m assuming that wouldn’t be for a father-daughter bonding outing?”

Ashdei let out a dry chuckle.“I don’t know the specific details, but I imagine the ritual that created you was unpleasant for him.”

“Because why should anything about my past have been pleasant, even that.”

Ashdei stroked her hair with one hand.“I have firsthand knowledge that a great many things about you are pleasing.I think I need to remind you.”He turned with her in his arms until she was on her back and he rested easily over her.

She laughed when he bent to kiss her neck.“Are you trying to distract me?”

“Yes.And I was promised a taste of you that I intend to collect on.”He nipped lightly on her throat, making her shiver.

“We need to finish this conversation.”

“Of course,” he murmured into her skin.“Whatever my beloved wants.”

Prompted by his position over her, memories of the ritual rose in her mind, making her skin heat.He’d taken such care in those fleeting moments between them.He’d beenso gentlewith her, even though the goddess had craved the violent intensity that was her nature.

“The ritual was not unpleasant.”

He rose slightly, his expression becoming serious.“You sound surprised by that.”

“I’ve been terrified of what the memories of that moment might hold ever since.”She touched his face.“You stood your ground against her when she wanted more.”

“I didn’t know you wouldn’t have access to those memories.I didn’t want you to come back and be scared or think that I’d wronged you.”He looked down at her with such tenderness that she ached.

Mari ran her fingers through his hair.“I want your mouth on me.Right now.”

His lips quirked.“What about our conversation?”

“We’ll finish it later.”

He nodded and then slid slowly down her body until he knelt on the grassy floor of the grove.She resisted when he tried to part her thighs, just to see the plea in his eyes when he glanced up at her.With an indulgent smile, she knotted her fingers in his luxuriant hair and tugged.

His mouth opened in a wordless gasp.Having this powerful creature on his knees in front of her made her feel untamed and wild.“Show me your true form.”

Blue fire erupted around him, singeing the greenery under her but leaving her completely unharmed.He grew and changed: horns erupted from his head, fiery wings unfurled behind him, and blue markings of his magic glowed in his skin.

“You’re so beautiful,” she said, as she looked him over again in wonder.

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