My face hit the hard ground. Darius landed on top of me before quickly rolling off. I jerked around, staring wide-eyed at the horizontal line in the sky. The gate.

We’d made it.

“Holy—” I sucked in a breath, relief flooding through me. “Crap.”

His hand moved over mine. “Yes. We made it.”

We took a moment to just breathe, but all too soon, reality returned. We had gotten through, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t come after us. Did it? “Should we run? Will they come through?”

“I don’t know, but let’s err on the side of caution. Unless it is day in the Brink. I’ve lost all sense of time.”

I was up and running before he was. We didn’t worry about passing any wide-eyed creatures, and we didn’t. Soon enough, the black of the sky leading to the gate melted into the burnt orange of night. It would be night in the Brink. Thank all that was holy.

A while later, we stood at the gate. Adrenaline surged through me. My heart raced. Laughter bubbled up.

I stepped through first, waited for Darius, and then threw my arms around him. My laugher grew louder as Darius turned to me. He stroked my face. A small smile curved his full lips and his honeyed eyes sparkled. “We made it.”

A tear squeezed out. I took his hand. Yes, we had. Miracle of miracles, we had accomplished the impossible, and made it back in one piece.

Chapter Thirty-One

The next day, I rubbed at my sandy eyes and wiggled a little closer to Darius. We’d headed straight to his house in the French Quarter, and I’d barely found the energy to climb up the stairs. We had gone straight to bed. No food, no canoodling, just sleep.

I glanced over at the clock and did the thinking equivalent of scratching my head. Could that be right?

It had been nearly twenty-four hours since we’d hit the bed. Holy crap.

I ran a hand across Darius’s defined chest, relishing in his heat, in the steady beating of his heart, which I felt in his chest and through the bond. I had made it out because of him. Hell, I’d made it in because of him. He’d been right: I had needed him. Without question. He had just the right amount of knowledge, ability to strategize, intelligence, and daring to shine down there.

I was really lucky.

And really horny. The jaunt through the lust sect hadn’t completely left my system. A lot of the underworld hadn’t completely left my system. There were parts I actually missed. That I’d like to visit again. I hadn’t expected that. I hadn’t expected the peaceful feeling in some areas, and the adrenaline rush in others. I hadn’t expected to belong so well.

It was not meant to be. My home was here. In safety. With Darius.

I let my hand trail over his six-pack and under the covers, then slid my palm against his velvety skin. He breathed out and turned his head to me. I claimed his lips while stroking. He reached for me, pulling me tightly against him.

I threw a leg over his hips and straddled him.

“I enjoy waking up to you,” he said, pushing his hips upward. I moaned into his kiss, rubbing against him until he was ready, then pausing so we could properly line up.

“Me too,” I said.

I fell into his kiss. The feel of him.

Sitting down was bliss, flipping my stomach and eliciting a long moan. I moved against him. A fervor came over me, and I needed him in a way I couldn’t put into words.

His hands drifted up my chest and cupped my breasts, teasing my nipples as I swirled my hips. A moment later, he lowered a hand to below my stomach, working me to a fever pitch with his tricky fingers.

I let my head fall back with a loud moan. This felt ten times better since the bonding. Magnified from our normal lovemaking.

On the edge, my body gloriously tight, I squeezed my eyes shut. An explosion of sensation rocked me, making me cry out. He shuddered a moment later, crushing me to his chest.

After taking a moment to come down, I asked, “Do you need to feed?”

“Yes. After you eat?”

“Sounds great. How long do I have you for?”

“Eternity.”

“No, I mean, until you have to work. I assume you missed a lot of…whatever it is you do.”

He slid his hands down my back and to my butt. He lifted me away and then immediately pulled me back, ready for more. “I have no idea, since I don’t know how long we were down there, but I will make time for you, Reagan. I will always make time for you.”

I didn’t mention that he was a vampire, and really had nothing but time. It was a nice sentiment. I didn’t want to ruin the moment for once.

He thrust into me, lighting up my senses. Then again, so deep and right. Faster and faster he moved, pulling me down as he pushed up. My body wound up, gloriously tight. Wetter than normal.

I frowned at that stray thought, but it wouldn’t shake loose. Half of me soaked in the delicious feel of him. Of the emotion attached to this action. Of our love. But the other half of my brain realized something wasn’t the same. It reminded me of sex with a human…somehow.

An orgasm hit me, making me clench my teeth. More hot wetness invaded my thoughts.

Something was definitely different.

“We need to eat,” I said, moving off him as I tried to identify what was weird.

“What is the mat—” He cut off, staring down at himself.

I followed his gaze before checking my lady bits with my fingertips. “Is that what I think it is?”

He went unnaturally still.

I touched the gooey stuff. Stuff that vampires shouldn’t be able to produce. “I am really glad I haven’t stopped the birth control, or I would be freaking out right now. But is that for real? Did you ejaculate?”

He sat up slowly. “How is this possible?”

Something the red demon had said smacked into me. I repeated it with perfect recall, since my memory was freaking awesome now. “We do not need any more of your half-breeds.” I shook my head. “Does that mean what I think it means? Is Lucifer closing the gates to keep species like you from breeding naturally within the magic down there?”

Darius’s face came around, his eyes shining. “I’m not sure. Hindering the reproduction of magical species would certainly weaken their power. If we hadn’t discovered the unicorns, vampires would be slowly dying out. That would please the elves. I’m not sure how it would affect Lucifer. But Ja didn’t mention it. This could be another effect of the bond. And while it seems I can ejaculate, that doesn’t mean I can produce offspring. I must do more research. Track down and talk to older vampires.”

“Yes. Track down people and ask questions, because we are not doing research using reproductive Russian roulette, I’ll tell you that much. I can barely keep myself safe. No way am I bringing kids into the mix.”

Darius stared at me for a long moment, the emotion overflowing in his eyes. I threw up a hand and hopped off the bed. “Don’t tell me what you’ve always wanted and didn’t think you could have. I don’t want to know. What I do want is food. Lots and lots of food.”

I was back to ruining the moment.

Darius let the matter drop, thankfully. Because while it was a very big deal to him, it was a return to normality for me. I’d dated a few humans, after all. I knew how the birds and the bees worked. I just didn’t need them working on me, now or probably ever. Not with the life I lived. The possibility that he could reproduce, as strange as it was, didn’t change anything. Except cleanup.

The next few days we didn’t do much but eat, sleep, make love, and avoid calling the dual mages, because I was a huge coward. Callie was going to kill me. I did send them a note saying I was okay and I’d meet them soon for an in-person apology and thank-you, which I hoped to walk away from alive.

I shivered. No, I was not looking forward to that meetup.

It turned out we had been in the underworld for four days. Always moving, often fighting, and no sleep for four days. No wonder I was done in.

Finally, after five days of recuperation in Darius’s residence, where I was waited on hand and foot by a very surly Moss, I was ready to head home. I wanted to resume the life I’d risked my freedom for. I wanted my own space.

The town car stopped in front of my house and Moss’s eyes flashed into the rearview mirror. He didn’t move to get out.