His arms tightened around her as soon as he felt her pulling away. He expected it; the shocked look on her face said it all – and James was perceptive if anything else. Dark green eyes watched her face intently even as his tongue whirred its own engine, flapping away on some of the harder hitting truths in his life. Most of it was concern. Fear. The knowledge that what he had gathered close in his grasp was still frail as a precious glass vase. If dropped too hard from his tenuous grasp, it would shatter into pieces around him. But the well of emotion that had rose up inside like the tide was also a fragile thing, lapping at them both at the neck, and threatening to rise higher to try and drown them both.<br/><br/>His hand dropped from around her shoulders to around her waist when she pulled herself up to look down at him. His worry he hid behind a sardonic grin, his other arm shifting to prop himself up on his own bicep as she fought to hide the shock on her face when he made this last<i>big reveal</i>about Mia.<br/><br/>“I wasn't supposed to be able to have children – genetically anyway. Not after everything that I've been through. I was tested a few times over the 20th and 21st centuries; science says more than anything: I'm sterile. I've fucked with my own genetic make up enough that my sperm count is too low. So the fact that my daughter even exists is a mix of magic and mathematics. Or just the product of another fucked up magical science experiment between two adults trying to figure out how to 'fix' me. Amata – the mother – tried to heal what damage my immortality had wrought on my body, but I suppose neither of us thought to bag it up when we...” He wiggled his brows teasingly at her, trying to make light of the situation at hand, while the sentence finished itself.<br/><br/>And then so unexpectedly Lane moved forward to land that kiss on his mouth. It was his turn to hide the surprise on his face. He did that by sliding his arm from underneath his head to snare her around the waist, pulling her down suddenly to crush her against his chest. And while her lips wound softly on his, he danced his hand up the small of her back until his fingers cradled the nape of her neck, massaging the muscles even as his tongue prodded between her lips to taste her. “Mmmm...”<br/><br/>He didn't let her pull back so fast. As soon as he felt her head move away from his, he leaned into her even more, his lips parted to mold against hers, demanding. It was him that dragged his mouth back once his teeth had scraped her lower lip, tugging it gently until it popped free. His heart jerked in his chest when his hand freed her neck from his hold to slide up into the silky locks of her hair. His eyes danced when they focused back up on her face, the smile their kiss left behind on his face tender.<br/><br/>“You know, I could get used to that,” he growled lightly.<br/><br/>It was her next words that had him shifting up on the bed, his expression conflicted with a mixture of emotion. At first, his lips parted like he was going to protest her getting so involved, but after careful study of her expression, he nodded solemnly in agreement. “You are a brave soul, Lane Barnes, but don't get too invested that you regret your decision later.” He still didn't deny her. He had already resigned to include the young woman in this endeavor.<i>But he was going to protect her if it was the last thing he did.</i>As gray as the man was, putting people in the line of danger was not in his agenda. Especially not someone like Lane.<br/><br/>“And right now, we don't have to worry about<i>smiting</i>anything. The only thing that we have to worry about right now...” He grinned wolfishly, eyes darkening as his hands slid up her body. His arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her halfway on top of him as he fell back on the bed, his head tilting to steal a kiss.