His wings tucked back and then disappeared as he handed the baggie to me. “It just...feels weird to say that.”

I took the bag, trying not to cringe. “You have two swords and can tell if a person is a good or bad dude. Why do you have to be so special?”

That got a smile out of him before he turned to pick up the shirt he’d draped over the couch. My gaze fixed on the raised imprint of his wings, and I thought about what Layla had said when she saw my aura. It was both pure white and pure black.

Good and...what? Bad? Layla had said that the darker the shade of the aura meant more sin, but she’d never seen a human with a black aura.

Holding the bagged feather, which felt like I was holding a finger or something, I watched him pull the shirt on and tug it into place. When he faced me, I opened my mouth and the question sort of spewed out of me. “What do you feel when you focus on me? What is my intention?”

“Other than to drive me crazy?” he asked, tucking the sides of his hair back.

I nodded. “Other than that.”

“I don’t know. I haven’t tried to find out. Not on you or the others when they were here. It doesn’t seem right to do so for no reason.”

I stared at him and then sighed.

“What?”

“Why do you have to be so good? I would be peeking at everyone’s soul every chance I got.”

He chuckled as he dipped his head and kissed me. “Let’s head out and take care of this feather thing.”

Lips tingling from the brief contact, I trailed after him. He picked up his keys from the island, where he’d last dropped them, and stopped. No one had touched them since then. Holding them in his palm, he stared down at them.

“Are you okay?” I touched his arm.

Clearing his throat, he glanced over at me. “Yeah. I am.” His fingers curled around the keys. “Have you seen my phone, by the way?”

I shook my head. “It was...it was on you that night. I haven’t seen it since.”

“I bet Nic or Dez has it, then. They would’ve been the ones to gather up my...personal belongings. I guess they didn’t think of bringing it with them when they came by. Probably because they...”

I knew where he was going with that. They probably feared Zayne hadn’t returned to them and bringing his belongings would somehow jinx everything. Clutching the baggie to my chest, I asked, “Does it feel weird? Thinking about having died? Okay. That’s a lame question. Obviously it has to feel weird.”

“It does.” He took my hand in his. “Especially when I think about the fact my body would’ve done the whole dust thing and yet I’m here.”

I shivered. “Same. That messes with my head and it’s not even my body.”

“So, let’s not dwell on that, okay?”

“I can do that.” I squeezed his hand as we stepped into the elevator.

We reached the garage in record time, and when he saw his Impala, he looked like me when I saw a cheeseburger.

He placed his palm on the trunk, sliding it across the smooth metal as he walked us to the passenger door. I could make out a grin in the dim, yellowing light of the garage, something I knew I wouldn’t have been able to see before.

“Do you want some time alone?” I offered as his hand glided over the back door. “You know, in case you want to make out with your car in private.”

Zayne laughed as he opened the passenger door. “Get in.”

“Bossy.” I glanced down at where he held my hand. “You’re going to have to let go.”

“I know.”

My brows lifted. “Before we can get into the car.”

“I know,” he repeated, but this time, he lowered his mouth to mine as his other hand curled around the nape of my neck. It was a deep and fierce kiss, sending a rolling wave of heat through me. I wondered if he could devour me with just one kiss. I was so willing to engage in a little public indecency and find out, right here, in the parking garage. But he lifted his head, nipping at my lower lip in a way that sent a curling motion through my stomach.

“Goodness,” I whispered as he let go of my hand. “You’re really happy to see your car, aren’t you?”

“After we deal with the Crone, how about we find out?” he suggested.

A flutter moved from my chest to my stomach and then lower. “I am so okay with that.”

“Then let’s get this over with as quick as possible.”

I all but threw myself into the passenger seat. Letting the bagged feather rest in my lap, I buckled myself up as Zayne climbed in behind the wheel. He took a moment, checking the rearview mirror, gripping the steering wheel and straightening the visor before turning the key. The engine purred to life, and the smile that broke out across his face caused my heart to squeeze.

Shifting the gears into Reverse, he looked over at me. “Where’s your sunglasses?”

“Lost them.”

“Again?”

“Again.”

“Man, we’re going to have to start ordering them in bulk.”

“So I can start losing them in bulk?”

“Maybe we need to get a sunglasses subscription service for you, then.” He reached over, opening the glove department. He pulled out a pair of silver aviator-style sunglasses. “These aren’t that dark, but they’ll work until we can get you another pair.”

“Thank you.” I took the sunglasses and slipped them on. “How do I look? Badass?”

“Beautiful.” He backed the Impala out. “And badass.”

My smile was so big I was sure I looked like the biggest dweeb known to man, and the smile pretty much remained there as we drove to the Hotel Witchy. We chatted about Peanut and made plans to stop by the Warden compound to retrieve his phone after we made a pit stop at a drugstore...to purchase a pregnancy test for the first time in my life.