Jared’s eyes sympathized with my reaction, and he pulled my chair closer to him, leaning over to kiss my forehead. “I suppose I didn’t think through the consequences of promising absolute truth. I don’t want you to be afraid, Nina. I would never let anything happen to you.”

I took a deep breath and put on a brave face for him. “I know,” I shook my head, “there is so much that I don’t understand.”

“You have more questions?” he asked, ready for the next barrage of inquiries.

I looked at my watch. It was almost midnight. “I’m not sure I can get them all in tonight.”

“You have somewhere to be?”

“No. I assumed you wanted to sleep sometime. You do sleep, don’t you?”

Jared smiled. “I do. But I don’t require as much…just a few hours to recharge. Claire and I take shifts.” He sighed and touched my arm. “I owe you another apology. I hadn’t slept long—about twenty minutes when Claire called to inform me that you wandered out of town and were stranded on a dark road. She was prepared to let you wait, but I couldn’t just let you sit in the cold. I’m sorry I was so…abrupt.”

“Cranky when tired…check,” I nodded once.

Relief brightened Jared’s face. “This is surreal. I’ve dreamed about how I would tell you for years, and now it’s done.”

“And here I sit, in front of my half-angel Hybrid boyfriend eating cake. I think I win.”

Three lines appeared on Jared’s forehead when his eyebrows shot up. “Oh. It’s boyfriend, now, is it?”

I swallowed hard, feeling the heat radiate from my face. I picked up my wine glass and took a large gulp.

“Are you okay?” Jared asked, concerned.

“I’m fine. I just…I didn’t mean…ugh!” I moaned, covering my eyes with one hand.

“Nina,” he chided, “as if I’m not thrilled beyond words at that idea.” Jared pulled my hand from my face. “What could you possibly have to be embarrassed about?”

“Just…forget I said anything, okay?” I said sheepishly.

“Absolutely not,” he smiled.

I involuntarily yawned, using the back of my fingers to cover my open mouth.
“I should take you home,” he said.

“I don’t want to go home. I still have questions,” I argued, wiping the inevitable tears that followed.

“We have a long, long time for Q and A, sweetheart,” he said, tucking my hair behind my ear. I smiled, realizing why he always seemed to pull my hair from my face the moment it crossed my mind.

I yawned again, but stubbornly shook my head. “The cut on your face?”

Jared touched it with two of his fingers. “There are pro’s and con’s to being what my father’s world calls Half-breeds.”

I wrinkled my nose at the word. “Sounds derogatory to me.”