He took a step toward her and she squeaked, putting more distance between them.
"I injected him with ichor," she said quickly.
Zarek was stunned. Ichor was a mineral found in the blood of the gods that was said to make them immortal.
"What about his Dark-Hunter powers?" Acheron asked.
"Those I gave to him separately, along with the fangs and such so that you wouldn't realize he wasn't like the others."
Acheron gave her a tired, repugnant stare. "Oh, I know I'm going to hate the answer for this one. But I have to know. What about the sunshine, Artemis? Since he has his soul my guess is he was never banished from daylight, was he?"
The look on her face confirmed it.
"You bitch!" Zarek snarled, rushing toward her.
To his surprise, it was Acheron who stopped him from reaching her.
"Let me go. I want to rip her throat out!"
Astrid pulled him back. "Leave her alone, Zarek. She has her own problems."
Zarek hissed at Artemis, baring his fangs.
Fangs that instantly vanished.
Zarek ran his tongue over his human teeth.
"A gift," Acheron said.
Zarek calmed a degree and then even more when he realized Astrid had her arms wrapped around his waist. Her front was tight against his back so that he could feel her breasts against his spine.
Closing his eyes, he savored the feel of her.
"You are free of Artemis, Zarek," Astrid said in his ear. "You've been judged innocent and you're immortal. Tell me, what do you want to do with the rest of eternity?"
"I want to go lie on the beach someplace warm."
Astrid's heart caught at his words. She'd foolishly thought he would say something about her.
"I see."
"But most of all," he said, turning in her arms to face her, "I want to piss off everyone."
"Everyone?" she asked, her heart breaking even more.
"Yeah," he said, granting her a rare smile. "The way I figure it, if I leave you, only me and you are unhappy. If I take you with me, everyone but us is pissed, especially that mangy thing you call a wolf. That has serious appeal for me."
She arched a brow at that. "If you're trying to woo me with that one, Prince Charming, you've-"
He stopped her words with a kiss so supreme that her toes curled. Her heart pounded.
Zarek nipped her lips, then pulled back to stare down at her. "Come away with me, Astrid."
"Why should I?"
His gaze burned into hers. "Because I love you, and even if I'm lying on the sun itself I'll be freezing there without you. I need my star so that I can hear laughter."
Laughing with excitement, she gave him an "Eskimo" kiss. "Bora Bora, here we come."