He Didn't Belong Anywhere

Ian didn't need to deal with this hassle. He knew Venethan better than anyone else here—or at least had eight hundred years ago—and had been around so long that he was rather powerful. He could protect Ava on his own without the interference of those bumbling, overprotective fools. 

It would be much easier to protect her here in his house with magic sensors and a good security system but he had no idea if she would accept that or if her pride and sense of betrayal at his lies of omission would get in the way. Was it even worth it to offer or had he pushed his luck enough already today? It was amazing she agreed to help him at all, despite not in the way he originally wanted. 

He wanted to believe that, given enough opportunity, she would fall in love with him the way she should have in the beginning but that would be impossible if her guard was up all the time. He had to prove that he wasn't the bad guy here.