“I can clean them myself, you know…doesn’t that gross you out?”
I narrowed my eyes at her as I carefully nudged the cotton swab along the bar through her nipple. “I’ve done things for pleasure so disgusting it would make most humans vomit. Cleaning the marks I gave you is far from gross, Rae.”
She smirked as I moved to clean the other bar. I had her sitting at the edge of the large tub, her shirt off, a pair of oversized pajamas on her lower half. “Disgusting things, huh? Like what?” Her dark eyes glittered in that mischievous way that set my brain on fire. That playful curiosity drove me wild, just like it had the first time she’d ever snapped back at me.
I was fucked for this girl. Well and truly fucked.
I knew what that feeling was when she’d slept against me last night, limp and exhausted — the ache in my chest, the pain of it so bitterly sweet as I held her. I couldn’t say many things terrified me, but that did. The way I felt when I saw my metal in her, shining on those luxuriously soft, irresistible breasts, terrified me so deeply it almost stopped my breath.
I wasn’t supposed to feel anything for a human. But here I was, willing to risk life and limb for this little hellfire of a woman.
I set aside the saltwater solution and cotton swabs and kissed her left breast, then the right; then her neck, warm and pulsing with blood; then her face, soft and blushing as she giggled. Her laughter made me growl, it ignited an immediate desire to pin her down and play with her until her giggles turned to screams of pleasure.
“Ah, careful, they’re sore!”
It took every scrap of self-control I had to let her up from the edge of the bathtub, then watch her finish undressing and step into the shower. “Keep the curtain open,” I said, leaning back against the sink. “I want to see you.”
My self-control didn’t hold on much longer. I stripped down, and while the soap was still slick on her skin I fucked her against the wall until she breathlessly cried my name, and damn, my name sounded so good when it came from her mouth. She was bent over with her hands against the tile wall, and I reached around to squeeze her face and demanded, “Say my name again, baby girl. Cry for me.”
She did, and fuck, that was heaven.
I ordered her too much food again, but I liked the way her face lit up when she saw all the breakfast plates delivered. She was midway through a plate of thick Belgian waffles piled with peaches when her phone rang, and her eyes narrowed in concern as she looked at the screen.
She glanced up at me, uncertainty on her face. “It’s Victoria.”
I got up from the bed, glaring at her phone as if I could ascertain the Hadleigh woman’s intentions just by looking at it. It rang until it went to voicemail, paused…then began ringing again.
“See what she wants,” I said softly. I wasn’t entirely sure what technologies the Hadleighs had at their disposal — like if they could ascertain our location from a phone call — but it was time to be moving our location anyway. Better to know what lies they were going to attempt to spin now, than to remain in the dark.
Rae managed to put on a shockingly friendly tone as she answered, “Hey, girl! What’s —”
Her face paled, and I could hear Victoria’s voice clearly on the line. “Daddy is dead. It’s done, okay? It’s fucking done.”
“Victoria, what are talking about?” Rae’s eyes were wide as she looked up at me, mouthing, What the fuck? My mind was spinning. Of all the stories I’d expected to hear, this wasn’t it.
“My dad is dead, Raelynn!” Victoria’s voice was choked, breathless; frightened. Why was she frightened? “God, and I’m not even sad about it. What kind of fucking daughter am I?” Then, softly, “What kind of father would kill his child?” A sob, then a bitter laugh. By her cadence and rapid breath, she was walking quickly, nearly running. “It doesn’t matter. None of it fucking matters anymore. I’m not even sorry, Rae, I did what I had to do. We both did.” There was a pause. She was holding her breath.
She was hiding.
“Victoria, I’m so sorry about your dad —”
“Don’t play stupid.” The emotion had gone out of her voice. “You’re not sorry. Neither am I. But it’s done. You and that demon did what you had to do too, didn’t you? Maybe I should thank you.” Another bitter laugh. “Bye, Rae. Honestly, congrats. You survived.”
She hung up. Raelynn stared at the phone in her hand, blinking slowly, processing. What the hell had just happened? By her tone, Victoria wasn’t lying. She wasn’t faking. She was terrified.
“Kent Hadleigh is dead.” Raelynn stared up at me, something like a smile daring to pull at her lips. “He’s…he’s dead. Oh my God. Did you… Was it you?”
“I goddamn wish it was.” I began to pace as I thought. Kent was dead. The Libiri would be in chaos, scrambling for a leader. Vulnerable. And to judge by her words, Victoria thought I was the killer too. They were in the dark; they didn’t even know who was attacking them. “I told you, Kent kept himself protected. It would be difficult for any demon to cause him harm. But Juniper…Juniper could have killed him.”
“Of course! She was at the party.” She grinned, suddenly bouncing out of her chair. “It’s fucking done, Leon! He’s dead!” She threw her arms around me and I flinched, but so did she when her enthusiasm caused her to press her tender piercings against me. Even that didn’t dissuade her. She was smiling, moving her shoulders in that silly dance she did when she was excited.
I wished I could share her enthusiasm.
“I can go back!” She stretched her arms above her head, sighing all the tension out. “I’ve only missed a day of class, I can actually get through this semester and pass!”
But this seemed too easy, too…convenient. I did believe Kent was dead, but I didn’t believe this ended with him.
This wasn’t over. But I didn’t know what was coming next. I didn’t know where the danger lay now.
Who was going to take Kent’s place?
“I’ll call Inaya and tell her I’ll pick up Cheesecake tonight,” Rae said excitedly. I didn’t stop her as she made the call, but taking her back to Abelaum felt too dangerous. It felt too soon. The Libiri couldn’t possibly give up this easily. The Hadleighs were just one family, but they weren’t the only family who put their loyalty in the Deep One.
Or maybe I really didn’t like the idea of Rae no longer needing my protection from them. Maybe I didn’t like the idea of going back to that town that held so many bad memories for me. Maybe I just wanted to take my girl anywhere else in the world but there, and watch her hunt ghosts to her heart’s content, and never have to think about the Libiri again.
Yeah. That was probably fucking it.
“Leon?”
She’d hung up the phone, and was sitting in front of her half-eaten waffles looking suddenly sobered. “Is it…I mean…do you think it’s safe to go back?”
I rubbed a hand over my face. I knew why she wanted to go back. I knew humans got attached to places and things, and that leaving all the sights and smells that had grown comfortable for her was hard. I knew she thought finishing school was important, and I knew she loved that cat. I knew humans did best when they had some semblance of normalcy. Of home. Of safety.
I knew whisking her away and forcing her to leave everything behind wouldn’t work, or that perpetually moving her from hotel to hotel was going to stress her out.
“I don’t know.” That was the most honest answer I could give. “I don’t know what the Libiri will do now that Kent is gone. And with or without the Libiri, the God still wants you.” Fear flickered over her face, and was swallowed down with a heavy gulp. “Its servants will still come after you. The monsters will still stalk you.”
The way her face fell and the way all that tense hope went out of her, felt similar to a hammer crashing against my ribs. I sat down at the edge of the bed, motioning her over. She stood in front of me, the new metal in her nipples pressed against her shirt, her fingers fiddling with her pajama pants. I brushed my fingers over her lips, her cheek, through the soft strands of her hair. I wasn’t good at being gentle; it made my fingers twitchy. But it was worth the self-restraint to feel her lean her face against my hand.
“Do you want to go back?”
She nodded. “I’m not really any safer here, am I? The monsters don’t care about city limits. It’s not like I can go out after dark here, or walk around by myself.” She sighed. “I mean, I…I still…I need you with me.”
“You’re mine,” I said simply. “I’m not leaving.”
“I think about it every day, you know.” She bit her lip, eyes staring off so she wouldn’t have to meet mine. “The deal you offered. I think about it. It’s just…” She tried to turn away, but I kept a grip on the nape of her neck. I wanted to see her face, her eyes. I didn’t want her hiding her fears from me. “It’s a big decision, Leon.”
The way I ached for her soul was nearly unbearable. It was a constant pressure on the back of my mind, an itch I couldn’t reach. The need to possess her, wholly. We demons had the power to take nearly anything we wanted, but a human soul?
That had to be given willingly.
It was fucking torture.
I got up from the bed, kissing her forehead as I tugged her head back to look up at me. “I know. I’m waiting, Rae. I’m not going anywhere. You’ll give it to me eventually.” I smirked, and shrugged, as nonplussed as I could manage to fake. “Pack up, baby girl. Let’s get you home.”
