Page 90 of The Fearless Witch

“Fine,” I said, forcing my body to relax. “I could use a shower.”

The butler nodded, heading toward the stairs. “Please, follow me.”

We walked in silence, so I used the time to determine who was in the house. I had heard from Allison that Alice and Lily had gone somewhere safe to finish her recovery—somewhere where there wasn’t a raging Elder threatening the lives of everyone—so I hoped that meant Lily was finally getting well and they were making some… progress. My sister deserved to be happy more than anyone I knew, even if it meant being apart again.

I almost didn’t notice when the butler stopped, opening one of the many identical doors and motioning inside. “Please, make yourself at home. If you need me, you can call on the internal line or come find me. I’ll let Mistress Celeste know you’re back the moment she returns.”

He barely waited for me to enter before closing the door. I stood frozen in the middle of the room, not sure what to do with myself until finally, I dragged my feet to the bathroom.

I hardly felt the hot water burn my skin or the steam that filled the space, making it hard to breathe. I stayed there for what felt like hours, waiting for the warmth to expel the tension from my body. It wasn’t until I heard footsteps that I came back to reality and turned. I hadn’t bothered to close the bathroom door, so when I found Celeste leaning on the doorframe with her arms crossed and a smile on her face, I almost slipped and fell on the wet tiles.

“Having deep thoughts in the shower? How cliche,” she chuckled, studying me in a way that made every strand of hair on my body rise. She was wearing a pair of dark pants and a top that reminded me of the night we attacked the hunters’ Headquarters. Her hair was pulled in a ponytail and she looked tired but in one piece.

Before I knew it, I was wrapping my arms around her and breathing her in.

“Hey, you’re… wet!” she grumbled, pushing against my chest, but when I didn’t let go, she sighed softly and hugged me back. “I’ve missed you too.”

Despite the lightness of her tone, her words hit me like a freight train, filling me with emotions that were hard to put into words. I held her tighter, releasing her only when she grunted in pain.

“You have no idea how worried I was,” I whispered, touching her face to make sure she was real. When the bond returned, we had just finished speaking with the witches. The emotions I felt and the connection that filled the void had been so strong that it knocked me out for two whole days before I came to my senses.

My eyes trailed down her neck, searching for wounds or burns, but found only two fresh bite marks on the side. I tried to silence the jealousy that blossomed in my chest. This was what I had agreed on, she had been clear from the start. And while I was out there, trying to protect my people, Roman had been working on getting her back day and night. And he did. I owed him gratitude, not jealousy. Especially when she was here now, with me, and not with him.

“Did he really have to bite you so hard?” I grumbled, running my fingers over the mark. It was already healing and it would probably be gone in a few hours, but I had the inexplicable urge to cover it with mine.

“You can do it, you know,” she said and when I met her eyes, I had a feeling she had read my mind. With every passing second in her presence, I felt the bond strengthening, but I had thought I had kept the thoughts to myself. “It’s your face,” she added, and when I gave her a puzzled look, she grinned. “Your face always says what you’re thinking. That’s one of your most endearing qualities.”

Moving a step closer, she inclined her head to bare her throat to me. I wasn’t sure if she even realized how big of a deal that was for my kind, but she stared with unfaltering confidence that made my heart beat faster and my dick go rock hard in an instant.

My eyes darted to the bruised skin, then back to her face, the fast beats of her heart doing things to my body no other woman had ever done. She held her breath as I leaned closer and pressed my lips against the bite before pulling back.

Her expression was hard to decipher, but I decided I didn’t want to know. Instead, I picked her up in my arms and strode toward the bed, where I helped her discard her clothes. I didn’t bother to ask why there was mud on her pants and leaves stuck on her shirt.

Once we were under the covers, I drew her against me. Her eyes flared, and she reached out for my already hard cock, but I grabbed her fingers and just intertwined them with mine. A look of confusion overtook her face and I could feel worry and uneasiness slip through the bond. I send back warmth and contentment, trying to make her relax.

“I just want to hold you,” I whispered, pressing my lips to her forehead. “Right now, this is enough.”

An unreadable mask fell over her face, and I reached through the bond again, but everything was quiet. “Every time I think I’ve figured you out, you surprise me, puppy.” Leaning closer, she brushed her lips against mine.

“I thought I’d asked you not to call me that.”

Her soft chuckle brought a smile to my face and when she snuggled into the crook of my arm, all of my worries drained away. Comfortable silence spread through the room with only our soft breathing and thundering hearts filling the space. She ran her fingers over my chest in slow, pleasant lines, veering no further than my abs, and to my surprise, I relaxed instead of getting more worked up by her almost naked body pressed against me.

“Were you really in Hell?” I asked after what felt like hours. Her fingers paused.

“Yes.”

Something cold and sickening swirled in my stomach and I looked at her face in search of the horrors she must have seen down there. Yet her body remained relaxed and perfectly calm, which made me even more concerned.

“What happened?” I whispered hesitantly, eager to know, and at the same time, not wanting to make her go through those memories again. I had only heard rumors about that plane, but to go there…

My heart skipped a beat. Even if she came back, she had sold her soul to a demon and when she died for the last time, I’d never see her again…

“There isn’t much to tell, really. Just a lot of fire, screaming, and death.” My body stiffened and a low growl escaped my lips, but she chuckled. “I’m kidding! Well, mostly. Beleth didn’t… hurt me. He took me there to protect me, if you can believe that. He could have been less of a dick about it, though.”

“That… no, I cannot believe that!” I paused before the stream of curses spilled out and I watched her fight a smile. Her amusement passed over the bond, and I wasn’t sure if I felt relieved or mad at how undisturbed she sounded. “What are you not telling me?”

“Only the parts that are going to piss you off,” she sighed.

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