Page 67 of Savage Hunt

Logan shucked his shirt and boots. “I could use a swim.”

My lips pursed. “You didn’t even get slimed.”

He shrugged, not even bothering to hide his smile. “I can’t resist stripping down.” As his pants dropped, I tried to keep my attention from straying between his legs.

Too late.

Of course the high demon was hung.

As Ruin shed his clothes, heat blossomed in my cheeks. While I stayed at his house in Savannah, we probably would have slept together if Fane hadn’t interrupted us. Something about swimming naked with him felt like a betrayal to the demon shifter.

“What are you waiting for?” Ruin asked, kicking off his boots. “You need to get that stuff off.”

I hitched my thumb over my shoulder where a line of trees separated the lake and created a small lagoon. “I’ll go over there.”

“Don’t tell me you’re shy about getting naked.” As he examined me, his smile faded. “We shouldn’t separate. It’s dangerous.”

“I won’t be far.” I headed for the lagoon, ignoring the demon lord’s bared form.

His grumble sounded in my ears, but he didn’t stop me from slipping away to the small area surrounded by trees, shrubs, and vines. A small waterfall flowed into the lake, crashing over rocks and creating a soothing cadence.

I toed my boots off and tossed my shirt on the ground. Flares of pain stabbed me as I shed my tight jeans, sore from our escape out of Heldrok. A lump rose in my throat as I thought of Fane’s expression when Mykel ripped him from my grasp and dragged him back across the bridge.

We’d been so close to getting away together, but that asshole dux demon ruined it.

Mykel would pay one day.

I shook the depressing thoughts off and eased into the lake, dressed in only my bra and underwear. The tepid water rushed over me when I slipped under the surface to wet my hair. As I came up, I dragged my hand down my face and blinked water from my lashes.

A number of creatures could be hiding in the murky depths, so I shouldn’t have left my sword on the shore, but agony and heartache had me distracted. All I could think about was Fane.

Was he okay? Had Venna released him from Heldrok so he could hunt me? Was he already on my trail?

I chewed on my bottom lip as tears blurred my vision. The urge to see him coiled around my chest like invisible bands of steel, crushing my heart. Soon, they’d demolish the fragile organ, and I wouldn’t be able to force my muscles to move forward.

Fane’s blue and gold irises entered my mind, followed by that tousled midnight hair, tattooed and scarred body, pierced lip, and beautifully savage face. My lids drifted closed, pushing tears down my cheeks as I recalled the last hours we spent together in Heldrok.

He’d pulled me back from the brink of darkness and made it clear how much he cared about me, no matter that I tortured him for weeks. Fane didn’t give a shit about that. He knew I did it to protect his family.

A lump clogged my throat, and more tears slid down my cheeks. But when I opened my eyes, I was no longer in the lake. I’d left my body and stood on the shore as a figure silently slinked into the water behind me.

Air caught in my throat as Fane approached, the hard edges of his face sharper than normal and those eyes burning like fires that wanted to demolish me. The chain of the bloodstone necklace hung beneath his black shirt.

He looked so much like he had that first night we met in the alley where he revealed who he was and what he wanted from me.

Revenge.

Chapter

Twenty-Two

That same desire for blood and pain throbbed off Fane like when we first met, but now I felt it deep in my bones through the bond. He wasn’t blocking me. He probably didn’t realize he needed to.

The closer he came to my corporeal form, the faster his heart beat, and mine crashed with the same frantic rhythm. I reached a shaky hand out, laying it on his shoulder. Instead of slipping through, my fingers met a solid form.

“Fane?”

His head yanked in my direction, his eyes widening. “The fuck?”

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