Page 147 of Stone Cold Touch

There was no way I was telling him.

In the silence, he drew the tips of his fingers down to my neck, causing me to shiver. “The chain left a mark.”

“Yeah,” I whispered.

His nostrils flared. “I will kill them all.”

I believed he meant that. Reaching up, I wrapped my hand around his wrist. “I don’t think that’s...necessary.”

“They did this to you.” His lip curled up. “I think it’s completely necessary.”

Lowering my hand, I shook my head and started to tell him that I was okay, but in reality, I was far from it. Yes, I was alive and breathing, but okay wasn’t in my dictionary.

“The stuff that the coven...gave us? Did I hear Cayman right?” I asked instead. “Is something owed to them now?”

One dark eyebrow rose as he moved his finger to the curve of my collarbone. “There isn’t one ounce of my being that gives two shits about that right now.”

A surprised laugh escaped me. It sounded dry and hoarse. “All right.”

“I’ll deal with that later.”

Then he was staring at me again, in the same way he had when he opened his eyes. I found that my breath caught and the muscles low in my stomach tightened. My response confused and even frightened me, because I’d fallen into that stare before and barely resurfaced.

But he was the first to look away. “Want to try to get up?”

I cleared my throat. “Yeah. I could... I could clean up.”

That needed to happen. My clothes were soiled and clinging to me. God only knew the last time I’d showered. Roth helped me sit up after shooing Bambi away. She crawled her way up to the head of the bed and watched us. Once I had my legs pitched over the edge of the bed, Roth froze.

He was standing, his hands on my arms, and then he was suddenly on his knees in front of me. Concern spiked. “Roth—”

“I’m all right.” He closed his eyes as he slid his hands down to mine. “I honestly didn’t know if what the witches gave us would work. I thought when you closed your eyes...” He cleared his throat. “I didn’t know if you’d ever open them again.”

A knot formed in my throat and all I could do was squeeze his hands.

He shook his head. “All I could think of were all the lies I’ve told you and that you were going to die not knowing the truth.”

I thought of those words I’d imagined and my heart stumbled. I opened my mouth, but he leaned in. Letting go of my hands, he did something I’d never expected.

Roth placed his head in my lap, much as Bambi had done earlier, and let out a weary sigh.

My hands froze above his head. Tears welled up in my eyes and I wasn’t sure why. I lifted my gaze to where a sliver of daylight streamed underneath the blinds, casting a halo over Roth’s back.

“When I returned topside and went to the compound to speak to the Wardens, Abbot met me outside first, before you came out.”

This was nothing new, but I sensed there was more.

“Abbot warned me off before I even opened my mouth, before I could even tell him why we were there,” he said, his voice quiet and flat. “Not from his property, but from you. And you know, I got that. I could understand why he wouldn’t want you around me. After all, I am the Crown Prince of Hell, not the kind of guy who’s welcomed into homes. Particularly a Warden’s home.”

As he spoke, I lowered my hands to his head, sifting my fingers through his hair. A deep emotion stirred in the center of my chest, tightening my throat.

Roth turned into the caress like a cat nuzzling, seeking more petting. “But it was more than that. Abbot knew then what was happening with you, or what could happen after Paimon’s ritual. He thought my influence would aid that process along, that I would bring out the demon side in you. And I think... I think he knew I’d never be able to do what I was sent to do. He didn’t want you with me—he didn’t want us together.”

Inherently I knewtogetherwasn’t us being in the same room, but more—deeper and intimate. My fingers stilled. “What...what did he do?”

Another sigh rose from him. “He told me not to even think about pursuing anything with you and at first I laughed and I told him that wasn’t going to happen. From the moment I was pulled from the pit, I was coming for you and not because I was ordered to—not because of what you’d think. Abbot’s threat meant nothing, but...”

My chest rose and fell sharply.

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