Page 55 of Temple of Magic and Bone

"Okay, but you better go see your priest and get your soul prepared," Vanth teased back.

Galen didn't laugh. "No point. I know who's going to claim my soul as soon as I'm dead, and there's nothing anyone can do about it."

Vanth waited until he was gone before turning back to Elektra and the map. "When do you want to leave?"

Elektra rubbed at her tired eyes. "As soon as we can. He's right about the dragons too. There needs to be some kind of contingency if we fail. The first thing I need to do is have a shower, and you need to come with me."

Vanth's expression brightened. "I do?"

"Yes. I'm not going into some epic showdown with Lazarus and his cult without a hot shower." Elektra pulled him closer and lightly brushed her lips against his. "Andwithout being with you one last time."

Vanth tucked her hair behind her ear. "I'm all for moving lovemaking, princess. Just don't act like we are about to die, okay?" He kissed the tip of her nose. "I only just found you, and I'm not going to let you go without a fight, even if it's Death doing the claiming. Understand?"

Elektra hugged him tighter to her. Despite knowing she shouldn't, reckless hope filled her as she kissed him just below the ear and breathed him in. "I understand."

Elektra didn't settle until she was under the hot steam of the shower with Vanth pressed against her, warm and naked. He was so careful with her that it made tears build at the back of her eyelids.

She couldn't let the fear of losing him overwhelm her or distract her from what needed to be done. At that moment, she didn't need anything but to be with him, so she kissed him, and when he finally slid inside of her, she enjoyed every second of it. She memorized how he looked at her in awe and savored each caress and softly whispered word. It felt more than just getting off, and the urgency her mating cycle had sparked wasn't riding her. It was just them, and she gloried in it.

Afterward, Vanth washed her tenderly and kissed his way over her shoulders.

"Are you feeling better now? You seemed to disappear when Galen was talking," he asked.

"It's not easy for me to admit that I'm afraid of going back to the temple. I was doing what I was told when I left, and it still feels like I am a coward. I don't want you to think that I am too when..."

Vanth turned her in his arms. "Elektra, there's no way I would ever think that. You are one of the most fearless people I have ever met. Nothing we find there will make me think otherwise. You're here with me, and that's more bravery than the majority of people I have met in my life."

"You're not so bad. Maybe your sense of humor," Elektra teased because everything felt too heavy. "But I kind of love that about you too."

Vanth's lips twitched. "You love stuff about me, do you?"

Elektra swallowed hard but nodded. "Lots of things, actually. It's a bit disturbing, and it's not my rampant horniness from my mating cycle talking either."

Vanth's eyes went wide, and he stroked her wet cheeks. "So I'm not alone in feeling that this is something beyond stress relief and a good time? Because I love everything about you. It's killing me not being able to say it."

Elektra's heart thudded painfully against her ribs. "Even me being bossy and kind of mean?"

"Oh,especiallywhen you're bossy and mean, princess."

Elektra rested her head against his chest. "This wasn't what I expected to happen when I saw you dancing with the ghosts that day."

"It wasn't what I expected to happen when I found you rummaging in my fridge. Maybe I had more of an idea when you kicked my ass afterward," Vanth said, and she couldn't stop the laughter that bubbled out of her.

"What a pair we are," she said.

"The perfect pair, in my opinion. How about we go kick Lazarus's ass, and then we can explore how in love we are in detail and many different positions?" Vanth suggested. Elektra went up on her tiptoes and kissed him. She had never heard of a better plan in all her life.

31

The dragons were in no mood to be talked to. At least, according to the receptionist who kept answering Vanth's calls. No, he didn't have an appointment. No, it couldn't wait. Yes, it was urgent. None of that seemed to matter because their gatekeepers were not interested in passing on messages, no matter if there was a perceived emergency. Vanth was at his wits end with them, so he walked downstairs to check on his ghouls and stock the van with supplies that they might need for their adventure.

Elektra was still going through Eiline's journals, and Vanth wasn't much use to her. Besides, he kept looking at her, and all his cohesive thoughts were leaving his head.

"You are like a love-sick puppy, and I'm so happy about it," Cecelia said, popping out of nowhere to scare the shit out of him.

"I don't know what you mean," Vanth replied, his ears going red.

Cecelia cackled like a banshee. "It's adorable. It's about time someone did a number on you. It's a shame it had to be a mean reaper that terrifies all the ghosts in the house, but at least she is pretty."

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