Page 61 of Hell Gate

“I’ve dreamed of it before today. I knew my way around. At Lane’s, I was going to the throne room to see if you guys were there like in my dream. Before I got there some kind of—portal, I think? Smoke gathered from the floor and swirled around. Someone grabbed me through it.”

Valerian braces against the back of the sofa, staring out at the sun setting behind the mountain view through the door that leads to the deck. “Alder.”

“Right.” His nose touches my crown and he inhales. “I do not wish to leave you, sweet blossom.”

“What?” Whirling around I grab two fistfuls of his fitted t-shirt. “Don’t go.”

“We need to set the protective wards so we can settle here for the next few days,” Valerian says. “After that, I need to find Rainer.”

Alder nods. “We should check if the demons hunted the other witches down. We can keep muddying our trail so we’re harder to track, too.”

Valerian pushes off the couch with a faint flinch of pain. “Agreed. Matthias, you’ll guard Lily.”

“With my life,” Matthias says.

“Are you insane?” I release Alder, ignoring the crack in my heart to block Vale’s path. “You’re still hurt!”

“I’m fine. It’s faster if the two of us go alone.” The tip of his serpent-like tongue traces his lower lip. “You can play nurse later. Stay put. I mean it.”

He uses his most demanding tone and cups my face, throwing me right back to the moment we almost kissed. The tether in my chest strains with the desire to crash against him and taste his lips. His blue gaze flares brighter.

The tense beat breaks when he nudges me into Matthias’s waiting arms. The scent of maple and roasted chestnuts surrounds me.

“I’ll take care of you, mate,” Matthias says against my ear in a rough tone that makes me shudder.

Vale holds my eye. “We won’t be gone long. Before the night’s out, we’ll return.”

The pull in my chest tugs as I watch two of my demons leave me behind. Even Valerian’s promise doesn’t soften the fractures splintering my heart.

* * *

It’s been too long.I’m sick of pacing, my stomach tying itself in knots. Matthias isn’t faring better, his usual easy nature tinged with restless agitation.

“I can’t take this.” I scrub my face. “I don’t like not knowing what’s going on or if they’re okay.”

“I know. Come here, petal.” He pulls me into his arms and flops us on the thick chaise cushion of the L-shaped couch with me resting on his chest.

Guilt clangs around inside me for a moment. Matthias hasn’t left my side, indulging my need to keep moving. He’s done everything to keep my mind occupied to steer me away from spiraling into an anxiety-induced panic. As soon as the guys left, he suggested we explore the house and check if the hot tub on the deck worked so we could try to relax. It didn’t, unfortunately. We did find a questionable shrine to Mothman in the basement, complete with totally Photoshopped blurry photos of the cryptid, a hand-sewn costume, and some sexy Mothman fan art.

“I just hate waiting,” I mumble into his neck.

He plays with my hair, combing through it soothingly. “Want to see if there are any movies? I didn’t see a VHS player, but hopefully they’ve got something.”

“It’s all on disc now. DVD. It’s more compact.”

He makes an inquisitive sound. “Such clever creatures. So what do you say, babe?” He claps his hands on my plump ass and squeezes. “Let's pretend the world doesn’t exist for a minute and we’ve escaped for a lover’s holiday. We’ll act like we’re watching the movie until we can’t keep our hands off each other. I’ll eat your pussy until the credits roll and you’re crying for me to stop because it’s too much.”

“That’s called Netflix and chill now.” I giggle at his quirked eyebrow.

“There’s that smile I love so much.” He kisses me, keeping my laughter going when he attacks my face with more light kisses.

This is what I like about being with Matthias. He does everything to make me smile and make me feel worshiped. He also reminds me life doesn’t have to be so serious. With him, I can laugh even when the world around me feels like it’s about to fall apart.

“Sometimes I forget you’re older than you seem until you remind me you’re basically stuck in the 90s.” I give him a wry smile, shyly tugging on a lock of his hair. “How old are you really? You seem younger than the others.”

“Not by much. Vale is the oldest, but age is relative to us. Demons don’t celebrate the way humans do.” He pretends to chomp on my finger, grinning around the digit and coiling his tongue around my knuckle until I squirm. “If I seem young, it’s a personality flaw for a trickster demon like me. Chaos is addictive.”

“Yeah, you give off that vibe.” I smirk. “When we first met, I called you fuckboy in my head.”

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