Page 66 of Shattered Illusion

“Okay.” I expect him to get out of bed and grab something from the small kitchen, but I blink, and he’s gone. Almost like he was never there in the first place.

Shit. Am I hallucinating? Did I hit my head harder than I thought?

My fingers shake as I reach out to touch the indention in my bed. The spot is still warm, and I blow out a breath that the whole interaction wasn’t something I cooked up in my head.

I could totally see that conversation going well.

“Where’d you go?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You were in bed with me and never came back.”

“Okay, crazy pants. I’ve never been in your bed.”

I snort at my own thoughts. Crazy pants would be right.

The longer I wait for Luka to return, the more I start to fidget in bed. So I sit up, scooching back to rest against the headboard, and look around my bedroom. Small pinpricks of light break through where the curtains meet, chasing some of the darkness away, but not a whole lot. My brows furrow. I never close those; I wonder if Luka did.

Luka pops back in unannounced, his hands laden with greasy take-out bags. A scream lodges itself in my throat, momentary fear bubbling in my veins as I clutch my chest, breathing deeply until I can battle it away.

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

I guess the saying is true for demigods, too.

“Fuck, Lu. You scared the shit out of me.” He laughs as he places the bags on the nightstand, rifling through them. “I swear to god, I’m going to get him a freaking bell,” I grumble with a huff.

His hands pause midair, and he slowly turns his head toward me with his brow raised. “A bell?”

Oops.

“Nuffin, muffin.” I shake my head, refusing to admit that I wanted to tie a bell around his neck the very first day I met him because he scared the crap out of me that day, too.

“Oh. Oh, no, no, no, sweet cheeks.” The food becomes an afterthought as he prowls toward the bed. “Tell me.”

“Nuh-uh.” I roll my lips between my teeth, determined to keep that embarrassing thought to myself.

His knees hit the bed, and he crawls across the surface, eying me like a lion would its prey. “That’s not going to work for me.”

“What are you going to do about it?” I raise my brow, trying and ultimately failing to stifle a giggle.

Ever heard the saying, don’t taunt the bull unless you want the horns? It’s a good piece of advice that I should learn myself.

“This.” Quicker than a flash of lightning, he snatches my ankle and drags me across the surface until I’m underneath him. He pins me to the mattress with his considerable bulk, a certain appendage standing at half-mast, and telling me he’s enjoying this little game, too. I have to say, this doesn’t seem so ba— His fingers dig into my ribs, tickling the ever-loving hell out of me. My happy laughter bounces around the confines of the room as I try to get away from him, but he refuses to let me go.

No matter how much I fight, there’s no way to break free with him pinning my lower half to the bed.

“Uncle! Uncle!” I cry, out of breath from laughing so damn hard.

Luka drops his elbows on either side of my head, holding himself in push-up above me. It’s hot as fuck to see how much strength he has to be able to pull that off. I know that if it were me, my arms would be quaking by now, and I’d probably end up head-butting him.

“So, goddess, you ready to tell me about this bell?”

Fuck.

“Fine.” I give an exaggerated sigh. “I just said that they needed to put bells on you supernaturals so we could hear you.” I shrug my shoulders as well as I can. “Y’all are so dang quiet, so easy fix.”

Luka gapes at me, his eyes darting back and forth between mine. He sputters a laugh before saying, “You’re joking, right?” My lips purse, and I shake my head. It would be an opportune time to say nope and pop a p for extra emphasis, but I’m kind of enjoying the fact that I’ve made him so flabbergasted.

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