Page 53 of Hounded: Ashes to Ashes

He swallowed, barely blushing as his teeth raked over his bottom lip. “Hi,” he replied.

It happened in every lifetime, boy met boy, and that seemed to be what was happening now.

Of course, we knew each other. But this was a chance to do things right, to have a fresh beginning on equal footing. It held so much promise and a foolish sort of optimism, as if I hadn’tjust cleaned blood off our patio and Loren wasn’t so afraid he didn’t talk to me for days.

“We’re okay, aren’t we?” I smoothed my hand against the side of his head and curled it around his ear. “Whatever else happens, I want us to be okay.”

Please be all right.

That was the subtext, and I wondered if he sensed it.

Loren kissed my forehead, then murmured against my skin, “We’re okay, Doll.”

There was more to it, thoughts I couldn’t put aside no matter how badly I wanted to. Guilt had kept me in a stranglehold since the moment my memories came flooding in. Fears of my own that I could not dismiss.

“About what Gunnar said,” I began. “About my tears sending him to Heaven…”

Loren’s lip curled at the mention of the other hound. It was a risky move to bring the newbies up, like poking an open wound. But I’d done it now; might as well see it through.

“I didn’t even know that was possible until a few days ago,” I continued. “And now these people are hoping… expecting me to save them.”

It was the least I could do. People were risking their lives to keep me out of a demon’s clutches, and Loren had been right to ask why. I didn’t want to question it for fear of them changing their minds, but maybe that would have been better. I didn’t like the idea of owing people debts I couldn’t repay, and that brought me to the crux of it.

I’d given my tears—possibly thelastof them—to a wicked demon who had kept my boyfriend in slavery for a century. Now she was in Heaven with her soul wiped clean. I saved her. And this man, my mate, my partner, my everything, had endured decades of torment that he could have been spared. I could have stopped it.

The realization sobered me, and my throat grew so tight I sounded hoarse when looked up at Loren and asked, “Do you wish I’d saved you?”

His features pinched with an unknown hurt. Maybe it hadn’t occurred to him.

I shouldn’t have said it. Shouldn’t have given him another reason to resent me. Forget getting laid, I was about to get left. Abandoned in favor of someone less problematic. Less transient. Less temporary.

I stepped back, testing the limit of his arms. When he didn’t let go, I met his eyes, those warm, brown, beautiful things that spoke loudly even when he was silent. Thankfully, this time, he didn’t stay quiet.

“Indy, that’s all you’ve ever done,” he murmured. “You saved me every time.”

Breath went stale in my lungs. I had to work even harder to rasp out, “From what?”

His jaw ticked, and his gaze cut aside. I waited while he thought or maybe steeled himself for the confession that slowly trickled out.

“It gets dark. In here.” He tapped a finger to his chest. “But you’re light, Doll. You burn brighter than my dark. You save me from myself.”

I could barely see while my eyes blurred with tears that wouldn’t fall, and I couldn’t speak, so I kissed him instead. I cinched my arms around him and clung on until I was convinced nothing could take him away. Not demons or witches. Not even Heaven.

He enveloped me, crushing us together so every breath was shared, every movement in sync. It was only a few seconds before those movements took a turn toward our bedroom. We went there stumbling, barely separating, and stripping out of our clothes so we left a trail in our wake.

Both of us were bare to the waist before we reached our bedsides. I shimmied out of my jeans, stripped to a pair of lace boxer briefs when I crawled onto then across the mattress to where Loren was unbuttoning his pants.

Swinging my legs around, I hugged my knees against his thighs and took the undressing task upon myself. It was like opening a gift, seeing, touching, feeling every inch of him and knowing it was all for me.

That thought followed me after we were both in our underwear and clambering across the sheets, groping and kissing until I had him on his back. I braced on one arm above him and used my free hand to brush the hair away from his face.

He stared up at me while I dragged the backs of my fingers over his pinked cheek.

“You know it’s different now,” I murmured. “I don’t have to share you anymore. Not with Moira. Not with anybody. You’re all mine.”

Saying it aloud sent a jolt of excitement through me. That was a hidden hurt, something I’d kept to myself because I knew it pained him, too. I couldn’t blame him for it, and neither of us could change it. Till now.

I looked at his throat. Unfettered. Free.

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