Page 62 of Property of Mako
“Bullshit.” My voice was low, dangerous. I stepped toward her, unable to stop the growl in my chest. “You know damn well that’s not true because I know you’ve seen some of these creatures. You’ve been keeping something from me. From all of us. And you know I can’t protect either of you if I don’t know what the hell I’m dealing with.”
Her eyes shimmered, but she held my stare, stubborn as ever. “You don’t get to demand every secret from me, Calix.”
The problem was, I already knew she was lying—or at least not giving me the full truth. I could feel it, thrumming in the bond between us like a second heartbeat.
Frustrated, I wanted to grab her, shake her, make her tell me. But I also wanted to pull her against me, bury my face in her wet hair, and forget for just a second that the world outside this room was on the verge of combusting.
Instead, I clenched the sketchbook in my fist and forced myself to breathe. “You’re playing with fire, Lyra. And if you don’t start trusting me…” I shook my head, swallowing the rest.
Her chin lifted, defiant even as water dripped from her hair onto her towel. “If I don’t start trusting you, what?”
I didn’t answer. Because the truth was, I didn’t know whether I meant I’d walk away… or burn the whole world down to get to her secrets.
My grip on the sketchbook tightened until the leather creaked. “Then I can’t keep you safe. Not you. Not Lily. And that’s not a risk I’m willing to take.”
Her lips parted, sharp retort ready, but I set the sketchbook down on the dresser with a hard slap. The sound cracked through the air like a gunshot.
“I’m not your fucking enemy, Lyra.” My voice was low, with a biting edge. “But you’re acting like I am.”
“I’m protecting her,” she snapped back, her voice breaking on the last word. “The only way I know how.”
I closed the distance between us in two steps, crowding her back against the doorframe. The towel shifted, loosening at her chest, but neither of us looked away. Her pulse hammered in her throat, and mine matched it beat for beat.
“You don’t get to shut me out,” I growled, wanting to gnash my teeth. “Not when I’m all that’s standing between you and the monsters who want to tear your world apart.”
“You don’t understand,” she whispered, but her voice was trembling now, the fight bleeding out of it. “There are things you don’t know. Things I can’t?—”
“Then show me,” I cut in, my hand pressing flat to the wall beside her head. “Let me carry it. Whatever it is. You don’t have to do this alone anymore. Don’t you get that?”
Her breath hitched, her eyes flashing with something that wasn’t fear. Desire. Need. The bond between us hummed so loud I could feel it in my bones.
And then she moved.
Her hands fisted my shirt, dragging me down, her mouth colliding with mine in a kiss that was all teeth and desperation. I caught her hips, pulling her flush against me, swallowing her soft moan as her towel slipped to the floor.
She was wildfire and fury, and I was already burning.
The sketchbook lay forgotten on the dresser as I lifted her, her legs locking around my waist. Not wasting a moment, I carried her to the bed, laying her down with more care than I felt, before joining her.
Her fingers reverently traced my jaw, softer now, like she was memorizing me. “Calix…” she breathed, the fight gone from her voice.
Needing something besides conversation, I kissed her again, slower this time, lingering, savoring. “You drive me insane,” I admitted against her lips, our breath mingling.
She stilled beneath me, eyes searching mine like she wanted to say something, confess something—but instead, she pulled me down to her pillowy lips, where she kissed me until the world outside ceased to exist.
For the rest of the morning, there were no secrets. No lies. No Covenant. Just her and me, tangled in sheets and heat, clinging to each other like we could outrun everything waiting beyond the walls.
But when she finally dozed, contentedly curled against my chest, I stared at the sketchbook on the dresser.
And I knew—whatever truth she was hiding, it was going to shatter everything.
Chapter 29
Cheese in the Trap
Mako
I didn’t get much sleep after Lyra drifted off in my arms. Her soft breathing should’ve eased me, but my eyes stayed locked on that sketchbook. I kept hearing Crypt’s words about her hiding something—and now I knew he was right. She wasn’t telling me everything.
