Page 90 of Hunted By the Headless Horseman
“Jack?” she whispers, and I hear her in the bond of our minds, forever tethered by our hearts.
But before I can respond, she unleashes a feminine snarl, “Thaddeus!”
37
“Will you do something for me?”
BELLE
Idon’t know how it’s possible. I don’t know how anything is possible.
All I know is, that moments ago, I was so cold. I was praying to all the spirits to let me become a ghost. Like Cathy, I would find my Heathcliff and stay near him forever.
Then, a steadfast warmth enveloped me, and I wondered if Death was not ice. When everything tingled and blurred at the edges, I was certain the fates had smiled upon me and turned me into the ghost I wished to be.
But something pulled me back like a beautiful noose wrapping delicately and tenderly around my throat. The next thing I knew, I woke in Jack’s arms. Warm. Safe. Whole.
His strength surrounds me. I’m still touching my chest where I feel my heart beating steadily, a rhythm I haven’t felt in so long. My lungs don’t battle for breath. My body feels alive, humming with a soft energy that tingles my skin. Like love, powerful, almighty, and omnipotent, this love transcends the fabric of this world.
I blink until reality comes into focus, and the first thing I see is him—Jack’s face, clear and vivid, as if the entire world has been waiting for me to open my eyes and find him.
Last time, it was a mere glimpse. Now, the early morning light bathes him in a soft, golden glow.
At first, I simply gaze at him, memorizing every detail, unable to fathom how this man is mine. So beautiful, it’s inconceivable. His high cheekbones are sharp, chiseled like stone, giving him a regal, almost untouchable beauty. But his eyes capture me most, the ones I’ve been dying to see, wondering all this time what they looked like. Those deeply hooded eyes, smoldering with a steady burn, ignite all my nerve endings, but with one gesture, Jack brushes his knuckles down my cheek, and those eyes soften into the sweetest dream. They melt me into a swooning mess. I marvel at the rich hue of hazel, a mixture of gold and brown that swirls like a forest caught in autumn.
Fingertips trembling, I lift my hand to touch his full, sensuous mouth. His lips part slightly under my touch, and I trace them, then let my fingers trail down to the sculpted cut of his jaw.A muscle bounces there at my touch. His skin is warm, alive, and I feel the hunger between us, the thrumming tension. Dark locks of his hair escape the tie at the back of his head, falling along his lower neck and framing his face like slim shadows.
He truly did walk off the pages of a gothic romance. But the tragedy has turned into a love story.
I say nothing. I don’t want to break this magic.
For a few blissful seconds, I gaze at him in awe, at the man who has become my world, the man I love more deeply than words could ever describe. The love in his eyes mirrors mine, and everything is perfect.
But as the sun rises higher and bathes the entire clearing in its glow, Jack’s face vanishes like mist in the morning. I choke on a breath as he returns to the shadowed figure of the Headless Horseman.
I stiffen in his arms, but it doesn’t matter. He’s still Jack—my Jack.
I glance around, but Mrs. Kravitson is nowhere to be seen.
A sudden grunt shatters the quiet, and I snap my gaze to the side.
“Thaddeus!” I snarl.
He’s still alive, though barely. His body is a mess of blood, his chest rising and falling with labored breaths. The sight of him sparks something fierce inside me, a dark feminine fury rising from the depths of my soul. I push myself up, slipping from Jack’s arms and crouching before Thaddeus.
I spit at him, the venom of years of anger, pain, and betrayal fueling my every breath. He stole so much from me—my first touch, first kiss, first everything. He stole my innocence, my honor, my choices. But no more. A sudden surge of strength floods me, the desire to reclaim everything he took, to strip him of the power he thought he had over me.
Jack has taken his dick. Now, I’ll make Thaddeus choke on it while I watch the life drain from his eyes. I am no longer the broken woman he tried to control. I am whole. I am free.
My heart pounds in my chest, not from fear but from a need to finally take back my past. To move forwardinto the life I deserve—the life I will share with Jack. Thaddeus will never have power over me again.
I glance back at Jack, feeling the weight of my fury simmering beneath the surface. My lips curl into a dark smile as I gaze at the man I love. Headless. He is still the most honorable and sinful in the best and darkest way.
Heat floods my veins. Given Thaddeus’s deep groan and his face paling, we don’t have much time.
“Jack,” I say, my voice low, filled with feminine strength and an edge of seduction. “Will you do something for me?”
Anything,he says through our bond, and my center grows warmer, wetter at the sound of his gravelly voice.
