Page 139 of Tortured Soul
“Even though I offered my help to find that prison, the moment I stepped foot outside, I was terrified I wouldn’t get to come back. Or that, when I did, you’d be gone or something, and I wouldn’t have more time with you. And now, I’m barely back and already being sent out again.”
Cupping his jaw with my hand, I made sure he could read all the love and affection I felt for him in my eyes, in the way I touched him and looked at him. In the way my heart always synced up to his, eager to match its pace.
“I missed you too,” I said, sighing when he leaned to rest his forehead on mine. “The last three days, and all the previous decades. In the moments that I was sad, angry, or frightened, and the ones I was happy or proud of something. I missed you, always.”
His stuttering breath mixed with mine as our parted lips brushed, his hands grabbing my wrists to pull my hands behind his back, bringing me closer.
“With or without my soul, you’ll always occupy the largest part of my heart.”
His mouth captured mine, the kiss soft, slow, and salty from what seemed to have been a lone tear, whether it was mine or his.
Through the anxiety clogging my throat, I added, “And I hope Arc and Carter will accept that like Blake did.”
Chapter 41
Lola
Istartled awake, jolting upright in my bed—Dimitri’s bed—sliding my hand to the side only to find it empty, but still a bit warm.
Where was he? It was still dark outside.
“Dimitri?”
My eyes squinted through the dark room, trying to see if anything or anyone moved. Did he leave? Without saying goodbye?
I jumped out of the bed and ran to turn on the light.He wasn’t here. Not in there, nor in the bathroom.
Running down the stairs, I only realized that I didn’t bother to create some decent clothes when I collided head first with Carter’s back and fell on my ass.
Good thing I at least had some panties and a large T-shirt on.
“Fuck, I’m sorry, I—”
My words died in my throat when he didn’t move, stuck standing under the kitchen door frame, shoulders squared, hands fisted at his sides.
“Carter?”
The room, the whole house,was dead silent.
Something was wrong.
Carter
I shouldn’t be here.
Here, in Arc’s mind. Not hearing his thoughts, not feeling his emotions, only seeing through his eyes. Listening through his ears.
I tried to push against the cage blocking me here, to fight my way out and back to reality, but my conscience was stuck in there, and he didn’t seem to notice that he wasn’t alone in his head anymore.
“I still don’t understand why I couldn’t stay a bit longer to say goodbye to Lola,” Dimitri groaned next to him.
Arc turned his head toward the Nephilim, not stopping on their tracks and rolled his eyes.
I hated being stuck in here. Confined. Accessing his senses like we were one instead of seeing the scene as a whole.
“Stop complaining. The faster we take care of this, the faster we’ll be back.”
Dimitri threw him an annoyed look but kept moving forward, even increasing his pace on the now-dry ground. At least it stopped raining.
