Page 42 of Forgotten Monsters
“I love you, witch. I never got to say it,” Flynn rasps, his blue gaze clear and wide. “I know you thought I only loved him—I certainly didn’t want anyone to think—”
I press my index finger to his lips. “Shh.”
“It’s okay if you can’t say it back. I’ve had years to mull it over. I stood over your fresh grave, I—”
“I love you, too.” My throat dries up, but I find the courage to continue. “I love you even though you treated me horribly in the beginning, even though I love Cole, and I’m still at war with myself over the whole thing.”
A sad smile glazes his lips. “Most earthlings think loving more than one person at a time is impossible.”
“I’m not one of them.”
He presses his mouth to mine, softly. “Thank the gods for that.”
I’ve pondered the question over the last few weeks, deep in the galley of the boat. I’ve asked myself how, as I’m without a doubt head over heels for Cole, I’m still drawn to Flynn so much. How being with the two of them had eroded the notion that to love someone, I had to withhold my love for all others.
With trembling fingers, I play with his silky hair and trace the nape of his neck.
I expect to feel some type of guilt, kissing, just the two of us, but it feels…right. His love is palpable in every brush, every nibble, and every lick. I pull him closer, eager to feel his warmth.
Flynn wrenches my thick sweater past my head, and my long, purple and red curls fall haphazardly around my face. “Fuck… you don’t even look human anymore.”
“What do I look like?” I tease him, one brow arched in question, wondering how his beautifully wicked mind works.
“A Goddess.”
A moan escapes him when I stroke his hair, the golden locks deliciously tousled. His angelic aura eclipses the scenery and all the tangled emotions that came with it, my eyes solely focused on the unbridled joy lighting his face.
He dives in for a kiss, his hands shaking. “I still can’t believe you’re here.”
Our tongues battle for dominance as he slides my pants off, leaving only my bra on, the clear need to be reunited in flesh taking precedence.
My stomach flips in need as I peel his pants down his ass, eager to see how badly he wants me. My impatience is only rivaled by his, our mouths fused and eyes closed, the urgency taking a life of its own.
Flynn envelops me like a wave, crashing hard and deep inside me in one long thrust, and gives me a few seconds to get used to him. “Fuck, I missed you.”
I rake my nails along his back, and he bites my neck as though it could summon Cole back to us.
We move languidly, craving each other’s touch beyond reason, chasing the friction of skin against skin, the movements slow and disarming. I glide my feet down his calves as he strokes the valley between my breasts, thrusting inside me with a mix of passion and muted reverence.
It’s a plea, a prayer, and a chant.
A release of tension.
A beautifully desperate embrace, both of us hungry for the chaos of our lives to still for an instant, chasing a solace we can only find together.
16
ODDLY TRANSPARENT FRIENDSHIPS
Flynn guides me through Faerie to the portal that leads back to Dark Falls, and we emerge near the force field that sent me flying through the air when Allie and I first returned from the Underworld. It’s midday here, and the sun is high in the sky. The ruins of the dining hall are silent, no hollows visible within its walls.
“A few hollows are stuck inside what’s left of the building, but the spell holding them in there is shaky at best. Let’s hurry.” Flynn marches over to the force field and uses his magic to carve a dimensional ring the size of a door into it. Flynn was never one to be bothered by closed doors and impregnable walls. I’m in awe of his talent—and totally jealous.
On the other side of the foggy barrier, the Dark Falls library’s exterior is exactly as I remember it. Stone gargoyles lounge in the sun on the staircase’s banisters, their eyes closed.
Flynn barrels past them and holds the door open for me.
The chandelier twinkles above our heads.
