Page 162 of Savage Blood
I needed him inside me more than I needed my next breath.
“Guys! Seriously?” Logan groaned as he sauntered in. “You were going at it in your room less than two hours ago. Do you ever stop?”
Fane set me on my feet and licked his lips. “Jealous?”
“Yes!” Logan ambled around the bar and began making an elaborate cocktail. “You two have always been hot for each other, even when you pretended to hate each other.”
No truer words were ever spoken.
Reluctantly, Fane grabbed his shirt from the floor and shoved it over his head, covering his naked torso, much to my disappointment.
“I remember you two getting hot and heavy in my living room apartment after the agrigon bit Tate.” A grin chased Logan’s lips as he dropped ice cubes into a shaker. “Did you really think I was oblivious to what you two were doing on that chair while I had my back turned in the kitchen?”
“Oh, hell.” Heat flamed my face as memories of that night rushed forward.
Fane’s tongue had been between my thighs as he sucked poison out of the bite. And then his phantom fingers had me coming apart with Logan a few feet away.
The demon shifter didn’t look the least bit ashamed. In fact, he was smirking, looking pretty damn proud of himself.
“I need a drink,” I mumbled and shuffled toward the bar, where I took the one Logan just made.
“Don’t stay up too late, Tate,” the handsome high demon warned, starting on another cocktail. “You promised to be at the lab bright and early tomorrow morning.”
My mouth curled into a sarcastic grin. “Yes, Logan, I know. You’ve reminded me a dozen times today.”
Now that the Infernal Sol and I were one and the same, Logan was confident I could balance the Soulvation formula into a stable version. After working his undeniable charm, plenty of shifter volunteers lined up to donate tiny pieces of their souls.
Fane sipped my drink, nodding in approval at the zesty lemon flavor. “Are you sure you want to do this, Tate?”
The missing component might be my blood, a sample of my soul, or some untapped power within me. Even if all three were needed, I’d give them all to help.
“I want to help those demons who want to live on Earth without taking souls,” I said. “They deserve a choice.”
“Not everyone will be happy when they find out,” Fanewarned, passing the drink back to me. “Especially the older demons and royals. They’ll resist.”
When I started down this path at seventeen, I’d wanted to slaughter every demon for simply existing. After years of living in this world, being one of the supernatural creatures that lurked in the shadows, I realized that just like humans, some were good and some were bad.
On my quest for redemption, I also came to understand that not everything was on my shoulders and I couldn’t carry the blame for every bad thing.
But I could do this. I could help demons coexist with other creatures on Earth.
“Fane is right, Tate,” Logan said. “Ancient demons might even come for you.”
Ruin had been worried about that very possibility.
But Ruin didn’t have what I did. And I wasn’t talking about the powers of the Infernal Sol. I meant a wide collection of family and friends who had my back, no matter what.
My pupils thinned into onyx diamonds, and my eyes burned crimson, their reflection cast in the glass I held. “Bring on the devils, and I’ll rip their crowns of horns off. Rivers of ebony will flow until an ocean roils beneath my feet.”
The two guys traded glances, clear worry flickering in their expressions even as they tried to hide it.
Of course, Fane couldn’t hide his concern. It swirled through the bond every time my sanity slipped. And that happened more than either of us wanted.
I gave a shaky shrug. “You know what I mean.”
Logan waved a dismissive hand and chuckled. “You’re going to kill them. Got it.”
Fane intertwined his fingers with mine, histhumb stroking the delicate tattoos that appeared after we claimed each other. “Whatever comes our way, Teague, we’ll face it together.”
We’d been enemies, lovers, and mates, and now that I’d become this primeval power, Fane would be my anchor in a sea of wicked temptation and allure. He was my light in the darkness, the hand beckoning me to safety.
No matter how heavy this burden of power became, Fane Maverick would never let me drown.
“I’ll make sure you don’t fall too far into the dark, my little rebel.” Fane gave one of his sexy, sinful smiles that stole the air right out of my lungs. “If you get lost, I will always find you.”
The End.
