Page 102 of Between Earth and Eternity
He raises an eyebrow, surprised, but answers, “She’s safe.”
I squint at the vague response but go on with the question that has been circling my mind since the night he saved me from Slade.
“Why were you so intent that I keep hating you?”
A deep chuckle escapes his mouth. “Well, I didn’t have to worry about that too much at first.” He isn’t wrong there. “But then, when my feelings started to change, I believed it would be easier to let you go if you hated me. I failed, it would seem. It only made me want you more.” His hand travels higher, resting on the back of my thigh, the cold touch of the metal rings gliding over my skin, nails lightly digging into my flesh. “I think I knew I was in serious trouble when you stood up to my father at that dinner. And then that night in the club. . .” He inhales deeply. “I just couldn’t help myself.” His fingers grip the fabric, and he lifts my dress higher up my leg before burning a kiss there.
My mouth falls open slightly at both his lips on me. I replay those moments in my mind. Our first kiss, all the terrible things I said and thought about him, and yet, somewhere deep in my bones, I knew even then it wasn’t all hate that I felt for him.
“And will you let me help you now?” I whisper.
I read the understanding in his eyes. “I’ve learned the hard way that nothing seems to deter you, so if that is what you desire, then my answer is yes,” he replies.
He looks up at me, his hazel eyes heated, and I can’t help my sharp inhale. His lips trace my knee, then travel to the inside of my thigh. He claims I’ll harm him, but I’m the one burning from the inside out.
I brace myself on the shelves behind me just as his tongue slips higher and higher toward the heat waiting, begging for him to touch.
I must be crazy for making him stop, but I lift his chin to look up at me. I crook my finger urging him to rise, and he obeys. I could get drunk from this kind of power, from the thrill in my veins, but it isn’t the sadistic kind. No, this is different. Because I can see it in Vallen’s eyes—he’s drinking it in just as much as I am, willingly, eagerly. As if he’s dying of thirst.
“So what’s next?” I ask as his mouth hovers over mine.
“For you? Or for me?” he whispers, a smirk on his lips.
“For us,” I say, swallowing down my nerves. They’re the good kind of nerves, especially as he smiles down at me. “And for everyone else, for that matter.”
He runs a hand down my arm, then interlocks our fingers together. “For us, I have a lot of plans . . . hopes. Things that I didn’t even dare to dream about until I met you.” Goosebumps erupt on my skin. “I hope we can do those things someday. If you’ll join me.” I nod, probably a little too eagerly, because he smiles, looking overly pleased. “And now, with your help, maybethose things are possible after all. Including aiding the rest of humanity.”
I place a hand on his cheek. “I’m all in, Vallen,” I say, and he takes a deep inhale.
“Are you ready for the dark truth of Mannox Industries?”
I nod.
“Then follow me.”
The tension is begging to be set free, and the buzz of desire is still lingering when we enter Vallen’s suite. As much as I want him to tell me, or better yet, show me what those plans are, I still have questions that need answered. Whatever this dark truth is, it’s merely the tip of the iceberg, and I’m about to get a glimpse under the water to understand the sheer depth of the secrets hidden below the surface.
Vallen removes his jacket and throws it onto the couch. The muscles under his shirt flex as he unbuttons the cuffs and rolls the sleeves up his forearm. For a moment, my mind goes elsewhere again. It happens too easily when it comes to him.
I slip my shoes off and set them next to the couch.
“Now what?” I ask, the familiar scent of his suite making me feel more at ease.
“I need to show you something.” He holds out his hand, and I take it without hesitation.
It is a deeply intimate moment, as if, in another version of our lives, we had just gone out to an event and come home together. Barefoot and holding hands as he led us to our bedroom, still dressed up until he would help me out of my dress and I would undo the buttons of his shirt one by one.
When we come to stand in front of the rows of books and movies, I’m confused for a moment until he places his thumb on the spine of a book, a hidden scanner in plain sight. The shelves slide open to reveal a passageway.
I gasp softly, following his lead until we reach a dimly lit office with a large holographic display stretching across a curved wall. He places his hand on the screen, and it lights up with star maps and other information I don’t recognize.
“I’ve been trying to come up with the best way to ease you into all this, but I’m just going to get straight to it, no matter how unsettling it may be. I need you to understand the severity of the situation.”
I swallow nervously.
“What I’m about to show you isn’t real. It’s been fabricated to look completely authentic.”
The solemn tone of his voice leaves me stunned, but I nod in understanding. He taps the screen a few more times, cueing up what appears to be a video.
