Page 13 of Flirting with Death

I watched his Adam's apple bob in a swallow. "Bellamy's father blames you for his death. He is on his way to take his revenge."

"What?" I was on my feet, ready to fight an imaginary Demon King. I had a feeling he wouldn't be as easy on me as his son had been.

"He thinks you killed him. I could have corrected the troll that told me, and he would have known it was your mom. But I can't protect your mom." He sounded defeated and unsure, like he thought he might have made the wrong choice.

I went to my knees in front of him, my fingers wrapping around his. He looked at me before I said, "Thank you. I don't know what I would do if my mom was in danger again."

"He isn't the type to go back on his decisions. We will be facing the fight of our lives to keep you safe."

"Lex—"

"Sam, no. Don't say it." He squeezed my hand and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "I think we should tell Raiden, he deserves to know."

"He is checking on my brother. He'll be in touch soon." It felt wrong accepting his help and putting him in danger. "Did you learn anything about the muse?"

We still had a job to do. It felt like everything was snowballing, and it was hard not to believe I caused it all. I was like a plague on those that cared for me. As soon as I started letting people close, they got hurt, or died. It was almost as if someone had cursed me.

"Your sisters are the three Fates?" If they had control over their brother's fate, that would make sense, right?

"Hardly. They aren't as kind as the three Fates. No, my sisters are Fates, but not the nice ones. They rule over sleep, death, strife, and pain. That is also their names. They are the creators of each, and their job is to give or take it away for each person. My mother made them in her image, her dark spirits in response to the light the three Fates shine."

"They sound charming," I said. I propped my chin on his knee and looked up at him. "I think they paid me attention recently."

"It is more likely I caused that attention with my fixation on you," he admitted. His fingers brushed my hair away from my face, his expressive eyes saying more than his words ever could. "I would sever ties if I thought it would distract them."

Pain gripped my heart and tried to rip it from my chest. "What?" I jerked back, sitting on my heels away from him.

"It wouldn't work. It turns out that Nyx's children are all obsessive in some way. They would follow through with their plans, with or without me now."

"I don't think you are obsessive," I said. He chuckled, his tongue poked the inside of his cheek as he averted his gaze.

"You obviously can't read minds, and that is probably a good thing. Because you'd run screaming from this apartment if you knew the half of it."

As he spoke, I climbed from the floor and into his lap. I might like the fact that he was obsessive, because it reflected some inner part of me and made me feel a little normal. Because now that I had him, he was mine, just like Rai was. For better or for worse, he was stuck with me. No vows needed.

His arms circled me as he held me easily. "I'm not running."

"I see that," he said. I wasn't sure who moved first, but it was like a flame to kindling, igniting us both. It was fitting because I was ready to let the world burn for just a taste of this man.

Our lips danced as our tongues battled, diving deeper, tasting more. It was heady and made me lightheaded, as I would rather kiss him than breathe. We broke away with gasps and tore at each other's clothing. It scattered on the floor around the chair as we maneuvered and removed it all without losing contact with each other.

My core clenched in anticipation, but he held me away from his hard length.

"Are you sure? We should make plans," he gasped.

"After," I said.

I was a creature of need, and right now, this was what I craved. Neither of us would last long. I was already flirting with my orgasm before he even entered me. Before, when I used to never allow emotion any control over me, it wasn't like this; it was almost as if my feelings for each of the men made it something more. Sure, sex used to be good, and with Lex, it was fantastic, but now it was different.

He lowered me onto his lap fully, giving in to my silent demands. As he pushed all the way between my folds, I felt whole. His fingers dug into my hips as he urged me to move. It was like that as I tumbled into the abyss, as wave after wave of intense pleasure rushed through me.

CHAPTER 9

Bellamy

The palace was dark. Not just everyone was asleep, and no lights on dark, because lights still shone from the windows, but it felt off. Thanks to Alastor I was alive, not that I would thank him. Hopefully fucking him would get him out of my system, and I'd stop craving more from him. I still smelled of him, and I needed to get a shower to remove any trace of what we did.

Ignoring the feel of my home, I passed through the halls like a phantom to my room for a quick shower and a change of clothes. Not another soul moved about. On a normal night, there would be demons around everywhere. Alastor had been telling the truth, and my dad really believed I was dead. I had to find him and set this straight. It didn't mean I was staying, because I wasn't, but I could at least tell him I was fine, and if Lex's plan worked, then I would return with a Queen.

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