Page 67 of Flirting with Death

"It will link us. It might be helpful if something happens." He shrugged.

My gaze swept over the others, they watched us, waiting for my response. The air froze in my chest as I realized I was going to agree. "Okay."

Shock ghosted over his face, then he smiled. I had time to change my mind as he stood up. His tail tapped the coffee table as he stepped toward me. I swallowed, holding eye contact.

"This won't make me want you, will it?"

He laughed. "If I wanted you to want me, I have other ways of achieving that."

Accepting his words at face value, I nodded. He was an incubus, after all. "Not the neck," I said, when he dropped to his knees in front of me.

He quirked an eyebrow and held out his hand. "Wrist?"

I leaned forward, placing my arm in his hold. His fingers curled around my wrist, his black nails laid against my skin. But his hold was gentle and undemanding, the opposite of what I would have thought. I swallowed dryly as he lowered his mouth. My heart raced with an almost violent rhythm as he made contact.

His teeth sank into my flesh. Pain flashed through me lasting only a second. Something else replaced the feeling as he drew my life from my veins. Not passion but connection, so deep I felt like we were a single person. I felt what he felt, saw what he thought. A gasp hit me as I felt how lonely he was, how much belonging meant to him. I knew those feelings. They were familiar and rooted deep inside of me, only I had Samantha's family as a child growing up in a strange world. Bellamy continued to search for the belonging he craved.

His tongue glided across the wound he had created, knitting the skin back together as he sat back on his heels and looked up at me. The connection hadn't broken. In fact, I felt all of them. Awe spread through me, chased by goosebumps. We belonged together, all of us. It was a certainty. None of this was a mistake or forced. The Gods may have manipulated our lives so that we would come together, but I was sure we would have found each other either way, in a different reality, the four of us searched for her.

The corner of his mouth tilted up, and I knew he had heard my thoughts. And I was okay with that. My dragon was okay with it. Damn, was I high on something in his saliva?

"It's the connection. It will recede a bit," Bellamy replied. "Do you want me now?"

I choked on a surprised laugh at his dry question. "No."

"Maybe next time." He shrugged as he pushed to his feet and returned to his seat.

* * *

The next morning, we headed to my warehouse. It was the logical place to be. Close to where we wanted to strike and large enough for me to shift if I needed to.

Tyler walked up, eyeing us at the same time we arrived. "You five get the sex out of your systems?"

Sammy broke away from me and gave him a hug. "I don't know, we were saving the grand finale for when you could watch."

He shoved at her shoulder, pushing her away with a disgusted look on his face. "Gross."

She laughed. "You asked."

The mood was lighter this morning. It felt more like we could achieve anything. When we were in the warehouse, Bellamy wandered to my fridge, tugging it open as if he owned the place.

"You have crap for snacks." He closed the door, revealing a pudding cup as he turned back around. I was pretty sure he thought he would starve if he didn't eat at least once an hour.

"Let's go over the plan one last time," Lex said.

Alastor nodded his agreement. "We will strike right before the sun goes down. He will be weak. The full moon isn't tonight, so he won't expect it."

"I brought the stuff you asked me to pick up," Tyler said, tugging three vials out of his pockets. "The Order didn't even blink an eye when I said they were for a demon hunt."

Binding potions. If we bound his powers, he couldn't use them, and it would all be brute force. I glanced at the clock, six hours before the sun would officially be done. Six hours before this could be over. As they chatted, I went into the bedroom. Throwing a look over my shoulder, I checked if anyone had followed before I pulled the picture off of the wall, revealing a small safe. I punched in the code, and the door popped open. The ruby glinted in the light, and I sucked in a breath before I reached in and wrapped my fingers around it.

Just in case.

I dropped the gem into my pocket. If things went south, it may be the only thing to save us. We were stronger than any prophecy. Even if he destroyed it, we would still find each other. The picture was barely back in place when Sam spoke up from behind me. My blood raced through my veins as I attempted to act like I hadn't just put the ruby in my pocket.

"What are you doing?" She pushed off the door frame and crossed the room to me. Her eyes skimmed over the painting hanging on the wall before she brought her blue orbs back to mine.

I shook my head. "Nothing," I stumbled over the word, and her eyebrows rose as she studied me.

---