Chapter 18
Present Day
Nova falls asleep within seconds.
I stare at her, tracing my eyes over the slope of her nose and the eyelashes lying against her cheek. Her breathing is already deep and even, our activities having worn her out. I retract my hand from her hair, where I’d been stroking her head, only to have her shift in her sleep, a mumble on her lips as she reaches out and snags my wrist. I can’t help the smile that grows on my face when she hugs my arm to herself, wedging it between her tits over the blanket.
I tuck my free arm under my head after making sure that the blanket is still acting as a barrier between our bodies. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out I have no body heat, especially once I stuck my dick inside Nova. Jesus Christ. It was like an inferno in comparison.
Which leaves the question of how or why I’m able to fuck her at all. I suppose I shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, but I’ve never been one who does well with not knowing how something works.
“You fucked her.”
I flinch, checking that Nova stayed asleep before looking over my shoulder at Koda with a scowl. “Go away,” I order.
He scoffs. “What are you going to do? Murder me?”
I grit my teeth when Nova shifts in her sleep. “You’re going to wake her up,” I hiss.
“It should have been me, you know,” Koda murmurs. “I could have fucked her in the kitchen the other day if Theodore hadn’t interrupted us.”
A streak of possessive jealousy goes through me. I know it would have been him inside Nova, not me, if Theodore hadn’t stepped in when I was about to rip Koda apart for touching her last week.
None of us were supposed to be going near her anymore, when the kitchen incident happened. After she plead with me—not knowing it was me in her room with her—to leave her alone for the night and keep Rhea out of things, all nine of us had agreed to leave Nova alone. The only one who hadn’t agreed had been Koda, but he had disappeared earlier that day, after choking her out. Even Rohan, who looks physically sickened by the idea of staying away from her, had agreed that it would be the best thing for her. Even though we all knew now that we could touch her.
But then Koda got ahold of my sweet girl and riled me up. It’s why I have been haunting Nova everywhere she has gone this week. As soon as I figured out how to leave with her, I was stuck to her like glue, following her to classes and making sure Koda stayed away. He wanted her, but not at the risk of feuding with me—not after I threatened to siphon all of his energy, so he never recovered, if he ever touched her again.
But that wasn’t the only thing I learned from everything that had happened—I had learned that she could touch us, too.
Tonight wasn’t supposed to happen, as curious as I was about how far we could go if given the opportunity. When I followed her to her friend’s apartment, knowing what sort of dress she had in her bag, I’d lectured myself repeatedly about keeping my hands to myself.
Then that overconfident little shithead of a frat boy started trying to move in on her, and I couldn’t have that.
That was when I realized everyone could see me while I danced with Nova. I don’t know how, but at the time I hadn’t cared. Some other punk had danced his way up to her, shooting me a smug look that said he knew I was too old for her and trying to cut in. I’d never stiff armed someone so hard in my life, sending him sprawling across the bar. I’d only regretted it because Nova looked afraid afterward.
It became clear after a few moments, however, that she wasn’t afraid of me—she was trying to get us both away from the guy I’d just shoved because he looked like he was two seconds from causing a scene. My dead heart burned in my chest with affection for her at the way she was trying to take care of me.
She kissed me first, I had reasoned, as we walked back to the house hand-in-hand. By the time we were at the door, though, I didn’t give a fuck about reason. All I could think about was getting the nothing of a dress off Nova and touching every inch of her.
My dick stirs at the thought of how much of her I got to touch.
“She’s not yours,” Koda murmurs, dragging his fingertips down her arm before I can stop him. “The living can’t belong to the dead.”
The way he says it is almost musical, a lilt to his tone as he says it. His eyes widen, and then he mutters something before blinking out of my sight.
Good riddance.
I turn back to Nova. I can’t stay here, in her bed. I can’t be here when she wakes up in the morning.
And it guts me that I won’t ever be able to like I want.
Unable to stay a second longer, knowing I’ll just be counting down the seconds left, I carefully extract my arm from her grasp and roll out of bed. I will clothes to cover my nude form and they do, more easily than normal. Curious, I reach for the little notebook and pen on the cheap nightstand next to her bed, a warm satisfaction filling me when I’m able to pick it up without any concentrated effort at all.
In fact, I feel energy pulsing through me like never before. It’s like being with Nova has supercharged me.
I jot down a quick note on a blank page and rip it out of the notebook. Setting the page on the pillow where my head had been resting, I lean down, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
“Good night, sweet girl,” I whisper and she responds with sigh in her sleep.
I straighten and then jump to Rhea’s room with so little effort that I actually stumble backwards when I land there. Whoa. I’m going to have to figure out how to navigate this new spike of energy.
Rohan is in front of me before I can do anything but catch myself, an angry glint in his eye. “We said we’d leave her alone.”
I don’t know why I feel guilty about him, when I didn’t give a shit about Koda. “I know,” I concede.
He grabs me, surprising me, yanking me close. Even though he was angry following his death, he was never violent—not even toward Nova when he was supposed to be scaring her. “It was supposed to be what was best for her,” he spits. “Instead, you went and stuck your cock in her.”
A flare of anger strikes hot in me. “It’s not like she asked me to stop, Rohan,” I snap back. “She came three times for me.”
“I know!” he snarls. “You think we couldn’t hear her?!”
I become hyperaware of how we’re standing as we fall silent. Rohan is just slightly shorter than me, his nose right at my mouth, which puts our bodies almost perfectly matched as he aggressively holds me in his grip. Something feels different—almost like I feel when I’m with Nova. This overwhelming feeling of rightness hits me square in the chest.
His eyes flick down after a second of staring, glancing at my lips and then back up to my eyes, and I know it’s not just me. Suddenly, as hot as it felt to be inside Nova, I swallow hard, fighting down whatever this new sensation is. I’ve never been attracted to another man in my life. Not until this very moment. Though I don’t know if this is considered my life since I’m technically not alive.
Rohan releases me so fast that we both wobble away from one another. He clears his throat, scrubbing his hand over his face, and pointedly not looking at me.
“Now what?” he asks, his voice bitter. “We both know you’re not going to stay away from her.”
I don’t have to agree out loud. We know I’m not.
Theodore fizzles into being, looking annoyed. “At least we know more about what our limitations are and aren’t.”
“But why Nova?”
All three of us look at Chris and a feeling of alarm sinks deep into my gut. The guy has bounced back and forth between rage and indifference about Nova since she arrived, initially joining up with Koda to play with her. Right now, his fury is palpable. I’ve never seen him this worked up.
“I’ve been here the entire time,” he rants. “From the beginning. I was Rhea’s first kill in this house. Why is it Nova and not Rhea? We could kill the bitch if it was Rhea.”
I step toward him cautiously, holding my hands out in a placating gesture. “Chris, man. It’s all right.”
“No, it’s not!” he screams, his hands going to his hair and ripping at it. “I can’t stay here anymore!”
“None of us want to be here,” Theodore says soothingly. “Maybe knowing what Nova can and can’t do, will help us figure out Rhea.”
I see the moment Chris gets an idea, his eyes lighting up with a light that can only be described as disturbed. “It’s Nova. That’s the problem. Fix the problem. It’s Nova.”
“Chris?” Rohan and I say warily at the same time, and exchange a look. “Fix it how?” I add alone.
“I can’t,” he says brokenly, his shoulders drooping and his face hiding from us as he sinks into himself. “I can’t watch you all touch her and want her. I left behind a family. I left behind my second chance.”
“I know,” Theodore sighs. “I know you did, Chris.”
“I can’t watch it. I can’t see her. I can’t see her happy.”
“Maybe you need to rest for a while,” Theodore suggests.
Chris’ head comes up slowly and my hands clench into fists as I read the violence in his expression. “No rest for the wicked. That’s why we’re still here. We’re wicked. Just like her. Need to stop the wickedness,” he mumbles, pulling at his hair again.
Theodore tries to move closer, but Chris throws a hand out toward him, warding him off.
Chris straightens as we watch on in silence, suddenly focused. “I’ll stop her,” he says, his voice void of emotion. “Nova won’t be a problem anymore.”
Rohan and I bellow, reaching for him as he blinks out of existence.