Chapter 25 The Deal #2
“Someone broke my heart.” He scoffed at himself. “I hate to even think about it because it’s a pathetic reason, but that's what happened. My life imploded because my heart broke, and I wasn’t smart enough to just take a trip, go away, and heal.”
“Is this a joke? Are you being serious right now?”
“No, it’s not. I loved someone who chose someone else.”
“So all of this is happening because your crush didn’t like you back?
” I didn't mean for it to sound so harsh, but there was something else there, something that stirred inside me, an ache almost like anger.
I did not like that Raymond had loved someone before, and I particularly did not like that whoever that was, had broken his heart.
But I didn't know how to express that to him, so I made a joke.
“Male egos are so damn fragile, even in other worlds.”
“Yes. I know how ridiculous that sounds, but that is why this is happening. I loved someone, and for a time, I thought she could love me back.” His jaw clenched, and I could see him biting back embarrassment.
“She chose someone else. I stepped aside, but every time I saw them together, that ache grew until it ate me up. And then, after all of that, he left her. He left her, and she came back to me—not because she wanted me, but because she wanted me to help her kill the man she chose over me.”
“She sounds like a real piece of work.” I rolled my eyes. “Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that it didn’t work out.”
“Oh, she is.” He let out a hollow laugh.
“The only way I thought I could get away from her was to help them take over. She would never join with the new faction if it worked. I hate to admit it, and I wish so often I could change it, but my broken heart led me down a really dark path. Eventually, I healed. I got over her, and I realized the magnitude of my mistake. It was too late, though. Everything was already in motion, and there was nothing I could do to stop it, so instead of playing my part, I just walked away. The next morning, the report came out that it was his brother who died, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before they found us all out. I didn't want to face it, so I left.”
“What happens now? Now that you're back here, in this world.” I swallowed hard as I realized where that question came from. Oh shit. Girl, is that insecurity?
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“We're here, we're going to do this, and we are going to save Natalie.” I chanted. “But then what happens? Do you keep running, or do you stay here and face the music?”
“I haven’t gotten that far, to be honest.” He scratched the back of his neck. “Jericha, I never planned on coming back here at all, so the idea of what happens next doesn’t even register in my mind. I had firmly put this world and all those in it behind me.”
“You can’t think they are going to let you slip away after this is over.
I haven’t had much time to get to know Klougus, but he seems like the sort to want to keep you around.
” I frowned, remembering the brief encounter.
“Just thinking about the way he looked at Metice makes my skin crawl. It’s like he wants to claim him. Did they ever…you know? Get together?”
Raymond laughed, his body shaking with each boisterous sound.
“I am definitely telling him you said that. But no. As far as I know, nothing ever happened between them. Klougus is like that—possessive. It’s in his nature.
If he had his way, he would keep us all locked up in little boxes, only letting us out when it was time for us to do work for him. ”
“That sounds pleasant.” I frowned. “No wonder there were people who wanted to betray him.”
“Yeah, trust me, there were valid reasons for it, including the fact that he has actually locked people away to try to keep their power for himself. Usually, it’s people from other worlds.
That was Metice’s job. He went from the Bane across the universes, kidnapping the strongest people to bring back to Klougus, all under the guise that the people somehow owed him a debt.
I’m not sure I entirely believe that part. ”
“Okay, so sticking around to go back to work isn’t in the cards, but there has to be something else.
Right?” I looked around us at the scenery.
Gentle creatures, fresh air, peaceful territories—that was all I’d seen of his world.
I knew there had to be more to it, but from my short exposure, I had every reason to believe he would want to go back.
“What do you want to happen? Do you want to stay here? Go back to Earth? I hate to say it, but this looks like the better choice. Even the air is cleaner.”
“Is it possible for us to figure that out later?”
Us? He said us. Not him, us. Oh, girl, stop it! So what? You’re acting like a child!
“What’s going on in there?” Raymond tapped my temple with his finger.
“What?” My eyes snapped back to his face.
“You get this far off look in your eyes whenever your inner voice starts to rattle off. What’s it saying now?”
“My conversations with my inner voice are none of your business.” I flicked his finger away from my face.
“Conversations? Hmm.” He nodded, squinting as he teased me. “So it’s a call and response. Do you talk back to it? Is this something you’ve shared with your therapist?”
“You think you’re funny, huh?”
I dropped my eyes from his, and he put his hands on my shoulders and firmly squeezed them. He kissed my forehead and inhaled deeply, pressing his nose against the top of my head.
“Whatever decision I make, you’ll know in full detail. I won’t keep you in the dark again. Is that okay?” He tightened his hold on me. “For now. Is that enough?”
“Yeah…for now.” I nodded against his lips.
“Thank you, Jericha.” I could feel him relax more against me as he rested his head on top of mine.
“For what?” I dropped my head into his neck and rested on his chest. “You don’t have anything to thank me for.”
“Yes, I do.” His arms slipped around me in a loose hug. “I have to thank you for sharing your secret with me. You didn’t have to do that. I know it couldn’t have been easy. I want you to know I appreciate the vulnerability.”
“Well, you called me perfect, and I hate that word,” I joked. “I’m not perfect. I’m flawed, and if you’re going to be around me, I need you to know that.”
“Technically, I said damn near perfect.” He chuckled. “You snore. That takes away a few points.”
“You don’t have to sleep with me.” I pinched his waist. “Telling me I snore like I forced you into my bed.”
“Chill, woman. It was a joke.” He batted my hand away. “Ouch.”
“Ha ha.” I rolled my eyes. “Next time, it will be more than a pinch.”
“Look, I need you to know you can hate the world all you want, but even with the secret you shared, and the ones you haven’t, you’re still pretty damned perfect to me.
” He sighed. “But if you don’t want to be called that, I’ll use another term.
How are magnificent, angelic, the epitome of excellence? ”
“Stop it.” I tried to move away from him, but he held me tighter.
Raymond moved his mouth right next to my ear, and in the deepest timbre, he whispered, “Make me.”
The only thing I could think to do in that moment was kiss him.
So, I did. I lifted onto my toes and pressed my lips against his.
Raymond took that as his cue and wrapped his arms around me, lifting me from the ground.
He growled low as our kiss deepened, and I moved my arm to wrap around his shoulders.
“Can we just stay here?” I spoke against his lips. “I like it here.”
“No, but if you kiss me like that every time we come here, we’re going to spend a lot of time beneath these trees.” He slid his hand to my ass, cupping it with a light squeeze. “And not in all these clothes.”
“I think the others would be mad at us if we did that.” I smiled against his lips. “They’re probably already annoyed we left like that.”
“They’ll be fine. All it means is that we don’t ride back home with them. But you’re right. We should get back. There is a lot to do. We need to plan, to figure out what support we’ll have.”
“Do you think Klougus will lend you any of his men to help? Looks like he has plenty of them still on his side.”
“Honestly, no,” Raymond answered. “He won’t want his name to be associated with this if things go wrong. It’s why he’s making me do it. If I’m the one who gets my hands dirty, it doesn’t matter. I was already a man on the run.”
“And if it goes well, he gets the benefit, and he gets to boast about how brilliant he is.”
“Exactly. I wouldn’t put it past him to act like this was his plan all along, the long game to catch the enemy off guard.”
“The politics here are just as dirty as they are on Earth.”
“No, baby, they’re a whole lot dirtier.” He pulled one of my arms from around his neck and brought my palm to his lips to kiss. “And I’m going to do everything I can to keep your hands clean.”
Behind him, the shadow opened again, and I sighed. “I guess that means we’re leaving?”
“Yes,” Raymond said as he carried me into the darkness.
We stepped out on the other side and were back inside our borrowed condo.
The others hadn’t made it back yet, so we snuggled up together on the couch.
Soon, after picking from the left-over pastries and making a comment about how I needed protein, I drifted off on his shoulder.
I woke up when Raymond shifted beneath me.
“What is it?” I yawned. “Are they here?”
“I think so. Someone just knocked on the door.” He got up and headed to the door.
“Oh.” I sat up, straightening my shirt and making sure I didn’t have a tit out of place.
“What are you doing here?” Raymond’s voice had that edge to it, and I expected Metice to respond.
“That’s no way to greet a visitor!” the cool, feminine voice spoke. “Besides, I didn’t come here without an invitation. Daddy told me about what you were going to do, and I asked if I could help. I already spoke to Metice. Surprised he didn’t tell you.”
“We took a detour on the way back,” I heard Raymond say as he stepped aside.
In walked a tall, slender demoness with green skin. She had an arm that looked like it didn’t fully match the rest of her and tentacles that looked the same. I stood from my seat and prepared to give her a warm greeting when she opened her mouth again.
“Oh, so this is the human you replaced me with.” She scrunched her nose. “At least this one is cuter than the last one.”
“Last one?” My eyes shot to Raymond. What the hell was she talking about? Was I not his first human? Why did that matter?
“It’s nothing.” Raymond turned on her, finger pointed in her face. “Olian, stop it.”
“First, Metice does it to me, and now you!” She threw her hands up like a damsel in distress. “How will I ever recover from this embarrassment?”
“Metice?” I shouted then slapped my hand over my mouth as all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.