Chapter Forty-One
Kara
“Don’t run ahead.”
Luke’s thunderous footfalls closed in behind me.
“You’re mortal.”
“I could do without the reminder,” I said, quickening my pace.
A prickling tingle slid down my spine. He was right behind me. I veered to the right just in time to dodge his hand.
He sighed—though it sounded more like a growl.
I giggled.
Probably a bad idea, but I couldn’t help myself. He could grab me anytime he wanted.
As if reading my mind, he muttered, “We both know I can end this game whenever I want. Slow down.” He kept up easily, always a step behind—further proving he was letting me run.
“It’s not a game,” I said. “You’re heading to the woods anyway, and the bird is calling us in.”
“Do you have no sense of danger? It could be a trap.”
“No.” I glanced back at him. “It’s a creature from your world. We both know nothing here would hurt me.”
His footsteps stopped. I halted too and turned to look back.
He was just… staring at me. That gaze of his—hot, heavy, and consuming—should have burned. And yet, somehow, it felt peaceful against my skin.
Slowly, I smiled. “What?”
His head tilted, expression unreadable.
“Did you forget your run-ins with the creatures in Hell?”
“No. Those were demons you brought down here. These new animals—they belong here. Just like you.”
Yes, Luke belonged here, even if he didn’t think so.
Before I could get caught in his expression—before it had the chance to hurt—I whipped around and took off toward the forest.
At our pace, it took only a few minutes to reach it. A slight sweat dampened my skin. I wiped my forehead as I slowed.
The forest was alive.
Birds flitted overhead in the massive trees, chirping and calling to each other. Loud. Beautiful. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen in Hell.
Luke stopped beside me, his gaze locked on the canopy above.
“You hesitated when I told you what waited for us in these trees. But a bird chirps in our face, and suddenly you’re sprinting like your life depends on it?”
I grinned. “The bird’s cuter than you. Obviously, I’d follow it.”
“It’s a skeleton,” he shouted.
“No, some have flesh.”
I pointed to a pair flying above us, their cracked, glowing skin gleaming between the leaves.
Luke muttered as he stepped ahead, “I’m not supposed to be cute. I’m the Dark One.”
I smirked as I followed, gaze on his back. He was actually very cute when he grumbled.
“It’s here.”
I hated hearing those words leave his lips, knowing we were that much closer to the end.
“Where at?” I asked quietly.
“Come here. Stand in front of me.”
I did as he asked, moving until he was at my back.
“See how the trees split in the distance until there’s just one large one?”
I squinted, frowning. “It’s the tree?”
“Maybe. Or maybe, it’ll open in front of it. But it’s there.”
Why couldn’t I feel it yet?
I thought maybe Reapers would have some kind of internal knowing—something deep in our bones when the crossover came. But maybe that sense was gone with our mortality. And with Melinda gone…how would my family even find this place?
That familiar dread wrapped around my ribs, squeezing.
I was yanked from the spiral when something squawked right in my face. I jolted back just as a bird—fleshless, glowing—flapped near. Luke swatted at it, claws slashing the air, but the bird dodged him easily and stayed close, hovering.
“Hmm.” I held out my hand. The bird landed gently on my index finger. “Maybe they’re not showing us anything. Maybe they’re just…curious.”
“Irritating is what they are,” Luke muttered, slicing the air again as a second bird flew toward us. This one dodged and flitted upward before both hovered just out of his reach, watching him with tilted heads.
“Luke.”
“I’m not harming anything,” he muttered, “just showing them why they should keep a polite distance.”
About a quarter mile into the trees, a glowing green watering hole shimmered like a beacon against the backdrop of crimson leaves. The birds still hovered close, ignoring Luke’s swats and grumbles the entire way.
I bent on one knee and dipped my hand into the water. Cool, smooth, and clear. “Is it safe to get in?”
“Yes.”
His voice was rough—low, rasped, and tinged with something far too eager.
I turned, startled by the sudden shift in tone.
Luke was crouched behind me like some giant, primal beast, tail lashing the air in a way that was…not innocent. His lips curled, fangs flashing, and those blood-red eyes gleamed like twin embers.
I smirked. “Why are you suddenly so excited?”
His entire focus was on me, completely ignoring the curious birds still flitting around his shoulders. It was almost sweet, how they clung to him—drawn to the darkness like a moth to a flame.
“You have some blood on your lovely skin,” he said slowly, voice low and thick. “I can help you—”
“You’d be a dear,” I cut him off, batting my lashes. “Turn around and keep watch?”
We both knew I was teasing. Both knew I wanted his hands on me more than the water—but the truth pressed like a blade in my ribs. Those quiet, stolen moments felt too much like hope.
And hope hurt.
Don’t, I told myself. Don’t start believing he’ll choose you.
“Your pussy was on my face an hour ago,” he said flatly, as if I somehow didn’t remember.
I did. I remembered all. The intensity, the way he devoured me, the way I fell apart on his tongue. Just thinking about it made something deep inside me clench.
“I wish I could taste you,” he murmured.
I blinked, heart stuttering, lips parting—but no words came.
He stood slowly, his movements precise, muscles flexing as he added, “Keeping watch? Of course. That’s what a nice man would do. I can be nice…so fucking soft.”
I barely bit back my laugh as he turned and walked a few feet away, facing the trees. His shoulders were tense, fists clenching and unclenching at his sides like he was restraining himself with every breath.
With my eyes still on his back, I stripped and stepped into the water.
A sigh slipped from my lips. It was warm, clean, and deeper than it looked—rising to my hips.
I ran my hands through it, letting the gentle current wash over me.
There was something oddly calming in the way it smelled like wildflowers.
“You sound naked…and wet…and like I want to look,” Luke said gruffly, voice low and full of restraint.
I glanced at him. His back was still to me, but I could tell—he was barely holding himself back.
“I want to see you.” The words left my mouth before I could stop them.
He went utterly still. I wasn’t sure he was breathing.
“What?” he asked, voice sharp.
“All of you.” My voice didn’t shake, though I felt nervous beneath my skin. “What’s under the pants—the only thing you ever wear? Can I see?”
“I’m going to turn around.”
“Not yet.”
His voice rumbled low. “Kara.”
I stayed in the water, waiting—just to see how long he’d resist. And he stood there, with his back turned, still waiting for what seemed like an eternity, when really a couple of minutes had passed.
“What kind of question is that anyway?” Luke muttered when the silence between us grew heavier, despite the birds still singing overhead.
He turned then, and I expected heat in his eyes—desire, hunger—but all I saw was something deeper. Weariness. A kind of love that hurt.
“I don’t deserve what you want to give me—can’t give me,” he said.
“You do,” I replied, the words barely audible.
His brow furrowed. “Kara—”
“No,” I whispered as I walked out of the water toward him.
Suddenly, the red leaves fell to the ground, making a lovely display since the grass was more barren in the woods.
Pressing my hand over his heart, even though he couldn’t feel it, I said, “You do. I don’t care if you’re the Dark One or the villain or the monster at the end of this story. You’re mine.”
His throat bobbed as he swallowed. “Don’t say that.”
“You don’t get to decide what I say or how I feel.”
He placed his hands over mine on his chest as soon as he noticed and uttered, “I’ve told you. Giving you pleasure is pleasuring to me.”
“It’s not the same.” I kissed his back, though I knew he couldn’t feel it.
“It’s not,” he agreed. “But it’s more than I thought possible.”
I smiled against his skin. “You’ve thought about my pleasure often then?”
“I have thought about you, Kara, so much that it became painful, and it wasn’t your desire. Just you. And before you complain that I’m trying to be cruel, I’m not. You wanted honesty. How much you plague my mind is torture.”
I wrapped my arms around him. My nipples pebbled as they pressed against his heated skin. I couldn’t help the tingle coursing through me or the sudden ache in my breasts as I smashed myself against him.
“I’m painful to you?” My voice was hoarse.
“So fucking much.” He cupped my cheek. “It was agony to watch you from a distance, hear conversations, laughter, and see your smiles, and your frustrations, knowing none of it was directed at me.”
“You’ve been watching me?”
He flashed his fangs. “Like your family, I have my way of tracking things and seeing people. Of course, I’ve kept an eye on you when I stopped coming to as your shadow. You are an agony that’s mine and mine alone.”
“I’m a pain in the ass, and yours? Hmm?” I ran my hands down his arms. “You said you weren’t coming for a mate the day you kidnapped me, and now suddenly, I’m being claimed.”
“I wasn’t being honest back then, Kitten, but let’s be clear: You’ve been mine long before you existed.”
The shock coursed through me, and I could only part my lips.
Luke used the opportunity to swoop down and steal a kiss, even sliding his tongue in.
The taste of him, the wet glide of his intrusion, and the way he squeezed me tightly before sliding his palms down to ass—everything turned my stomach to molten lava.
He groaned and sucked on my tongue. I could feel the suction on my clit like the sensation was a direct link to my desire.
Hades, I wanted to lay claim to Luke in the same way he laid claim to me. I broke our kiss to trail my tongue down his chin, then neck, peppering his skin with light teases before I began to suck. I pulled hard on his skin, desperate for him to feel me, to want me the way I wanted him.
His lips dipped toward my ear. “Let me take care of you.”
My pussy was clenching on nothing from his words. I didn’t want to give in. I wanted him to feel me, just once. Maybe then he’d understand the magic between us.
“No, let me take care of you.” I dragged my teeth across his skin.
Hades, Luke was freaking shaking head to toe.
“Kara…”
I pushed away from him abruptly; desperation was driving me forward. “Don’t do that. You’re not trying. I can make you feel good, but it’s like you refuse to let me.”
His nostrils flared. “Kitten, do you think I’m unfazed by you? I’m literally a web of desire on the inside, and I can’t feel you. You, Kara, you cause an uprising inside me when there is no means of escaping. If I could, I’d show you what you do to me. Just how well you would be fucked by me.”
I covered my face as tears pricked my eyes. “I’m sorry. It’s not your fault, but I can’t. You might not know you’re shaking, but I do. It feels wrong to seek my pleasure when you get none. I feel your need too.”
“Kara…” His voice was mournful, so soft, but I didn’t look at him. “It doesn’t bother me. I want to touch you. Even though we are mates, I never expected you’d allow it. I know what I look like. The fact that we can have this is more than I would have imagined.”
Luke was such a conundrum, saying and doing things that felt so much like affection.
I dropped my hands to see him beckoning me.
“Come here.” The rasp in his voice had my core clenching tight.
“No. No touching me. I want to explore you.” Then I smiled and took a few steps back. I ran my hand down my left breast and beckoned him forth. “If you’re okay with that, then you come here.”
Only Luke froze, eyes swallowing me whole as his arms fell to his sides. Even his tail went limp.