Chapter Twenty-Five
Lia
The sun dips below the horizon, blending swirls of dusty peach and lavender across the sky. I fold the last of my shirts and tuck them into the suitcase Carter gave me. As the zipper rasps shut, I pause.
Leo is leaning in the doorway, arms crossed. “Mind if I sit?”
“Go ahead.” I pat the mattress.
He sinks down beside me, the bed dipping under his weight. “You ready for tomorrow?”
If we make it to Vancouver without seeing a single Aether Hunter, then yes. But if we’re ambushed on a lonely stretch of highway…
I push the thought aside.
“I’d like to say I’m prepared. My skills have improved, but I’m still a work in progress.”
“Kylo says you’re ready. Where’s your confidence?”
“She’s shy.”
He laughs. “Stay close to Kylo tomorrow.”
“Is this coming from the same man who was ready to kill him this morning?”
“You know why I was concerned.”
“Concerned is an understatement. You were a one-man firing squad.”
He gives me a sheepish grin.
“He’s not like Julian,” I say.
“Kylo didn’t cross a line, right?”
“Kylo… was amazing. He was patient. I didn’t know it could feel so—”
Leo’s smile widens as he lets out a mock-agonized groan, holding up a hand to stop me. “Okay, stop. I definitely don’t need the details.” He exhales, reaching over to squeeze my hand. “As long as you feel safe with him, that’s enough for me.”
“I feel safe with Kylo. Besides, I can take care of myself. Don’t spend the drive glancing in the rearview mirror tomorrow worrying about me.”
The shadows beneath his eyes look like bruises, a visible map of lost sleep.
“Mom would be incredibly proud of how far you’ve come.”
“She’d be proud of both of us.” I squeeze his forearm. The tension in him isn’t just physical—it radiates off his skin like static against my palm. “As long as we stick together, we’ll make it.”
Leo nods, his smile still tight. “That’s right.”
Kylo is here.
I don’t need to look at the door to know exactly where he is. The low hum of his energy brushes against my skin.
“I’m right outside your door.”
“Come in,” I say aloud.
Kylo nudges the door open. Leo stands, kisses the top of my head, and murmurs something low to Kylo before leaving. The door clicks shut, leaving us in the soft glow of the lamp.
“What did he say to you?”
“He repeated what he told me earlier. Said he’d end me if I hurt you.”
I know he wouldn’t hurt me. Not intentionally, and never in the way I’ve been hurt before.
“I’m going to find him.” His fists clench at his sides. “And when I do, I’ll make him beg for death.”
“He’s in the past now.”
I mean it. I refuse to let him ruin this.
He sits next to me. “I need to know something.” He hesitates, eyes holding mine. “Did you leave him after it happened?”
“Not right away,” I say, looking out the window.
The amber light catches the hard contours of his face. “I’m not judging you. I just wish I’d been there to end him before he ever touched you.”
I grab a strand of hair, twisting it to avoid his intense gaze.
“I stayed. I didn’t know what he’d do if I tried to leave.
One afternoon on campus, Julian cornered me.
He threatened me. Said things about… what happened.
Leo overheard and lost it. The coach broke it up before Leo could seriously hurt him. He quit the football team after that.”
“If I’d gotten my hands on him, he’d already be dead.”
“I think Leo would’ve done the same if he hadn’t been stopped.”
“I’m glad he was there when you needed him.”
“Yeah,” I say quietly. “Me too.”
My thoughts drift to the looming dread of tomorrow.
“Do you know what the plan is once we cross the border?” I ask.
“When we arrive, we’ll regroup with Elijah’s team.”
“Do you think Blair is in Canada?”
“Unlikely. We scoured the area for years and never found an Aether Hunter compound in Vancouver. But the closer I get to her, the easier it’ll be to hunt her down.”
“How do you track someone telepathically?”
“If I drop my guard, I can skim the surface of open minds, brushing what’s unshielded.”
“I didn’t know telepathy could reach that far.”
The idea is both fascinating and unsettling.
“The stronger you are and the more you practice, the greater the distance.”
“How far can you reach?”
He shrugs, but there’s a flicker of old pride—and current grief—in his eyes. “Back when Carter and I were training the recruits, I pushed myself until my nose bled. The furthest I managed was fifty miles.”
“Fifty miles,” I repeat, stunned by the sheer scale of his power. “Kylo, that’s incredible.”
“It wasn’t enough to find Blair.”
I place my hand on his thigh and give it a gentle, grounding squeeze, letting my touch say what my words can’t.
We’re going to find her.
Kylo shifts, bracing his hands on either side of my head. His muscular arms press into the mattress, enclosing me in a warm cocoon. “I should leave,” he says, though he doesn’t move an inch. “You need sleep for tomorrow.”
“I’m not tired.” I hook the collar of his shirt and tug him down. “What if I’m not ready for you to go? What if I want you right here?”
The scent of him wraps around me, clean and earthy—tempting me to bury my face in the crook of his neck and stay there until the sun comes up.
His mouth moves against mine with a rhythm that drags me under. His tongue slips past my lips, drawing a gasp from me as my body arches.
A violent tremble of pleasure rolls through me, lighting up every nerve ending.
“Look at you,” he murmurs, his breath skating across my cheek, sending a fresh wave of shivers down my spine. “Look at how you respond when I touch you.”
“Please.”
I don’t even know what I’m asking for. I just need him to keep his hands on me.
He grazes his teeth along my neck, then trails his lips back to my jaw. One hand weaves into my hair, twisting the strands. “What am I going to do with you?”
I press my hand to his chest and give him a light push. He lets me flip him without resistance. I settle into his lap, straddling his thighs, and drag my thumb along the rough line of stubble on his jaw.
His grip tightens around my thighs. His fingers slide along my waist, pausing at the hem of my pants. I peel my top and bottoms off, tossing them aside.
His hands trail lower until he finds the spot that makes my breath hitch. A sudden pull tightens in my belly as he circles my clit. A startled moan slips from my mouth.
My chest rises and falls, my skin flushing as he explores me, his fingers curling until my muscles coil and ache.
I need more—more of his weight, more of his skin. I pull his shirt over his head in one swift move. My hands roam across the ridges of his torso, each muscle flexing beneath my touch.
His mouth moves to my chest, teasing my nipple until I gasp, my hips rolling into him. “Kylo—”
“Easy.” The word is strained and tight.
His clothes are gone in seconds.
The sight of him makes my lips part. I grab the base of his cock, and slowly stroke his length. His eyes flutter shut, a guttural sound vibrating from his throat that makes my own pulse jump. I drink in his reaction, watching him shiver and break beneath my touch.
I quicken my pace, my hand gliding up and down until he groans.
“If you don’t slow down, I’m not going to last.”
He guides me onto my back. He reaches for his pants, retrieves a foil packet, and tears it open.
“Planned ahead?” I murmur, biting my lip.
“I’ve been carrying it since this morning. I’ve wanted to feel myself inside you since last night.”
The way he says it…
He kneels between my thighs. “You ready?”
“I’m—”
My words dissolve into a gasp as he enters me. He’s slow at first, the fullness of him stretching me until I’m certain I’ll break. I grip his forearms, nails digging into his skin with every thrust. He finds his rhythm, and I melt. My body molds to his. Nothing exists beyond the way he fills me.
His calloused palms trail over my chest, rough and reverent, his pace quickening as his fingers press into my lower belly, anchoring himself.
My head tips back, eyes rolling as he thrusts, his hips grinding in the right spot, sending a white-hot spark through my nerves. I’m trembling, the edge so close it’s all I see.
His gaze pins me in place, dark and intense.
All grit and control, dismantling me thrust by thrust.
I’m stretched to my limit, my breath coming in short, sharp bursts. I dig my nails into his back.
“Right there, Lia. Fuck.”
His words tether me as I fall apart. I cling to him, shattering as the pressure snaps. He groans, his breath stuttering as his momentum increases. My body pulses around him as I come. He follows—hips jerking, body tensing as he spills into the condom.
He eases out, and I shiver at the sudden absence.
He rolls off, disposes of the condom, and climbs back in, pulling me into his chest like I belong there.
I press closer, breathing him in.
“How do you feel?”
“Thoroughly fucked.”
He laughs, a deep, genuine sound that vibrates against my shoulder.
“It felt different,” I add, trying to find the right words. “Intense. Like our emotions were burning through me.”
His mouth brushes my forehead. “I think your empathy amplified everything. I could feel every bit of you.”
The lightness lingers in my chest, unfamiliar and disorienting.
It’s new and exhilarating.
“This is new for me, too,” he says softly, catching the thought before I can voice it. “I’ve never been with an empath before.”
The high of the last hour fizzles out. Of course, Kylo’s been with other women, but the thought still stings, an unwanted prick of envy.
“Why did you tense up?” He adjusts us so we’re sitting face to face in the dim light.
“I’m thinking about how different we are.”
What if I’m not what he’s used to?
He’s probably been with dozens of women, but his body count doesn’t bother me.
What bothers me is the gap between us.
He draws lazy circles over my hip bone. “I haven’t been with as many as you think. After our parents were killed, most of my time was spent tracking Aether Hunters. There were women here and there, but they were distractions. Nothing more.”
I’m inexperienced compared to what he’s used to, and the man who touched me before Kylo—
“Don’t go there. It doesn’t matter how many people you’ve been with. It matters who. And Julian—” he spits the name like it’s acid corroding his throat, “—does not fucking count.”
Julian doesn’t count, I repeat in my head.
Not after what he did.
“I’m glad we cleared that up.” He sits up, propping himself on one hand as he looks down at me. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about college. What did you do before you came here?”
I tell him about my major, about the late nights fueled by too much caffeine and not enough sleep. About sneaking into local bars with Leo to play pool, and the rowdy chaos of house parties.
He stays engrossed the entire time, his focus never wavering. He asks about my favorite classes and the people I knew, listening as if these mundane details are the most fascinating in the world.
The room feels warmer, and my words slow until a yawn breaks through. I melt into him, my body sinking into the mattress as his hands thread through my hair.
Kylo is etching himself into places I thought had withered away.