Chapter 17
GAELAN
Ari has been out for almost two hours now; I cleaned her up, checked for wounds, and dressed her in one of my shirts.
Seeing her naked body nearly killed me. I ran my hand over her soft skin as I washed her, my cock painfully hard the entire time.
Trelor was panting in my head, wanting—begging—to have a taste, but my job was to make sure she was safe and cared for, not to let my wayward thoughts win.
Luckily, there were no wounds on her body, so whoever’s blood that was, it wasn’t hers.
I need to clean myself up, but I don’t want to leave her.
Leaning back in my chair, I wince at the pain in my stomach, trying to get comfortable—that bitch, Jade, stabbed me.
I poured myself a large glass of Black and have been sipping it slowly to ease the pain.
I could have lost my Rose, my Ari, again.
After everything I’ve done these last few weeks, it would have all been for nothing.
I made the mistake of trying to make a deal with Macy centuries ago.
It didn’t go as planned. I wasn’t in my right mind when I went to her.
I offered her my services as a dream demon, knowing she had enemies she needed to defeat, and I could help her manipulate their dreams in ways that would destroy each of them.
She agreed, but only if I would give my heart to her—something I would never do.
Now wants me for herself, but since the day I met my Rose, my soul has been tied to hers, and it wants no other. I’ll do everything to keep Ari safe, even if it means trying to do the impossible.
Kill Macy.
There’s something about Ari this time that feels different, more powerful.
Trelor purrs in my head, happy to have her back. We want to mark and claim her as ours again.
Looking at Ari to make sure she’s still asleep, I stride out into the living room to pour another large shot of Black after realizing I’d finished the one in my hand. I’m in the penthouse suite of the hotel; the entire top floor is an apartment, and you need a special key to access it.
The property features two bedrooms, each with an en-suite bathroom, a spacious kitchen with a bar, and a large living room. Everything is black and chrome—not really my taste, but it’s daemon-friendly and has the level of protection I need.
Heading into the kitchen, I stop when I hear a whining sound. Seconds later, Rex appears and sits down on the floor, his red eyes shifting from me to the room where Ari is lying. He missed her as much as I did.
Ari and I got the little hellhound a couple of centuries ago, and we raised them together. When she was taken from me that time, they were only puppies and couldn’t help us.
Hellhounds take longer to grow up and reach full strength, but once they do, they resemble what the non-supernaturals call wolves.
However, with longer black hair and double the size, this little one has been by my side ever since.
Rex was Ari’s favorite. He was the runt of the litter, but oh so clever.
He bonded with her immediately, and he’s been almost as desperate as I have to get her back safely.
Walking over to him, I scruff his head. “Go. Be careful and stay hidden, she doesn’t know you yet.
” He almost nods his head at me before vanishing, and I hear him pad over to the door.
Hellhounds can become invisible and shape-shift into other animals for brief periods; they can also pass through walls, making them useful in battle.
My worry now is that Ari wakes up to a giant wolf staring at her. After everything that has happened tonight, she might freak out, and that’s the last thing she needs right now.
I down my glass of Black and pour myself another one.
I walk over to the window to look out at the skyline.
One of the reasons why I always rent this penthouse is that it gives me a perfect view of the city, something that always soothes me, but tonight…
They trouble me. Every daemon out there knows about the bounty on Ari’s head.
As soon as Mist and Jade tell Macy, they’ll all be after her.
My plans to return to the underworld and my realm will have to be put on hold. I had planned to go after tonight to set some of my affairs in order, but I can’t leave now. I must stay to protect Ari.
“Gaelan?”
Ari’s soft voice sounds from across the room. I turn, and my mouth almost drops open. She has buttoned my shirt in the middle, leaving a valley open at the top that lets me see the curves of her full breasts. Her nipples are hard, pressing against the white fabric, making my mouth water.
“How do you feel?” I ask, walking over to her. Unable to take my eyes off her, I thought she looked perfect in the little black dress she wore last night, now dressed in my shirt. I want to demand she wear nothing else in my presence from now on.
“Tired, confused… What happened?” Pouring her a glass of water from the decanter on the side table, I offer it to her.
She takes it from me and sits down, her eyes looking around the living area, allowing me a few more seconds to remember the beauty that I’ve been missing in my life for so long. “Where are we?”
I sit down next to her, wincing at the pain. “My hotel room.”
She frowns but says nothing.
“What do you remember?” I ask her.
She takes a long drink of water before answering.
“I remember… You had some business, so I was left at the table… then Mark and I were talking, these daemons came in, they had weirdly colored eyes, and Mark tried to fight them off.” She brings her hand to her mouth, her eyes turning to worry. “Oh god, is Mark okay?”
I reach for her hand. “He’s fine, a little beat up, but he will live. What happened next?”
“They… took me. They—” Her eyes darken and flicker back and forth, concern etched on her face.
Squeezing her hand tightly, I say, “It was just some trouble at the restaurant; they were looking for something.” I lie, I don’t want her to know about the trouble that’s heading our way, not yet.
She nods slowly, then bites her lip. I reach out and tug on her chin to release it, and then lean forward to place a kiss on her mouth.
I wince against her lips, feeling a pull on the wound at my side.
Seconds later, warmth floods the area, telling me that it's started bleeding again, the pain getting worse. Ari gasps as she looks down at my blood-stained shirt. “You’re hurt?”
“It’s nothing,” I say dismissively.
“Let me see.” She reaches for the bottom of my shirt, lifts it up, and sucks in a breath, seeing the wound that Jade left me with.
“Gaelan, that’s not nothing, let me heal it for you.” She catches my lie, making me grin. Gods, I love her.
She stands up and makes her way into the kitchen. A few seconds later, she appears with a bowl of cold water. “I may only be a low-level witch, but I’m good at healing spells.”
She is, she’s always been good at them. I pull up my shirt further and hide my grin at the hungry look in her eyes, as she takes in my muscles and my markings of a dragon wrapped in roses on my chest.
Right over my heart.
She places the bowl of water on the table and then places one hand in it and the other over my wound. “This will feel a little hot.” She reassures me.
I know, but I keep that thought to myself and just nod my head instead.
I watch as she closes her eyes and whispers a healing spell in a language I’ve not heard in a very long time.
I’ve never understood the words; my Rose would also tell me that only she can.
As she whispers, the water from the bowl travels up her arm, her eyes blazing brighter as it travels down the other arm and over my wound.
My skin burns as it knits itself back together, the water healing me.
When she pulls her hand back, the water retreats with it back into the bowl, steaming hot. Ari always amazes me with how she is able to heal anyone like this.
She runs her warm hand over my now healed skin. “How does it feel?” she asks. Her fingers touching me feels fucking amazing, and I want her hands all over my body, begging me to fuck her again
“Good.” The single word nearly comes out as a groan.
She places the bowl on the side and bites her lower lip again, deep in thought for a moment, until she says my name. “Gaelan?” She looks at me. “Do you know what they were looking for?” Ari asking me this tells me that tonight is still playing on her mind. Good.
“Yes,” My voice is low, nearly a whisper. I wasn’t going to tell her, but I need her to find that spell book.
“What?” Her tone matches mine, her eyes now downcast, not wanting to look at me when I answer.
“The Book Reader,” I say confidently, her eyes snap up to mine again, and I watch as fear, shock, and something I don’t recognize cross her face. She sits back in the chair and closes her eyes.
“Do you know who it is?” she whispers.
I reach for her hand again. “It is you, my Rose.”
Her eyes fly open; she stands up quickly and paces over to the window. She turns to face me. “What are you not telling me? Why do I feel like I’ve met you before? Why do I feel like I need to touch you all the time, that we have known each other for years?” she implores.
I stand up, but she moves away from me. I worry that I’ve said too much.
Many times, before, when I’ve revealed who I am to her too early, it has pushed her away from me. “Rose—”
“Stop calling me that,” she snaps at me, not letting me finish. I walk over to her, grab her arms, and pull her in close. I lift one hand to rub over her cheek.
“Do you trust me?” I ask her
She shakes her head at me. “Gaelan, I’ve known you less than a day, how can I—”
I lower my head and kiss her, cutting off her words. When I pull back, I ask again, “Ari, do you trust me?”
She stares up at me, searching, and then whispers, “Yes… I don’t know why, but I do.”
“Then know that I will never hurt you or let anyone else hurt you.”