by Anne, Meg
Biting her lip, she nodded slowly, her hands already lifting to the side of her head to remove her bandage.
Lucas fought to keep his face impassive as he took in the angry red and black scar. The Druid must have done something to speed up the healing, because the wound was far less raw than he’d imagined, but it was gruesome all the same. He could feel Skye watching him and didn’t want her to misinterpret his anger for disgust.
When he didn’t say anything, she reached for the bottom of her sweater, sucking in a shaky breath before pulling it up and over her head in one quick move. Lucas’ eyes dropped to her chest, letting out a hiss as he saw the first of the scars.
The biggest was a misshapen rune carved into her side, its raised edges jagged and a red so deep it was almost purple. But the angry scar that hit him like a physical blow was the jagged line that disappeared into the middle of her bra. The one she’d gotten when she thought she’d died to save him.
Each of the scars she now carried were because of him, and Lucas had never been more aware that he in no way deserved Skye. In fact, he’d never felt more unworthy of someone in his entire life.
Lucas dropped to his knees in front of her, burying his face in her lap so she couldn’t see the sheen of tears in his eyes.
“Lucas?” she asked, barely masking the fear in her voice as she ran trembling fingers through his hair.
“I’m going to kill him, Giovanni. I swear to you on my parents’ graves that his time left on this earth is fucking limited.”
“I know you will, Lucas.”
“I’m just so fucking sorry.”
“Lucas, no. Shh.”
Skye was trying to tug him up, but Lucas wasn’t fully in control of his emotions just yet, so he wrapped his arms around her hips and held on tight.
“This is my fault,” he said, his words muffled into her lap. “None of this should have touched you. None of it would have if I’d just left you alone on that damn balcony like you wanted me to.”
“Lucas, you had no more control over what’s between us than you do the number of stars in the sky. I would suffer through everything, every terrible thing, again,” she insisted, her voice husky with unshed tears, “because it ended up here, with me loving you.”
“Skye,” he groaned, pushing up to catch her lips with his.
“I mean it, Lucas,” she said, pulling away to look in his eyes. “Curse or no curse. I was a ghost of a person before you slammed into my orbit and knocked me off course. I had my art, sure, but no friends, no real relationships. That’s not a life, Lucas. I kept everyone at a distance after my grandmother died, too afraid of what attachment could lead to. Too afraid to really live, because I knew I’d eventually lose everyone I ever came to care about. Until you. Because of you, Lucas, I’m not that person anymore. You systematically destroyed every single excuse I ever clung to, like a fucking supernova”—she gave a watery chuckle—“you might have killed the girl I used to be, but never has there been anything more wonderful than being loved by you.”
Lucas closed his eyes, no longer able to keep the first tear from rolling down his cheek. After everything she’d been through, she’d knowingly choose to do it all over again to be with him. Her honesty cut through him, laying his soul bare to hers. He didn’t have the words to tell her what her confession meant to him, what hearing the words had done to him.
Swallowing a wave of emotion, Lucas did the only thing he could. Bending slightly, he scooped her up, cradling her to his body. Using instinct to guide his actions, Lucas drew on his power. It was slower to respond than it had been before, but the familiar tingling soon grew to a burn. Wiping a finger through each of their tears, Lucas drew the first rune over her heart, where the freshest scar laid. Then a second, over the Druid’s mark. And finally, a third, over the remains of her ear.
He didn’t know if he said the word aloud or not, but when he opened his eyes, the scars were gone, and Skye glowed with the remnants of his power.
“You know the best thing about a supernova?” he asked in a rough voice as he started to carry her down the hall.
“What’s that?” she whispered.
“There’s nothing in any universe more beautiful than watching them shine.”
Chapter 27
Skye
Shutting the door behind them, Lucas slid her down his hard body before crushing his mouth to hers. Anticipation flooded her system, sending goosebumps flaring on her skin, and heat pooling between her legs.
He tasted of the scotch he’d had that evening, and Skye moaned as Lucas reached back and buried his hands in her hair. His hardness pressed against her, and Skye arched into it, desperate for the moment when the fabric barriers between them would be gone.
“You are so fucking wonderful, Skye,” he whispered, trailing his lips down her neck.
The scruffiness of his beard scraped deliciously against her skin, and she arched back, giving him more access. He continued the tease down to her breasts, and with nimble fingers, he reached back and unclasped her bra. Lucas took a taut nipple into his mouth, and Skye groaned, arching back as his tongue traced circles around the delicate skin.
“Please, Lucas,” she moaned.
He chuckled against her breast, and after pressing one last kiss, straightened to look down into her eyes. His own were laced with lust, and the passion reflecting in their depths only furthered her own desire.
“Not so fast, Giovanni. I have plans to savor every single delicious inch of you.”
Lucas reached down and cupped her ass, lifting her as she wrapped her legs around his waist. The door pressed against her back as he took her mouth in another heated assault.
Dazed and aroused, Skye didn’t realize he’d carried her to the bed until the mattress was at her back, and he was pulling away.
Lucas looked down at her like she was the most beautiful woman in the world, and it made her heart soar.
The mattress dipped with his weight, and he pressed a kiss to her stomach, just above the button of her jeans. Using one hand, Lucas undid the button and slid the zipper down slowly enough to drive a sane woman mad.
Skye arched up into him, craving the release that was already building inside despite the fact he’d barely touched her.
“Please, Lucas. I need you.”
“Not like I need you, baby.”
Sliding her jeans down, Lucas continued placing kisses down her legs, until he’d removed her pants and tossed them to the floor.
In an instant, Skye felt hot breath just over the black panties she wore. “Yes,” she said breathlessly, burying her hands in the blankets beside her.
“That what you want?” He slid one finger beneath the thin fabric, brushing over where she wanted him most, and Skye cried out.
“Yes, Lucas. Please.”
He traced another finger against her skin, as he moved the fabric to the side and ran his tongue over her.
“You taste so fucking good.”
Skye gripped the covers as Lucas drove her to the brink of insanity with each stroke of his tongue. Her body was on fire, flames lapping at every single inch of skin.
She cried out as the orgasm tore through her, but Lucas kept going, pulling every single moment of bliss from her before removing his clothes and covering her with his hard body.
He drove into her in one swift movement, and Skye wrapped her legs around his waist, urging him to move harder, faster, until his body released, and he collapsed on top of her.
Fire crackled in the hearth, shadows from the flames dancing on the walls around them. Skye reclined against Lucas, her head on his shoulder, tracing small circles on his smooth chest. Being here with him, spending the last few blissful hours making sweet love, had been more than she’d ever hoped to experience again.
Lucas pressed a kiss to her hair, and she looked up at him.
“Have I told you today how much I love you?”
Skye grinned. “A time or two.”
“I love you, Skye.”
>
“I love you, too, Detective.”
Kissing her again, he sat up. “Should we talk about it?”
Skye adjusted so she could face him. “Talk about what?”
“How you were going to leave without telling me why?”
She sighed, having foolishly believed they’d already moved past it when they’d first talked about it back in the Wasteland. Too bad she couldn’t simply forget the past few weeks of stumbling around in the dark.
“I told you I was sorry.”
“I know you did, and I forgive you, but I want to make sure it’s not something we ever have to deal with again. You have to trust me, trust me to do what I need to in order to keep you all safe.”
“I do, Lucas. I promise.”
Lucas smiled. “Good.” He leaned back against the pillow and studied her. “Are you ready to talk about what happened to you?”
“Not particularly.”
The thought of ever having to relive what she’d gone through, even if it was just conversation and not reality, wasn’t something she wanted to do. Ever. The Druid still found her in her nightmares, where her subconscious forced her to relive the worst moments of her life. Skye knew they were just dreams, that she wasn’t really being tortured, but they still felt like a violation.
Lucas’ eyes darkened, the blue turning nearly cobalt as he picked up on all that she hadn’t said. “I promise to spend the rest of my life trying to erase what he did to you.”
All she could do was nod, her words buried somewhere deep inside where she was unable to reach. Skye hadn’t told him about her hallucinations. About how the Druid visited her and said horrible things. Things that made her heart race with fear. How was she ever supposed to let go of what he did to her?
After a few heartbeats of silence, Skye cleared her throat and changed the subject, temporarily beating back her demons. “So, what’s it like? Seeing your Nan again?”
“Unreal,” he answered with a smile. “I can’t believe she’s alive, let alone sleeping in a room three doors down.”
“It’s amazing,” Skye agreed. She still wasn’t entirely sure how or why the Wasteland brought them back, but she wouldn’t question the second chance she’d been given. “Think the plan will work? Using her to distract the Druid?”
“I’m not sure. I hope it will, at least long enough that I can kick his ass once and for all.”
“Any idea how you’re going to do that?”
Lucas shrugged. “I think better on my feet,” he said, throwing her a wink.
Skye smiled, but fear of losing—of losing Lucas—nearly overwhelmed her. They were at the end of this war, and she knew deep down, the finale would be bloody. She could only hope the blood that spilled wasn’t theirs.
Chapter 28
Skye
Lucas was already gone by the time Skye woke up the next morning. She yawned and stretched, burying her face in his pillow and inhaling the scent of him. He was back. He was alive. Skye couldn’t think of a better way to start the day.
Throwing on a pair of jeans and one of Lucas’ T-shirts, Skye padded down the hall and into the kitchen, where the others were already deep in conversation. Lucas’ eyes found hers as soon as she rounded the corner, but he didn’t do more than offer her a smile before refocusing on his grandmother.
Maggie was busy unfolding a map, pointing at something as she smoothed it out on the kitchen table.
“Here,” she said, tapping the spot.
Lizzie looked over her shoulder, trying to get a better look at whatever her Nan was pointing at.
“What is it?” James asked.
Knowing they’d fill her in on the important details, Skye poured herself a cup of coffee. She’d attended more than her fair share of these kinds of war meetings in the last handful of weeks. She didn’t mind missing one if it meant she got to sleep in.
Leaning against the counter, Skye sipped on her go juice, only half listening to the others’ murmuring until a knock sounded on the door.
“I’ll get it,” she called, waving the others back down. “You guys keep talking.”
Opening the door, Skye gave Giles a confused grin. “Since when did you start knocking again?”
The Scot had taken care with his appearance that morning. He wore a pair of pressed tan trousers with a dark gray jacket that had black suede elbow patches. His button-up shirt was the same color as his eyes and mostly hidden beneath a brown and green plaid vest.
Smoothing down his hair, he smiled at her. “With the lady of the house returned, it didn’t seem polite to barge in.”
Understanding dawned on her. “You worried about seeing Maggie again, Giles?”
The tips of his ears went pink, and he cleared his throat. “Just being respectful is all.”
“Right,” Skye teased, pushing the door open wider. “Well, I’m hardly the lady of the house, but come on in.” She winked as she stepped aside.
Giles crossed the threshold and then paused again, pivoting to face her. “‘Tis good to see ya, lass.”
“You too, Giles.”
He stared at her, his moss-green eyes clouded with an emotion she didn’t recognize. He gave her shoulder an awkward pat and then moved past her and into the kitchen. The others fell silent as Giles cleared his throat.
“Mornin’.”
Skye was right behind him, so she could only see Maggie’s expression as she spotted her old friend for the first time in almost three decades. Her smile was soft, her eyes filled with a silvery sheen.
“Giles, ye’ve hardly aged a day.”
“Ye always were a pretty liar, Mags.”
Pushing back from the table, Maggie stood and threw her arms around Giles’ neck. “I’m so glad to see ya.”
Giles’ voice was gruff as he wrapped an arm around her waist and used the other to stroke her hair. “Not near as much as I, Mags. Not near.”
The two clung to each other, and Skye forced herself to look away. This was a private moment, not one meant to be intruded on by shameless voyeurs.
“Oy, you lot. Back to your maps,” Skye called.
Lizzie shot her a grin and looked back at the table, James following suit.
“Oy? Lot? Did we step back in time when we went through that portal?” Lucas teased.
Skye shrugged, sliding into the chair beside him. He wrapped his arm around the back of her seat, and Skye angled her body into his warmth. He brushed a kiss to her cheek and returned his attention to the map, filling her in on their plan.
“Nan says that Pop had a place he liked to go when he wanted to perform complex rituals.” He pointed to a spot on the map. “It’s a stone circle not too far from here.”
The mention of a stone circle sent fear skittering through her. Everything has changed since your vision. That future isn’t going to come true. Still, it hit a bit too close to what sent her packing in the first place, and it was tricky keeping the note of panic out of her voice.
“And she thinks he’ll be in hiding there?” Skye asked. A stone circle wasn’t much of a hideout.
“Not quite.”
“We’re going to set a trap,” Lizzie explained.
“With what bait?”
“Me,” Maggie said, as she and Giles took the last two seats at the table.
Giles gave her a worried glance but didn’t comment.
“I’m sorry,” Skye said with a shake of her head, “I’m not following.”
“Stone circles have always been linked to Druids’ most sacred holidays and rituals. They are almost always built on top of intersecting ley lines,” Maggie said.
“Because of the power boost,” Skye said with a nod. “What’s that got to do with you?”
“He has no clue what the Wasteland might have done to me, a mere mortal, after all that time. He’s going to be intrigued, especially if there’s a hint that I might hold some of its secrets.”
“But you said that the Wasteland has no real effect on a mortal,” Skye said, furrowing her bro
w.
“Right, we know that, but Oliver doesn’t.”
“So, you’re thinking that if he finds out you’re at his secret Druid place, it will lure him out of hiding?”
Maggie nodded. “He’ll want to know why I’m there, if nothing else.”
Scanning the table, Skye asked, “Is it just me, or does that seem too simple?”
“Oliver would have spelled the place to alert him if another Druid found it,” Giles said.
“So, Lucas will trigger the alarm as soon as we get there,” Skye replied.
“Right, but when the Druid arrives, he won’t find Lucas, he’ll find Nan,” Lizzie added.
“Oh,” Skye murmured, finally getting it. “So, he’ll mistakenly think that Maggie has somehow inherited some of the Druid’s power via the Wasteland.”
“Exactly. If all goes well, he’ll be too distracted by the idea to realize he’s walking into our trap,” Lucas said.
“Literally,” Lizzie said with a grin.
Skye must have still looked confused because Lucas elaborated further. “We’re going to rune the center of the stone circle so that when the Druid moves into the middle, he’ll be trapped.”
“A barrier rune?” she guessed.
“A Druid’s snare,” Maggie corrected.
Skye shook her head, not familiar with the term.
“It’s like a cage,” Lucas explained, “without a door or a key. Once he is stuck, he cannot get out, unless I will it. He will be, in a word, fucked.”
“Alright, so he’s locked up, then what?” Skye asked.
“Then I kill him,” Lucas said, his eyes flickering with a hint of his power.
Somber eyes met hers around the room. Lucas was making it sound easy, but nothing about facing off with the Druid had ever been easy. Thus far, he’d beaten them every step of the way.
“And we really think this will work?” Skye asked.
“It’s our best shot, Giovanni.”
Skye looked at Lucas and sighed. “So, what are the rest of us supposed to do?”
Lucas opened his mouth to reply, and Skye cut him off by pointing a finger at him. “And don’t you dare say stay here, because you know there’s no way in hell that I’m letting you out of my sight for a second to face that bastard on your own.”