Words gush from Fate’s hyperactive body like spewing vomit, as if he can’t control them. His pitch is up and down, flat and shrill, but I hear them. “The answers start and end with the raven book. Go back to its creation.”
Fate suddenly stops in front of me and lets out a horrific roar. “You didn’t give me what I wanted!”
Before I have a chance to move, he dives into me. Fierce, devastating pain rips a blood-curdling scream from my lips. He’s never gone inside me before and the sensation is both excruciating and violating. I can’t move, can’t breathe. All I can do is absorb the agony of his cold energy spreading through me like fast growing kudzu, flash-freezing my body from the inside out.
I’ve never felt so cold. My teeth clack together as Fate quickly stretches through my arms and down my neck, his glacial touch solidifying the blood in my veins. As the frost moves down my limbs, I fall to my knees, my body so cold I don’t feel the pain of hitting the floor, but I do wonder…when the ice reaches my toes, will I fall over and shatter into thousands of pieces?
Fight him, Ethan’s voice, full of fear and rage, penetrates my sluggish mind. Warmth radiates from a hard band around my stomach, and begins to penetrate the frozen skin along my spine, shoulders and neck.
“Wake up, Nara. Wake up now, damn it!” The command rushes in my ears right before glossy, dark warmth wraps completely around me, breaking me from Fate’s cold grasp.
I gasp awake and am thankful I’m on my side as I draw in gulps of air, taking the warmth into my frozen lungs.
“Jesus, Nara. You’re freezing. What were you thinking?” Ethan growls from behind me as he throws his bare leg over my jeans and rubs his hand briskly up and down my arm.
“Doing…my…part,” is all I can get out through chattering teeth.
“Don’t ever do that to me again,” he says in a hoarse voice as he slides his leg between mine and moves his hand to my chest to rub the chilled skin in fast circles, creating wonderful, warming friction. Laying his cheek against my neck to give me warmth, he continues, “I tried to shake you. I took off that damned crystal—which you’re not getting back. Ever! Nothing that worked in the past, worked. I couldn’t wake you. I was out of my mind.”
Heat starts to spread through my body, and the more places he touches, the harder my heart pumps. I inhale deeply as his hand slips under my thin button down shirt to rub along my belly in brisk strokes, but when his movements slow to a gentle, caressing glide across my skin, my heart trips and nervous excitement flutters in my stomach.
“You’re warming up some. Can you talk now?”
He sounds relieved, his hard body relaxing, melding more fully around mine. I hold my breath and close my eyes while his fingers spread wide and travel up my ribcage, the pressure of his fingers gentle, exploring. “I—heard you yelling for me to wake up. Your voice pulled me out,” I finally answer, releasing my breath.
He lets out a frustrated grunt as he cups his hand high on my ribcage, his thumb rubbing my back. “I don’t know how…I’ve never been able to intervene with Fate before, but I was frantic, Nara. As in apeshit, freak out mode. It’s a good thing Samson sleeps like the dead.” Taking a breath, he settles. “I’m just glad something worked. You kept getting colder and colder in my arms.” Leaning over my shoulder, he runs his nose up my neck and inhales along the way. Once he reaches my jaw, his fingers tighten on my ribcage, clasping me against him. “Why did you do it?”
He’s obliterating my ability to stay unaffected, making it hard to concentrate, but I force myself to focus. “I told you I was doing my part. You said I had stopped fighting.”
“What—?” Rolling me onto my back, he lifts my chin, eyes blazing. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.” His voice softens and his fingers trace the soft skin under my chin in a tender caress. “You’ve been so distant, it felt like you were giving up on us.”
Hearing his thoughts voiced rips at my heart. I swallow the sob that wells in my throat and wrap my fingers around his wrist. “Ethan, that’s not—”
He captures my lips in a hungry kiss, his fingers sliding into my hair, clasping against my scalp to pull me closer. His kiss is so passionate and fierce, full of worry and love, yearning swells and my body responds instinctively. I press my hand to his warm chest and kiss him back with all the pent up desire I’ve felt but couldn’t express since he woke up in that hospital bed.
Ethan breaks our kiss and moves over me, pulling my hands above my head. “Since you can’t believe anything that comes out of my mouth, I only know one way to show you how I feel. And tonight you’re going to let me.”
His intensity leaves me speechless, and when I don’t answer right away, his hold on my hands tightens. “Say yes, Nara.”
An arousing jolt of pleasure/pain steals my breath as it ripples down my arm, then shoots straight to my belly and below. I gulp back the shock that Ethan’s barest touch along my scar evokes such a primal response. It wasn’t just me wanting him so desperately the other day. I hadn’t imagined it.
Ethan’s lips curve in a wry, pained smile. “I’m tired of seeing flashes of things that might’ve happened between us that Saturday night. I’m done trying to decipher what’s a lost memory and my own personal fantasies about you—of which there are many.” His fingers dig into mine, burying our hands deeper in his pillow as he lowers his mouth to my ear and slowly hitches his hips higher. “Ever since I woke up, I’ve been in a constant state of pained arousal whenever you enter the room. It’s like my body knows more than I do.”
We were so close that night, Ethan. I bite my lip and try to keep the answer off my face.
Pressing his hardness against me, his voice drops to a deep rasp. “I know you want me too. I hear it in your breathing and feel it in your thumping heart every time we touch. Stop torturing us both.”
I love the rough feel of his overnight beard running along my cheek as he pulls back to wait for my response. It feels so good, I whimper. I can’t help it. The strong, confident Ethan from that night is back, demanding acceptance. He still hasn’t recovered his full memory and probably won’t be happy with me for holding back when he does, but my Gran’s comment about taking a chance echoes in my head over and over. Live your life so you never leave any regrets behind.
I start to nod, but he shakes his head. “I want you to admit the truth about us.”
Tears cloud my vision and I blink them away. “I never stopped wanting us.”
His mouth hardens. “You said we needed to just be friends.”
“Because you left me!” I hiss with renewed anger.
Ethan rolls to his side and leans on his elbow, stunned. “I never left you. Not in the way that matters.”
“You didn’t trust me to help you. You left me out and kept me in the dark. That hurt so much.” There. It’s out. The ache in my chest feels lighter, even if my heart still hurts.
He scowls. “I told you why. I wanted to keep you away from all the demon stuff.”
I shouldn’t have to tell him we’re better together no matter the odds. He acted like he knew that before he left, but now…it’s like that understanding has disappeared right along with his memory. I sigh and get up from the bed. “I know. It’s late. I need to get home.”
I kick my phone as I lean down to pick up my sweater. Great, so much for that idea. Must have fallen out while I slept. Rolling my eyes, I slide it in my back pocket, then start to reach for my sweater just as Ethan’s voice, dark with anger, comes from directly behind me. “You took my wheels away, Nara. Ripped them right out from under me. That fucking hurt.”
I whirl and face him, sarcasm my new best friend. “At least we’re both equally ticked. Got any news from your tryst with Danielle tonight?”
“Not yet,” he bites out his annoyance. “Learn anything from your death wish visit with Fate?”
“Just that Freddie’s book is important,” I say, narrowing my gaze.
He clenches his fists by his sides, his eyes shini
ng like obsidian in the dim light spilling into his room. “You almost died learning what you already knew?”
“God forbid I thought you were worth it.” I lift my chin and hold my hand out. “I’d like my crystal back now.”
“Screw this!” Ethan grips my hand and yanks me forward. The second I slam against his chest, he clasps the back of my neck and captures my lips in a primal, heated kiss.
Gripping his shoulders, my head reels as every emotion I’d held back flows out and I surrender myself to his kiss. The pressure of his lips lessens, but the tension in his arms remains as he murmurs against my mouth, “I love you, Sunshine. Even the stubborn parts.”
“Just remember you said that,” I pant back and run my nails down his back.
Ethan’s chest rumbles with a groan as he slides his tongue sensually past my lips, enticing a deeper intimacy. When I stand on my toes to wrap my arms around his neck, he clasps my hips and presses against me, sending goose bumps spreading across my skin.
“My life is never worth risking yours for, Nara,” he says as he grabs my rear and lifts me into his arms. “When are you going to get that through your head?”
Wrapping my legs around his waist, I press a chaste kiss against his mouth and pat his jaw. “The second you get it through yours that we’re a team…we’re stronger together.”
Defiance flashes in his eyes, then he takes a couple steps and drops me onto the bed. Before I can recover, he’s hovering over me, his strong shoulders blocking me in. “I’ll never willingly put you in danger. It’s not in my DNA.”
I pull my phone out of my pocket and set it on the bed next to us as I sit up to lean close, almost touching my lips to his. “Is that Ethan or the Corvus in you talking?”
My teasing question makes him frown. “This is all me, Nara. There’s no room for the Corvus between us.”
I put my hand on his cheek, surprised by the sudden fierceness in his tone. “But you said the spirit is part of you.”
“I don’t share you,” he says, shaking his head in three quick jerks. “Not with it, not with anyone.” Pushing me back onto the bed, he drops his knee between my legs as he plants a slow, worshiping kiss to my chest. “Not now.” Another heated kiss sears my skin a bit lower as he releases the first button on my shirt. “Not ever.”
While his fingers undo the buttons down my shirt, he feathers light kisses along the swell of my breast above my bra. I try to remain focused, but he’s quickly hijacking my ability to think. Before I lose my thoughts completely, I say, “It’s totally my choice to share…or not. No one owns me. Remember?”
He finishes the last button, then flips the bottom flap back to press a lingering, reverent kiss to my belly button before he looks at me, a dark, knowing smile curving his lips. “You won’t want anyone else, Sunshine.”
“Arrogant much?” I say even as my skin tingles from his warm kiss.
Ethan settles beside me and clasps my hand. “I just know we’re deeply connected. Tonight will prove just how deep that connection goes,” he continues, absently sliding his thumb across my palm.
Unable to stop myself, I moan and arch my back, completely undone by the sensation of his thumb pressing on my scar.
“Are you okay? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Concern etches into his expression as he turns my hand over, inspecting my palm. “Is this what that gauze was covering the other day? What happened?”
His worried gaze locks with mine. If he knew the truth—that this scar is like his own personal aphrodisiac shot for me—his arrogance meter would explode. I start to laugh, but cough, catching myself just in time. “It’s just a scar. I cut my hand on your sword.”
Confusion flickers on his face. “But you never touched my sword.”
“Actually, your sword touched me. Remember when we woke up in your hospital bed and we jerked upright together?” As he nods, I hold my hand up and fold my fingers over the scar. “It must’ve been forming on your back as you were coming out of the dream. That’s when my hand brushed it.”
“I’m sorry I hurt you.” Ethan clasps my hand and turns my palm toward the light coming in the window, his brow furrowed. “But I don’t understand. A Corvus’ sword can’t hurt a human. They’re meant for demons.”
I snort. “Are you forgetting you turned Drake’s body to ash?”
Ethan folds his fingers around my hand. “That’s only if I turn my sword while it’s buried in the person. If I just plunge it in their chest, it kills the demon inside, but leaves the person unhurt.”
“Then why didn’t you just kill the demon inside of Drake?”
“Because he’d killed once that we knew of and he tried to kill you. The evil residing inside him wasn’t just below the surface, it permeated his whole being. He was just as guilty. Most of them are.”
Another question pops into my head, but Ethan gently tracing his finger from my nose, down my throat, to the top of my shirt erases all thoughts of demons from my mind.
My skin prickles as he brushes my top back, exposing my bra and bare stomach.
“I’ve dreamed of this so many times,” he whispers huskily as his fingers gently trace the sensitive swell of my skin above my bra. When his hand reaches the bra clasp in the center of my chest, he pauses, quiet sincerity in his voice. “I don’t ever want you to regret anything that happens between us, Nara. Are you sure?”
I touch his jaw and smile. “I’ve never been more sure of anything.”
Ethan presses a quick kiss to the inside of my hand, but just as he unsnaps my bra, his eyes flick to mine, recognition in his gaze. “This has happened before, hasn’t it? But it was daylight, not night.” His brow furrows. “I remember a ribbon.” Frustration shifts in his eyes and his tone turns gruff. “How far did we go?”
I slide my fingers down his arm, not wanting to break the truce we’d managed. “Does it matter?”
His mouth sets. “Did we have sex? God, Nara, I deserve to know.”
I shake my head, my lips twisting in a wry half smile. “You got to second, not third base. No home runs or grand slams. For the record, you were the hold out.”
Ethan chuckles, touching my pouty bottom lip, then ponders for a second before nodding. “I never would’ve left you after that. It would’ve been too painful, like leaving a vital part of me behind.”
Shaking his head as if to clear it, he kisses my forehead. “The only memories that count are right now,” he says, before he slowly brushes my bra aside as if unwrapping a much-desired Christmas present.
My heart is pounding insanely fast, but Ethan surprises me in this “redo.” He doesn’t instantly go for the gold—I mean, come on, when guys think for one second they’ll get a glimpse of your boobs, you won’t see their eyes the rest of the night. Instead, Ethan lays his hand under my left breast and cups my ribcage in a firm hold, while pressing his thumb to the center of my chest. “I meant what I said that night by your car, Nara. This is my heart. Mine to love. Mine to cherish. I love you. I’ll always love you. You make me better than I am.”
Excitement and sheer joy thrum through me, but when Ethan leans over and presses a kiss where his hand had been and whispers, “You make me whole,” tears trickle down my temples.
I slide my fingers in his thick hair and clasp his head, pulling him up until our foreheads touch. “I told you, we’re a team.”
“A very close team.” He grins and moves his hand up to cup my breast.
I laugh and smack his shoulder. “You’re such a guy.”
He smiles and plants a lingering kiss on my lips, then trails his mouth down my chin and neck, making sure to kiss each collarbone before moving lower.
My breath catches in my throat and I clasp his head and press him closer, wanting him to hurry yet hoping he takes his time.
Ethan’s mouth is warm, moist decadence as the heat moves down my chest in slow, torturously sweet kisses. The cool air hitting my breasts make them extra sensitive to the warmth of his breath as he hovers over the
m, so close but not touching. “Stop torturing me,” I pant, then gasp when his hand cups the inside of my thigh and he slides me flush against his hard-muscled body.
“Shhh,” he whispers as he massages higher up my thigh. “I want you as close as possible so I can feel every response.”
“I can think of a few ways to get closer—ahhhhh,” I exhale, my fingers digging deep into his scalp as his mouth finally connects. Searing warmth surrounds and pulls against me, sending waves of pleasurable tremors shooting out to every part of my body at once.
“So sweet,” he murmurs against my chest. “And all mine,” he continues as he slowly traces his thumb from the top of my thigh to the seam of my jeans.
Wonder and bliss spiral through me and I moan, arching against him, digging my fingers into his bicep.
I feel Ethan smile against my breast. The torturer. But when he quickly glances up at me, his gaze reflects recognition and his heart thumps harder against my side. Moving his thumb back to the top of my thigh, he presses against my jeans. “You have a birthmark here. It’s white and in the shape of an upside down heart.”
I shake my head. “But we never went that far. How do you know that—” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I realize how. He must have seen it when he slipped that raven feather between my underwear and hipbone while I was sleeping.
My phone starts buzzing beside me on the bed. I roll my eyes, thinking, I’d be dead by now if I’d depended on my phone to wake me.
“What?” He pauses and sits up, his brow creased.
I grab my phone to turn it off, but when I turn it over in my hand, I realize it’s not my phone but Ethan’s.
Danielle: See you at seven tomorrow. XXX
I must have picked up his phone from the floor by mistake. I instantly sit up and shove the phone into Ethan’s hand. “This is yours. I have to go.”
Ethan grips my hand as I try to get up. “Nara, wait. What’s wrong?”
I pull my hand free and close my bra, nodding to the phone in his hand. “You told me you had no use for your phone now that you were home. Apparently Danielle gave you a reason.”
Destiny, YA Paranormal Romance (Brightest Kind of Darkness Series, Book #3) Page 17