He made a rumbling sound I was pretty sure was a growl. Like an actual growl. The predator-stalking-prey kind.
So why were my panties damp?
“You didn’t come to any of us. We had no way to find you. You blocked Sin from your dreams. Merri... We didn’t know if you were?—”
I reached out and cupped his cheek as his words took on a new meaning. He wasn’t scolding me; he’d been worried for me. “I’m okay. I’m here now.”
His posture softened, but he wasn’t ready to let it go. “Where were you? Why did you block Sin?”
“The answer is the same for both, actually,” I said with a sigh. I’d known there would be no way to keep this from them, but I’d sort of been hoping we could save this conversation forafter. When he was calm from a couple of orgasms.
He raised a brow, silently demanding an answer.
“Lucifer.”
Just like that, he was tense again. “Lucifer what?”
“I don’t know how it happened, but I ended up in a dreamwalk with him.”
A muscle in his jaw ticked as he ground his teeth and released another low growl, but I held up a hand to stop him.
“Nothing happened. We just... talked. But afterward, I had to shore up my defenses. If my walls are down for you, they’re down for him too. It’s complicated, and I’m not sure, but it might be that my power seeks the most easily available target if I’m not focused.”
He grunted, clearly displeased with this turn of events.
I tried the hand on his cheek again. “I’m sorry. But I’m fine. I’m right here.”
He held my gaze for several heartbeats before turning his head and kissing my palm. “We have some updates for you as well.”
“You do?” I asked, hope making my heart speed up.
“First I think you should bring the others.”
I snorted out a laugh. “Oh, yeah, okay. I can’t do that.”
“Yes you can.”
“How do you know what I can and can’t do?”
“That’s part of what we need to talk to you about.” Stepping even closer, he wrapped his hand around my nape and squeezed gently. “You can do so much more than you think, Red. You have power over us all. One crook of your finger, real or in a dream, and we will come running.”
I wasn’t sure what to do with those words. I was simultaneously filled with joy and despair. Because while I didn’t doubt the sincerity in his voice, there was a very specific time in the not-so-distant past where that had been far from the case.
And the reminder made me think of Grim.
A stone of anxiety sat heavy in my stomach. The thought of seeing him again made my palms break out in sweat.
“I... I don’t...” I couldn’t finish the sentence, unsure of what I really wanted to say.
“We need you to do this. It’s part of the plan.”
“What plan is that?”
“Which one do you think?”
The way he said it, so matter-of-factly, left no room for doubt. It was about getting me back.
“I don’t even know where to start.”
