Another note:
“You’ll never see Grim again. Accept that.”
Tears blurred my vision. No. No. I wasn’t doing this.
I sniffed, huffing like an angry child, and materialized a large backpack. I started shoving finger foods into it—rolls, cheeses, fruits, whatever I could grab with shaking hands.
Shadow was trying to break me. So was Luke. Everyone thought I needed to accept death like it was noble. But I wasn’t ready to fade. Not without a fight.
I heard another whistle of paper sliding through the air, but I ignored it, shoving half of the meat pie into the side pocket and heading for the door.
If I weren’t so busy being annoyed, I might’ve noticed the change in the air. The way my stomach had stopped cramping.
I slammed into something burning hot.
Two hands gripped my shoulders before I could bounce backward.
I tilted my chin up and saw him.
Two massive horns. A wicked face. The barely restrained gleam of something wild in his red eyes.
Burned marshmallows. That scent hit me like a rush, and I wrinkled my nose, trying to fight the warmth spreading in my chest. My limbs. Lower.
Why was my body responding to him like this? Like I’d just walked into heat and safety all in one? I couldeasilyclimb that tall, obsidian monster like a tree, curl up in his lap, or let him spread me wide and—
I shoved away from him so fast my feet nearly slipped.
Luke arched a brow, gaze dropping to the overstuffed backpack.
“Where are you going, Kitten?” he asked, voice like gravel soaked in honey.
I squared my shoulders. “Where do you think?”
“Since there’s no exit for you to escape,” he murmured, gaze traveling over me leisurely. “How do you want your punishment?”
My clit throbbed. Once again, I was thankful he had lost so many of his senses. I’d be screwed if he hadn’t lost smell. “Hard pass, but thanks for asking.”
Luke cocked his head slowly, then glanced over my head like he was searching for something. “I heard you talking.”
A chill ran down my spine. I didn’t know whether Shadow could be harmed, but I didn’t want to find out. Even when it pissed me off. “You mean you live here alone, and never once talked to yourself?”
“Kara.” Luke said my name softly, yet sternly. “Do you want to be reprimanded?”
“If you want to touch me, Luke, just say so. Stop making up all these pointless punishments. We know I’m going to do what I wish, regardless.” I didn’t know why someone with no sense of touch wanted to keep handling his prisoner, but it was clear every punishment involved his hands on me. That dude-slash-monster was very obvious about it and handsy.
Luke’s grip on my arms tightened. “I think you’re forgetting something. Someone died to keep you alive.” Guilt trickled up my stomach and chest. I swallowed the bile rising in my throat as Luke continued, “What do you think would happen if you left Hell? Harvest would find you again. When you’re mortal, he’d kill you.”
“Why do you care?”
His nostrils flared. “Until I say so, you belong down here.” He didn’t imply that he meant with him, but my heart went into a slight frenzy.
I swallowed. Hearing the word belong did something weird to my stomach.
“You’ll see the end like I said you would,” he continued. “I want you to see that nothing you could have said or done would change the outcome. I decided your fate long ago.”
“How is that so when you don’t allow me to do anything? Let me go, then I’ll believe you when the time comes—that my family couldn’t beat you if that were to happen.”
Luke’s jaw tightened, and his whole body appeared to vibrate. He was shaking so badly. I couldn’t tell if it was anger or something else. “I can’t leave this place for more than a few minutes. Sometimes, I can’t at all.” It was like he had to force the words out, confess his vulnerability despite being who he was. “If you’re not here, Harvest can reach you. Why won’t you listen? Your father let it happen long ago. Harvest attacks your father’s woods relentlessly. It’s not safe there, and if your father were still alive, I wouldn’t have been able to bring you here.”
