She pointed down.
I followed her finger to where my tail was swaying, thwacking lightly against her leg.
“I can’t help it,” I muttered.
“It’s like you’re wagging,” she said.
I hadn’t realized I was showing it. I’d grown tired of scaring her with it when I started acknowledging I didn’t want her to fear parts or any of me. In the beginning, as a monster, I expected it, knowing I would be the villain in her story.
Kara was silly, hopeful, and naïve. I’d always known those things—her stubbornness, her obsession with proving herself like her siblings. All those traits of hers I found nauseatingly pleasant. It was her, who she was. That’s why I knew she would be sad by the time I finished, and yet…
Anticipation lit through me like a flash of tingles in my stomach and chest.
The lying to myself was over. I didn’t need to pretend with Kara Reaper. Not when I was getting everything I wanted.
She crinkled her nose. “What are you so excited about?”
I flattened my tail, not realizing how much I gave away with the appendage.
“I can smell you,” I said, then waited, smiling as the blush hit her cheeks. Despite the heat on her skin, her chin wobbled, and her gaze was full of uncertainty.
There were so many scents in Hell, but the only one I cared to recognize was honeysuckle.Yours.
Why couldn’t I have said that to her instead? That in a world of smells again, I only yearned for hers. It was so much easier to demand her attention, and I knew she was too strong-hearted. Her desire for me was real, always had been, like she tried to tell me, and maybe she hated herself for it.
I knew far too much about how that felt, which was why my choice of the end had always been determined. The truth was, I kept saying choice, though it had never been one. Just a tangledweb of emotions that needed to be sorted out, then accepted. Sometimes, we didn’t get to choose. Fade did it for us.
Her fear mingled through the air. She should be a little scared since I’d imagine she was thinking about the crossover like I was. The end wouldn’t go as her family wanted it. When the worlds fell away, people were going to hurt. Hmm, that’s likely why I became the Devil. I lacked the empathy she had. Knowing people would be hurt from my choice didn’t bother me like it did sweet, sweet Kara.
Let the rest burn. I was getting what I wanted. Fuck the rest.
“Well, I’m not letting you touch me anymore,” Kara declared, skin still flushed.
She was fucking beautiful. I could fall to my knees and stare for fucking hours. I’d already done it plenty of times, watched her endlessly, but the world was fucked, it was the end, and I no longer gave a shit about entertaining myself with lies.
Honestly, why did I keep up with the deceit for so long? This was so much better. Holy fuck. I was going to drown myself in her arousal—wash away the bitter sting of her fear.
I ran my thumb over the top of her hand and smiled, knowing the gesture probably looked menacing on me. “Okay.”
Oh, I was definitely making her come soon.
She narrowed her eyes. “I’m serious.”
“Okay.” I tugged her forward. “Not much further.”
“So we’re just going to hold hands and wait for your grand finale?”
“Kara.” I groaned, unable to get rid of the disgusting bliss inside me. Stopping quickly, I glimpsed at her and saw the sulky glare on her face. “I want to fuck you badly. I wish Icould. Holding your hand is fucking ridiculous, but I won’t stop because I want to do that too.”
Her blue eyes shone like crystals as she sucked in a breath. Good. I’d surprised her.
I resumed walking. My nostrils flared when I picked up the fresh burst of arousal emitting from between her legs. Not letting me touch her, she mentioned. Those words were indeed untrue. I’d make sure—
I stopped as a single red petal floated in the air, a mere inch from my face. Time seemed to stand still. My mouth parted as another drifted toward me, then another until there were dozens landing on the tall grass around me.
Kara caught one in her hand. “Where are they coming from?”
The answer was simple. About a quarter of a mile in front of us, there was an entire forest of trees bearing those petals that looked like flowers.
