“I have to go.” His wings snapped out, and he leaped into the air. “Don’t try to justify hurting Harper and Ollie. It’ll make the hole you’re trying to crawl out of deeper.”
Onyx took off toward the river, disappearing into the distance.
The memory of Dante’s snarling rage filled Luc’s mind, and the smell of Ollie’s blood permeated the air. Luc took a gaspingbreath. He was sinking to the bottom of the sea, and he deserved to drown. To be buried in a hole he could never crawl out of.
He stood like a statue until the light began to change.
At last, he shook himself. He had to get ready for his date. It was better to focus on his mate anyway. If he could get Dex on his side, maybe he could help Luc mend things with Onyx.
And if not, at least he wouldn’t be alone.
6
DEX
Perhaps Dex should have canceled this date. Everything was different after the morning he’d had, like his world had been flipped upside down.
His insides were in knots as he reached the park by the river. He’d managed to de-puff his eyes and didn’t think it was obvious he’d spent the day crying, so at least there was that.
Dex sighed and reminded himself of the reason he hadn’t canceled: he didn’t want to miss his chance with Luc. Getting his life back seemed more important than ever. He wanted to hope, not wallow. But he wasn’t sure he could talk to someone normally after finding out magic and the afterlife were real.
Dex’s steps felt disorientingly light, given the mess inside him, almost like he’d drift away. Was that good or bad? God, everything was just so strange right now. Like a dream.
A cool breeze came off the water and caressed his overheated body. The park was quiet. Most of the benches were empty, as were the play structures, noticeably absent of children. Most of the people here were clustered around an ice cream truck parked at the far end, the smell of fresh waffle cones filling the air.
Luc stood with his back to Dex, leaning against the stone wall lining the riverbank. He was dressed more formally than Dex, similar to how he’d looked at Dorthy’s. His dark gray slacks hugged his ass, and his dress shirt fit him like a glove.
As if he sensed Dex staring, Luc spun around. He ran a hand through his night-black hair, pushing the waves out of his face, and smiled.
A pleasurable thrill wound down Dex’s spine, and the knots constricting his insides unraveled.
“Good evening.” Luc approached, his strides graceful. The sleeves of his dark red shirt were cuffed at his elbows, the neck unbuttoned, revealing a few wisps of dark chest hair.
“Hey.” Dex suddenly had no idea what to do with his hands.
Luc towered over him. He had to be well over six feet tall, maybe even a full foot above Dex’s five-foot-seven, if that was possible.
Dex’s pulse picked up. What a man like this could do to him. If he asked nicely, would Luc chase him down, pin him to the ground, and?—
“How was your day?”
Dex cleared his throat and banished the erotic images flooding his mind. Hopefully, his flaming cheeks passed as a reaction to the warm night. “My day was kind of draining. How was yours?”
Luc’s lips twitched downward. “It was all right. Would you like to go for a walk before dinner?”
“Sure.” Dex didn’t know where they were eating, but he could easily be talked into skipping the meal altogether.
“Let’s head along the water.” Luc placed his hand on the small of Dex’s back and steered him toward the path that ran along the river, heading upstream. “How about an ice cream?”
Dex glanced at the bright pink truck. “Yeah, sounds good.”
They detoured to stand in the small line.
Dex swore he caught a whiff of campfire smoke as Luc bent to speak in his ear. “What’s your favorite flavor?”
“Mm, anything with caramel or fudge.”
Luc turned to the menu posted on the side of the truck. “Should we get salted caramel?”
