“No one escapes that hellhole once condemned there.” Haunted eyes finally met hers. “There was a shift in its planes or something, and I was in the midst of absorbing souls when, for whatever reason, I was thrown out of there—”
“And the souls remained in you through the millennia?”
His mouth thinned. “I know your symbionts fed on them, but the sensation of it, the memory of it, it’s all too fresh in my mind—especially when you lived with a fucking curse like that for nearly four thousand years!”
Her mouth dropped open in shock. “Four—”
“I need to get outta here.” He dropped his mug on the counter, coffee spilling.
“Nik—” She hastily grasped his forearm, heart pounding, praying he wouldn’t storm off. He didn’t. He just stood there like a statue, a tic working his jaw. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered, her soul hurting for him, for what he’d endured. Just because she’d removed those dark souls, it didn’t mean the horror was over for him. “No one should have to endure that kind of punishment. Not even for a second.”
God, she recalled the pain—the torment he’d suffered last night while locked in that cell—an agony he’d experienced forthousandsof years. An imprisonment he never entirely escaped until she consumed those insidious souls.
Silence reigned for several seconds. His chest rose and fell, then his callused hand covered hers, and he drew her to him. Shadow slid her palms up his chest, finally understanding the scars hidden beneath his many tattoos. And she thought it was because of his job. She pressed her lips to them.
His throat moved as he swallowed, the shadows of his brutal incarceration edged in his haunted gaze. “I chose that path—”
“No, it’s not your fault,” she said softly. “You had no idea what would happen when you became a protector.”
He exhaled roughly, then lowered his brow to hers. “I guess every decision I made back then led me to this moment. If it comes down to it…I would endure Tartarus again just to have you, becauseyouare all that is right in my life.”
Her eyes crowding with tears, she rose onto her toes and pressed her mouth to his. “Then I’m glad my path led me to you…” She grimaced a little. “But I’m not as brave as you, and I hate that you suffered Tartarus.”
Nik shook his head. “You are braver than you think, my mate, incredibly so. C’mon, no more talk of all this doom and gloom, let’s get outta here. There’s something I want to do.” He grasped her hand.
“Wait-wait, where are we going?”
His gaze went down her overlong t-shirt, to her short skirt and black tennis shoes. “The village. You need clothes.”
She frowned. “I don’t need anything. Maybe Hedori can bring my things over?”
“He has.” Nik nodded to one of the mismatched chairs near the wall where her backpack sat. “But you are my mate, and I want to do this for you.”
A lump clogged her throat at his thoughtfulness. In the five years, all she had were the clothes Aba had bought her when she’d stayed with him.
Trying to get her emotions under control, her focus settled on the rune tatts on Nik’s pecs. “Now, while I love this sexy, muscled chest and want to lick it,” she teased, petting his pierced nipple, trying to lighten up the somber atmosphere. “You’re going to need a shirt. I don’t think I’d like women staring at you and getting ideas.”
He dragged her hand from his tiny hardened nub, his heated stare making her heart trip. With a low growl, he flashed, vanishing from the kitchen.
Shadow scrubbed her face with both hands. Hearing about Nik’s past made her want to find the bastards who tortured him and slaughter them. Inhaling a deep breath, she crossed to her backpack, got out her hair grip, and fastened her hair into a topknot. Then she retrieved her cell. Spidery cracks splintered the display, courtesy of a demonii throwing her against a wall. Good thing she’d killed the cur.
The door opened. Nik stood framed in the entrance. Wow, he’d changed super-fast. Dressed in boots, black jeans, and a t-shirt that hugged his wide chest, her man appeared downright deadly. But the way he watched her—like she was all he saw—made her heart skip several beats. It unlocked a part of her she’d shut off, dragging out deep-seated feelings for him. If he ever walked away, it would shatter her.
“You look at me like that, and we’ll be heading back to bed. Or, maybe I’ll just have you here on the kitchen table.”
She couldn’t resist. “It wouldn’t be the worst thing.”
“Is that so?” He prowled over, his booted feet barely making a sound.
Grinning, she darted around the table, but the darn man flashed and grabbed her. He sat her on the wooden surface. “You shouldn’t taunt me, mate.” He pushed his handsome face into hers, like that would scare her. “I won’t just take you on this table. I’ll tie you to it first.”
At the sensual threat, she blinked. Heck, two could play this game. Biting back a snort, she set her cell down and grasped his unshaven face with both her palms. “Who says I’m taunting?” She nipped his kissable lower lip.
Deep laughter rumbled out of him. “A female after my own heart. Good to know.”
He kissed her deeply, possessively. Then he eased back with barely a hitched breath while she panted like she’d run miles. Gah.
His mouth twitched into a smile, desire glimmering in his light eyes. “You have a way of distracting me, my mate. C’mon.”
