“I’ve been suffering for ages, Lola,” he answered, his face and tone more than serious. “I know it took me a while to wrap my head around it, but you feel like the light at the end of the tunnel. I can’t justsurvivenow that I have someone tolivefor.”
I reached for his face, cupping his jaw with my hand.Thismoment. The kindness in his piercing blue eyes. The softness of his gaze, of his face as he looked at me. I needed to enjoy it while it lasted, because soon enough, when his anger would be too strong to ignore, that bubble would pop.
“Why doesn’t it surprise me?” Carter chuckled, holding me closer to him under the covers.
“If it makes you feel better, I made them promise not to tell.”
“It doesn’t. I’m still the last one to know…”
Carter nuzzled his face in my neck, the light scrape of his stubble making me squirm and giggle uncontrollably.
“Dimitri, Arc, Kai,andMarcus. So many who knew about the cute ears before me…If you tell me thatMargaretknew too, I’m not sure what I’m going to do to you.”
I snorted, holding my laugh as his hands pinched at my waist and hips, tickling me playfully.
“Oh, she definitely knows,” I said between bursts of laughter. “She must have been here when—ah!When Arc confronted me about it—Oh Hell,stop!”
“Oh, no, no, no…It’s like the missing soul all over again.”
I finally caught his hand and contorted enough for him to pause his relentless attacks. He grinned at me, sliding his nose along my own as he released a long, satisfied sigh.
“Tell me something.”
“What?” I asked.
“Anything. A secret none or very few people know.” I groaned and rolled my eyes, trying to escape his hold. “Come on,” he continued, tightening his arms around my body. “It can be something silly, or that you deem unimportant. I don’t care, I just—I want to be one of the first toknowsomething.”
“There’s nothing about me that Dimitridoesn’tknow, you’ll never—”
“I know, Dimitri doesn’t count. Something that maybe only he knows about you.”
I thought about it. For too long. Therewassomething. Something only Dimitri knew…Well, not exactly. Blake and my brother did too. And I wasn’t ready to tell Carter or anyone else aboutthat.
So I settled for something else. Something that didn’t feel too important, and that only the people who knew me before I became a Succubus knew. “My natural hair color was kind of a dark red.”
And that’s all he needed. Carter’s eyes sparkled and his smile grew, illuminating his whole face.
“Dark red,” he repeated. “I like that. And what of your face? Your whole appearance?”
I ran my fingers along his chest, enjoying the smooth skin as my hand went up and down.
“I’d say, pretty similar to the one I have now. When I think back to my reflection back then, that’s the face I think I remember. Maybe some little details changed after so many years and my memory is playing tricks on me, but—yeah. I think I looked like I do now.”
Or maybe I was taller…I wasn’t entirely sure. My mind tended to go blank when I thought about that time. But Dimitri would be able to draw my past self with his eyes closed. I had obviously changed my eye color…The one my brother and father had.
“I think I could recognize you even with a different face,” Carter said.
I arched a brow, my face lifting just enough to look at him. “Are you going to deliver another cheesy line?”
He sighed, muffling a chuckle by burying his head in my hair. “I guess I’m the cheesy one then.”
“Who would have thought…” He pinched my waist again. “Does this mean we won’t be fighting anymore?”
A mischievous spark lit up his eyes.
“Depends…Are we talking about naked fights?” My whole body shivered as his lips slid down my jaw. “Whereyouend up begging for more?”
Fuck. Turns out my Divine mate was utterly insatiable…
