Page 355 of Eight of Swords, Part Two

Along the way, Kade asks Lachlan, ‘So how was your day?’

It makes him laugh.

That laugh means a lot.

‘Hmm, lemme think. It was a little chaotic, I can’t lie.’

‘Yeah? Are you tired?’

‘Exhausted and yet utterly terrified to sleep knowing that, uh… that he’s been inside me all these years.’

‘I’m so sorry.’

‘No, it’s… it’s actually good. I knew deep down something was wrong with me. I just didn’t think it could be this.’

‘We’ll break it,’ Kade says more confidently than he feels.

‘Yeah.’

‘And like we said, the effects of the Resonyx will wear off. Roman still has all his memories, at least.’

‘I’m not sure that that’s a good thing.’

‘And as for the attack, the Tower is strong. I made it strong.’

‘Well, aren’t you just a ball of sunshine, hmm?’ Lachlan sweeps around and scoops Kade up under the thighs, lifting him easily.

Kade was just waiting for it.

He wastes no time in pressing an eager, hungry kiss to Lachlan’s waiting lips and taking comfort from the warm, waking colours that stir inside his heart, brought to life by this man.

‘Take me to bed?’ he hears himself whisper, sliding his fingers into dark waves, pulling and tightening playfully.

Lachlan manages a small laugh. ‘You need to sleep.’

‘You could help.’

‘I’ll tuck you in, how’s that?’

There’s no point pressing, and Kade genuinely is exhausted, so he just loses himself in kisses, one after the other, indulgent and sweet. He could do this forever. Kissing is so fucking beautiful.

Lachlan deposits him on his bed and breaks the kiss by planting a final, more chaste one there. ‘I have something for you,’ he says before Kade can protest. He pulls out the same notebook as before.

‘For me?’

‘Well, it’s yours anyway,’ he explains, sitting on the bed beside Kade and offering it. Kade takes it, feels the thickness of each filled page. ‘It was yours in the Estate. Blaire gave it to me last week. I filled in the remaining pages with everything I could remember about my time with you and Mimi.’

Kade’s heart lurches. ‘Why?’

‘Because I want you to have it.’

‘So we’ll figure out the ritual and then you can tell me all of it yourself.’

‘We will, but I’m not very good at explaining some things, so I wanted to put it down as plainly as possible.’

‘This feels like a goodbye.’

‘It’s not. It’s just a little bit of me and I wanted you to have it.’