Page 12 of Hell Bound

Had everything I’d done to protect her been a mistake?

I turned and found her inspecting the top of a dresser, where cosmetics and jewelry had been left, exactly the same as the last time she’d been in here.

She didn’t notice me until I was right behind her, then she looked up into the mirror and gasped, whirling around.

I swallowed hard, my senses tingling from how close she was. When I’d found her, her lips had been swollen by kisses that weren’t mine, but her body had instinctively reacted to me.

She was still in there. She had to be, if she’d responded to me like that when I was covered in the blood of her lover.

“You remember nothing?” I asked, drawing closer. I reached out and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, smudged dried blood from her cheek. “Are you sure?”

Lilith looked up at me, brown eyes huge and fringed with dark lashes.

She shook her head, but her breathing had grown rapid in a way that had nothing to do with fear. “I don’t know you at all.”

Her body may have awoken at my nearness, but her bitter tone was clear. She truly didn’t remember me, and she didn’t want to.

Disappointment crashed over me. After everything I’d done to save her had fallen apart, the single bright spot was that she’d be returned to me.

But what did that matter if I was a stranger to her? The stranger who’d delivered her to a nightmare she didn’t even remember yet.

Asmodeus should have never been able to find her. With the spell of a powerful magic user on her and the enormous price I’d paid, she should have been untraceable for eternity.

And yet here she was. Right back where we’d started.

Ironically, my most hated part of the plan, the one designed to let her move on without memories of us, had worked perfectly.

I dropped my hand, even though I wanted to erase that human’s touch from her lips with a searing kiss that would brand her with my taste instead.

I had asked for this. Now we both had to lie in the bed I’d made.

“Remember my warning,” I growled, backing away. If I didn’t leave her now, I’d do something stupid. Something that would end up hurting her more than me. “Keep your mouth shut and don’t try to run.”

I forced myself to turn my back on her and slammed out of the room.

Chapter3

Lilith

Icouldn’t possibly trust him, but when the door slammed behind the commander—Morningstar—I desperately wanted to call him back. The sound of a lock clicking into place only intensified the need, but I bit my tongue.

“Ouch!”

A little too hard, it would seem, as the taste of copper flooded my mouth. I struggled against the need to vomit and sprinted through an arched doorway.

Thankfully, it was a bathroom as expected, and I wrenched on the tap. The water that flowed from the spout looked a little suspect, but I was willing to risk it to rinse away the taste of blood.

In the first bit of luck I’d had on this awful day, the water was fine. I swished it around before spitting it into the sink, repeating the process three times.

Relieved that the horrible taste was gone, I rinsed my face next. If only I could wash away everything that had happened in the past few hours.

After I patted my face dry, I took in my surroundings. I wanted to hate it. I wanted it to be hideous so I could hateeverythingabout this place.

It looked like Morningstar wasn’t going to be the only thing I was conflicted about.

The understated opulence of the bathroom was insane. Everything was dark, which should have felt oppressive. Instead, it was sumptuous, more lavish than anything that I’d ever experienced.

Growing up bouncing from place to place after my parents’ death meant I’d been little more than an afterthought to the extended family that took me in. I’d learned quickly to appreciate the smallest consideration, and to keep my expectations low.

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