Page 46 of Shadowed Spirits

“Prue!” someone hollers from the kitchen, which connects to the dining room. “Your sauces are burning!”

“Shit. I need to get that. I’ll see you around, new sis!” Prue leaps up and gives me an awkward hug since I’m still sitting. She then wraps her arms around Cain before darting back into the kitchen.

“Is she ever not chaotic and intense?” I ask Cain.

His lips tilt up in a wry smile. “No. She’s always like this, angel.”

“Lovely,” I mutter to myself. “Moving on. Does anyone have any ideas on what we should do next?”

Levi wanders over and gingerly sits down in Prue’s vacated seat. He winces as he does so. “We need to look for Lua. We have a little under two weeks, so I think we should take the rest of the day to regroup and decide which mountain to check first.”

My brows furrow in concern. I reach out and place my hand on his outstretched knee, needing to reassure myself that he’s alive and mostly well after the fiasco in the council chamber. “Are you sure you’re okay, demon boy?”

He gives me a genuine but tired smile. “I’m positive, little raven. I just need to rest for a bit and I’ll be good as new. Is everyone fine with the plan to start looking tomorrow?”

I nod, wanting him to have as much rest as he needs. “I’m good with that.”

“The plan sounds good to me. I can show you to the spare bedrooms, Levi. You’ll have more privacy to rest there than in my bedroom. I need to do some pack stuff if we’re going to be gone for most of the next two weeks, anyway,” Luca informs us. I wonder if he ever relaxes because he seems to be constantly working on pack stuff, running around to clean up my messes, and handling his less-than-legitimate side businesses.

“Thanks.” Levi pushes to his feet, trying to hide his discomfort, but I can still see it. “Do you need anything from me, Izzy?”

“I just need you to get better, screech owl.” He gives me a half smile and kisses the top of my head.

Luca also leans down and presses his lips to my forehead. “Come find me if you need anything, wildcat.” I give him a smallnod and watch the two of them make their way out of the dining room, Levi moving slower than usual.

“Can I talk to you?” Bishop shoves his hair out of his eyes with a frustrated hand. I’m guessing he’s still not cooled down from everything in the council chamber.

I shrink back in my seat, like I can just disappear if I go far enough back. “If I say no, can we just never have this conversation?” It’s not that I’m scared of Bishop. I’m just tired of fighting with him. Part of me wants my chill best friend back, but a larger part of me needs Bishop to feel comfortable being himself around me.

Bishop huffs a laugh. “That’s not how it works, sweetheart.”

I blow out a breath. “That’s what I thought.” Reluctantly getting up from my seat, I turn to Cain and Archer. “You guys need anything before I go?” I’m totally not hoping they say yes, so I can avoid talking about feelings or other mushy things with Bishop. Violence and bloodshed, I’m great at. Emotions, on the other hand, not so much.

Cain shakes his head, and Archer chuckles. “We’re good, sunshine. We probably need to check in on business things too.” Archer and Cain both pull me into lingering hugs before they make their way out of the dining room.

Reluctantly, I turn back to Bishop to continue our conversation from the council chamber.

CHAPTER 25

IZZY

Bishop offers me his hand, and I take it. We walk in silence through the Nightshade mansion until we reach a secluded sitting room toward the back of the keep. The room has three walls of windows, letting the midmorning sunshine pour through. Dark wood floors, light blue walls, and a variety of natural oak chairs create an airy feel.

Pushing the door closed behind us, Bishop wanders over to the wall of windows opposite the door and shoves his hands into the pockets of his dark jeans. The sleeves of his charcoal long-sleeve tee are pushed up, revealing his defined forearms.

I shake my head at myself because now isn’t the time to be admiring his muscles. Walking up next to him, I stare at the forest outside the window, admiring the late October landscape. When the silence stretches on long enough to be uncomfortable, I ask, “So, what did you wanna talk about, St. James?”

He blows out a harsh breath. “I don’t know. I just…” He trails off as he glances over at me, his baby blues roving over my face. “I want you to know that everything I do is to keep you safe, Izzy. Even when you don’t like it, like when I don’t share all of myself, it’s to keep you safe.”

My eyes narrow on him. “What if I don’t want safety, and I just want you, all of you?” This conversation feels like I’m in a mirror dimension because I’m usually the one trying to stay away so everyone else will be safe. I get now why that’s kind of irritating, because Bishop matters to me a hell of a lot more than safety.

He shakes his head in denial. “You don’t know what you’re asking for, sweetheart.”

I throw my hands up in exasperation. “Then tell me, St. James. Or hell, even show me.” How does he expect me to know what I’m asking for if he won’t ever tell me? And this is Bishop, after all. I doubt there’s anything he could do to scare me.

He growls and advances on me, backing me up until I’m pressed against the window. He slaps his palms against the glass, caging me in, and leans in close. “I want to tie you up so that you’re completely at my mercy and not let you go, even when you beg me to. I want to fuck you so hard, you don’t know if you can take it. I want to push you past your limits, until you break, and your walls come down. I want to do that over and over and over until you don’t know where you end and I begin. I want every fucking thing from you, Isabel. Part of you will never be enough for me. The darkness in me demands that and won’t accept anything less, which is why I’ll never give in to it with you.”

I stare at Bishop with wide eyes. “And who says I don’t want that?” I croak, getting lost in the picture he so vividly painted for me. Arousal curls in my core and my nipples tighten at what Bishop wants from me. Maybe I should be scared that he wants to have me completely at his mercy and break me, but I’m not. It probably makes me just as fucked up as he says he is that it excites me instead.

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