Page 79 of Illusory

Ha. Tomato soup. I chuckled to myself as Dominic’s fingers grazed dangerously close to the hem of my jeans, and then I wasn’t so much laughing anymore as I was panting out in need.

“Alright, that’s enough,” snapped Gabriel from who knows where in the room.

I was embarrassed to admit it, but frankly I’d completely forgotten that Gabriel even existed let alone that he was still in the room with us.

“No. Wait. Don’t,” I cried out, alarmed that they might listen to him andstop. I wasn’t ready to stop. I wanted to keep going. I was perfectly fine to keep going. Fuck, I hadn’t even started seeing the black dots yet. “We don’t need to stop. Pleasedon’t stop,” I whined, one hand fisted into Trace’s shirt and the other one in Dominic’s hair. Clutching them both to me. At the same time. Like a goddamned fiend.

It was something I’d never even allowed myself toimaginedoing, but somehow in that moment, it felt like everything I’d been missing.

“Fret not, love,” crooned Dominic against my ear, making my body shiver at his honeyed words. “We’re only getting started.” And with that, Dominic pulled me away from Trace as Gabriel hauled my Reaper in the opposite direction, bringing one of the best moments of my life to a blisteringly cold end.

New life goal: Make that happen again.

25. A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE

It felt as though the universe were conspiring in my favor to make my new life mission a reality, and frankly, I was loving every second of it. After being healed by Dominic and put back together again, we proceeded to do four more bloodsharing sessions throughout the course of the day. And with each round that went off without incident under our belt, Trace’s confidence grew exponentially as he steadily continued to gain control over his bloodlust.

While Trace was mostly still hanging back in-between sessions, there was a definite change in his demeanor toward me and a softening in his eyes where there had only been ice before.

Strangely enough, I knew I had Dominic to thank for that. Something I never thought I’d ever utter before today. Even Gabriel, who hadn’t exactly been on board with the plan at first, could no longer deny that Dominic’s methods were working. So much so that after the third session had gone off without a hitch, he’d even decided that his time was better put to use translating the grimoires. Elsewhere in the house.

Frankly, I was surprised he’d lasted as long as he did with all the touching and panting and feeding going on around him, but Gabriel was nothing if not diligent and devoted.

My safety would always come before his own comfort level.

“Are you certain you’re prepared to do another session?” verified Dominic as he held out his hand and helped steady me as I climbed back up to my feet.

I’d spent the last thirty minutes vegging on the basement floor as my body slowly regenerated its blood stores, andfrankly, after being healed by Dominic for the third time today, I felt fantastic.

“I’m sure,” I said, trying not to soundtooenthusiastic about it.

Even if the last couple of hours hadn’t been more action than I’d had in ages, and basically the stuff that all my fantasies wouldnowbe made of, I would still have jumped at the chance to do this for Trace. All I’d wanted to do since the moment he Turned was help him, and now, I was finally able to. Because the more times we did this today, the sooner he could join the world again tomorrow and get his life back. That was all I wanted for him.

I peered around Dominic’s shoulder at Trace who was still sitting on the ground a few feet away from us with his back pressed up against the steel bars and his legs bent before him.

He looked pensive, like he had a million thoughts weighing him down just then.

“Unless you don’t want to,” I said to him, noting that he hadn’t yet moved. Maybe he’d gotten his fill for the night and was ready to call it a day.

“No.” He pushed his hands through his hair and climbed back up to his feet, his eyes never leaving mine. “I want to.”

A rush of butterflies took flight in my stomach as he stalked over to me, shouldering past Dominic and then coming to a stop in front of where I stood, gazing down at me like I was the only person in the entire world.

My eyes, fickle as they were, slid to Dominic, noting his half-cast gaze and forlorn expression. My heart ached for him then, for what it must have taken out of him to do this for Trace. All day, watching as another man slowly built up his confidence so that he can eventually swoop back in and reclaim the woman that you yourself loved.

It was…unfathomable.

My mouth opened on an apology or some kind of magic word that would take his pain away and make this impossible situation somehow bearable for him. For all of us.

Don’t say a word, angel, he said to my mind as though he could sense what I’d wanted to say to him even before I’d uttered anything.Whatever you’re going to say. Don’t. This isn’t about me.

But it was about him, and Trace, and what he was doing for him—for me. Because he loved me. It was an impossible mess of a situation that I still had no idea how to unravel.

Trace lifted his hand to my face, cupping my jaw and recapturing my attention again. Our soulmate bond thrummed through the link and radiated outwards, making my body feel as though it were vibrating. His lips curled up into a smile that made both of his dimples pop off at the same time.

God, how I had missed those dimples.

“Tell me where you want it,” he said huskily, his ocean blue eyes raking over me as though he were trying to memorize my face all over again, to commit every feature to memory so that he’d never forget me again.

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