Page 54 of V for Vengeance

Pocketing my phone, I grabbed one of the bags Phillip hadn’t thrown over his shoulder, Jo having already grabbed a couple herself, and followed Phillip down the mountain.

Chapter 27

Yours to Command

Time was frozen again, but unlike the last few times, it wasn’t because of me.

I entered the cleared space surrounded by trees and found Cash’s tantalizing figure cast entirely in moonlight. His hair seemed to adopt the same glow as the bright white moon in the night sky. His purple cat eyes shot over to me the second I entered his magical barrier. It was an electric sensation, but the feeling of his magic was oddly comforting—like a warm, welcoming embrace. In his hand was another one of his cute river rocks, but this one looked more gem than rock the closer I got.

I eyed the vibrating stone with an inquisitive eyebrow and sassy smirk. “Is all of this really necessary?”

His lips twitched. “It is. Harmony isn’t someone you should ever underestimate, love.”

“Fair enough.” I stopped a few feet short of him.

Cash seemed unnaturally conflicted for a moment, but then he took a step closer. “V, Big said that when he dusted you, you thought of me. Is that true?”

It took me a second to figure out what he meant. “Oh, dusted…Goth Tinkerbell Dude…right.” I hesitated before answering, “Yes. I’m not sure why that’s important, but I figured you’d be—”

“Safe,” he finished before I could.

For some reason, the word brought heat to my cheeks, and I turned my head to keep my red face from giving me away. “Yeah, I guess. But what does that have to do with anything?”

Suddenly, there wasn’t any space left between us. Cash was bent over me, his heat radiating off mine. His hands eclipsed my face, bringing our eyes together in an instant. “You might not understand its significance, love, but I do. It means more than you could ever know.”

When his thumbs brushed across my cheeks, my heart couldn’t figure out a rhythm. My face was on fire.

Why was this man so damn pretty all of the sudden? Wait, is he…sparkling? My eyes did a confused sweep. Oh. My. God. He’s fucking sparkling. Was that normal? Did people just sparkle out of nowhere? Looking around, it was almost like I’d stepped into one of my K-Dramas. He was a-glitter, and I wasn’t sure if my eyes were having issues, or if he’d used magic to put his body on some weird sparkle filter.

More importantly, why was I just standing here like a dumb asshole who’d never seen a hot guy in my life? I’d been in this position plenty of times before. Pretty dudes coming out of my ears some might argue. But with him it was weirdly new. Foreign. Forbidden. I wasn’t supposed to be here with him like this.

Not sober, anyway.

I should’ve pushed Cash away, but I was frozen to the spot. I waited with bated breath wondering if he’d kiss me again. Like, really kiss me. I wasn’t fighting back. I hadn’t moved my body in seconds. And as a supernatural badass, that was basically hours.

Did I want him to kiss me? Oh fuck, I did. Was I really this stupid? Could I actually be interested in the guy who’s shrill cry of indignation accompanied every single day I spent with him?

What the fuck am I doing right now?

“V,” he whispered, almost as if the mere mention of my name released tension in his body. His gorgeous eyes shut, and a breath escaped his mouth, the tension in his body gone. Then his mesmerizing irises beamed their purple iridescence my direction again. “I might never deserve your trust, but I can promise that you’ll always have mine. Which is why what I’m about to give you is something that no one…” His piercing eyes stayed with mine, making the seconds of silence feel excruciatingly slow as he took another breath and then continued, “And I meanno onehas ever been freely given by me.”

My eyes strayed to his lips before I managed to rein in the treacherous things. “Ah, okay,” I muttered lamely. “And what’s that, exactly?”

His thumb swept across my bottom lip. It was hardly a touch at all, but it was electrifying. I barely kept myself from shivering. Nothing with Sloan, Phillip, or Jo prepared me for Cash. I was navigating new waters…yet again.

Hope I don’t drown.

Cash’s mouth tilted. “First, I need you to know a few things. I was as bad as Big said. The realm calls magic types like myself Hands of Death. Death is where I find the greatest strength, and for a very long time, I used it without care of who it hurt. Harmony exploited that with her pheromones. She made me her pet, the bloody hag.”

Not sure what I expected, but that wasn’t it. “You were one of her pets?”

“Her favorite for a long time, yes. Centuries, in fact. She stole my magic and made it impossible for me to escape. I digress,at one stage, I gave up trying to free myself for a time because complying was less painful.”

Less painful? Holy shit.

I opened and closed my mouth. “You said she stole your magic, but how?”

“Yes. That’s one of her most volatile abilities. She can lock anyone’s power into an item. And when I say anyone, love, I meananyone.Ancient Fae included. Her pheromones, it's impossible to repel them. Many have tried and none succeeded. Yet, anyway.”

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