Page 118 of The Devil's Trials

“Camille,” he breathes my name desperately, as if it’s a prayer, his voice deep with arousal.

“Don’t stop.” I lift my hips to meet his thrusts, tightening around him when he hits a particularly sensitive spot. My head spins, my brow dotted with sweat as I slide my hands from his shoulders to his face, cupping his cheeks and bringing his lips to mine.

Our kiss is feverish and desperate, and I lose my perception of reality as the pleasure consuming my body crests, and I cry out, the sound muffled by his mouth on mine.

He continues to thrust into me until his thighs tense as he reaches his own climax, and we cling to each other to ride out the warm, continuous waves of euphoria together.

If this is what being damned feels like, I’ll gladly accept my fate in hell.

I’m not sure how long we lie next to each other, my head resting against his chest while he runs his fingers along my hair. I think I’m almost asleep when there’s a sharp knock at the door.

“Ignore it,” I grumble.

Xander chuckles, then sighs. “You know I can’t.”

“Xander,” Blake says through the door. His tone is deep and serious, setting me on edge immediately.

“What is it?” Xander barks back without moving.

“It’s time,” Blake responds, “and you’re goinghomefor this one.”

I frown, my stomach sinking as Xander tenses beneath me.

It’s time for his final trial.

Xander’s chest rises and falls slowly. “Give me a minute.”

There’s a beat of silence followed by, “We’ll be in the car.”

Once I’m sure Blake is no longer standing on the other side of the door, I whisper, “I don’t want you to go.” My eyes burn with the threat of tears, and I don’t want Xander to see them. I’m trying so hard to keep the emotions at bay, but the thought of him traveling to the place he grew up fills me with an ice-cold fear that I’m going to lose him all over again.

“I know.” He brushes his thumb over my cheek, making my skin tingle. “I don’t want to go either.”

My forehead drops against his chest, and I inhale slowly. “Tell me you’re coming back.”

Xander presses his lips to the top of my head, sighing softly. “Of course I am.” He pulls back enough to look into my eyes. “When will you realize? Hell won’t ever be able to keep me from you,mo shíorghrá.”

TWENTY-NINEXANDER

After leaving Camille in bed, I shower and dress in record time, then meet my council in the car. Blake is behind the wheel, the passenger seat left empty for me, while Francesca, Jude, and Roman are in the back. Greer is still more than a little on edge after losing Declan, so I opt to have her stay back.

I can only ignore the tension filling the vehicle for so long before I grumble, “What is it?”

Jude sighs from the seat behind me. “You couldn’t wait to bed your human fixation until after the final trial?”

“She brings out the worst in you, which is something we needed to avoid,” Francesca adds.

The worstbeing any ounce of humanity in this scenario.

I could lie and call it a momentary lapse, or argue I didn’t know when I’d face my last trial, but I don’t feel the need to defend my choices. I did what I wanted.

“When were you home last, Fran?” Blake asks to fill the silence after it’s clear I’m not going to respond.

We’re heading to the portal in the Olympic National Park after I had it scoured for hunters, ensuring we won’t run into any upon our arrival in a little under five hours.

“Hmm,” she hums. “A few years ago. I found myself lost in this realm and needing a break. Humans are positively exhausting. At least in hell I don’t have to be anything but what I am.”

Blake chuckles. “You can do that here so long as you don’t give a fuck about anything or anyone.”

---