Page 13 of Can't Bite This Feeling
She shouldn’t be human. She should be strong, eternal, untouchable. But Lucifer couldn’t resist making it a test, setting me up to break my heart all over again.
My demon power simmers under my skin, demanding I take what is mine, protect what is mine, ruin the world if anyone dares threaten her. But for now, I force it down, bury it beneath the tenderness that only Drusilla has ever coaxed out of me.
She shifts in my lap, looking up at me with those soft, wary eyes. So much confusion swims in them, so much pain. It nearly shatters me.
“I’ll help you remember,mea amora,” I promise roughly. “You’re safe with me. Always.”
Her lower lip trembles. I brush it with my thumb, the sight of her vulnerability gutting me.
“Why here?” she asks. “Why this place…Screaming Woods?”
“Lucifer said you chose this place. That you chose not to come back to me immediately.”
Her brows knit together. “I did? I…don’t remember. It wasn’t a conscious choice. One minute, I was dead, and the next, I awoke here. Alone.”
I press my lips to her forehead, trying to soothe the fear in every tense line of her body. “Screaming Woods is a crossroads. It’s become something of a hybrid town since the Halloween mishap, when a potion turned the inhabitants into magical creatures,” I explain. “Perhaps you chose it subconsciously as it was easier to anchor you here.”
“Or perhaps Lucifer lied to you,” she says, holding my gaze, “because I would choose to return to your side in any lifetime, Rapha.”
I swallow hard at the sincerity in her eyes. “Yes, it’s quite possible that Lucifer lied to me. He does like to play his littlemind games. But I won’t let anything happen to you,” I vow again, needing her to believe me.
She sighs, leaning back against me, exhausted.
I hold her tighter, inhaling her lavender and sunshine scent.
Drusilla shifts in my lap again, moving to straddle me and cupping my face in her soft hands. Her touch is hesitant, almost as if she’s afraid I’ll vanish. I lean into it, starved for her warmth, for the softness only she’s ever offered me.
“Rapha,” she breathes, her voice a threadbare whisper.
I lower my head, letting my lips brush hers, featherlight at first. A question. When she doesn’t pull away, I deepen the kiss, pouring every moment of agony and longing and hope into it. Her lips part for me, warm and yielding. A groan rumbles from deep in my chest as our tongues tangle and I taste her again.
It’s familiar. It’s new. It’s everything.
I kiss her until we’re both breathless, until her hands clutch at my horns like she can anchor herself in me. I kiss her until she melts against me, soft and trusting, and my demon heart nearly breaks from the perfection of it.
When I finally pull back, she’s dazed and flushed, eyes glassy with emotion.
“I love you,” I murmur against her temple.
Her breath hitches, but her voice is fierce. “I love you, too.”
I gather her close and shift us farther onto the bed, pulling the covers around us. She sighs as I settle her against my chest, sliding one leg between mine. For a moment, it feels like nothinghas changed, like we’re back beneath the cliffs, tangled together, the world forgotten.
Sleep takes her quickly, exhaustion winning over fear. I watch her breathe, memorizing each rise and fall of her chest, each flutter of her lashes, the warmth of her skin.
Eventually, I close my eyes, holding her tightly through the night.
No nightmares find us.
When morning comes, a pale dawn pressing through the curtains, I stroke her hair gently and kiss her forehead.
“Drusilla,” I whisper. “Wake up, love.”
She stirs, blinking at me with a groggy smile that nearly undoes me.
“Do you feel strong enough?” I ask, careful to keep my voice soft. “There’s a world out there I’d like to show you. Screaming Woods is… strange. But I won’t let it harm you.”
She bites her lip, searching my eyes, then nods. “If you’re with me, Rapha, I can face anything.”
