Page 80 of The Sinner and the Gunslinger
Iwake in a cold bed with a slight headache and a dry mouth. It’s still dark, but something is wrong. My hand runs over cold sheets. Leila’s not here. I sit up, and my head swims.
Christ. That pálinka was potent. I could barely keep my eyes open when my head hit the pillow. I’m still dressed in a knitted sweater and jeans.
The dizziness settles as I go to the bathroom, take an awkward piss, then wash my face. I drink gallons from the tap and then return to the bedroom with a shiver, wondering where my girl has gone.
I check my cell phone. Nothing from her but a thousand messages from Wesley. It seemed Leila chatted with Thea while I was out. She apprised them of the new information but said nothing about us being together. Half the messages were drilling me for details.
Has everything gone according to plan? Wes asks. Have you kissed and made up? Give me the details.
The final message was:
Sorry, mate. Thea stole my phone. I don’t need details. But if the cracks are bigger, we need to know. It’s imperative you take advantage of this situation with Leila.
I frown as I stare at those words. I don’t like the idea that what I feel for Leila has some kind of ulterior purpose. She still doesn’t know about that part of the prophecy. And if she wasn’t comfortable enough sleeping next to me, then I’m not finished thawing the ice between us. But at the same time, Wes should know Leila and I aren’t fighting. We’re far from it now. I think.
When he and Thea worked against each other, the cracks in the gates of hell were big enough for the demon Vepar to manifest in this realm completely. I have no idea what makes us special enough for this honor, but I’m long past denying it. I just want Leila.
If Flauros ever fully manifested in this realm again... I close my eyes and see him crawling through my childhood window. The snuffling. The sulfur. The sizzling. I shake my head. I don’t think any spell on my body or bullet to the head will stop him. But the relic might. Somehow.
I catch a ghostly whiff of Leila’s fruity scent, and my mind wanders to everything I love about her. She’s so fucking beautiful. Last night, she was happy. I don’t think she realized how much she smiled when she helped Claudia with that dish in the kitchen.
Thinking of Leila’s smile triggers a reaction in my body. My blood heats and heads south. Fucking hard again.Jesus. I need to find her. She must be close.
I glance over the loft’s edge into the shadows beneath. The fire in the fireplace is out. The only light comes from moonlight sneaking in through the frosty window. A bootless foot dangles over the edge of the couch. I frown—why wouldn’t she feel comfortable sleeping in bed with me?
I sniff my pits—my breath. Not that bad. But then I realize with a shiver why it’s so cold. She had to watch the fire go out before she felt safe. Probably did her nightly checks, too. Something in my chest squeezes, and I quietly climb down the ladder.
She sleeps with a frown and a blanket up to her chin. But her long legs don’t fit. Her lips are blue.
“Come on,” I whisper, slotting my arms beneath her legs and shoulders. “Let’s get you to bed.”
She murmurs something I don’t quite catch, but her tone sounds concerned.
“Don’t worry,” I say. “I’ve got you.”
“Promise,” she mumbles sleepily.
“Cross my heart,” I rasp through a tight throat. The last time I said that to her, I lied. “Hold tight.”
I guide her hands around my neck, shift her weight to one hand, and climb with the other up the rungs. I feel her looking at me halfway up the ladder, but she doesn’t speak. She watches me as I carry her awkwardly. When we crest the top, I almost drop her trying to maneuver my knees onto the platform. I end up with one knee on the ground, one foot planted, and carrying her just shy of the wooden floor. Not exactly the smooth move I was imagining. A curse word slips past my lips, and she giggles.
She fucking giggles.
My eyes flutter closed, and I groan as that sound ignites my blood.
“You okay?” Her worried tone has my eyes opening.
The moonlight gives her features an ethereal quality. She glows. It reminds me so much of how she used to look when we were children, watching secret movies in the living room, the two of us against the world, the blue light from the television flickering against her face. How did I get so lucky to have her in my arms, staring back at me with all the trust I don’t deserve?
“Do you remember,” I mutter, staring deep into her eyes, “just before the fire, we had that movie marathon on the couch?”
Her brow pinches, and she nods.
“I think that’s when I fell in love with you.”
“But you pushed me away. I thought you were annoyed at having a little girl following you around.”
“Leila.” My voice deepens. “I was a horny teenager who already had wet dreams about a girl far too young for me. A girl I treated like a sister. When you came in for a cuddle, and my cock twitched, I knew. You were it for me. I didn’t want to see you as a sister anymore and... I had to get some distance.”
