Page 73 of Fearless
Hands covered in bloody bandages grabbed my shoulders and spun me around. I choked out a sob at the sight of the familiar handsome face and green eyes.
"Reaper!" I didn't even hear him run up to us. "I'm fine. What happened to your hands?"
"I'll tell you later, sugar. We're getting you home." He kissed me deeply, full of relief and longing. "These fuckers have keys, right?"
"Too bad Shadow's not here. He'd smash those locks in two seconds."
"Jandro!"
"Oh, baby." He yanked me out of Reaper's arms and crushed me to his chest. "Don't you ever scare me like that again."
"Not planning on it," I murmured, wanting to burrow in the scent and safety of him.
Reaper pulled the keys from Elric's lifeless body and unlocked both of us. The moment we were free, he whistled and Hades came running to him.
"Now, boy." He gave the dog an affectionate ear stroke. "Call the Demons here."
Hades trotted to the center of the flat stone where Gunner and I had been chained, then threw his head back and let out the most haunting howl I ever heard.
"Don't worry, sugar." Reaper caressed the nape of my neck. "They're going to pay for this. All of them."
Thirty
MARIPOSA
"My poor baby." Jandro lifted my foot and brushed a kiss against the red line where I'd been chained. "I'm never letting you out of my sight again."
"That's fine, but stop kissing me there." I wiggled my toes at his face. "I don't want more germs on your lips."
Expecting a silly comeback, Jandro's solemn face stunned me as he moved up my body. He'd been so doting when we got home, parking me permanently on his couch with blankets and pillows, forbidding me from getting up except for bathroom breaks. Surrounded with warmth and softness, the guilt on his face still cut me deeply.
"What's wrong?" I held the sides of his face. "Don't tell me you blame yourself for this."
"No, it's just, when I realized you were actually gone, I—“ his voice cracked. "I never got to tell you."
"Tell me what?"
His mouth slid over mine, stealing my breath. "Te amo, mi mariposita. I love you so fucking much.Tu eres mi corazon."
"Te amo tambien," I murmured in my clumsy Spanish in between breathless, needy, all-consuming kisses. "I love you too, Alejandro."
He broke away mid-kiss, reaching into his saddlebag next to the couch. "I got you something at the market."
My eyes widened. "Jandro, you didn't have to—“
"I know. I wanted to, though." He handed me a slender, clamshell style box. "Don't tell me if you don't like it. Save my pride and fake it for me."
"Don't say stuff like that," I chided as I lifted the lid.
There was no possible way I could fake my reaction to the butterfly pendant resting on white tissue paper. "Oh my God, Jandro. This is..."
I had no words because it was absolutely perfect.
The pendant felt heavy when I slid my fingers behind it to lift it out of the box. Light shone through the yellow-orange wings, a delicate contrast to the gray metal frame they were embedded in. The metal created the shape of the wings and the signature dark stripes of the monarch butterfly, while the colored glass accentuated the beauty and fragility of such an insect.
"Do you like it?" Jandro prodded gently.
"Are you kidding me? Iloveit!” The metal chain spilled over my fingers as I lifted the whole necklace from the box. I couldn't stop staring at it, nor sliding my fingers over the smooth glass. "I don't think anyone's ever gotten me a more perfect gift. Help me put it on?"
