Page 45 of Merciless
Mari accepted my embrace with ease, leaning into my chest. “How does it feel?”
“Honestly? I love it.” I leaned against my bike, pulling her with me. “Even if we don’t have the gods after all this, I hopethisstays.”
“Really?” Mari’s hands wound around the back of my neck, her expression curious.
“Yeah.” I folded my hands on her lower back. “I mean, I knew we always had something between us. It’s just nice to feelit,the connection we have, physically.”
“It is. And it feels so natural, like it was always there and we knew it. We just didn’t see it.” She smiled, tipping her head back. “Gunner’s on his way back. He’ll be here soon.”
I swallowed, finding the question on my mind too unbearable to keep to myself. “Can you feel them? Reap and Shadow?”
Mari’s smile fell with a small shake of her head. “No. I tried reaching on our way over here and there’s no response, no feedback. I’m…scared of what that might mean.”
“Hey. I lowered my forehead to hers. “Don’t let your mind go there.” But she already was. I could feel her frazzled emotions through our bond.
“What if we’re already too late, Jandro?” Her fingers on my neck started to shake and I reached up to hold them.
“We don’t know that,” I said, trying to push steadiness and calm through my connection with her. “I don’t want to have false hope either, babe. But we can’t start thinking of the worst yet.”
“I never got to tell Reaper I’m sorry.” She brought her forehead to my chest and I immediately tucked her head under my chin, bringing a hand to the back of her head to hold her there.
“You have nothing to be sorry for,Mariposita.He understands.”
“I don’t know how that’s possible becauseIdidn’t even understand! I pushed him away for no fucking reason.”
“You had a reason, even if you didn’t understand it. If it didn’t feel right, it didn’t feel right.” I pulled away to cup her face and look in her eyes. “And you had no way of knowing this would’ve happened.”
Mari closed her eyes and took a few shuddering breaths. When her face started to relax and I felt less tension through our bond, I pulled her back into my chest again. Whether from bullets, fire, or her own fears, I would protect her from it all.
“Do you really think we can do this, Jandro?” she whispered against my shirt.
My chest lifted with the deep breath I took before releasing it with a sigh. “You want to know my honest answer?”
She hesitated before answering quietly, “Yes.”
“I do. I really fuckin’ do. You want to know why?” I nuzzled the side of her face until my mouth touched her ear. “’Cause they may be gods, but we’re fucking Demons.”
Mari’s lips twitched into a smile as she squirmed in my arms. “That’syour reason?”
“Yeah, I mean it.” I held tight and grabbed her chin to make her look at me. “They fucked with our family and tried to run away. So we’re bringing Hell to them. I don’t know what we’ll find when we arrive, but we’ll make the Sha regret ever taking form here.”
She nodded, lips still wobbling slightly but the fire in her gaze had returned. “You’re right.”
“That’s it. Get mad, girl. They tookyourmen from you.” I swore I felt the heat of her anger simmering in our connection too. Sex with these bonds had to be on a whole other level. Hopefully we still had them and would still be alive after tonight.
“You guys ready?” Gunner’s voice echoed as he hollered across the concrete garage.
Mari pulled away from me to embrace him, but she didn’t melt into his chest like she did with me. She grabbed the back of Gunner’s neck and pulled him down for a rough, biting kiss. It was so fast that he even stumbled from the momentum but found purchase on her waist and kissed her back with same ferocity.
I was grinning when they both came up for air—Gunner a little breathless with a dopey smile on his face, but Mari…
Mari strode over to her bike, looking ready to not only go to war, but to burn cities down that stood in her way. She cast one last look at Hades and Freyja, who stood off to the side of our exit in silent observation.
We are with you even when you cannot see us,Hades said.Remember that you three are not battling alone.
Horus and Quetzalcoatl are with you as well,Freyja added.We carry you on our wings and in our hearts, bonded humans.
With that, Gunner and I mounted up, flanking Mari on either side. No words were needed as we rode out of the garage, we all knew none of us would come back the same.
