Page 26 of True Sacrifice
I replayed the training repeatedly in my mind over and over, analyzing and reanalyzing every move she made and every word she spoke. Her standing on the threshold of my room demanding answers. Yet, I had given her none. I could have tried to put my feelings aside and actually give her something useful, but I hadn’t. Fuck.
“It can actually reach across an entire realm once you bond close enough to that person.”It was one of her unanswered questions.
Silence stretched out in my mind. It had been a couple of hours since she had left. What if she was busy? Or maybe she had taken up my suggestion to find Justice. That thought irritated me.
“What?”Her voice filled my head. There was a slight tremble.
“What’s wrong?”I jumped to my feet before even getting a reply, determined to make sure she was ok.
“Oh nothing, I just wasn’t expecting to hear from you again today. With me being worthless and all.”She sounded much more like her snarky self.
Thankfully, I hadn’t made it to the door yet, and I could go back to my bed with no one having known how quick I had been to rush to her aid. “I’m sorry I did such a terrible job today.”There I said it. Maybe now I could get some sleep.
“Oh, he apologizes. I better mark that down in Damnedagram.”I heard the laughter in her voice, and I didn’t fight the smile.
Don’t do that. Wouldn’t want a bunch of demons thinking I have a soft side,”I joked back.
“Heaven forbid you let anyone inside the hard crust of grumpiness you walk around with.”
“That’s not the only hard thing I walk around with.”I realized a moment too late I hadn’t made that an inside only thought.
“Oh yeah? Too bad you don’t let anyone touch you. Maybe then you wouldn’t have the problem of things being so hard all the time,” she quipped back.
I loved the way she flowed into the innuendos and fired back. Get it together, she’s just a woman. “I didn’t say I’ve touched no one.”Let’s check to see if she’s the jealous type.
“Tell me then, why you hated touching me so much?”Deflection. Not what I would have guessed. I’ll admit, it was stimulating.
“I didn’t hate it.”She could never force me to answer her, but would it hurt me to give in a little to help her understand?
“You didn’t exactly act thrilled,”she huffed back. And no, I hadn’t been thrilled. But I hadn’t hated it either.
“No, I mean I didn’t hate it. That was a first.”I mentally prepared myself with the line of questioning that would inevitably follow.
“I was attempting to regenerate my power when you started talking. Earlier.”Her tone had changed, along with the entire conversation topic.
It took the words a few moments to bounce around my head before I realized what she was saying. Anger flared up in me. “Didn’t mean to interrupt you during sex, but I’m sorry whoever you’re with sucks so badly you took a mental call with another demon in the middle of it.”
She came back with laughter. “Yeah, I guess I really suck at sex. I reject myself.”
“You’re alone?”I wasn’t exactly sure, but I think that’s what she meant.
“I have a book from the library,”she said excitedly.
I really didn’t understand reading for pleasure. It was always learning for more and more power. It never stopped. It was never enough. Maybe this book was the issue, “it may be possible you need to put the book down, so you have both hands to work with.”
Several silent minutes went by, and I figured she went back to finishing her task. I briefly entertained the thought of her leaving the connection open while she worked. She’s the only one I have ever met with this power, which means, theoretically, if we had sex, we could also… Nope. I shook out my arms and neck. Need to stay away from that line of thinking. Damned mate bond keeps fucking with my head.
I was about to see if Jasper or Justice was in the war room when various images of multiple men naked, caressing, licking, and biting a single girl between them assaulted me. I couldn’t tell exactly how many there were, as the images were still hazy and flickered.
“You’re still broadcasting,”I yelled to her, and the images stopped abruptly. I imagined her shutting the book in alarm.
Her voice replied with a hint of laughter, “sorry. Was just getting to the good part.”
“You fantasize about being with multiple men?”I mean, she was the mate of a pack of demons, so said the universe, it would fit.
“That was, um, the book I’m reading.” She almost sounded like I had caught her doing something she shouldn’t. Was she embarrassed perhaps?
“So, your book is an aid on this all-mighty quest to regenerate your power.” I tried out my best literary accent. Fucking crushed it.
