Page 96 of Those That Are Lost
“Then you’d better come kiss me.” I can’t stop the tears that fall. Ty wipes one cheek, and then the other, with the soft pad of his thumb before cupping his hand around the base of my skull. His fingers tangle in my hair, his palm caresses theside of my neck and jaw. His other hand comes to my waist to pull me closer. Tilting his head to look down into my watery gaze, his deep blue eyes shine deep, full of trepidation.
“You better take care of yourself and not take any risks. I want you back safe and whole because I love you far more than getting these lands back. I’d let them all burn and never return if it meant you were safe. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is worth risking your life over.”
“I promise I’ll keep myself safe.” We both know I’m about to walk into the home of a powerful narcissist who wishes to trap me by any means possible, but I don’t feel it's a risk. Not really. I’ve trained hard and have everything to fight for. Losing this isn’t an option.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Ty’s head dips so he can capture my lips in a kiss so soft it hides none of the emotion behind it. It's not blind with passion or desperate in need. It's purposeful and exposing. He deepens it enough that our tongues slide together in a languid joining of our bodies. We are one. One soul in two bodies. Partners sharing one lifetime.
I feel every tiny movement of his lips and his tongue against my own. I swear I feel the tiny indents of his fingerprints as he caresses the side of my face. I don’t push for more because more doesn’t exist at this moment. This kiss is everything. And it lingers a few seconds longer before it's broken. Fresh tears escape my eyes and Ty plants one more soft barely-there kiss to my lips before kissing my forehead and inhaling against my skin.
My hands cling to his shirt, wanting this moment to never end.
CHAPTER 37
AURORA
Approaching the ranch is invoking very different emotions from the walk to Claire’s earlier. I swear my insides are vibrating with nerves. But damn if I’m going to let it show.
Hence the reason I’m currently dressed in the gown I bought for the Hallow’s Eve party two years ago. As soon as I’d seen it in the box, I knew I wanted to add a bit of flair to this entrance.
I bought the dress to dress up as Tacita, the silent goddess of the dead. It felt fitting to wear it now, considering what I’m here to do.
The dress is all geometric shapes, panels of sharp lines that hit my body in just the exact right way to accentuate my curves. The last time I’d warn it I’d been glamouring my weight to fill it out and hide that I was slowly starving.
This time the low neckline and skin tight bodice are showing off my natural shape. The thigh high slit up the right side of the full length skirt also gives me a totally sexy edge that I plan to exploit. I feel powerful in this dress. The bravado comes easier when I know I look positively deadly.
I’ve let my hair down, the natural curls framing my face and shoulders.
I’ve not applied much make-up but needed a dash of a glittery copper eyeshadow and some mascara to complete my disguise.
Oh, and of course I glamoured away my tattoo and my scent.
For all the bravery the outfit gives me, however, I am currently regretting my choices as Antares and I traipse through the woodland to enter the ranch lands. We’d decided that sneaking onto the property might give us some time to figure out how many of the pack were currently at home. Navigating the undergrowth in a thin, expensive dress is not how I’d planned our entrance, but here we were. It will be worth it.
The ranch house isn’t even in view when Antares halts me.
I look at him as I freeze, seeing him tilting his head this way and that as if assessing a noise. I can’t hear anything beyond the slight rustle of leaves in the light breeze and a few birds that are chattering in the late evening light.
“Someone’s coming this way,” Antares whispers as he reads my confused expression.
I hear it a couple of seconds later, the clear pattern of footsteps. They’re being careful but they’re headed this way.
Okay then, this is happening.
I straighten and gesture for Antares to do the same. I drop the skirt of the dress I’d been holding up and try my best to look like we belong here, that the path we’re carving through the undergrowth was purposeful.
“Who’s there?” Antares calls, not loud enough it’ll broadcast our presence to the entire vampire population residing on this land, but enough to alert the one approaching us that he’s been rumbled.
They don’t reply but the footsteps pick up.
Another few seconds tick by before the most muscular male I’ve ever seen steps into view. He’s not quite as tall as Ty but is so broad I think my mate would have trouble taking him down if it came to blows. Antares stiffens beside me. I would assume he’s scared, except I know that his power would allow him to win against the wall of muscle approaching us. Even the strongest creatures alive can’t fight for long with no oxygen.
“What are you doing here Aurora?” the male hisses.
Now he’s closer I spot the tattoo’s peeking from the sleeves of his long sleeves as well as the neckline. His hair is tied up in a messy bun and his strong jaw is peppered in a few days worth of stubble. I’ve seen this male before, he was in the alley the night Ty and I got captured. He’s also the one I ran into when I escaped.
