Page 89 of Marked
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I slip into our room and stop as that reality hits me.
Not my room. Not Lilah’s. Butours.
The fragrance of our sex, of her blood and mine, fills the chambers as a low undercurrent to the spice and lilac rapidly intertwining.
It’s like a sucker punch to the chest, letting someone in that far again. There has been no one since the war, nothing but the hunt and the occasional warm body under mine. But it wasn’t like this. Never like this.
My throat works as I try to swallow down the panic, the wash of blood covered sheets, death, and thick dark curls.
Lilah’s soft steps float over the bedroom carpet and she appears in the doorway, lush chestnut waves framing the smooth skin of her face. If possible her eyes seem bigger, brighter. And the healthy color to her frame is from my blood.
Mine.
A low growl pours from me before I can stop it and I flit in to her body, hauling her against me and holding as tight as I dare.
She gasps. “Ruin? Love, what’s wrong?”
My heart seems to pound between us, trapped and trying to break free. I nuzzle her hair, inhaling my shampoo and simply her.
“Vic is dead, baby girl.”
Her little body goes still against me. “What?”
I pull back, hands framing the silken sway of her cheeks. “Guards found him dead in his cell, baby. It’s done. He’s gone.” It’s the only piece of good news I can offer.
She stares at me, lips parted. “Oh god.”
When she tugs away, I let her go, watching as she paces off whatever she is feeling.
“Lilah? Talk to me, baby.” I need her voice like I need air to breathe. Right now, I need her to calm me down, to keep me tethered instead of going on the killing spree making my skin crawl.
She laughs, and the sound cuts off as she shoves her hand in her mouth. Her smaller frame sags, and she drops to her knees in the middle of the doorway; tears track down her face. “He’s dead. He’s finally dead.”
When she looks at me, her expression is almost sad. Relieved but not. “I’m free.”
I start to shake my head, to tell her about Draven, but I can’t. Can’t bring myself to voice it, to put another reason to keep her here between us.
She only came to Eternity to escape Vic. Now I need to know if she will stay for other reasons.
Chapter 39
Lilah
Ruin watches me from the front room, and I can only imagine how insanely happy I look. I try to offer him a normal smile, but his face remains frozen. Impassive.
I climb to my feet. “When do you need to go again?”
He blinks. It’s the first move he has made in a minute. “We have a lead on Vlad. The guys are getting ready. I wanted to tell you about Vic first.”
I nod, all while walking closer. “Can you spare an extra minute?”
Ruin comes unfrozen as one moonlit hand comes up to cup my face. His calloused thumb scrubs back and forth, and I shiver. “Of course.”
I steer him to the big recliner and he drops into it, cradling me into his lap. My head fits into the curve of his shoulder, and I just watch his jawline. His thighs are like stone beneath me, but I could sit here for hours in silence. Me and him.
“When I was about four or five, my parents died in a car crash.” He rocks slowly, idly stroking my back. “I was in the car, but survived when they didn’t.”
