Page 149 of The Midnight Order
“Did she do this to you?”
“Yes.” I’ve never admitted that to anyone other than Jasper before.
“You loved her?”
I hang my head. “Yes.”
Why am I telling her this? Because of what we just did?
Is it because I can’t see her judgment where she is behind me?
She slinks over my lap, straddling me, cupping my hands in hers as she lifts my gaze back to her beautiful face. “I would do nothing to hurt you intentionally, Lowell.”
“But you might hurt me unintentionally.”
“You might hurt me the same way.”
Her words settle as she holds my face and peers through my soul, peeling layers back as she gets to the center of me where I’ve spent centuries hiding behind an impregnable wall.
“I want to see you.” Her hands travel to the top of the mask, which magically adheres to my face. Her eyes grow sad when it doesn’t give even a little.
“You might never get that luxury, little lamb. I can only give you so much.”
She leans her forehead against mine, and I only feel the slightest area of mine touch hers above the fucking mask. “I’ll take what I can get.”
It’s the kindest thing anyone’s ever said to me, and I feel one brick tumble down from the finely constructed wall around my heart.
Chapter 39
Asher
She’sin her chair on the back veranda. Hot coffee steams between her hands as she holds it beneath her nose. If I remain still, she won’t even know I’m here.
But what fun is that?
“Good morning,” I tell her, rustling my clothes as I walk so as not to startle her too severely.
I know she and Lowell fucked last night. I can smell him all over her, inside her.
Not only that, but how she screamed her orgasms through the house nearly drove me mad. The markings on my back would alarm her if she were to see them. They’ll heal, but I was hard on myself last night. It’s what I required.
“Morning. I didn’t bring you any coffee…” There’s a haunted look in her eyes; one I didn’t expect from her this morning.
“I think I’ll live.” I smirk as my immortality joke falls flat.
“Corvin is held up in his lab this morning, and I finally exhausted myself in the basement, so I’ve been wandering about for a while, looking for something to do.”
“Exhausted yourself?”
“Well… last night was—” I sigh, not knowing how to approach the subject with her.
“Oh God. Oh… everyone knows? Everyone heard? I don’t know why I forget about the supernatural hearing thing.”
I grin. “It’s fine. There will be times you’re with one of us and not all of us, Sweet Silver. Lowell made it abundantly clear he was to be your first, and we all gave him that luxury. Though it was difficult.”
“What exactly did you do to yourself in the basement?” she asks, sipping her coffee as the look in her eyes grows impatient and heady.
“That’s a subject for another time, I think. Fuck, I don’t think it’s something we should even discuss. It’s more something I couldshowyou.”
