Page 7 of To Crave Madly
I turned my gaze to Fenris who was clearly trying to make sense of the situation in front of him. I didn’t have time to explain. “He’s with me. Turn the wards off. Now!”
Fenris flinched at my sharp command but it hastened him into lowering the protections that surrounded the base. As soon as the wards were down, Torsten’s hands dropped from his head and his body fell sideways to the ground as unconsciousness claimed him.
I was just about to check that Torsten was still breathing when I was wrenched to my feet and pulled away from him.
“Put me down!” I shouted, but my captor wouldn’t budge. I kicked and punched until I got a lucky shot to his ribs. Jasper’s cry of pain sounded by my ear and he cursed as he dropped me to the ground.
“How the Hell did you get back here?” he roared. He was always so quick to anger and he made my blood boil at his seeming enjoyment at telling me off. I scoffed. Why else would he do it so often?
“Torsten brought me back. We shadow jumped, whatever the Hell that is.”
Jasper blanched. “He’s a Shadow Fiend?”
“Yes,” I quipped, getting back on my feet, and dusting the gravel from my ass. “Lucifer sent him to protect me.”
“Keep an eye on you, you mean.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. I really wasn’t in the mood for this argument. I wanted to make sure Torsten was alright, see Alec, have a shower and get into my bed. This had already been one Hell of a day; I didn’t need it worsening with a reprimand from Jasper.
“Whatever,” I said dismissively. I made to walk around him, but he caught my arm softly. I looked up at him, his electric blue eyes glittering in the darkness.
“Are you alright?” It was a question I wasn’t expecting to fall past his lips, and it took me aback. I was expecting more rage from him, not concern.
“No, I’m not,” I answered honestly. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I would like to make sure that Torsten is okay after that delightful welcoming committee.” I could see Fenris and Saskia whispering while looking down at him. Probably trying to figure out a way of successfully manoeuvring the giant into the base without causing him an accident. The guy was huge, and I doubted they’d be able to lift him between the two of them.
“He’ll be fine. I will make sure he gets into the house safely, and even find him a room to stay in, seeing as he appears to be staying with us indefinitely. Why don’t you go and see Alec?” The hard glint that usually lingered in Jasper’s eyes melted to a soft warmth and my stomach did a little flip-flop. He really was handsome when he wasn’t scowling. A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as my frown deepened. “I know you, Lori. You won’t rest until you’ve seen Alec so go and do that, then we can talk.”
I took another glance at Torsten who was starting to come back to the land of the living. I worried that if I left him alone he might not survive entering the base.
“He’d better make it safely into the house,” I warned. “If he doesn’t, Lucifer will be pissed. And I don’t think anyone wants that.”
Jasper’s eyes narrowed at my thinly veiled threat, but he nodded in acknowledgement of it. No doubt I would pay for that remark later. He did like to punish me behind closed doors, after all. Just the thought of that had a flush creeping up my neck. His eyes dropped to the redness creeping up my skin and his nostrils flared as my thoughts took an abrupt turn to how much I wanted to feel the heat of his hands on my skin.
“You’ll find Alec in the common room.” His voice was rough, and he didn’t wait for my response. He turned and walked away from me, his back ramrod straight and his shoulders tense.
“Coward,” I mumbled under my breath. His steps faltered and I knew he’d heard me. I didn’t wait to see if he looked back at me. I resolutely turned on my heel and strode into the house, leaving all thoughts of Jasper behind me.
I found Alec exactly where Jasper said he would be. His long form was sprawled out along the length of one of the sofas, and surprise, surprise, he was shirtless. He was way too gorgeous for his own good and I licked my lips as I drank him in. His lean chest rose softly as he slept off the aftermath of returning from the dead. He had one arm tucked under his head and the other rested low across his hips. His face was so peaceful in sleep. It lost that mask of cockiness and the lines of his face were softer. I wished he would drop the mask; he was so much more handsome without his veneer. Not that I’d ever tell him that. His ego was already way too big.
My eyes travelled the length of his torso. It really was impressive, and my fingers itched to trace all those smooth planes and delectable lines. I expected to see some kind of mark, a graze or cut,somethingthat indicated he’d been attacked by Lucifer, but there was nothing. His chest was beautifully unblemished.
I crept closed to get a better look at the mark that wasn’t there. I knelt down, but the floorboard gave a loud, ominous creak as my knee settled upon it. Alec’s eyes snapped open at the sound and his body flinched in surprise. The shock etched into his features morphed into something softer as his eyes found mine.
His fingers tentatively swept along my jawline, as if checking I wasn’t a dream.
“Is that really you?”
“Yeah, it’s me,” I replied, my voice shaky with unshed tears.
Relief swam in the depths of his honey gaze and I got the feeling he was actually happy to see me.
“Careful, Alec. If you look at me like that, I might think you really like me.”
A chuckle escaped his lips as he sat up on the sofa. He placed his feet at either side of me and leaned down so his gaze was level with mine. His usually vivid eyes lacked some of their brightness; he looked weary, but I know a trip back from death takes a lot out of you. I just hoped Alec didn’t lose any of that carefree charm that made him who he was.
“How are you still alive?” I whispered, my hands finding the spot over his heart where there should have been some sort of mark.
His mouth turned down into a sneer. “An unfortunate run-in with a witch.”
