Page 44 of To Crave Madly
Jasper all but growled at me before looking to his leader. “He’s right. We will need a plan for this mage we are going to be housing. How much information will we share? We can’t expect that Crowe will let her share everything.”
“No. I can’t imagine he will. We will have to share enough to show some modicum of willingness but don’t give too much away. Let the mage work with Miss Monroe. I think it is wise to utilise her skills at least. You never know, she might prove useful. Make her feel welcome, Farrow.”
“Yes, Sir.” Jasper nodded and I was almost disappointed he didn’t salute his mighty leader. He looked down at me and scowled. “Let’s go.”
I stood languidly, which just seemed to annoy him further. I suddenly understood why Lori seemed to enjoy tormenting this poor vampire. There were levels to his annoyance that I don’t think I’d even managed to scale yet. I grinned at the discovery of a new challenge.
“Yes, Sir,” I drawled mockingly. His jaw clenched in response and he went to say something but thought better of it and turned his back on me, leading the way out the room and back to the base. I chuckled at his retreating form and suddenly hoped this energy tying me here with Lori would last a while longer. I hadn’t had this much fun in years.
Chapter 13
LORI
The boys mollycoddled me, which was nice and sweet for a day, but I was getting antsy now. I did not like being inactive. I wanted to get back out there and find more clues as to what was happening to the witches. It bothered me that they were still missing, and I was just sitting here on my arse doing nothing. I was fine. I still had a bit of a headache, but I’d slept most of that off. I was ready to go out anddosomething. I wanted to find answers, not lie in sweatpants eating donuts and drinking tea.
Jasper had sat with me a few hours ago and told me about the run-in with the Arch-Mage, who sounded like a total douchebag, and my new tutor who should be arriving here shortly. I already disliked her. I wanted to carry on learning with Fenris, not this new girl. I liked my time with Fenris. Probably too much if I was being honest with myself, and with everything that had been going on I hadn’t had much time with him at all. It seemed like ages ago since we last sat down and watched an old movie and ate popcorn and I realised I missed him. I missed spending time with him and now someone was going to waltz in here and take away the only time IknewI would get with him. So, yeah. It might be really narrow-minded, but I was going to dislike this new mage purely on that principle.
That’s really bitchy
I flinched.“Don’t do that, Iveri.”
Sorry. It’s not like I can knock…
I rolled my eyes at her sarcastic drawl. Who knew a demon in your mind could be so droll?“You’re right. It’s very bitchy, but how else am I supposed to feel about it?”
You could look at it as an opportunity to explore your mage heritage with a woman who is highly skilled in her powers?
I groaned at her words. She was right and I didn’t like it. Spending time with this mage was going to be useful and I probably would learn something from her. I just didn’t like that I was losing time with my friend.
“How did you get to be so wise?”
Hindsight is an amazing tool. Luckily, you make so many stupid decisions that I can learn from your mistakes.
Ouch. That stung.“Way to make a girl feel great, Iveri.”
You’re welcome. Now stop complaining and go and take a nice long shower. You’ll feel much better.
She was right. A shower would do me the world of good. I jumped out of bed and headed to the bathroom. After a long soak and a good scrub, I emerged feeling so much better. What was it about a hot shower that just made you feel refreshed? I wrapped myself in a giant fluffy towel, strode back into my room and found the Devil in my bed. And he was scowling, which probably wasn’t a good thing.
“You should be resting.” He sat on the end of my bed with his arms folded across his powerful chest. He normally wore tailored suits but today he was clad in just a plain black top and a pair of combat trousers. I loved seeing him all put together, sharply dressed in a suit, but seeing him like this, casually dressed, his hair tousled with a light stubble on his chin, had my core tightening and wetness pooling between my thighs. He was gorgeous. And I was suddenly aware of how naked I was.
“I’m tired of resting, Lucifer. I can’t spend another second in that bed knowing that witches are in danger.”
His trademark scowl deepened. “You were seriously hurt, and we were so close to losing you. I don’t want you to go back out there.”
There was something raw lurking in those dark eyes and I caught a real glimpse of the man behind the Devil. There was a vulnerability to his words, and I felt his fear as heat flared beneath the mark on my chest. His eyes dropped to the black lines that marked my skin. It bonded us together in a way that meant our very souls and hearts were entwined. Two crescent moons faced each other with the constellation of Orion dotted across the outer circle that framed the lunar symbols. We couldn’t live without the other. If I died, so did he.
I walked over to him and straddled his lap, my knees resting on the bed either side of his lean hips. He unfolded his arms and rested his hands on my waist. I could feel the heat of his skin radiating through the towel as I cupped his jaw and leant my forehead against his. He’d nearly lost me, and I could tell that had scared him, not because he thought he might have died, but becauseInearly died. But I was not one to avoid the choice because it was a difficult one to make. I’d been brought up better than that.
“Lucifer, I need to do this. People are being hurt because of me. Because of us. Whether Mistress Blackwood’s prophecy is real or not, someone believes in it enough to try and come after me. That’s not going to change. And I am not going to sit by and let someone else deal with this.”
He pulled back to look deep into my eyes. “I know. I just wish I could be here to stand side-by-side with you.”
I could tell he hated not being able to visit the mortal plane as often as he wanted. I could feel the energy fading from our bond that was currently tethering his existence here. He didn’t have much time left with me and I didn’t know when I would see him again.
Sadness flashed in his eyes as he realised the same thing. I wanted to make the most of this moment with him, where it was just the two of us. I wanted to taste him. I wanted to take him deep into me and I wanted him to fuck me like there was no tomorrow.
Desire zinged through me at the thought and Lucifer let out a low moan.
