Page 53 of To Crave Deeply
Yes, but I wouldn’t stop you if you wanted to say something. We need to be partners, and I am willing to try this if you are.
Was I? I wanted to trust that she’d honour the deal, but equally I knew that if I was making this deal to meet my own ends, she was probably doing the same thing.
Fuck it. I couldn’t be arsed to fight her every step of the way and maybe, who knows, together we might actually find a solution to this problem of two souls in one body.
“Okay. It’s a deal.”
***
LORI
Stepping back into my own skin was bliss. I didn’t like being cooped up in that small box in Iveri’s mind. There was no room to breathe in there. I took a deep inhale and… spluttered. Oh god, that air was foul. What was that? Ew.
Yep. Hell smells like a sweaty ass crack,Iveri commented dryly. We’d made a deal and we were fully aware of each other. Perhaps this time we’d get along?
I could feel her Sin Reaper running through my veins along with the shadow magic of my mage. It was a weird sensation, like I was fully aware that she could take back control at any moment, but equally, she was trusting me with the same thing. This was either going to work or end in a fucking disaster.
For now, I just had to get used to her being a shadow at my back. A really powerful, probably untrustworthy shadow that had the potential to seriously bite me in the ass. Proceeding with caution was probably the best course of action. Dying a second time was not on my to do list today.
I turned to Torsten and couldn’t hold back the smile as I drank in the sight of him. He really was breathtakingly beautiful, so otherworldly and majestic. A combination of light and dark wrapped in a deadly package of lethal skills and bound to me completely in a contract of eternal servitude. In the back of my mind, I knew I should stay away from him. He was the stuff of nightmares to most people, but I just saw a man bound by the sins of his ancestors. I’d seen his vulnerable side when I’d fed from him on my last visit to Hell. I saw that he cared, that he was too afraid to want more because he thought he’d never be worthy of it. A blush crept up my neck as the memory of how intimate we’d become when I’d fed the Sin Reaper last time flashed before my eyes, and then all I could think about was how hungry Iveri was.
I’m notthathungry, she drawled, making me chuckle softly. I’d almost forgotten how petulant she could be.
“Fine, I will keep my hands to myself. But would you like me to ask if he will feed us?”
Us?
“For the duration of this truce, are we not an ‘us’?”
I could see her pursing her lips as she mulled over my question.
Fine, she relented snappishly, rolling her eyes.But only because I’m starving.
I strolled towards Torsten and found him still eyeing me suspiciously. I couldn’t blame him; Iveri and I had just been having a full-blown conversation in complete and utter silence. We probably looked like we were crazy. Hell, I wasn’t entirely convinced Iwasn’tcrazy.
“Hello, stranger,” I sang as I approached him.
The strong lines of his face softened as I closed the distance between us.
“Hello yourself, Mistress.” His deep timbre had my insides melting and a smile spreading across my face. “I’m glad you’re back.”
“Well,weare back.”
He frowned. “How?”
I cocked my head to one side. “We came to an agreement. Until we reach the original witch, we are going to work together.”
“Is that wise?”
“What choice do I have? We either work together in an uneasy truce, or we end up trying to destroy each other. And nobody wants that.”
“I don’t like it,” he growled as a concerned frown descended on his brow.
“You don’t have to like it,” I quipped. “This was my idea and for now, Iveri and I are a team. We are a unified front and will work together to get to the Pit of Hell. But first, I need a favour.”
One of his thick black brows arched. “A favour?”
“Iveri is hungry and it’s distracting. Would you mind feeding us?” My eyes dipped under his scrutinous gaze, and I felt ashamed that I even had to ask.
