Page 43 of Right Hand Of The Reaper
His eyes blew wide, his back arched, and then he blacked out.
Chapter Sixteen
Roux
Thegreatestsenseofrelief filled me when Atticus took a deep breath. I had felt him die, just for a second, but long enough that I felt his soul leave his body. I’d a feeling that Imayhave branded a mark on it, but I’d never had a mate before, so this was all new territory. The more concerning thing at the minute was that with Atticus unconscious, the twins were waking up and I was lying here naked with an equally naked Atticus on a broken sofa. Talk about embarrassing.
I could attempt to teleport, but Atticus and I were still intimately connected and that wasn’t going to go well for him if I decided to vanish. I couldn’t teleport anyone but myself. I sighed; I was just going to have to endure the lewd comments from the twins.
“Roux?” Rafe groaned while he stretched out his limbs. “When I find that demon, I’m going to kill him.”
Rayne just huffed as he rolled to his feet but the pair of them froze when they took in the sight of me wrapped around the demon they wanted to destroy.
“Am I still dreaming?” Rafe asked his twin.
Rayne merely grunted in response, refusing to take his eyes off my nakedness. His fingers flexed by his side, almost like he was stopping himself from reaching out and touching me. Gods, I wished they could.
Rafe tilted his head to one side as he took in my embarrassment. “I feel like I’m missing something here.”
“Well…,” I began but Rayne held up his hand, stopping me.
“I need to leave,” he said, pain twisting his features. “I can’t… I want…” He grunted as he got to his feet and fled the room.
“Rayne! Wait!” his twin shouted, but he’d gone.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, wanting so much to be able to comfort them, to be able to be with them. Some days it hurt just looking at them, for them to see me like this, in a way they’d never have me, was probably unbearable. I knew I’d feel the same if I ever saw them with someone else.
Rafe pressed a kiss to my forehead. “It’s not your fault. I’ll find him and calm him down before he does something stupid.”
“Okay, that’s probably wise.” The last time Rayne got really angry a Royal Guardsman ended up in the hospital. That was not a fun one to explain to Hades.
Rafe looked at Atticus, a glow of curiosity in his blue eyes. “He’s quite cute when he’s asleep.”
“I’ll tell him you said that.”
He laughed. “I’m gonna make him pay for putting us to sleep though.”
I grinned up at him. “I expect nothing less. Just don’t hurt him too much, I think he’s going to be sticking around for a while.”
“What do you mean?” Rafe asked with his hands on his hips.
“I’m his mate.”
Rafe’s expression stuttered for a moment before pulling into a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “That’s… I’m happy for you.”
Somewhere deep down I’m sure he was, but all I could feel from him at the minute was sadness tinged with a little jealousy.
“Rafe…”
“I’m going to find Rayne. We’ll come back in a bit.”
When they’d got used to the idea that Atticus was probably sticking around for the foreseeable.
I nodded and let him go, taking a little bit more of my heart with him.
I don’t know how long I lay there, on Thane’s broken sofa, stroking my fingers through Atticus’ soft midnight blue waves, but there was a grumble and a groan and then he was craning his neck to look up at me.
I smiled down at him, loving the way he seemed to still be a bit drowsy. “You look adorable right now.”
