I slid into the water, jelly at his side, then kissed him with a ferocity I felt through every fiber of my being. He responded in kind, then gently pulled away to study Guinevere’s complexion.
She was wide awake now, her eyes alert and hungry, causing both of us to grin at her.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, his voice deep and sensual.
“Starving,” she whispered.
“Mmm, I think we can help with that, little one.” He pressed his mouth to hers, then kissed me again before guiding me toward her and instructing me to make love to her with my tongue.
It was an erotic, wet embrace that went on for hours, the three of us playing in the tub and keeping the water hot well into the hours of the night.
Eventually, we returned to the bed.
Where we put Guinevere in the middle and tested her growing strength.
By the end, she collapsed between us, replete and full and bursting with renewed life. She was high again, her smile drunk as she slowly rotated her head on the pillow to gaze at me. I kissed her once more, needing to feel her, to confirm she’d survived, and to flourish in the aftereffects of her beautiful glow.
It felt right.
Like home.
Myhome.
And I realized… this, right here, was the beginning of the rest of my life.
With her. With Zebulon.
The ultimate existence.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Gwen
Lord Zebulon’s finger drew lazy circles against my bare skin, his sensual energy roaming over me like a warm breeze. Comforting. Protective. It coaxed me from my cocoon of sleep, causing my eyes to flutter open to meet his obsidian depths.
Zane rested behind me, his chest hard and hot against my back, his arm tight around my waist. And Zebulon shared my pillow, his thigh between mine. His hand claimed my hip, his thumb continuing to trace that alluring pattern that had stirred me from my sleep.
“Your irises are glowing,” he marveled, searching my face. “So beautiful and blue.”
“It’s you,” I whispered. “Your power inside me.”
“And Ashmedai,” he said. “He helped heal you.”
I nodded, sensing the residual strength of the Archdemon thriving inside me. “Why did he do that?”
“An apology, I think,” he replied. “He knew all along that you were innocent. But rather than admit it, he set up a chessboard and watched us all move the pieces around. I’ve always been strategic. However, Ashmedai is the one who taught me how to play the game.”
“He was your mentor.”
“Yes,” Zebulon replied softly. “And in some ways, he still is.” His touch left my hip to draw up my side, to my neck, and upward to tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear. “He wants us together. That’s also why he helped you, Guinevere. He cares in his own way. Or maybe he just wants to see how powerful we can become together.” His expression turned thoughtful. “Definitely that, at a minimum,” he said after a beat. “Because he said there’s a war coming.”
“A war?” I repeated.
“Yes, something to do with the power balance.”
I frowned, thinking back on what Creek had admitted. I started reiterating his statements out loud, repeating everything back to Zebulon, and ending with, “He definitely made it sound like he was working for someone, orsomeones. He mentioned higher-ups and how they weren’t ready for something yet, but he didn’t elaborate.”
Not really anyway.