Page 46 of Hell's Storm

My eyes open. I’m lying in Thornes’s bed. He’s holding me like Hazen was while I fell asleep. “Thorne, you can’t keep summoning me while I sleep.”

“Why not? It’s not like you have to be mentally present. You could be here with me like we used to be…” His pale finger rakes through my hair, and I almost melt around him.

But instead, I push him away. “What is with cold-blooded pale males hurting me?”

He scoffs. “Hey, that emo hellhound didn’t hurt you, did he?”

I roll my eyes. “Do you even know what emo means, old man?”

Thorne licks his pink lips, cupping my cheeks. “Asura, please, allow me to take care of you. I missed you while you were in Hell. I had no contact with you.”

“You had no contact on Earth with me.”

“You didn’t allow me to. That was your choice.”

I scoff. “You could have just visited like a normal fucking person.”

“And get rejected in real life? No, thank you. I gave you the space you needed. I’m not going to wound my ego, so you can be satisfied.” When he sees me cock a brow, he continues, “You know damn well you would have laughed at my dismay.”

Would I have?When Thorne and I met, we spent as long as we could together. He quickly became the one person I didn’t mind being around, and because of being a vampire, I didn’t have to worry about him dying. I was without worry.

We cooked, cleaned, and watched Twilight, which he hated.“How could a vampire sparkle like that? Why is she having seizures during every sentence? Am I that pale?”

During sex, before I went to work, I told him I loved him… and meant it, but he broke up with me and moved on.

“Did you laugh at mine? My dismay?”

Thorne’s fingers cup my chin and lift my face to his. “Never. I have always run from love… I didn’t think I deserved it. After therapy,”

I lift a brow.

“What? It’s perfectly healthy. I needed it. Anyways, darling, after therapy, I realized I love you too. I have been trying to tell you this for a while.”

“You don’t deserve me,” I say.

“You’re right. I don’t. You’re beautiful, fantastic, and… I miss you. I miss cooking with you and seeing you every morning. I miss”—his thumb runs over my lips—“your taste, your pussy, how you sound when I please you.”

My thighs tighten together.What is with all these men?“I have boyfriends.”

“How many now? Four? I will share you with a million people if that still means you’re mine too.”

I roll my eyes. “I don’t trust you. You probably fucked so many girls while I was gone.”

He shrugs. “No, but you moved on quickly, didn’t you?”

I press my palm into his chest and push him back. “So? I deserve to be happy too, Thorne. My men want me and only me. I don’t think you know what that means. You bounce from woman to woman like some… harlot.”

A chuckle rumbles through his chest.

“You don’t know how to be committed to just me. I want to be shared; it doesn’t mean I want to share.”

He leans into me. “I know, baby. I’ve missed you. I’ve said this before. Please.”

My eyes drop to his lips. I shouldn’t be thinking about him; honestly, while he was gone, it was great. I barely thought about him until I saw him again. Now, all the feelings are rushing back into me. I hate trying to ignore them, trying to forget what we had. But I have to stay closed off. I can’t be hurt again.

He kisses my lips briefly. “I love you, my queen.” His finger laces itself into my hair, reminding me of all the times he fisted my hair to kiss me or when he used to wash my hair for me after work. “Come home, baby.” His lips trace my jaw, reminding me of the jewelry he would buy and put on me. He loved showing me off when we would go out. “I miss you, Asura.”

A moan escapes my mouth as if my name has triggered something in me.

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