Inferno of Darkness (Divisa Huntress #2) - J.L. Weil Page 0,60
possible. Just look at us. I’m alive because of you.”
“Your faith in me is commendable, but I won’t have you part of this. You shouldn’t have come back.”
It would be a lie to say his words didn’t hurt. I wanted him to want me with him, but on the flip side, I understood his motives for wishing I had stayed put. Regardless, I couldn’t help but ask, “Why?”
“Because I won’t be able to let you go a second time,” he said in a soft voice, eyes directly on mine.
My lips shifted into a stupid grin. “Good. Because I’m not sure I want you to. Whether I like it or not, I’m a part of you and you’re part of me.” I curled my fingers into his shirt.
“How is it you have the ability to make me risk everything?” he breathed, and the shadows in the room gathered closer.
I fought the urge to flinch under his intense stare. He had a way of seeing past all my barriers and defensive walls. It was disconcerting to have someone see so much of me. There were parts of me I didn’t even like to look at. “I didn’t go looking for you.”
“Nor I for you, but here we are.”
“Here we are,” I echoed. Tonight hadn’t gone according to plan. My only consolation was we were together… for the moment. Who knew what the fuck Verena had planned for us. Frowning, I let my eyes roam over the sharp lines of his face and came to the realization that I could stare at the Prince of Darkness for hours and never grow bored. “I don’t want to waste time bickering.”
His dark chuckle brushed over my lips. “Impatient.”
I snorted. “We were apart for months. That’s all my patience can handle.”
“A few months is nothing when you’ve lived as long as I have.” His finger traced down the column of my neck. “Besides, I enjoy our bickering.”
He would. “You never did tell me how old you are.”
“Didn’t I?” He blessed me with one of those fucking killer half grins that made him look dangerous.
My brain scattered for a second before my wits returned. “What happens if things don’t go according to your plan? What happens if your mother succeeds in taking her throne?”
Ashor brushed the hair off my neck and ran a finger along the demon marks claiming me as his. My breaths wavered, growing uneven. “We’ll deal with it.”
“That’s all you have to say? We’ll deal with it.”
“Why is every moment with you never dull?”
“Because I bathe in rainbow dust,” I replied dryly. “And ride bareback on unicorns.”
A chuckle rumbled in his chest. “I might actually believe you, Lexi luv. The truth of it is, you’ll always be in danger with me.” He seemed so calm, yet his eyes were too dark.
“I don’t believe that,” I whispered, closing the space between us. I buried my face into his neck and inhaled his scent. How had everything gone so wrong? My heart kicked in my chest. “Without you, I’m a mess.”
He continued to hold me, brushing his lips over my hair. “Behave.”
I pressed closer to him. “I’m trying to convince myself this is real and not another dream. It’s been forever, and I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again.” Or want to, but there was no questioning how deeply rooted the prince was into my life. I wanted him for as long as we could be together.
“Three months is hardly forever.”
My nose wrinkled as I lifted my head to look at him. “Is this what our relationship is going to be? You in the underworld. Me in the mortal world. And both of us counting down the days until the next hunt?”
“I haven’t figured out what to do about you yet, but knowing you were safe, away from the perils of the underworld, was enough. But now…”
That plan imploded the second I stepped back into Hell. I opened my mouth to tell him that it wasn’t enough for me, that even though I hadn’t made up my mind about just what it was I wanted from Ashor, I wanted the opportunity to be with him. I couldn’t very well do that if I only got to see him for a few hours each year. All of this was on the tip of my tongue.
Ashor knitted his brows, angling his head to the side as he pinned me with a look. “Lexi.” My name tumbled from his lips with an edge of hardness.