Descent - Tara Fuller Page 0,24

sound behind me, and smoothed my hands over my robe, imagining something edgy and dark and dangerous.

Under my fingers, the silk melted away from my body and leather weaved together. I envisioned the snug, smooth fabric that encased Easton’s legs and willed something similar to cover my own. Protection…I opened my eyes and watched a pair of heavy dark boots crawl up my calves and over my knees. Around my chest, a silky smooth fabric tightened, leaving my arms bare and glowing. I looked up to the full-length mirror on the wall across the room and gasped. Tendrils of darkness lurked all around me, curious, cautious, cringing back from my skin. I looked…I looked…

“That’s…not exactly what I had in mind, Red.” Easton stood behind me, and I watched his reflection drink me in slowly. “Turn around.”

When I turned, he shoved the dazed-looking soul he’d reaped behind him and approached me. He lifted a lock of my hair and let it slide through his fingers.

“Do I look okay?” I whispered, unsure of myself. Both of our gazes dropped to the tight black leather that hugged my body like a second skin. Easton dropped my hair and took a careful step back, shaking his head.

“‘Okay’ wasn’t the word I was searching for.” Looking away, he shoved his scythe back into his belt. “Put your hair up.”

“Why?”

“Just do it.” He grabbed hold of the soul that was slumped against the wall while I hurried to pin my hair up in a high ponytail that tickled the middle of my back.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” he mumbled as a swirling puddle of screams formed at his feet. He motioned for me to step forward. The oily black below us churned and spun, blowing a foul-smelling wind into my face. I cringed when Easton grabbed hold of my arm with his free hand. He met my terrified gaze, and the finality of what we were about to do seemed to register between us.

“Red…”

“Y-yes?”

He wove his arm around my waist, pulling me tight against his side. “Whatever you do, don’t let go.”

Easton pulled me over the edge…and the world beneath me fell away.

Chapter 9

Easton

The heat of the underworld exploded beneath us. Gwen’s scream was muffled against my shoulder. There were a million things that should have been running through my mind as my body snapped back together and blood roared through my veins again. How good Gwen’s hair smelled wasn’t one of them. I closed my eyes, unable to resist breathing in her wildflower scent. The feeling of her slim arms wrapped around my waist. Her eyelashes fluttering against my neck. Jesus…I needed space.

“You can let go now,” I said, voice gruff.

Slowly, she disentangled herself from my side, her face flushed and pretty. She smoothed her hands over her snug leather pants, and part of me wished I had let her stay in that damn robe. This look was going to get us both into trouble. Gwen stumbled, and I reached out to steady her. The moment her hands grabbed hold of my arm, she gasped, as if she finally realized what was happening.

“You…you’re touching me,” she whispered.

I smirked. “That enthralling, is it?”

She blushed and pulled away, seeming more comfortable on her own two feet. “I’ve never been touched before. I’ve never…felt before.”

A hysterical laugh burst out of her and she stumbled again, looking so free and happy it took my breath away. She reached up and touched her lips, her cheeks, her hair. A flash of my hands in place of hers seared my mind. I turned away. Not going there. Ever.

Balthazar’s daughter, remember, asshole? Balthazar’s angel daughter!

One touch from my sin-soaked hands would ruin her. I tightened my grip on the soul and swallowed hard. I was not like Scout. I didn’t care about things like that. I didn’t care about her. I had a plan. A plan that included dragging Gwen through Hell, using her connection as a guide, and hopefully scaring the curiosity out of her in the process. We’d retrieve this soul, rid both of us of the guilt that came with leaving him to rot down here, and then I’d be free. I just had to keep my shit together until then and not let this place screw with my head.

“Oh God…”

I spun around. Gwen slapped her hand over her heart, breathing hard. “What is it?”

“I don’t know…” She sucked in a lungful of air and collapsed against my chest. I grabbed hold of her to keep her upright