“He’s right, babe,” Thad agrees, glancing at his brother before turning to Fate. “We’re all willing to give this a shot, because I for one am not eager to fucking die again. But at the end of the day, we may be forced to accept the fact that it’s our only option. We’d rather suffer through another death than risk leaving you alone.”
More tears trail down her cheek. “Goddammit! I spent ten years not able to shed a fucking tear, and now I’m a leaky faucet.”
Knox smirks. “Pretty sure you were always ‘temperamental and somewhat irrational’ per Ghost Girl Fact #4.”
“You read the handbook? I’m impressed.” She smirks, looking at me. “You’ve got competition, sexy nerd.” She wipes away the moisture from her cheek before she sits up straight, that ghostly flame I love so much lighting up in her eyes. “Fine. I may not like it, but I get it. But hear me when I say, Option A is an absolute last resort. Mack’s going to work his computer magic, and we’re going to find Asher. And when we do, she’s going to fix all of you. Problem solved. Case closed. No one has to die. We’ll celebrate with wine and alcoholic ice pops.”
“That’s a strange combination,” Nate mutters, “even for you.”
“Don’t knock it until you try it.”
Tap tap tap. Mack’s door sits ajar, and after the quick knock, I push it open. My heart rate picks up at the sight of our girl, passed out in his lap. Her head is on his shoulder, her dark hair falling down her back with Mack’s hands gently rubbing over it. Her face is turned my way so that I can see the dark circles under her eyes and the paleness of her skin. It’s been two days since the talk with Nate. Death. Whatever the fuck you want to call him. Two days that she’s been confined in here with Mack while he frantically tries to find Asher. Two days closer to the possibility that we’ll be taken from her against our will.
None of us has said much, but I know the others are experiencing what I am. Our powers are starting to meld together or some shit. So not only are they going haywire, but bits of our powers are bleeding into each other. The only problem? We can’t use or manipulate them. It’s made a precarious situation even more dangerous, and Cole asked Fate to grab each of us one of the spelled necklaces to avoid any unexpected occurrences. That also means we have zero access to our powers now, leaving us entirely too vulnerable.
“How long has she been asleep?” I ask as I walk up, kneeling next to his chair. I run my thumb across her cheek, my large hand damn near covering the entire side of her face as my fingers tangle in her hair.
She’s straddling Mack, her arms wrapped around his back. Fuck. I might as well say it. They’re chuddling. I smirk despite myself. Damn woman and her crazy ass terms.
“I think she passed out about thirty minutes ago. Couldn’t get her to go lie down,” he says softly, not wanting to wake her up.
We both know she hasn’t gotten much, if any, sleep over the last forty-eight hours and could use the rest.
“Want me to move her to the bed?”
“Good idea. She’s going to get a kink in her neck laying like this for much longer.”
I stand, noticing the wet spot on his t-shirt. “She’s drooling on your shoulder.”
“I know,” he says, smiling.
“Even drooling, she’s fucking sexy as hell.” Shaking my head, I lean forward as he lifts her up and into my arms, and I carry her bridal style over to the bed. Her face nestles into my chest, and my soul sighs just from her nearness.
“Any luck so far?”
“Not yet. I think I’m getting closer though.”
Leaning over the bed, I place her down on the soft comforter, but when I go to pull away, her arms come up and wrap around my neck.
“Don’t go,” she whispers, tugging me back down. My hands land on the mattress on either side of her, and I rub my face against her neck and into her hair, taking a moment to inhale her scent, a unique blend of vanilla and cinnamon. I want nothing more than to eat her up, but she’s exhausted, and despite my almost desperate need to be with her right now, I’m not that big of a dick.
“You need sleep, babe. Rest. We’ll be here when you get up.”
Her gray eyes open and lock onto mine as I pull back again. One hand comes up and brushes back a hair that’s fallen out of the knot at the back of my head and into my face. I want to kiss her, but I know if I do that, I won’t be able to stop myself from taking more than she’s able to give right now.
“I need you, Levi,” she whispers.
A groan escapes before I can stop it, and her lips quirk slightly, my sweets knowing exactly how to exploit one of my few weaknesses. Namely her.
“You need me too. I can feel it.” Her eyes trace the movement of her finger as she traces it over my face. “Please.”
The whispered plea is my undoing, so my head dips until my lips touch hers. It’s slow and sweet and hopefully tells her everything I’m feeling right now. The want and the need and the fear and the...love, all fluttering through me. It’s the last one that shocks me, though I’m not sure why. I’ve known I was damn near in love with her from the first moment we saw her ghostly self. But admitting it out loud, now that there’s the very real possibility that we’ll lose her again, is enough to have me deepening the kiss. An almost desperate need to reinforce our bond is rushing through me, one last ditch effort to make everything as it was, and the hope is enough to drive me onto the bed next to her. My big body dwarfs hers when I move on top of her, her arms winding around my neck and those long lean legs wrapping around my waist.
If this is the last moment I get with her, then I’m going to take it even though my rational brain kicks in, reminding me that she’s worn out and needs to sleep. Fuck! I hate it when I’m sensible.
“Dammit, sweets,” I rasp as I pull back, “you need to sleep.”
Her gray eyes light up with ghostly flame, and fuck me if my dick doesn’t get harder than it already was at the sight.
“I’m pretty sure you don’t give the orders around here.” With a smile on her face, she tips her head to the side and demands, “Kiss me, and don’t stop this time.”
The power in the air has me sucking in a breath. It’s now so much stronger than Cole’s, and no matter how hard I fight it, I can’t deny her. Whether it’s her power alone or simply a lack of self-restraint, I can’t be sure. Possibly both.
Our lips meet again, and I can feel her smile against my mouth. I bite her bottom lip, not hard enough to break skin, but enough for her to know just how I feel about the situation. She groans, her tits pressing harder against my chest as she pulls me down so that my weight is resting on her, pushing her into the mattress. Her hips tilt up, and even through our clothes I can feel her heat sliding against my dick which is straining to break free of its denim confinement. Dammit. My inner monologue is starting to sound like a romance novel. When the fuck did that happen?
“Fuck, Levi. I need you.”
“You’ve got me, sweets. Always.”
Lifting up on one arm, I pull her shirt up and over her head with my free hand. She’s bare beneath me. So goddamn perfect I momentarily forget what I’m supposed to be doing as I stare down at her.