I nodded, wiping my eyes. “Okay.”
“I know you loved him once. Do you love him now?”
“I always have, and I always, always will,” I whispered.
He pushed the glass of wine away. “I’m going to pick up your mother and drive her to work. Take it from me, my love. Your world will be right again when you’re right with Levi. That’s how soul mates work.”
Dad kissed my temple and then pulled his phone from his jacket pocket, immediately dialing and then walking out of the dining room. The news of Petra’s death would spread fast in both Heaven and Hell, and it would cause questions, panic, rumors, and all of those things led to unpredictable scenarios.
“Levi?” I said, knocking on my bedroom door.
The knob turned, and Levi held the door open, bare skinned from the waist up. Confusion never looked so beautiful. His blue eyes scanned me from waist to hairline. “You’re knocking on your own door?”
“Yes. I was trying to be respectful.” The immortal part of me recognized him, longed for him. The human side was shaking in her leather boots.
He opened it further and gestured for me to come in.
I slipped past him, fidgeting as I turned. “I’m sorry. I haven’t been ignoring you. I’ve been ashamed.”
He crossed his arms over his middle and shrugged. He was the son of Satan, one of the most powerful beings in existence, and he struggled to be in my presence. Not because of what I was, but because of the silly emotions between us.
“Did you forget?” Levi asked, shifting his weight.
“Forget what?” I asked.
His brows furrowed. “Our love has spanned lifetimes. We were sentenced to eternal separation, but I found you. I watched you die, and you came back to me. Now, here we stand, terrified of hurting each other.”
I shrugged one shoulder. “It’s that human side of us, I guess. A weakness.”
He shook his head, reaching for me. “It’s the best part of us. Vulnerability allows us to feel more deeply, to love each other on a deeper level.”
“I hate it,” I said, fighting tears.
He grinned as he finally caught my elbow and pulled me into his chest. My head fit perfectly in the gentle curve between his chest and chin, and I let myself melt into his embrace as he wrapped his warm arms around me. We didn’t speak or move; we existed as one, letting the moment take as long as it needed. Time passed as tiny, beautiful chimes, from one comforting note to another, stringing together in perfect sequences. I closed my eyes, feeling a warm light surround us, like mid-day on the beach, the breeze from the ocean cooling the parts of my skin hit directly by the sun to form just the right temperature.
Levi was the sunlight warming my skin, the breeze running through my hair, the soft sand beneath my feet, the refreshing saltwater washing over my toes. He was a perfect day, a strong hug, a deep breath, a sigh of relief. Levi was with me in my beginning, and he was my happy ending. I ran my fingers over his smooth skin. As many times as he’d gone to battle for us, no scars marred his body. He was perfect, like me, yet filled with so much pain.
I touched my lips to his neck, feeling his warmth against my tender skin.
He sighed.
“I wish it couldn’t been different somehow,” I said, keeping my eyes closed.
“I know.”
He was quiet, and the natural urge to blame warred with the overwhelming love he felt for me. “We can discuss it with her after this life.” He lifted my chin. “Until then, we have to let her go. We have to let go of the guilt. I buried mine with her.”
One corner of my mouth turned up. “You can’t lie to me.”
His eyes glossed over. “I just miss her, Eden. I’m going to miss her. I’m processing, grieving; there’s really no way around that. A distraction might be our best bet, but we have to feel this. We have no other choice.”
My eyes fell to his lips. “A distraction?”
Every nerve in his body blazed, and that enhanced what I was already feeling by a thousand. My fingertips dug into his skin, and he leaned down to press his lips against mine. The warmth from his mouth spread throughout my body, all the way to my fingers and toes, surrounding me in that light I’d just envisioned. The heat, the sunlight, the waves, love, happiness, comfort—everything that felt good hit me at once like electricity bursting deep inside of me.
Levi reached back, and the door’s locking mechanism clicked. I could see the gears, the metal merging, working together to engage without looking. I could feel it, just the way I could already feel what Levi was about to do to me. The first time I saw him, the moment I recognized him, the first time I fell in love with him and the second time here on Earth; time was merged into that one moment in my bedroom as he held me tight in his arms, sliding his tongue into my mouth. The dance was both soft and strong, and each time he kissed me he pulled at me tighter.
Levi took a step back, and I mirrored his every move until we were standing at the edge of the bed. The wetness on his cheeks mixed with mine. It wasn’t until that moment I realized we were both crying, for Petra, for each other, for the inescapable end and the inevitable forever after.
I let darkness undress me in the middle of the day, letting his love soak through my skin as he kissed my collarbone and shoulder as the fabric of my clothes slipped down my arms. He slowly turned me around, as if we were dancing to the song of the universe only we could hear. Everything had led us to that moment, and I succumbed to being slowly lowered to the mattress and feeling the soft sheets on my back and the heat of his skin against the skin of my chest, middle, and between my thighs.
He kissed me again, hovering just inches above me.
His hesitation only made me want him more. “This isn’t the first time.”
“It is in this life, in these bodies,” he whispered. His lips grazed my ear.
I pulled him into me, and we both held our breath. I wasn’t sure what it was like for humans or hybrids, but returning to a love affair that had started an eternity before set off a million tiny fireworks just beneath every inch of my skin. My memories of him filled me as he did in the present; thoughts of his soul touching me deep within combined with him moving against me in the moment. My senses and thoughts were overwhelmed, and the minutes that passed were endless and yet moving too quickly.
Levi began to tremble, and the soft moans coming from his throat sent me over the edge. He followed seconds after, holding me tight, shivering with every euphoric spasm that ensued. Our bodies tensed and then relaxed together, and I fell in love with the way the weight of him held me to the bed.
He breathed hard against me. “What lacked in creativity…”
“Don’t. This is perfect. Everything was perfect, don’t ruin it with unnecessary vacillation.”
He breathed out a laugh. “Okay, then.” He planted a hard kiss on my lips. “The deity has spoken.”
“Did you do that? The memories?” I asked.
He relaxed at my side, grazing the curve of my bare hip with his fingertips. “I couldn’t help it. Just touching you brings it all back. It’s all I’ve thought about for so long, holding you like this. Being this way with you again.”