I SCRUTINIZED BRIDGET’S graceful movements.  She’d always been elegant and beautiful, but now she was lithe and deadly.  Every tick of her head, every flicker of her eyes held a threat.

She shrugged.  “I’ve been a demon long enough to enjoy the perks.”  Her green sweater dress and black designer boots looked out of place in the dilapidated factory.  “I was always curious about the monsters Rex hunted, but I must say, I had no idea being one would be so fun.”  She licked her lips.  “Life force is tasty.”

My jaw clenched.  “Don’t tell me you went and got turned on purpose.”

Her laughter echoed against the rotting walls.  “Eternally beautiful, young, and superhuman.  Of course I did.”  Slick black tar filled her irises.  “And on the plus side, I’m strong enough to kill you.”

I scoffed as my body tightened.   “You’re not going to kill me.”  I twisted my knife in the air. “I’m superhuman too, remember?”

She lunged at me.

I stuck my foot out, kicking her square in the ribs.  The hit wasn’t hard enough to break demon bones, but from the wince on her face, it was pretty damn painful.  So was my punch to her jaw. 

Satisfaction sang through my blood.  I’d wanted to do that for a long time.  It was a shame she had to be a demon.  It would hurt a hell of a lot more had she been human.

A line of burgundy blood dribbled down Bridget’s chin.  “I bet you like hitting me.”

“Can’t get nothing past you.”  We circled each other, my feet carefully stepping over debris.  Broken bricks, scraps of metal, glass, and wood cluttered the ground, mixing with dust and grime.  “You’re not the sharpest tool in the shed.”

A sneer curled her lips.  “I wasn’t just talking about me.  You like hitting in general.  Violence actually.  I can see it, the pleasure flashing in your eyes.”  Her laughter spiraled around me.  “You like it as much as demons do, maybe even more.  What’s that say about you?”

My stomach clenched, and acid crawled up my throat.  She wasn’t wrong.  I’d always liked violence and my dance with the darkness only heightened it.  It thrilled me.  Made me feel alive.  Kye had said it and I denied it, but deep down it was true.

I hated she knew it too.

“Screw you, Bridget,” I hissed.  “You’re the one who got yourself turned just to kill me.”

Moonlight streaming in through a hole in the roof reflected in her black eyes.  “We’re not talking about me.”  She dodged a piece of metal I was hoping she’d slip on.  “We’re talking about Rex’s precious Koralein.”  She snickered.  “You’re not so precious though, are you?  You’re going to screw Rex up with all your darkness.  We both know it.”

My fingers tightened on the hilt of my knife.  The Koralein carved into it rubbed against my palm.  “My relationship with Rex is none of your business.”  Little did Bridget know we were soulmates.  It would wipe that smug smile off her face.

She tsked.  “You’re going to ruin him.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I know that demon wants you, the one with the blue eyes.”  She licked her lips.  “He told me he would do anything to have you, even kill Rex.”

My nostrils flared.  Kye had been the one to get Bridget to pretend she was pregnant.  He was the reason I almost turned into a demon. 

“Kye isn’t going to do shit to Rex,” I hissed. 

“If it’s not him, it’ll be that other demon after you.”

Damn.  She sure did have a lot of information on my current predicaments. 

“He’ll get hurt one way or another and it’ll be your fault.”  She motioned a clawed hand toward me.  “You’ll destroy the goodness in him with all your darkness.  It’s already happening.  Rex has done things he never would have before meeting you.  You know it.”

Pain sliced open my chest because deep down, it was what I feared.  I was afraid my connection with the darkness in this world would lead to Rex’s demise.  Lorne could kill him to get to me.  Or, if Lorne succeeded in destroying my soul, it could shatter Rex in the process.  Then again, Kye could always turn me and Rex would follow me into darkness.

There were so many possibilities. 

Bridget took advantage of the moment my guard slipped as I considered all the ways I’d hurt Rex.  She sprang, her teeth out and claws raised. 

I dodged her shark’s teeth, but those claws sliced across my arm.  Pain seared through me and I stumbled.  Her laughter echoed against the dilapidated walls. 

Bitch.

I whirled around and dug my heels in to run after her.  A creak echoed followed by a loud pop.  The floor beneath me shuddered.

Oh hell.  This was bad.

My gasp was swallowed up as the floor gave way and I fell through the air toward the basement.  My heart lurched in my throat moments before my body was met with a hard landing.

The jarring hit shook me, pain radiating through my limbs.  Blood pounded through my skull along with a loud throbbing.  Dust rained down as a few more chunks of rotten floor fell around me.

It took me a moment to get my bearings.  Nothing was broken.  I could thank the stack of wooden pallets I landed on for that.

I coughed and tried to sit up.  Pain tore through my body.  Yeah.  That was a no go.

A loud crack sounded and my eyes flickered up.  A large beam was shaking overhead, seconds away from crashing down on me.

Shit!

I began to roll off the pallet, but I wasn’t fast enough.  The beam fell.

The stack of pallets was suddenly shoved to the side, slamming into a wall as the beam hit the spot I’d just been.

What the effing hell?

I coughed and blinked, waving away the clouds of dust.  A flash of movement caught my eye.  The outline of a petite woman with long dark hair shimmered through the haze.  Black eyes stared back at me.

A demon.

She wasn’t attacking me.  She was just standing there, staring.  Was she the reason I wasn’t a puddle of blood, guts, and bones under the fallen beam?  Maybe she was one of Kye’s demon’s or even Lorne’s.  They probably had them all over Bishop and Amarose.

I shouldn’t be surprised.

The air shifted and a body dropped from the hole in the ceiling.  A low growling seeped through the room.  That was not a demon who wanted to keep me alive.  Nope.  This was Bridget.

When I turned back, the other female demon was gone.  I searched for my knife, unable to see much in the dusty mess.

“Looking for this?”  A flash of metal glinted in Bridget’s hand. 

My teeth ground together.  I hated she was touching my gift from Rex.

“I remember when Rex got this for you.  He was so proud and handled it with so much care before wrapping it.”  Venom laced every word she spoke.  “I knew he was in love with you.  I could see him drifting away toward the little teenage slut.” 

Within a blink of an eye, her face appeared above mine, the knife raised in her pale, clawed hand.  “I should have stabbed you with this in your sleep,” she snarled.  “Guess I’ll just have to settle for doing it now.”

I quickly rolled off the stack of pallets, agony tearing through my body as I hit the hard concrete floor.  Bridget followed, crushing her knee into my chest so hard it cut off my breathing.

A cruel smile twisted her lips.  “Think of how much losing you is going to hurt Rex.”  She brought the knife down toward my heart.

Bridget and the knife were suddenly gone, and I could breathe.  A massive figure appeared in the dust, clutching the she-demon by the throat.  Another knife arced through the air, slamming into her chest.

“Rex?” she choked out, thick, burgundy blood oozing from her mouth.  “How could you?”

Rex’s face was hard and the gold flecks in his eyes burned through the cloudy room. “I’m sorry this happened to you.”  A hint of sympathy flashed across his expression before he twisted the knife deeper.  Bridget’s death scream rebounded against the walls with enough force to make me dizzy.

He dropped her corpse and kneeled next to me.  “Koralein, are you all right.”

I nodded, unable to speak. 

His hands wiped the dirt from my face.  “I almost lost you,” he whispered and pulled me to his chest. Fine tremors shook his body as he held me.  Rex was the strongest person I knew and yet losing me had his hard exterior crumbling like dust in the wind.

My arms encircled his waist, hugging him back.  Bridget’s taunts seeped through my mind, haunting me.

She was right.  I was going to hurt him.

 

Steam was already clouding the bathroom in Rex’s apartment.  I leaned against the counter as he kicked his boots off.  We were both covered in blood and grime, me more than him.  I also had a shit ton of scrapes and bruises. 

But the physical injuries were numb compared to the turmoil raging through my mind. 

Rex stood, a line forming between his brows.  “Don’t do that.”  His fingers tilted my chin up, forcing me to meet his eyes.  “Don’t disappear in that head of yours and leave me out here worried.”

I bit my lip to keep it from trembling.  “Stay with me then,” I whispered.

“I wasn’t going anywhere.”  Rex shed his dirty jacket, tossing it in the corner.

I began to undress, trying to keep from wincing at the movement.  My fingers peeled the bandage off my neck, revealing the healing bite mark.  That was the least severe of my injuries.  A low growl curled out of Rex’s mouth and I followed his eyes to the fresh bruises down my torso and the claw marks across my arm.

“I’m okay.” 

His nostrils flared.  “I shouldn’t have let you go after that demon alone.  I knew something was wrong.  Something felt off.”

I shook my head.  “You can’t protect me from every demon.  I’m a hunter—or I’ll be one—and you can’t stop me from doing what I was born to do.”

Another growl slipped out of him, turning into a sigh.  “You are a hunter.”  He gently gripped my arm and ran a thumb over the growing number of broken infinity symbols.  I had twenty-four now.  “You’ve always been one.”

I swallowed hard.  He was right.  But I’d always danced too close to the darkness. 

Too close for him.

I averted my eyes and shed my jeans.  I kept my bra and underwear on and he kept his boxers on as we stepped into the shower.  The hot stream of water hit my skin and I sucked air. 

Bridget’s words played through my mind on a loop, each time tearing deeper into my heart.  Rex was too good to be spoiled by my darkness and everything it brought.  It wasn’t ever going away.  I had to live with it forever.  I would always feel those demon shadows rippling beneath my skin, trying to get out.  It would be a struggle and a constant fight to keep them down.  The threat of turning into a demon would forever be there.

And it would affect Rex.

A sniffle echoed through the shower and with horror, I realized I was crying.

“Hey.”  Rex cradled my face between his hands.  “What is it, Koralein?”

I chewed on my trembling lip and averted my eyes to his chest, counting the broken infinity marks.  I didn’t want him to know what was hiding deep inside me, what would never go away. 

Rex stepped closer, his body heat flooding over me hotter than the water.  “Tell me what’s wrong,” he pleaded.  “It doesn’t matter what it is.  Just tell me.  Please.”

My hands rested on his chest as his pressed into the small of my back.  “I won’t ever get better.  I won’t ever be like I was.”  I’d been dark before.  Now I was tainted by demon blood.

“You’re cured, Kory.  You’re not a demon and you’re not turning into one.”  His fingers twitched on my back as if remembering the horrific days I’d spent detoxing.

I shook my head.  “It’s still there.  It won’t completely go away, Rex.  It’ll remain just under the surface.”  A shuddering breath exited my lungs.  “I’m not completely cured, and I never will be.”

A long, heavy moment passed between us.  I could only imagine the thoughts running through his head.  He was probably cursing the goddess for giving him such a damaged caetera.

“I don’t give a damn how much darkness is inside of you,” he hissed.  “It doesn’t matter.  Anything that is a part of you, I love.”  His hands cradled my face again, tilting it up to finally meet his eyes.  “I love you, Koralein.  Every part.  The good.  The bad.  The light.  And the dark.  Nothing will ever change that.”

Tears streamed down my cheeks, mixing with the water from the shower.  “But what if I pull you into the darkness with me.  What if, by being caeteras, I change you?  You’re too good to be dark.”

He scoffed.  “I’m not perfect.  I’m not as good as you make me out to be.  I do have a dark side.  And if you make it even darker, then so be it.”  Rex’s thumbs brushed away the tears.  “We will deal with everything that comes our way.  Together.  Always.”

The goddess must have known how royally screwed my life was going to be.  That was the only reason she picked Rex as my caetera.  I didn’t deserve him, but I sure as hell wasn’t giving him up.  I couldn’t.

“I love you.”  The words tumbled from my lips before I could even process them. 

Rex blinked as if he couldn’t believe what just happened.  “Say it again,” he breathed, his voice a deep, husky whisper. 

My hands flexed on his chest.  “I love you, Rex.”

His lids closed, and he laid his forehead on mine.  “I love you more than anything in this world, Koralein.  You have no idea how it makes me feel to hear those words.” 

My heart threatened to burst from my chest.  “I love you, Rex.”  I had so much trouble staying it before, but now I wanted to shout it at the top of my lungs.  I wanted everyone to know.  And I wanted Rex to know just how much I loved him.  He meant the world to me.  He was my world. Rex brought light to my darkness.  He pulled me out of a hole when I didn’t even realize I was buried alive.  He gave me air when I didn’t know how to breathe.

My hands left his chest and slid around his neck, my fingers tangling in the soft hair at his nape as I drew him closer.  His lips brushed against mine in a slow, toe-curling kiss.  This time, I was the one to force his mouth open, my tongue sliding against his.

We both groaned and pressed our bodies closer.  His skin was a fire against mine, a fire I wanted to stroke until it was a blazing inferno.

“I want you, Rex,” I murmured against his lips.  “I’m not waiting another day or even another minute.”

He pulled back and the fire in his eyes told me he knew exactly what I meant.  His chest heaved as he searched my face.  “You’re still only seventeen and—”

I put a finger against his lips, shushing him.  “I don’t give a damn.  We’re soulmates and it’s killing me not being with you.  We’re done waiting.”  The finality in my words echoed between us.  I wasn’t backing down.

Something broke inside Rex.  From the smoldering look he was giving me, I’d say it was his control.  The cage that held his deepest desires had shattered into a million pieces, and I was about to see just how much he wanted me too.

His lips crashed on mine, heat exploding between us.  My belly clenched as his hands roamed me, drawing me into him as if he never wanted to let go.

I didn’t want him to let go.  Ever.

Rex’s fingers quickly unhooked my bra and it dropped to the bottom of the shower with a wet flop.  The sensation of naked skin against skin made my knees quake.  Our tongues tangled together, promising me endless moments of pleasure to come.

He shut the shower off behind me and dragged me out.  We were dripping wet, flooding the floor, but neither of us cared.  Rex’s strong arms hoisted me up.  My legs hung onto his waist for dear life as he drew me toward his bed.

The soft, warm mattress rose up beneath me as he laid me back, his body covering mine.

“I’ve always loved you, Koralein,” Rex breathed, dropping kisses onto my jaw and down my neck. 

I couldn’t speak from the things his hands and mouth were doing to me.  All I could do was arch my back as his mouth dipped lower, my body quivering beneath his.  I’d never wanted anything more in my life. 

Never in my wildest dreams did I think this moment would finally come.

When we were both bared before each other, Rex looked down at me.  “Are you sure?  You can tell me to stop.”

My arms fastened around his neck.  “Don’t you dare stop.”  My breath was barely more than a husky plea.  I should have been embarrassed, but all I could think about was him.

He kissed me, his mouth searing against mine.  A sweltering storm brewed around us, burning brighter than the sun.  “Okay.”  He didn’t say another word as his hips met mine.

A pinch of pain echoed, and I gasped.  Rex kissed me slow, murmuring soothing words against my lips.  Moments later, the pain was forgotten, and he continued.  Our bodies moved together as if we were made for each other.

We were.  Literally.

Heat unfurled through me as the room spun.  Pleasure and desire swirled around us.  Sounds were coming from me I’d never heard before.  Then again, I’d never experienced this.  Time stopped, and the rest of the world fell away.  Rex and I were connected.  Our souls twisted together, reinforcing the bond we were born with. 

Nothing could ever tear us apart again.  I’d make sure of it.

 

My fingers traced the broken infinity symbols on his chest, wondering how each one was gotten.  I still didn’t know exactly how many he had.  One day I would take the time to count them all.  Of course he’d just get more, and I’d have to start over.

“You okay?”  Rex’s voice was a deep, sultry whisper.  If he kept that up, I was going to pull his mouth to mine again.  And we both knew where that would lead.

“Better than okay.”  My body was jelly and I could barely feel the scrapes and bruises I’d gotten earlier.  What we had done washed every ounce of pain away.

A slow smile curled his lips.  “I’m feeling pretty damn good too.”

I giggled—I actually giggled—and kissed his shoulder.  “We should have been doing that a long time ago.”

He tried to make a serious face but failed miserably.  It only made me laugh more.

A sound echoed from the apartment, and we froze.

“Did you lock the bedroom door?” I asked as my eyes went to the knob just as it began to turn.

“Hey, Rex, do you have—”  Jack’s head poked through the door, his jaw dropping as he saw Rex and me in bed together.