It can’t have been long after I slipped into unconsciousness that the sound of an explosion and splintering wood snapped me back out of it. My heavy lids cracked open just in time to see Austin step through what remained of the door, and a rush of relief washed over me.

Gray stood at the foot of the bed, brandishing his pliers with his pants open and his hard dick in his hand. He went slackjawed as a mess of wood chips showered the floor and my enraged guardian stood there like an avenging angel.

Austin raised a hand, just like Yoshi had done that day in the apartment above his shop, and just like Yoshi, Austin spoke one word. The language wasn’t one I’d ever heard before. The word was subtly different from the one Yoshi had used and had a considerably different outcome.

Time seemed to elongate, and the result of Austin’s spell appeared to play out before my eyes in slow motion as Mr. Gray—Richard Liath, high-powered businessman, billionaire, sadist, and rapist—split open down the middle and exploded from the inside like a fucking tomato in a microwave.

His skeleton held his mostly human shape while the edges of the wound torn from throat to crotch flew apart and tore off, sending chunks of blood, tissue, and flesh splatting all over the room. Miraculously, not a single piece landed on me. Next, his eyes burst in his skull like rotten grapes, leaving oozing streams of blood and fluid seeping down his cheeks as his lifeless form crashed to the ground and disappeared from my view.

The whole process couldn’t have taken any more than a second, but I enjoyed every last nano-second of it. My only wish was that it could have been dragged out for longer so he could feel every tiny ounce of pain he’d delivered upon me since walking through the door of Suzette’s foster home some eight years ago.

“Princess, hey,” Austin murmured, dropping to his knees beside the bed and yanking the blood drain from my vein. “You still here with me?”

“Fucker,” I managed to croak out of my hoarse, dry throat, and he raised his eyebrows at me.

“I hope you mean him and not me?” he asked, flicking a knife through my bonds to release me. Not that I was going anywhere in a hurry. I still had three daggers protruding from my flesh, multiple broken ribs, a gaping hole through the middle of one foot, and three missing toenails on the other. Not to mention I was severely depleted of blood. In short, I was in a bad fucking way.

“No. You. Fucker,” I whispered out, my eyelids drooping as I tried desperately to hold them open. My body had passed the point of pain and was now just cold.

“Me? What the fuck did I do?” Austin demanded, circling to the foot of the bed and kicking what remained of Gray’s corpse out of the way before cutting free my ankles. He paused when he saw the damage done to my feet, and his mouth tightened to a hard line.

“I had plans for him,” I responded in a weak groan. “You made it too quick. Too merciful.”

“Take that back,” he gasped, looking offended. “Did you not see what I just did to that sack of shit?”

“Saw. Too fast.” I tried sucking in a deep breath, but the knife in my belly and the various cracks and splinters of my ribs digging into my lungs made it difficult.

“I just... ripped him apart from the inside!” Austin exclaimed. “And then liquefied his remaining internal organs!”

“I know.” I winced, trying to slowly move my fingers to work some feeling back into them. “You could have made it hurt more, though.”

He stared down at me for a moment, his jaw clenching and one eye twitching slightly. “I can’t decide,” he finally ground out, “if you’re the most twisted bitch I’ve ever met or just the hardest to please.”

Against my better judgment, a laugh shook my body, pulling at the blade in my stomach and making me groan in pain once more.

So much for being past the pain threshold, Kit.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Princess,” Austin muttered coming back around to sit gently on the edge of the bed beside me and eyeing up the biggest knife lodged just below my rib cage. “Can’t believe you just laughed at that. I literally saw your stomach slice further open.”

My mind tried to form a snappy retort, but inside I was falling to pieces. Hell, I was on the outside too, and I didn’t just mean from my various injuries.

“Shit,” Austin swore, “You’re not… come on, Princess. Don’t cry. I don’t know how to handle normal crying girls, let alone you.”

My eyes stung and I could feel the tears pouring down my face, but I was too damn weak to wipe them. Fucking Austin. He was being normal, and I fucking loved him for it. He always seemed to know exactly what I needed, even before the whole dianoch bond.

“I’m not crying,” I sobbed, so clearly bawling my eyes out. “It’s just hayfever or something.”

“Princess…” Austin groaned, looking pained. Like he was the one with knives protruding from his flesh. I knew my rare display of emotion would make him uncomfortable, but it wasn’t like I’d made a conscious decision to start crying. It just… happened.

“I’m fine,” I insisted, my voice strangled and weak, but a shuddering sob contradicted that statement and pulled at my stomach wound, making me cry harder.

Austin frowned, reaching out a hand to touch my face but hesitating and pulling back before he made contact. “You’re not fucking fine, Christina. And nor should you be.”

He said it quietly, but the fury and passion in his voice resounded through me.

“He almost had me, Aus,” I whispered, my eyes so clouded with tears I could barely see him, so I squeezed them shut instead. “He almost broke me.”

Austin said nothing, he just simply let me cry silently for a while. He did, however, place his hands firmly on either side of my waist, holding my body still against further injury while I sobbed.

“Almost,” he finally said when my tears subsided, “but he didn’t. Don’t ever forget that.”

I needed to swallow a few times to clear the lump in my throat before replying. It also gave me a minute to formulate coherent thoughts and process the fact that this incredibly personal, intimate moment was with Austin. And strangely, it felt right.

“Yeah, well,” I croaked, “it wasn’t for lack of trying on his part.” I looked down at the knife in my gut and Austin’s palms flat on either side of it. “Are you going to pull that out of me or just sit there staring at it?”

Austin’s gaze darted to my face, and he raised one eyebrow in a decidedly naughty sort of expression before he said words I never would have expected to come from his mouth. “That’s what she said.”

My watery eyes widened as I stared at him. “You did not just say that. What the hell is going on? Is this all some weird pain-induced hallucination? If so, why the fuck am I hallucinating Austin of all fucking people?”

“My God, even half-dead and pinned down like a butterfly on a board you still don’t shut up. Okay, how is this going to work? I obviously need to remove these knives before you can heal those wounds, but you have so many other ones right now that aren’t healing...” His sharp green gaze ran all over me like he was making a mental checklist of all my visible injuries. I figured it wasn’t necessary to tell him about the broken ribs or internal bleeding; the skin around his eyes was already pinched tight in a way that betrayed far more concern for my well-being than he was letting on.

“Uh yeah, so this stupid dick let me heal a drowning victim, so I’m practically running on empty.” I narrowed my eyes at him in accusation, and he snorted, clearly understanding I was kidding. Given that same situation, I would still heal the drowning victim, even knowing it was a trap.

“Oh yeah, wonder who that was. So you need to recharge before you can heal?” he asked, and I rolled my eyes in what I hoped was a mocking sort of way and not like I was trying to mask the bubbling cauldron of emotions threatening to boil over any second now.

“Do I need to repeat myself again?” I parroted his statement from earlier in the evening when I’d been the one repeating things I already knew. Hopefully he understood my unspoken message. Keep being normal. It’s the only thing holding me afloat right now. Snap at me or insult me or something, but don’t make me cry again.

Austin’s jaw tightened, and he brushed a finger up my side where blood was obscuring the gorgeous fox tattoo he’d inked into my skin just weeks ago. Shockingly, even through the pulsing pain throbbing through my entire frame, I could still feel the tingle of desire that chased his fingertip across my skin.

His white shirt was still wet and translucent, clinging to his muscular frame. I wasn’t an idiot, nor was I blind. Of course I was attracted to him. I’d been trying to deny it, thinking he hated me, but I was beginning to think it wasn’t totally one-sided.

“All right. Try to contain your revulsion. The guys are still MIA, and Wes is too far away to get here in time. I’m all you’ve got.” His attention remained on my blood-covered tattoo while he spoke, which was probably a good thing. If he’d have been looking, it would have been painfully clear how okay with this situation I really was. Not the magic, although I needed that. But, if I was totally honest with myself, I wanted him.

“I’m sure we can both survive a quick makeout,” I suggested, schooling my features into careful indifference before he looked back up to me. Hopefully if any lingering desire still showed in my face, he’d mistake it for pain.

Grunting a noise of agreement, Austin shuffled closer to me on the bed and slid a hand over my bruised face to cup the back of my head where my hair was—so far—free of blood.

“Let me know when you’re feeling strong enough, and I’ll pull the blade out,” he advised me, bending low and hovering his lips an inch above mine. “I don’t want to yank it out too soon and have you fighting the blood loss as well.”

“Makes sense,” I breathed, then leaned up and closed the gap between us.

The second our lips touched, it was like two sides of a magnet finally meeting. Our mouths locked together with an intensity born of blood and hate and sexual desire gone too long unacknowledged. Austin held firm to the back of my head, pressing me closer to him as his lips teased mine apart and his tongue invaded my mouth, meeting mine and wrestling for control.

Magic flared hot between us, sparking and tingling as it rushed in to fill the empty void that was my own magic store. The added sensation of magic passing between us flushed me with heat, and I moaned against Austin’s mouth. My hands lifted from the bed where they’d been lying limp and useless, and I clutched weakly at his strong back while his lips laid claim to my own.

Another strong pulse of magic shot through me as my hands found the tail of Austin’s wet dress shirt, slipped beneath it, and came into contact with his hot skin.

“Now,” I gasped, feeling the blade in my gut tugging and pulling as I tried to get closer to him.

“Are you sure?” he asked, pulling back from my lips and meeting my eyes with a serious frown, but I nodded.

“Yes, now,” I gasped. “But do it quickly, for the love of God.”

Austin didn’t hesitate again, simply tightened his jaw, grabbed the hilt of the blade, and wrenched it out of my flesh.

“Fucking cocksucking motherfucker!” I screamed, clutching my hands to the wound gushing blood from my middle. “Ugh, you ass fuck, you couldn’t have been more gentle?”

“I love when you thank me for things,” Austin remarked in a sarcastic voice. “Move your damn hands so I can see the wound.”

Reluctantly, I peeled my hands away from the stab wound, which was bubbling with blood now rather than gushing. I still had on my lace corset though, and I could see the ragged edges of fabric dipping into the gaping wound. Austin must have seen it too because he used the blade he’d just pulled from me to slice the flimsy lingerie clean off me. Cool air met my skin, making me shiver and drawing my attention to the fact I was now naked except for a micro-thong and several gallons of blood. Oh, and two more fucking knives sticking out of my thighs.

“These too?” he asked, nodding at the remaining blades, and I nodded.

“Yep, just... give me a sec.” I sucked in a few deep breaths. That tiny bit of magic restored to my body was also bringing back the pain of all of my injuries, and I could feel myself going lightheaded.

“On three, okay?” Austin said in a grim voice, wrapping a hand around each blade in order to pull them simultaneously. “One—”

That motherfucker! Of course he fucking yanked them on one. If I hadn’t been hollering in pain, I would have been cursing him black and blue.

“Such a baby,” he snickered, tossing the wet blades aside and trailing his eyes up the length of my naked, blood-soaked body, skating politely past my tits, which were literally heaving as I frantically sucked in breath to try and quell the pain. “You’re still bleeding,” he observed with a softness in his tone that bordered way too close to caring for my liking.

“No shit, Sherlock,” I snapped, not willing to let this moment turn tender.

Sarcastic and bitchy, I could do. Lust, attraction and sex, they were all easy. But concern, caring, and gentleness were nothing more than a gateway into mental breakdown territory. Now was not the time.

Reaching up for the back of his neck, I dragged his lips back to mine for another spine-tingling kiss, and he thankfully followed suit. This time, I had a bit more life in me and gave as good as I got when it came to this unspoken battle for the upper hand. Damn all these alpha males in my life; I must definitely have a type.

My hands slid around to the front of his shirt, and instead of bothering with buttons, I simply ripped the fabric in two and shoved it down off his arms while he shifted to straddle my waist, I allowed my hands to roam the hard, chiseled planes of his now shirtless torso, soaking up magic with every heated touch.

Austin pulled back briefly from my lips, sitting up and swiping a thumb over my stomach to check my stab wound. Thankfully, it was sealing back together and no longer bleeding freely. It was more like a week old scar now, giving me faith that the rest of my injuries would soon follow.

“This is much slower than usual,” Austin commented sounding concerned again, still trailing his fingers through the slick red on my belly and frowning.

“Because I have about twelve broken ribs and some hectic internal bleeding to fix as well as everything you see,” I explained, deliberately trying to sound casual. “Also, I was already drained as fuck when he grabbed me from the party.”

Austin didn’t look up, but I saw a frown pull at his brow. “Shit, Princess. I never should have let you walk out of that study alone and drained of magic. This is all my fault. I was just so shocked to see Peyton that I wasn’t thinking.”

His fingertip drew a bright red line down the edge of my ribcage where it was purpling with bruising, and I shivered under his touch. Not because it hurt, which it fucking did, but because it was turning me on so damn bad. Something about being with Austin like this, so damaged and bloodied, it was perfect. And I wanted more.

Fucking hell, I was seriously starting to sound like a twisted bitch with thoughts like that, but I was hanging on by a thread. Doing this, with Austin, simply felt right.

“The whole world doesn’t fucking revolve around you, Austin,” I snapped, biting back at him in the only way we really knew how to communicate with one another. Through insults. “Now, are you going to keep crying about the past, or are you going to help me heal?”

And by “help me heal” I really did mean, “fuck me like I’ve been wanting you to for goddamn months.”

His eyes narrowed at me, glittering dangerously. “Oh, you want to be careful what you fucking wish for, baby girl,” he warned in a deadly quiet voice that would give Cole a run for his money in the menacing stakes. “Last chance to beg out and wait for the guys to get here.”

“Why?” I challenged, “You scared you’ll like it?”

I deliberately threw his own words back in his face, and he didn’t miss the reference. With a furious growl, he dove back down, grabbing my face within his bloodied hands and mashing his lips to mine.

Our lips opened to one another almost instantly, our teeth clicking together as we fought for positioning, and my fingernails clutched at the muscles of his back. Closer. I needed him closer. My back arched up from the bed, pressing my naked breasts to his chest and earning a rough moan from him as our skin sizzled and tingled with magic everywhere it touched. Relief flooded through me, and I honestly couldn’t have picked which was stronger—relief from pain or from the pent up sexual frustration the two of us had been dancing around for months.

Breathing ragged and wet, I knew my ribs were still broken and digging into my lungs, but I’d dealt with worse. It’d sort itself out when it was good and ready. Already I could feel the injuries to my stomach, thighs, and feet lessening, the pain transforming from the sharp searing heat to a low, dull ache.

My hands slipped down Austin’s back, clutching at his sides, and then when it still wasn’t enough, I flipped us both so that I was on top. My near-naked body was sprawled across the length of his colorful skin, and I pulled back a fraction to admire the view.

Even coated as he was in my blood, his tattoos were a sight to behold, covering his whole torso and disappearing under the waistband of his tuxedo pants. Sucking my lip between my teeth, I stared hungrily at that line of fabric interrupting my view, and I knew, without a doubt, I needed to see what was underneath.

“Maybe you should take a picture; it’d last longer,” Austin snarked, dragging my attention back up from his waistband to his face. His lips slightly swollen, he watched me with ravenous, lust-filled eyes, and I glared at him, fighting back a grin. He spoke my language fluently.

“Oh please,” I scoffed. “As if you haven’t been practically begging to get in my pants for weeks.”

“What pants?” he replied, looping his fingers into the side of my dental floss thong and tearing it clean off my body, leaving me exposed and halfway straddling him. “I see no pants to get into. Now mine on the other hand—”

“Jesus Christ do you ever shut up?” I groaned, taking matters into my own hands and kissing him hard, putting his sassy fucking mouth to better use than arguing with me over who wanted whom more. Suffice to say, as hard as his dick was straining against his tuxedo pants, he wanted me just as bad as I wanted him.

Austin threaded a hand back into my hair and flipped us again so that I was on my back—thankfully my ribs were almost fully healed—with him on his side, allowing him full access to my body with the hand he trailed down from my neck. Pausing at my chest, he cupped a handful of my breast, squeezing firmly and pinching my nipple hard enough to make me yelp against his mouth.

He chuckled a dark sound against my lips because he knew full well that I fucking loved it, as was evident by the way my back arched, pushing my chest harder into his hand. Fingers leaving my breast, he ran them down the bruised and aching line of my ribs and over the slick red of my stomach where my knife wound had all but disappeared, then danced lightly over my naked public bone.

“Oh God,” I groaned dramatically. “Don’t tell me after all that tension you’re going to turn out to be a damn tease.”

“A tease?” he repeated, pulling back from my lips and looking down at me with eyes narrowed in anger. “You of all fucking people want to talk to me about being a fucking tease?”

“Yeah, Austin, I do. What of it?” I challenged, my hands making quick and deliberate work of his belt and fly, freeing his rock hard shaft and palming it.

“You must be fucking kidding me, Princess. You’ve done nothing but fucking tease me since the moment we goddamn met.” His voice came out in a low growl of fury, but he did nothing to stop my hand as I stroked up the length of his cock and fiddled with the piercing through the tip. In fact, his hips bucked a little harder into my grip, and his breath came in short puffs as a wet bead of pre-cum slicked over his tip.

Of course Austin has his dick pierced. I’m not even surprised… but good god I’m as wet as hell wondering what it’s going to feel like inside me.

“Agree to disagree, Austin,” I told him. “You were an absolute fucker to me from day one, but that’s an argument we can hash out another day. I still want to hear what happened with Peyton downstairs.”

“Ugh, another day.” He gasped. “Definitely another day.” His eyelids fluttered as my thumb flicked at his piercing and my hand tightened around his shaft. He was hard enough to cut diamonds, and I wasn’t in the mood to be patient.

Shoving him flat on his back, I swung a leg over his waist and gripped hold of his cock once more where it sat thick and rigid against his ripped stomach. That gorgeous ink only dipped a little lower than where his pants had sat, following the contours of his Adonis belt in a way that drew the eye to his impressive package below. Not that it needed any road signs.

Raising up on my knees, I lined his pierced head up with my opening and sank down onto him. Slowly, carefully, feeling the exquisite scrape of his metal on my inner walls, I gasped when my butt touched down on his thighs.

“Satisfied, Princess?” Austin asked in a cocky voice, even though his lips were swollen and his eyes were hooded with desire.

“Not even close,” I bit back, grinding against him and feeling the tingle of our magic flood through me.

“Good,” he gasped, kicking his pants all the way off his legs, bucking his hips up, and sinking in just a fraction deeper until we were flush with one another, my pussy clenching and stretching to accommodate him. “Then hold the fuck on, baby girl. You’re in for a ride.”

Grabbing me by the waist, still sticky with my half-dried blood, he tossed me to the side, flipping our positions again and driving his cock into me with a force that made the breath puff from my lungs. A moan of encouragement slipped from me as I reached up and dragged his lips back to mine, desperate and hungry for more.

Our lips met with a frenzy while Austin began a punishing rhythm, hitting me so deep it bordered on painful. But wasn’t that the way we’d always been? Constantly trying to hurt one another just to protect ourselves from what could have evolved into feelings.

My nails raked bloody lines down his back while my hips bucked up to meet him stroke for stroke, making sure he knew he wasn’t in charge here.

“Quit fighting me, Princess,” Austin panted, placing a strong hand on my hip and pinning me to the mattress while he increased his pace, leaving me no choice but to do as he said and hold on.

Torn by indecision on whether I needed the upper hand again, I pulled his face back to mine and kissed him hard, sucking his lower lip into my mouth and biting hard enough to make it bleed a little.

“Bitch,” he breathed, breaking free and returning the favor with a hard bite to the curve of my neck—on the exact same spot Cole had left his teeth marks the first time we’d slept together—and I filed this information away for later. The mere fact that he’d remembered, and that he felt compelled to echo that mark, was worth consideration. Later.

The incredible juxtaposition between the almost euphoric pleasure of his cock inside me and the sharp pain of his bite caused me to cry out and tighten my nails into the back of his neck.

Withdrawing from me entirely, Austin picked me up by the waist and flipped me over so my face was pressed into the pillows. Without a second’s notice, he sunk his huge, pierced dick back inside me, lifting my hips up from the mattress and hitting me at an even deeper angle, which I hadn’t even realised was possible.

“Oh, fuck,” I groaned, readjusting my weight onto my knees but leaving my upper body flat on the bed because the angle of Austin’s cock stroking my g-spot was beyond amazing. “Harder, you asshole.”

Austin growled a frustrated noise but ignored my request while his long fingers gripped my hip bones for leverage while he stroked into me slowly. My ass pushed back against his stomach, urging him to fuck me harder, faster, deeper, something.

“Austin,” I panted. “Come on!”

“Baby girl, you’re going to want to shut the fuck up,” he warned me, his breathing coming in short gasps and his fingers digging in hard enough to leave bruises that I somehow knew my body wouldn’t be healing.

“Or what?” I challenged, ever the combative bitch, even from the seemingly submissive position I was being fucked in.

“Or this,” he replied, releasing his grip from one hand and bring his palm down hard on the flat of my ass. A startled cry squeaked out of me, followed closely by a moan of excitement when the sharp smack faded to burning warmth.

Austin groaned. “Fuck, you dirty bitch, you loved that. I felt how hard you just grabbed my cock when I slapped your ass.”

“Bite me, Austin,” I panted, desperate for him to spank me again. He didn’t disappoint, and after several more smacks I was a panting, sopping mess, begging for him to fuck me harder.

His hand smoothed over the flaming heat of my ass, slowing his thrusts as his thumb trailed down the length of my crack and circled my tight backdoor.

“Have you let Cole or River get this far?” he asked, his voice thick with lust and his breathing short.

“How far?” I replied, not totally sure of the question. In response, Austin slid a finger into my soaked core alongside his hard dick, wetting it, then pushed that finger into the entrance of my asshole.

“This far?” he asked, and I moaned, pushing back onto both his finger and his dick. “I take that and your lack of freak-out as a yes.” He pushed in deeper, stretching me and sending shock wave of ecstasy shooting around my body like a damn pinball machine.

“Any further than this?” he asked, and I gasped at just the idea of further.

“No,” I panted. “Not yet, anyway.”

He grunted what sounded like an approving noise. “Good.”

“Good?” I repeated, but didn’t get any more of a response from him as he withdrew his finger, re-gripping my hip and sliding his other hand around to tweak at my clit.

“Come for me, Princess,” he ordered, finally giving me what I so desperately wanted. His cock pounded into me with a violent passion while his skilled fingers danced and tweaked at my tight bundle of nerves, sending me into a screaming, crying orgasm.

Seconds later, he joined me, thrusting deep as he shouted his release then collapsed on top of me as my knees gave way, and I landed flat on my belly, boneless and satisfied.

For a long moment, neither one of us moved. We just lay there, our bodies still linked in the most intimate of ways, basking in the afterglow of seriously great sex and still feeling the magic tingling between our naked flesh.

“Fuck that’s a weird feeling,” Austin huffed, his breath stirring my hair, but he didn’t seem bothered to move off or out of me.

“What is?” I asked, turning my face to look at him from the corner of my eye. “The magic?”

He mumbled a noise of confirmation, stroking a finger down my side and over the gorgeous fox tattoo, still obscured by my blood.

“This is probably some of my best work,” he murmured, and I felt his finger trace over that fucking negative space on my hip where Caleb had pointed out that Austin had hidden his name. I briefly toyed with the idea of calling him out on it, but I was too tired and revenge was a dish best served cold.

“We should go,” he mumbled almost reluctantly, placing a gentle kiss against my back where his face lay. “Before someone finds us in here covered in blood with a dead body on the floor.”

“Hmm,” I sighed my agreement, but neither one of us made any move to get up. Or at least, not in the sense of getting up to get dressed. Still deep inside me, I felt Austin’s cock twitch and begin to harden once more.

“Austin.” I gasped but couldn’t stop my back from arching like a damn cat in heat, pressing my ass back onto his hot shaft.

“Shh, baby girl,” he breathed in my ear, rolling us gently so we were both on our side, with his cock penetrating me from behind still. “You’re still drained; I can feel the magic begging to be back in you.”

“True,” I groaned, sliding my hand down his naked side to grasp at his hip and hold him tight against me.

“We have a few more moments; just take as much as you can.” His hips stroked a smooth, gentle rhythm, his cock barely withdrawing before pressing back in. My body relaxed into it, letting him do what he would without demanding, or even needing, anything different. It was like he knew exactly how I wanted it, and he was giving it to me without complaint.

“Fucking hell, Princess,” he swore in a breathy voice. “I thought once would be enough to get you out of my brain.” His fingers dragged over my flat stomach, stained with dried blood, and down to my pussy. Gently, he slid one long finger the length of me, wetting it in my own fluid before teasing at my clit. My head dropped back onto the pillow, turning slightly to meet his solemn gaze.

“And it’s not?” I finally replied, after letting him work me into a panting mess again. I halfway dreaded his answer, not totally sure what I wanted from this. Obviously, one awesome fuck under extreme circumstances didn’t erase the already established animosity between us. Nor did it change the fact that we simply loved to hate each other.

But it was a start, wasn’t it?

In lieu of an answer, he leaned forward and sealed his lips to mine, kissing me deeply as we both came in shuddering, groaning waves of pleasure.

“Well, this is unexpected,” Caleb’s sarcastic voice snorted from somewhere in the direction of the demolished door. Neither Austin nor I bothered trying to spring apart like we were guilty. Why bother? It was pretty damn obvious what we’d been doing, and I already knew from Caleb’s not so subtle hints that he fully supported his brother and I getting together.

Caleb’s smug grin faded from his face as he took in the scene in the room, and his nostrils flared.

“Shit,” Austin swore, untangling from me and leaping from the bed to grab his pants. “Princess, get dressed quickly. Caleb, wait at the bottom of the stairs.”

Caleb seemed to barely register his twin’s orders, as his wide eyes took in the copious amounts of blood splattered all around the room—both mine and Mr. Gray’s.

“Now, Caleb!” Austin shouted, and Caleb’s attention snapped back to us as he nodded slowly.

“I’m going to wait at the bottom of the stairs,” he murmured and quickly disappeared back through the ruined door.

“What was that about?” I asked, frowning after Caleb then turning back to Austin curiously.

“Nothing,” he sighed, shaking his head. “Cal can explain later. Here.” Austin tossed my ball gown over to me, and I shimmied back into it, sans underwear, and he deftly zipped it up. Good thing it was already a bright hue of scarlet, as it hid a lot of the blood and gore that had ended up soaked into the soft layers from the mess that was my former nemesis.

Austin hurried into the small attached bathroom and ran a wash cloth under water before handing it to me.

“Try and get as much blood off as you can,” he murmured. “Just until we can get back to the hotel to shower properly.”

He retrieved his torn shirt and pulled it back on while I scrubbed some of the rust-brown marks from my skin.

“Ready?” he asked, holding out a hand for me to take.

“Wait.” I picked up the full skirt of my dress and picked my way through the chunks of gore to what remained of Mr. Gray’s corpse. It was really just arms, legs and a head, with a soupy pool of blood and entrails between. The rest of him lay splattered around the room. Bunching my dress in one hand to avoid dipping it in the bloody soup that was his liquefied insides, I crouched low and yanked my Ban Dia ring from his pinky finger.

“Is that—?” Austin remarked, and I nodded.

“Yep,” I confirmed, snatching my beautiful, red satin stilettos from where they’d been tossed and sliding the ring onto my left ring finger. “Fucking bastard used it to hit me.”

Austin paused me in the doorway with a gentle hand on my waist, and I turned to look at what we were waiting for. He raised an eyebrow at me and nodded to the room that was splattered wall to fucking wall with blood.

“They wanted your blood for something. It’s too dangerous to leave so much of it lying around.” He drew a sort of symbol in the air, then recited a string of words in another language. At the end of his spell—if that was the right word for it—there was that same pop of magic, and every smudge, smear, and puddle of blood in the entire room burst into a blue flame, searing in one hot burst, then dying off and leaving crisp, blackened patches in lieu of blood. Including Gray’s corpse.

“Let’s go before Caleb loses it,” Austin said quietly, wrapping his hand around mine and tugging me down the stairs to where his twin waited.

As I followed, I let my fingers tighten on his. For all I knew, the second we reached the others, everything would fall back to the way it always had been between Austin and I. Hell, maybe I’d imagined the connection we’d just had thanks to some sort of trauma induced delirium.

Either way, I wanted to savor this moment of nearness with him while it lasted.