Chapter Twenty
Scott could sense the sun up and while the thick clouds of ash caused by the fires helped to block out the sun’s effects, it wasn’t enough. He’d tried venturing out but any patch of sunlight was dangerous for his existence. He wouldn’t be able to go get the bitch until tonight. He could wait. He glanced down at Michael’s mangled body and face. Because of the liquid he’d coated the blade with, his wounds seemed slower to heal. The dark sheets beneath the body or what was left of it glistened with liquid. Blood. He’d practically drained him. And still he told him nothing.
The emotions he’d consumed last night even from Chris were fading, so he could no longer feel pleasure from Michael’s pain since he’d passed out hours ago. He couldn’t feed off it, plus it was muted anyway. Soulless couldn’t feed off each other, at least not usually because they had no emotion so there was no point. But the liquid he’d placed in the male’s blood gave him a slight buzz because it enhanced Michael’s pain and Scott absorbed it. It wasn’t much but a buzz was a buzz.
No matter, later he’d have the woman to give him sustenance. Michael had an interest in the Chronicler; perhaps Michael would talk if she were threatened. It was a thought worth pursuing. He wiped the blade on the bed but that didn’t help since the bed was soaked. So he bent down and picked up the shirt he’d taken off Michael earlier and wiped the blade on it until it was nice and shiny again. Not a speck of blood visible. He licked it to make sure.
Looking down at Michael, he could see the man’s eyes were now wide open, staring at him. There was no emotion there. Scott thought he might start with those eyes later tonight. After, of course, he killed the Chronicler, Michael had to watch that. Her death would be the last thing Michael would see with his eyes. Or perhaps, it would terrify her even more to see Michael being tortured. He would decide later.
“Sleep well,” he told Michael and left to go to his own room. He stepped over Chris’s carcass. He would think of an idea where he’d dispose of the body once he woke again. He walked down the hall and realized the three other rooms in his hallway were empty. The other soulless didn’t make it back. Since it was daylight if they weren’t back by now, it probably meant they never would be. Hunters may have gotten them, they were weak. He’d taken out two hunters on his way back to the house earlier in the evening. He felt nothing at the thought of the demise of the other males. He’d been a loner for as long as he could remember his existence, so being alone again meant nothing.
He pushed his door open and didn’t bother to close it. No sunlight would filter into his room. Like all the rooms in the house, the windows were boarded with steel shutters on the inside. They took no chances.
He stripped, rubbed his hands across his chest when he noticed the blood splashes. He wiped them off and his face too, for good measure. He tossed the clothes aside and lay down on the bed. Shutting his eyes, he waited for the sun to wane and the moon to rise.
“Turn around,” Devlin told Eva. She did and he grabbed the bottle of shampoo on the built-in shelf. He poured some into his hand and began to lather her hair. “Hmmm feels so soft and smells really good.”
Eva chuckled. “Anything smells better than smoke.”
“True.” He bent down and kissed the top of her shoulder but continued to work on lathering up her long locks. He worked the shampoo all the way through until the scent of the honeysuckle and a hint of ginger filled the enclosed space. He washed the shampoo out of her hair and then grabbed her bottle of conditioner. He worked that into her hair, then rinsed it out before turning her around. “Better?”
“Yes but would have been heaven if the water would have been hot instead of barely warm.”
“At least we have water, so I’m not going to complain.”
“Good point. Your turn.”
He handed her the shampoo and did as she asked.
“You’re too tall. Sit on the bench. It would be easier for me to wash this mop.”
He grinned and did that too. Twisting his body, so she could reach him. The minute her fingers touched his scalp, he tilted his head back a bit. “Hmmm, that feels good.” And it did. His entire body relaxed into her caress as he hadn’t relaxed in years, and he wasn’t surprised it was because of Eva. She’d been important to him for a long time, before they’d actually even met in person. They’d been online friends for so long, maybe even something more. The minute she’d shut down their friendship, he’d known he’d lost something more than just an online friend. He’d lost someone important to him, someone who he was coming to realize might have been everything to him. He had another chance with her. She mattered. He wouldn’t blow it.
She was unexpectedly different in so many ways. Even though she didn’t like what he did, at least she knew. He’d never have to lie to her. Lying was never good for a relationship. It’s why he’d never been interested in one long term. He’d been tempted in the past but the minute he had to ask himself if the woman he was with would be one who could handle the hunter part of who he was, that answer had always been no. It wasn’t exactly yes with Eva, but at least they could try.
Devlin wanted to try. With her.
Standing up, he rinsed out his hair as she washed herself off. Then she used the washcloth to run it all over his body. His dick was hard already, had been since he’d stepped into the shower. It turned into fucking titanium now but unlike the metal, he was flesh and blood and he ached.
Devlin stopped her hand that had been rubbing his chest. “Evangeline. I want you. This is real for me. I don’t want you to hold my being a hunter over me. Not if it prevents us from having a relationship.” He placed his other hand around her neck. “Not when it stops us from being close like this. Not when it stops me from making love to you.” He pressed his lips against her, to shut his words up. Because the words he almost said to her were, not if it stops me from loving you. Oh fuck, he was in love with the woman. He devoured her mouth as the water cascaded around them.
Pulling away from her, he backed up and sat down on the bench, widening his legs. He positioned her over his thighs. She put her hands on his shoulder to balance herself, then she moved one hand to hold onto his cock and eased down onto him. She placed her hand back on his shoulder.
They both groaned as he filled her.
He grabbed onto her hips, his legs tensed as he flexed his ass and surged upward into her. Filling her with his flesh as the warmth of her haven surrounded him, squeezing him, prompting him to fuck her even more. So he did. He helped her move up and down on him, their rhythm increasing. The sound of the water beating against the tile floor a background symphony to the slapping of their wet skin against each other. He released one hand from her waist to thread them through her hair, bringing her closer to him.
Their lips locked and she took control of the kiss, her tongue wrapped around his and began stroking him as he stroked her pussy. His movements became faster, her downward thrust onto his thighs harder. His entire frame trembled as his cum found its way through his shaft and into her waiting haven. She ground onto his pelvis, her inner muscles flexing as she came with him. The excess liquids flowing down their legs to mix with the water floating into the drain.
Breathing hard, he looked into her glassy eyes as though seeing her for the first time. He framed her face with both hands and kissed her again. He loved her. He could deny it no more, now he just had to get her to love him back and then he’d tell her. But he’d loved her the first time he’d seen her face on his computer screen. She was it.
They finished their shower and toweled off. She couldn’t hide another yawn. They were both tired and needed to sleep. There’d be plenty still to do later tonight.
After he finished drying her off, he wrapped her in a towel, picked her up and took her to the bedroom. He removed the towel and pulled back the duvet tucking her under it.
He turned off the candle then climbed in as she scooted back until she rested against him, he wrapped her in his arms and snuggled against her. He kissed her hair, burying his face in it for a moment, holding onto her tight. His heart beat against his chest; he didn’t want to hide how he felt about her anymore. In the darkened room, he placed his lips against her ear. “I love you,” he whispered. He waited a beat but got no response from her. Then the soft sounds of her indrawn breaths filled the room. He smiled. Figures. The first time he ever told a woman he loved her and she was too tired to hear it.
As tired as he was, he had a lot on his mind and wasn’t quite ready for sleep to claim him. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she’d been targeted and earlier showed it wasn’t just Michael who wanted her. He was convinced while Michael might be one of the soulless like Thalya, clearly someone else had been in her house. Someone who Devlin was pretty sure didn’t know about the library under the house and wasn’t like Michael. That meant that someone who meant harm wanted Eva. She wasn’t safe here. If she wouldn’t leave, that meant he needed to damn well hunt down the sonofabitch who was after her.
He’d start by trying to find Michael, see if he knew who might be after her. And he owed the man for bringing the scroll to Eva. Maybe Michael would be willing to share any ideas about where the other soulless were. It was going to be hard though, because Devlin had the hunters searching for Michael’s place ever since he first suspected what he was with no luck, they couldn’t even locate that traitor Chris. He should ask Michael about the man too, if they ever found him.
With the condition of Southern California right now, it had gone from difficult to damn near impossible. It was going to be another long ass night later. Sleep finally claimed him.