It was enough to squeeze the breath from my lungs.
But when she turned toward me and I saw them big, fat tears on her cheeks?
Fuck. My heart damn near liquified.
If Saint wasn’t in such bad shape from the Black, I’d march right back inside and put him in bad shape with my fists.
Damn it, Saint. Youasshole. What the fuck were you thinking?
I shoved a hand through my hair, squashing those shitty thoughts. Wouldn’t help matters. Besides, he was seriously messed up right now in ways I couldn’t even begin to imagine. Deep down, I fucking bled for the guy, just like the rest of our motley little crew.
But none of us hurt as much as Haley. She truly loved the sonofabitch. Whatever drove them apart all those years back—whatever kept them apart now—it wasn’t her choice. That was pretty damn obvious.
“Feel like some company, babygirl?” I asked.
She nodded, but then turned away to stare out over the balcony again. Wordlessly I draped a blanket over her shoulders, and my girl sighed and leaned back against my chest, letting me wrap my arms around her. Resting my cheek on top of her head, I held her close, the two of us gazing out across the Amaranth City hellscape.
“He’s going to be okay, right Gargs?” she finally whispered.
I didn’t have an answer on that one, so I just squeezed her a little tighter and said the one thing I knew to be true about Saint just then. “If anyone can pull him outta this fucked-up nightmare, Haley Barnes, it’s you.”
A sad sigh rushed out, making her crumple in my arms. “I’m the one who dragged him into this nightmare in the first place.”
“Not true. Saint’s addiction isn’t your—”
“He’s only in Midnight again because of me, Hudson.” She turned around in my arms, blinking up at me with a wide, sad gaze that stabbed something deep inside me. Hard. “Keradoc’s got him working with an even higher-potency version of a drug he’s already completely addicted to, with unrestricted access, and Elian’s only going along with it because he’s trying to help me. To make sure we give Keradoc whatever the hell he wants so my sisters are kept safe and I’m…” She shook her head and closed her eyes, fresh tears slipping down her cheeks. “How is this not my fault?”
“Just ain’t. Not unless you’re some kind of mad goddess pulling all the strings.” I hooked a finger under her chin and tilted her face up. When she finally opened her eyes again, I grinned. “Something you forget to tell me?”
This got a smile. A faint one, barely there, but hell—anything was better than her tears.
“Oh, right.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m a goddess, of course! Must’ve slipped my mind, what with me being a fae-blooded Silversbane witch and all. Hard to keep track of so much badassery in one little package. Forgive me?”
“So long as you keep me in your good graces, goddess, we’re just fine.” I lowered my mouth to hers, stealing a soft kiss in the moonlight. The touch of her lips sent a zap of electricity straight to my heart.
Haley felt it too. She pulled back with a yelp, brushing her fingers across her mouth. “Damn.”
“Shocking, ain’t it?”
“Yeah, it’s…Wait. Did you just…” Her eyes narrowed playfully. “Did our resident stone-cold gargoyle just make a pun?”
“You’re smiling now, so yeah. I’m gonna go ahead and take credit for that.” I slid my hands down to her perfect ass and lifted her up, tucking her against my chest. She wrapped her legs around my hips and settled injustright, the feel of her warm little body stirring my cock to life. Girl was lucky I’d pulled on a T-shirt and sweats before I came out here, but now I kinda wished I hadn’t. All that fabric between us was just getting in my way.
I ran my lips across her brow bone and down to the tip of her nose, then lowered my mouth to brush another soft kiss to her lips, bracing for the inevitable sparks. I groaned at the feeling, and she sighed and deepened our kiss, threading her fingers into my hair.
Goddamn, I’d never get tired of her kiss, her touch, her everything.
When she finally pulled back again, she granted me another smile, the tears finally starting to evaporate.
“I’m glad you’re here, Hudson. Not just tonight, but…” She drew a hand down along my face, caressing my beard with her palm. “I’m grateful the gods or destiny or whatever the hell’s in charge out there saw fit to put us on the same path, no matter how fucked up that path may be.”
“Hmm. Even if I shock you every time we touch?”
“Is it every time, though? Like,literallyevery time?” She pursed her lips and glanced up at the moon, pretending to be deep in thought. “I think we need to do some more research here, Gargs. Bigger sample size, you know? Otherwise it’s not statistically significant.”
“If it’s something big and significant you want, I’ve got you covered.” With a dark chuckle, I shifted her ever so slightly lower on my hips, letting her feelexactlywhat was going on below the belt.
Haley let out a sigh, sweet as sin and twice as inviting.
