Page 31

As Mack rolls his eyes, I kiss him, then whisper, “I think you’re exactly the right amount of old.”

“But you do think I’m old?” he asks, his dark brown eyes fixing on mine. Leaning in, he whispers, “I hope you’re not disrespecting me, Little Star. I’d hate to have to punish you.”

A pulse of heat settles between my legs. The moment he finally gave in to me and held me across his lap feels like too long ago. Suddenly, I am desperate for him to overpower me again, so I know he really is okay. So I know his strength has returned.

“You can punish me any time you want to, Daddy.” I bite my lower lip, enjoying the small growl that vibrates in Mack’s throat, and telling myself he must be okay if he’s thinking about fucking me again.

I glance over at Luther. He is watching us with intrigue in his eyes. I shiver, picturing Mack holding me down while Luther uses his flames to torment me again. The heady mixture of pain and pleasure was exactly what I needed. It helped me to forget. It took me somewhere else and reminded me that I am still here.

Before I can straddle Mack’s lap and pull his lips to mine, Tanner stands up. The sudden movement makes me look at him. He’s bracing his hand on the cave wall. With his other hand, he pushes his fingers through his floppy, dark-blond hair. “Nova,” he says loudly, my name bouncing off the cave walls. “I have something to ask you.”

“Tanner,” Luther says in a tone that makes it sound like a warning.

Tanner ignores him. “It’s about Sam,” he says quickly.

Immediately, I stand and stride over to him. “What about Sam?” I look up into his eyes. “What about him, Tanner?”

“Do you believe he’s still alive?” Tanner searches my face. Something about his expression tells me he’s searching my feelings too, but I don’t mind. If anything, I want him to feel what’s inside me.

“Yes,” I tell him firmly. “I do, and so does Sarah. She told me she knew all these years that he was still alive and that she feels the same way now.”

Tanner nods slowly. “Do you want to know for sure?” he asks.

My mouth drops open a little. When I speak, my voice is barely audible. “Of course, I do. I’d give anything to know if he’s still out there.” I take Tanner’s hand and squeeze it. “If he is, it means we stand a chance of getting him back. Doesn’t it?”

“No, Nova it doesn’t.” Luther strides over and puts his hand on my upper arm, tugging me back a little. Staring at Tanner, he says, “Knowing he’s out there could be torture for her. Don’t you get that? If we find out he’s still alive but we can’t reach him.”

“I’d rather know,” I tell him, angling myself so I’m between the two of them. Looking at Tanner, I add, “Is there a way to do that? To find out what happened to him?”

The entire time we have been speaking, Mack has remained silent. Now, he clears his throat and says, “Tanner, dark magick is the only way to communicate with the hell dimensions. We do not have that kind of power.”

“What if we do?” Tanner asks, his eyes wide. Moving away from the wall, toward the fire, he says, “We have Nova. We’ve all seen what her blood does to Kole’s powers—it supercharges them, right?”

“Ah ha,” Mack nods, watching Tanner carefully.

“So, what if her blood can do the same for me? What if it enables me to jump from our world to the underworld?”

There is a quivering silence. Mack frowns as if he’s trying to compute what Tanner’s just said. My heart beats fast and hard in my chest. The jump hurt Tanner when he did it before. Surely jumping into hell would be too dangerous, right? But he’s right—my blood gives Kole extra power. If my blood could do that for Tanner, maybe it wouldn’t be dangerous at all.

“You’d do that? For Sam?” I ask, reaching up to cup Tanner’s face.

“I’d do it for the both of you,” Tanner replies solemnly.

I search his eyes for a long moment. In them, I see no fear just love. No one has ever loved me as fast and as hard as Tanner fell in love with me. Taking my gaze from him, I glance over at Mack. “What do you think, Rohne? Is it too dangerous?”

Mack bites his lower lip, then shakes his head. “I don’t know,” he says. “I need to think.”

“Mack—” Tanner starts to protest, but Mack holds up his hand to stop him.

“I’m not saying no, I’m saying I need some time. My thoughts are fuzzy. I need food and sleep, and so do you three. We’ve been through a lot, and this is not a decision we should rush into.”

I open my mouth to plead with him, but he gives me the same hand-up gesture he gave Tanner.

“If Sam is alive and out there somewhere, nothing is going to change in the next twelve hours.” He motions to the fire. “We eat, we sleep, we think. Tomorrow, we talk it through.”

“Nova should be the one to decide,” Tanner replies quickly.

To my surprise, Mack nods. “Yes, she should be. But in order to decide, she needs all the facts. We’ll each make our case, and she’ll have the final say.”