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My face is never going to recover.
“Usually, people get Hell exorcised out of them,” he adds.
I tip my head back and release a loud ass laugh. Swinging my hand, I smack him in the arm, turning his smirk into a full-blown grin. “Shut the fuck up.”
“Not until you tell me. Come on, darlin’. I’m desperate to know.” He turns me toward him and lifts me up, setting me onto the counter. “Don’t deny a dying man his one wish.”
“You’re just as crazy as the rest of them, Elias,” I say, resting my hands on his shoulders.
“I’m pretty sure you’re into that kind of thing.” Elias surprises me by sliding his hand into my hair and tightening his fingers enough to hold me in place. Bowing forward, he kisses me like he’s been doing it forever, and I hook my legs around his waist and pull him closer until we’re flush together.
I hum and suck his lip between my teeth, nipping him. “I enjoy other things too. You don’t have to summon Hell or Heaven. Sometimes, I enjoy just being here on Earth. It’s my piece of normalcy, you know. Which isn’t a bad thing.”
He offers me a whisper of a smile and loosens his fingers from my hair to run his hands down my back, bowing into me in a sweet embrace I never want to leave. “I’m glad to hear that. I was a bit afraid that I couldn’t compete with—” He waves his hand around, motioning to our surroundings. “All of this.”
“It’s not a competition, Elias,” I remind him, snuggling my face against his throat. “I need all of you, remember? I want you too.”
“You already have me, Raven,” he murmurs, stroking his hand up my spine. “My very being is yours, my gorgeous soulmate.”
“I do, don’t I?” Warmth rises from my middle, and I brush my lips to his again, savoring the sensual caress of his affection. I imagine what it would be like for him to carry me upstairs to shower me with his gentle attention, the perfect cure for the incredible aches caused by the dark wildness of my devilish passion.
“Mmmhmm.”
A phone rings and buzzes, stealing our focus away from each other. Groaning, Elias scoops up a cell from the counter and glances at the screen. He shows me the name and number like I might know who the Hell it is, but I shrug.
“I can call him back,” Elias says, setting the phone back on the countertop. “Preston probably wants to check in to see if I’m still kickin’.”
It dawns on me who Preston is, and I snatch the phone and hold it out to him. “You can answer it. He’s your best friend.”
Releasing a sigh, he taps the screen and puts it on speaker. I’m surprised by his actions, because my ex would’ve never done this and would have walked into another room. Joel would’ve yelled and told me to mind my own business. I’m almost nervous to listen to this guy, the hunter Elias loved like family enough to trade his eternity for.
“Hey, man. What’s up?” Elias asks like there isn’t tension after what happened with the leader of the hunters.
“Is it okay that I’m calling?” Preston asks, his gruff voice rumbling through the speaker. “You alone?”
“Yes to both. I won’t lie to you, Pres. I’m surprised. I wasn’t sure you’d reach out to me after all the bullshit.” Elias eyes me, running his fingers up and down my arm. Once again, he shocks me by lying to Preston about my presence.
“You’re my brother. I know what kind of shit you got yourself into. I want to help you if I can...which is why I’m calling. We caught Valeka. He showed up at Jose’s bar, looking for souls. Gil, Tek, and Viper snagged him.” Silence hangs in the air.
Turning his gaze to mine, Elias captures my eyes, a mixture of disbelief and hope crossing his face. After another couple of heartbeats, he finally says, “No shit? You have him?”
“Your angel buddies gave us a few new toys to play with. Demon restraints blessed by Heaven’s fiercest angel. We were supposed to call Cassius if we caught a monster, but I thought you’d want first dibs.” Hearing Preston say Cassius’s name feels as if a stone sinks in my stomach. Of course the angels had gotten involved. I bet Andre told them everything when we had left him to deal with the aftermath of the ghost possession.
But fuck. If Preston hadn’t called us first...I hate to think what would’ve happened. If Cassius sent Vincent to Hell, I’m nearly certain there would be no saving Elias from demonic enslavement. Or me.
“I fucking love you, man. I’ll come get him now. You have no idea what we’ve been dealing with trying to get the bastard. I think he has negotiated something with Lucifer himself to avoid our entrapment.” Elias frowns with his words.
“What?” I whisper. No one told me this, but it makes sense how one damn demon could keep a step ahead of our reach.
Elias presses his finger to my lips, forcing me to wait to speak. “You’ve just saved my soul, brother. You have no idea. I’ll be there—”
“Nah, man. I’ll bring him by. The guys don’t want the Hell that follows your unlucky ass around,” Preston says, cutting him off.
I glower at the phone. What an asshole.
“Okay. I’ll text you the address. Thanks again.” Elias’s handsome face beams with his smile.
Preston clears his throat. “Anytime. You did save my life. Now I have to at least help save your soul.”
