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“We’re not done yet,princess. I’ll let you know when I want to release you.”
Sneering at his comment, I lifted a knee to catch him in the crotch, but he swiveled out of the way easily and stuck his hard, muscular body between my thighs. My legs spread apart as he leaned in and smiled . . . but it wasn’t friendly.
“We need to establish some rules, Cassandra.”
I didn’t know which surprised me more – the fact that he used my name, or he seemed to be wanting to work things out. “We do,” I agreed.
His expression hardened. “I come and go as I please. I do as I please. I say what I want, and I take what I want, when I want it,howI want it and I answer to no one.”
I rolled my eyes. He was on such an ego trip. Not to mention this sounded a little too close to Fifty Shades of Grey. I doubted Kayde was any kind of Dom. My guess – he was just a man who’d been betrayed and chose to block out everyone else in his life as a means of preservation. “Whatever.”
“Rule number two, you don’t ever try to fight me, little witch. If I give an order, you will obey me instantly without question.”
Arching a brow, I smirked. “Don’t count on that.”
“And three – my business is my own, so stay out of it. That includes bothering your aunt about me. Got it?”
“Wouldn’t I have tocareto ask?”
A muscle in his jaw twitched when he realized I tossed his own words right back at him. “Break these rules and the consequences will be severe. Understood?”
I was super curious about whatever punishment he was capable of inflicting. Kayde gave off a tough and brutal exterior but as I gazed into his eyes, I caught a quick glimpse of pain. Something in his past caused his hardened shell. Neither of us moved as we stared into the depths of each other’s souls. An intensity I didn’t expect seemed to radiate between us and crackle like static cling – an electric spark that wasn’t lust or desire but something even more profound.
It scared the hell out of me.
I wanted nothing to do with Kayde or the mean streak that reared its ugly head every time we shared the same space. Pushing him away with a sudden burst of panic, I ran from the room without a word. Once I was alone in my bathroom, I sank to the floor, my back resting against the wood of the closed door.
Kayde truly terrified me . . . and I wasn’t sure if it was the magnetic pull toward him, or the hard man that held secrets that spooked me more.
OCTOBER 5th –
“Ryder?”
He was sitting on my bed when I entered the room after breakfast, watching the doorway with interest. “Hi, sweet angel.”
“I was beginning to think you were ignoring me,” I teased.
“Not a chance, hot stuff.” He winked as I flopped down next to his side. “My turn,” he replied huskily before his hand rose and cupped my left cheek. “I’ve been thinking about this for days.” His warm lips met mine in a kiss that was unexpectedly gentle and took me by surprise.
The moment we touched I felt a flash of icy cold wind brush over my skin, followed by a rainbow of colors that burst like fireworks across my line of vision. A hazy film seemed to settle and cover everything like those waves of heat that hover above the asphalt on a hot day as the sun beats down relentlessly.
I gasped as Ryder stood in front of me and smiled. “Do you know where we are?”
“It’s not thefadeor theEther.”
“Nope.”
“It’s like we’re realm walking but we aren’t,” I surmised. “I can’t describe this. It’s sodifferent.” It was reality but it wasn’t. The sensations and colors were strange but uniquely crafted in such a way that I felt at home among the magical vibrations.
He chuckled lightly. “Yes, because you can only do this if you’re a ghoul.”
My jaw dropped. “We’re spirit walking, aren’t we?”
“More or less. Just as I possess the gift ofsoul touch, I can also connect to other ghouls or with those I share a bond. Our mortal flesh is connected, and we aren’t only here mentally. We’re here physically, too.”
“That’s impossible . . .” I blinked and spun in a circle, taking in all the souls I could see walking on invisible but deliberate paths. They filtered in and out like mirages, ghosts of the physical bodies of the ghouls that belonged to each individual person. Fascinated, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the scene. It was beautiful. “What are these?” I asked, staring at the thin lines of color that trailed behind each ghoul.
“Our threads.”
