AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A corner of her mouth twitched as though she was trying to smile, but that beautiful voice was no longer in working order. Considering the color of the hot water steaming in the bath around her, he was shocked she was even conscious.
Gently, he reached into the water, uncaring that his sleeve was getting wet or that it would stain his shirt with her blood. Easing her arm out, he studied the nasty gash in her flesh, a wound no surgeon would be able to repair in time even if there was one standing right beside her.
The essence of her life pumped slowly, indicating there wasn’t much left to lose. As he held her limp hand in his left one, he stroked his right over her hair, then cupped the back of her head as her eyes drifted shut. Hell, he could hear her heartbeat fading, slowing until it stopped.
“I have to admit, I didn’t expect that much blood.”
Seth barked out a harsh laugh. “Most people don’t. What the fuck, Lara?”
Fingers slid through his hair from behind, tugging gently. “Second chances don’t mean much when the one person who means everything can’t be with you. Fifty years of being alone really wasn’t appealing. I cheated you once because I wanted to win the game, Seth, and be with you. There really wasn’t any point in cheating both of us out of half a century of being together, when we’d just be fucking miserable.”
Carefully, he rested the head of her soulless shell against the tub, then set her useless hand over her naked belly in the water. Just because there was no life left in her body didn’t mean it shouldn’t be treated with respect. “So you made a drastic decision without even talking about it?”
She made a raw sound in her throat. “I tried, but you weren’t exactly open to listening to me. Jesus, your dick was still wet when you got dressed and hauled me back here, Seth. I appreciate you being honorable and trying to give me that second chance, but I’ve known for a long time that I was meant to be with you. Saving me was never on the cards.”
Seth growled and clambered to his feet, turning to look at her.
She fucking glowed with the aura of the dead. Everything about her was radiant, bearing the same golden hue as Adephis’ sparks. The blonde of her hair was richer than anything on earth, her skin pristine, and those eyes…there was no color he could compare her eyes to in this form.
“Saving you from yourself certainly wasn’t,” he muttered.
Damn her, she had the audacity to smile at him.
Chapter Six
LARA
Being dead was unusual.
There was no weight. It was the oddest sensation, as though she was floating without ever leaving the floor. She was pleased she could still touch him, but even that was different. Textures were strange, scents were heightened, her sight and hearing were amplified.
Seth had never been more gorgeous, even seething with anger.
Maybe it was frustration, she mused, watching him carefully.
It was disturbing to see her body behind him, lounging in the bloody water as though she was merely asleep. Face slack, already gray and dull despite the heat of the water. She felt bad that someone would have to find her, deal with the mess she’d made, but she knew she’d made the right decision for her.
There had been pain when she’d dug the razor blade into her forearm, and not a small amount of fear as the first swell of blood gushed from the wound, but that all seemed muted now. She had no problem admitting she’d wished Seth had been there, that she’d whimpered his name as the water turned insanely red.
He’d been there for the very end, which she was grateful for—she’d experienced a few scary moments where she wondered whether he would actually come for her when her veins ran dry. There’d been such a sense of relief to hear his voice, to see his face through the dimness of her vision, and then…
Lara frowned, trying to remember what had happened after that. A soft snap, a little pop of disconnection, and then freedom. No physical ties, no weighted bonds connecting her to a world that seemed old and clunky now.
“Do you realize what you’ve done?” Seth asked her.
What was necessary was on the tip of her tongue, but she held her silence. No point in pushing him over the edge with an answer he wouldn’t like. Instead, she nodded. “Yes. I have no remorse over it. Are you going to send me away again?”
Seth ran his thumb over his lips, studying her with eyes heavy with emotion. He hadn’t yet touched her, which was alarming. “I should. I should do the right thing and show you what the next life has to offer.”
Panic gripped her throat. “But you’re not going to, right?”
“I have no doubts you’d find a way to come back and achieve what you want. Nothing seems to be a deterrent for you.”
“Not if it stands between us,” she said quietly.
His lips quirked in a wry smile. “If I claim you now, Lara, there is no going back. It will be you and me, portal jumping from place to place, for the rest of eternity. You’ll get your wish—I will love you forever, but I won’t let you go a second time. Do you understand?”
She flung herself at him, colliding with his body hard enough to emit a grunt of exertion. There was no heart beating in her chest, but that didn’t stop it from swelling with love, filling her with an overwhelming sense of peace. Her lungs were no longer functioning, but the kiss he welcomed her home with stole her nonexistent breath.
As he hitched her up, grasping her bare ass in his hands so she could wrap her legs around his hips, Lara gave fervent thanks to whoever ran the show for giving her that second chance, for blessing her with him.
The kiss deepened, Seth’s hold on her tightening when she moaned in delight.
She’d cheated Death, and won his heart.
Given hers willing in penance.
“Oh yes,” she murmured against his mouth. “I understand perfectly.”
The End
