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I laughed because they really thought we were idiots. “They have to be together for the prophecy to work, silly man. That’s why I know Myrddin means Lee no harm. He sent his own son off plane so he wouldn’t have to kill Lee.”
“He didn’t know, Liv. Not then,” Casey pointed out. “He didn’t know that it took both, and he didn’t know he’d sent away his son. He only learned that later. It wasn’t like he hunted Dean’s mother down himself.”
An ache began in my head, and I didn’t want to talk about this. “I’m not arguing with you. If you’re here to fill me with your lies, then begone.”
I turned and walked to the window, pushing the filmy curtains back. The room was large and lovelier than I’d suspected a room on the Hell plane could be. I’d only ever been to neutral sites where Myrddin would meet with the demonic council. Everything was red and black and brimstone. They had a brand, after all.
This place was softer, more romantic. Like a B&B. I wondered if all the newlywed demons found their way here for the honeymoon.
“It’s prettier than I thought it would be.” I should have kept quiet and maybe Casey would have walked off, but my mouth kept right on working.
“It’s better now.” Casey moved behind me, so close I could feel him brush against my back as we stared at the gardens and low-hanging full moon. “When I first came here there was still a pall on the place. There was a lot of rot. I thought maybe Gray had renovations done, but then I realized it was the house itself that changed.”
“Yes, the lands are a reflection of the lord,” I murmured, not wanting to think about how nice it was to have him close. I could smell him, smell the soap he used and the fabric softener on his clothes. “I never thought Sloane would be such a romantic. I bet if these were Trent’s lands, it would be one big dive bar that served the best burgers and had a ton of big screen TVs playing sports all the time.”
Casey chuckled and wrapped his arms around my waist. “If it was Lee’s, it would be one big brothel.”
“What are you doing?” I asked, breaking his hold and turning his way.
He stood there like the big, gorgeous nerd he was. “Trying something new. Fighting with you hasn’t worked. So let’s not fight. How about we make a deal. I’ll give you an hour a day to tell me how amazing Myrddin Emrys is, and you let me point out three logical fallacies in your beliefs.”
“Why would I ever do that?”
“Because I’m going to point out those flaws while I’m eating your pussy,” he replied in that no-nonsense fashion he’d perfected in the last decade. “I’m done fighting my instincts. You are my bonded mate.”
I shook my head. “We broke that bond a long time ago. I’m not a companion.”
Vampires lived for companions like the queen. Like Evan. They often couldn’t control themselves around those women who glowed for them. With the exception of academics, of course. Academics loved a good companion, but they bonded with other beings as well. There’s a biological component to the bond between vampire and companion. They exchange blood. It’s a marriage in our world and it’s usually for the life of the companion, though sometimes they bond so tightly the vampire can’t live without her. But the point is the vampire gets something from the exchange. A vampire on companion blood is faster, stronger, smarter than a vampire who drinks human blood. Therefore vampires mate with companions.
Except the stupid academics, who don’t give a fuck about biology and follow their dumb hearts.
“I think I made it clear who I loved that day in the woods, Olivia.” Casey took a step back. “I told Meredith I didn’t give a fuck about companion blood. I needed something else to sustain me, and I could only get that from you. You are my companion, Liv. You are the only woman I will ever love, and now I fear I gave up too quickly. I’m sorry, baby. I did leave you alone. I should have put every ounce of my energy into getting you back and getting you healthy again.”
I wasn’t sure I liked this turn. “I am perfectly healthy.”
“You’re not, and I don’t think I realized how far gone you were until this afternoon. I guess I thought you were always a willing participant.”
“I am. I’m fighting on the right side of this war.”
His stare pinned me. “You might not have a thrall stone in your head, but he’s manipulated your version of reality. You can’t even think logically when it comes to him. My Liv is so smart she shocks me sometimes. My Liv is independent and knows when to stand up to everyone. My Liv challenges the people around her to be better.”
“Your Liv is dead. She died that night in Wyoming.”
He stared at me for a moment. “She didn’t, and I know that now. She got scared and then impatient, and finally circumstances put her in Myrddin’s path and he used her. He knew a good thing when he saw it. He knew how talented you are, and he warped that brilliance to his own ends. He knew how to hurt the rebels. He knew how important you were to us.”
Oh, he was wrong about that. “I was nothing to you. I was an afterthought.”
“You were never an afterthought to me,” he said, passion in his voice. “You were my first thought in the morning and the last when I closed my eyes to rest. You weren’t some sidekick to me. You were my everything. That’s how the bond forms. It’s two souls recognizing each other.”
“The bond was only from your side. I don’t feel it.” I was lying. I had felt it back in the day. From the moment I met him, I fought that invisible rope that bound me to him. I was attracted when I met him and I still felt something, something that whispered this was the right one.
“I don’t think so.” He stepped in again, challenging me to move away.
I held my ground. “It doesn’t matter what you think. I’m not your companion and I don’t have to listen to anything you say.”
“You do if you want an orgasm.” His voice went low. Like sexy-as-hell low. “Tell me you don’t feel it, baby. We’re on the Hell plane, and it amplifies all our base instincts. Tell me you can’t feel the need low in your pussy.”
Fuck him because suddenly I could. Heat had pooled low in my pelvis. It had been so long since I felt the tug of arousal. I’d locked that piece of myself away. When Myrddin had offered me a place in his bed, I’d told him no and took a vow of chastity because I was Profane and if he wasn’t able to have me, no one could.
