His stupid grin made my heart patter. “There is always a first.”
A hand shot to his chest in a wounded gesture. “If it involves you, I’ll never fail.”
Holy smokes. When he said stuff like that, my insides went haywire and my body flushed. I didn’t know what to say, so I moved to a topic less stimulating. “Are you going to tell me how we ended up here, because the last thing I remember, your dad was doing a bang-up job of scaring me to death.”
His eyes sparked. “Honestly. I haven’t a clue. When you went down, the wall that was holding me back dissolved. I reached you before you cracked your head open, and when I glanced back up, he was gone. It was just you and me alone in an abandoned parking lot.”
“That’s it?”
“You got it, toots.”
I gave him a bland look. “Call me that again and I’ll be forced to kill you.”
He chuckled for a moment before those silver eyes got stony. “I always wondered if he would show his face, but I never imagined it would be because he wanted my girlfriend. That’s some pretty messed up crap. But really, when dealing with Hell, messed up is the only option.”
I rested my head on his shoulder. “What do you think he wants with me?”
His arm went around me and cuddled me close. “I’m afraid to find out.”
“And that invisible wall he put up, that was new.”
“I’m sure higher-demons have a more tricks than we care to know. He was the first one I’ve ever seen and hopefully the last. I’d be totally cool with him never showing his dead face again.”
I couldn’t agree more. “Speaking of face…he was an ugly SOB.”
He raised his brows. “You saw his true form?”
I nodded. “Unfortunately. It’s an image that’s burned into my mind now.”
He gave me an inquisitive inspection.
“Why do you have that look?” I asked suspiciously.
“I was just thinking…”
I snorted. “Don’t strain yourself.”
“Funny.” His brows furrowed together. “None of this adds up. You being able to see through his glamour. Him being able to keep you from me. And the fact that you have his attention. Why?”
I think part of his distraught was pride. No demon, big or small, was going to get the best of him, but the majority was that he had felt useless, a feeling completely foreign to the badass Chase Winters. “You’re the expert,” I added.
His arms tightened around me and squeezed. “And you are impossible to keep alive.”
A small smile tugged at my lips. “If you could go back to that night knowing just how hard it was to keep me breathing, would you make the same choice?”
“Oh, man that’s a toughie.” He was totally baiting me.
Turning in his arms, I sucker punched him.
He feigned to be afflicted. “Geez, you think you would take mercy on me. I don’t know if I can take any more abuse.”
I rolled my eyes.
His eyes twinkled as he looked down at me. “I would make the same choice a thousand times over. You are worth every fight, every bloodshed, and I will never stop fighting for you.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist. “I love you,” I murmured, burying my face in his shirt.
His breath caught. “I think I love you more.”
When he said stuff like that, it made me want to throw myself in his arms and never let go. Sweet words that made all the bad rubbish in the world seem bearable, just because he told me he loved me.
After a little more cuddling, I went home and crashed. Still fully dressed in dirty jeans and a ripped cardigan, I slept the kind of deep sleep that people get only after facing vast, near death experiences. In my case, seeing Hell on earth—literally. There was a moment, somewhere in that half-lucid state, when I realized that I did not want to be Hell’s bride.
What a thought to have right before you drop off into the world of dreams.
Chapter 13
I awoke with a killer headache, the sunlight streaming through my ice crystal covered window, and a buzzing in my ear. How the heck does one get up for school after a night like the one I had? It had to be worse than any hangover known to man.
Groaning, my entire body protested the slightest movements, even one as simple as touching my aching temples. The only good news was that I knew it wouldn’t last, perks of not being quite human. With squinting eyes, I fumbled my way into the bathroom to pop a couple aspirins. Throwing back the little white pills with a glass of water, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.
And cringed.
My hair had the shocked effect. It wasn’t pretty.
“Well hello, sunshine,” Chase said from inside my doorway. “Don’t you look peachy this morning?”
He looked sublime and hot as always, messy hair and all. It just worked for him. Sending him a murderous glare through the mirror, I mumbled, “I hate you.”
“You lie like a rug.”
“Does no one knock anymore?” I muttered. “I could have totally been naked.”
He arched a dark brow. “That was my hope.”