Disco’s face hardened into an impenetrable mask. “After everything that’s happened, I don’t want you out of my sight.”
I moved closer to him, nuzzling his ear. God, he smelled so good, so comfortingly familiar. “I won’t be for long. Give us a minute.”
“Tell me again,” he whispered. “Tell me.”
“I love you, Neanderthal. Now go upstairs and wait for me.”
I felt Disco lift his head. “You have five minutes,” he warned.
The family parted as Paine snagged my wrist and began dragging me toward the room used for meetings. There was no fire roaring in the fireplace this time, as I was certain none of them expected human company. Paine shoved me into the room, closed the doors, and locked them behind us.
“How could you?” he questioned harshly. Before I could respond, he kept going. “Did you know that he was supposed to die tonight? Did you purposely prevent his death from taking place?”
There wasn’t a reason to deny it. “I did.”
“What have you done?” he snarled, voice heated. “Haven’t I warned you about changing the future? Of the consequences? You have just fucked with fate, little girl, and the result will be more than you can bear.”
He was so very much like the Paine I’d left in the future, yet different. The looks were the same—dark, mysterious, sexy—but the attitude was definitely unlike what I’d been close to in the last few days. This Paine had yet to learn what it was like to live in a hellish future, with demons in control of the world. Instead, he held steadfast to his beliefs, bolstered by the tragic occurrences of his own past.
Trying to remember that, I faced him. “You’re not going to believe me when I say this, but the future you think you’re saving is a future that should never be. You might be right. I might pay a hefty price for interfering with it, but it’s one I’m willing to face.”
Paine turned away from me, facing the fireplace, and I knew he wanted to roar in outrage. It was then that he unwittingly allowed the mark he shared with me to open, if only a little.
A promise I made came creeping back, and I reacted without questioning it.
Crossing the room, I wrapped my arms around his midsection—the first time I’d ever touched him on my own in this reality. His ragged intake of air and the trembling that consumed his body was signal enough that I’d gotten a message across. He tried to slam down the connection between us, but I stopped him.
“Don’t. I already know the mark exists. There’s no sense in hiding it now.”
He went tense, no longer basking in my touch. “Gabriel told you?”
No time like the present to get things out in the open, even if they did sound completely unbelievable. “No. I found out when I made a bargain with Zagan to end Gabriel’s debt and wound up one hundred and one years in the future.”
“You did what?” He ripped himself from my arms and faced me.
I sighed, surprised at how exhausted I suddenly felt. “I know it’s hard to believe. Hell, I wouldn’t believe it either. But it’s true. Zagan told me all I had to do was deliver a message to Gabriel, telling him the debt was paid, and he would consider all things paid in full.”
He frowned. “And he sent you one hundred and one years into the future?”
“Ignorance on my part. I forgot the bastards like to weave deals and fuck with bargains.”
“If that’s true, how did you return? Time travel isn’t possible.”
If only that was true.
“I made another deal, which is a long-ass story that five minutes won’t cover.”
Rough hands grasped my shoulders. “Tell me you did not make a deal with a demon.”
Technically, I didn’t, but I wasn’t up to telling him that. “Okay, I won’t tell you.”