“I sent her home.”
“Why do their doors look like that?”I asked.
“Because both the witches and the vampires failed.The team members who survived have been sent home in disgrace.”
“Are we the only team to make it out?”I asked.
Felditch smiled his demented smile, and with a flourish of his hand, the leaderboard appeared.A disk had been added beside the angels’ team name.The other teams all had slashes through them, showing that they’d been disqualified from the tournament.“The angels made it out as well.They’ve already retired to their quarters, and once you add your disk, it’ll be time for you to do the same,” he said and motioned to the path.
I did as he said, then followed Ursula back to the manor, along the hall and into our room.My heart thumped hard the whole way.We may have passed the task, but my nervous system hadn’t yet recovered, my heart and mind were still struggling to believe that Ursula was alive and well, even though I was looking right at her.It was impossible to get past it, not when time and space had been warped like it had in that place, not when it had all felt so real.
Urs strode across the living area, slid off her jacket and dumped it on a chair, then turned back to me.“You okay?”she asked, her head tipping to the side, a concerned look on her face.
I nodded, lying.My mouth was dry, my stomach in knots—my soul in fucking shreds.“You?”
Her teeth sank into her lower lip.“Yeah, I’m good,” she said, but she wasn’t meeting my eyes.
I’d wanted this female in ways that I’d never imagined before I met her, but none of it, none of those times compared to this moment.She’d made her feelings clear though.What I wanted wasn’t what she wanted, so I had to let her go, again, and it hurt more than any physical wound I had ever endured.
She nodded, still not meeting my eyes.“Okay, well, I’m gonna grab a shower and get some rest.”
I wanted to roar, to beg, to plead with her to want me.
She walked into her room, turning to face me as she shut the door, her eyes catching mine for a moment before she was gone.The lock clicked into place, locking me out.
Before I knew what the hell I was doing, I was striding across the room, needing to be as close to her as I could physically get.Hissing, I gripped the doorframe and fought not to call her name, not to start begging her to let me in.
The door opened again, and Ursula jerked to a stop, her head tilting up at me in surprise.She was breathing hard, the pulse at the side of her throat fluttering wildly.
“I lied,” I said before she could speak.“You asked if I was okay, and I lied.I’m not fucking okay.”
Her delicate throat worked as she swallowed.“I lied too.”
“Tell me what you need, and I’ll give it to you.Tell me what you need to be okay, and I’ll move mountains to ensure you have it,” I said, meaning it with everything in me.
She swallowed again, the sound audible.“Silas.”My name fell from her lips, her voice soft, pleading as she reached out, fisting my shirt over my stomach, then leaned forward, pressing her forehead to my chest.
I slid my fingers into her hair, and gently tilted her head back while my heart pounded.“What do you need, Urs?Tell me,” I demanded.
“You,” she whispered.“I need you.”
Thirteen
Ursula
Was this a terrible idea?More than likely.But I hadn’t recovered from the horror of our last trial, and the idea of locking myself away in this room wasn’t something I could do, not when everything inside me was so utterly terrified of being alone.
My fears were still there, right on the surface, and shutting Silas out was impossible.He didn’t need to care about me, he just needed to make me feel good for a little while.He just needed to hold me and make me feel safe and wanted, and after whatever his trial was, whatever he’d been through while I’d been trapped in mine, he’d obviously been affected the same way.
His big body shook, his muscles rock solid as he stared down at me.The silver of his eyes seemed to swirl and darken.Gods, the intensity rocked me.
Still, he didn’t make a move to kiss me or to pull me in tighter against his body.
I couldn’t hold that stare another moment, but I couldn’t not move closer, and so I leaned in, pressing my head to his chest again, my hands to his sides.“Please, Silas,” I rasped.I wasn’t the kind of female to beg, not for fucking anything, but right then, I was prepared to drop to my knees and do just that.This wasn’t me.I wasn’t in my right mind, I knew that, but the way I was feeling, it was impossible to stop this, and I didn’t want to.
“You don’t need to plead,” he said roughly.“Your pleasure is all I can fucking think about, and I want to give you everything you need.”His hand slid up and down my back, then over my shoulder to grip the base of my neck.“Look at me, Ursula.”
The deep gravel of his voice slid through me, and I shivered.Swallowing thickly, I tilted my head up and met his stormy gaze.The dominance I saw there sliced down my body and pulsed between my thighs.I was no shrinking violet, I liked being in control as much as the next warrior, but with him, like this, before everything had gone to hell three years ago, I’d begun to feel very differently.