He nips at my lower lip before saying, “I would never let anything happen to you. There’s nothing to worry about.”
I really can’t believe that’s enough to push aside all the worry that was there just moments ago.
“Okay.”
He tilts his head, studying me. “You really do trust me.”
I laugh lightly while tilting my head back, enjoying the feel of warmth on my skin from the shower.
“That’s important to you, isn’t it?”
“Very,” he says without hesitation, and I bring my eyes back down to meet his serious gaze. “Trust is everything. Everyone claims to trust someone, but the second the trust is tested, they walk away.”
He’s talking about Alyssa, and I’m not too crazy about that topic right now. Not with us naked and in a shower. He kissed another girl while dating her, but only because he was doing his job and coaxing information. She couldn’t understand that. Considering I’m in the Somage, I understand.
It’s a common tactic—seduction. It’s what our kind does best. Not that I ever want to see him kiss another girl. In fact, I wouldn’t take that very well. At all. There’s a reason we’re flawless in the eyes of humans and immortals alike. We’re designed to be seductive, because you run from a beast, but run to something you crave. The best predators are the ones who lure you in without having to chase you.
“I don’t like that frown,” he says, kissing the corner of my down-turned mouth.
Surprisingly, that makes me smile a little. “It’s not just about Alyssa,” he says, apparently reading my expression.
“The other girl?” I ask, glancing down at my necklace.
He lowers me to the ground, and the water shuts off before a towel snakes through the air and wraps around my waist. I really wish I had some witchy powers.
I watch with heavy appreciation as the naked Gage steps out and grabs a towel the old fashioned way for himself.
“Her name was Morgana,” he says as he tucks the towel into place, letting it rest low on his hips.
That perfect V sticks out enough for me to consider bypassing a conversation about another girl and going back to bed. But intrigue wins out over hormones.
“And you loved her?”
He shrugs while heading back into the bedroom.
“At one time. But she chose someone else. I got us out of that house, and I promised to take care of her, but…” His voice trails off as he drops to the bed, tucking his arms behind his head as he stares up at the ceiling.
“But?” I prompt, slowly climbing up the bed myself until I’m lying half on his body and half on the bed.
“But my power is strong. As you know. I was just becoming immortal, and I had no one to teach me how to use it. So, when I used too much without knowing my boundaries, I went over the edge.”
Realization dawns. “Like Drackus.”
He nods slowly, his eyes vacant.
“What happened?”
“I destroyed… well, everything around us. I managed to stay lucid enough not to hurt her, but I did kill several others. They were coming after me. They thought they could kill me, but I was too strong. It scared her, and even though I promised to never use that much power again until I learned control, she didn’t trust me enough to believe me.”
I start tracing the lines of his ink, moving up the tribal marks on his chest.
“So she chose someone with more control or less power?” I muse idly.
“Both. And she chose someone that I trusted the most. I lost the only two people I cared about that day. So trust is a big deal to me, because I’ve had it betrayed, and I’ve had people not trust me when I needed them to the most.”
I kiss his neck, and then slide over until I’m on top of him. When I’m fully straddling his body, I sit up and stare dow
n. He keeps his hands behind his head, but his eyes meet mine. When I have his attention, I speak again.