“You know I hate rushing things with you.” Lucas gathers my hair in his hand and moves it over my shoulder. He puts his mouth to my neck, drawing his fangs so they scrape against my skin, sending a shiver down my spine. “I very much enjoy taking my time and hearing you beg.”
“Gross,” Eliza loudly huffs and walks out of the room.
“You’re taking all three familiars,” Lucas says, but I hear the question in his voice.
“Yes. I know I said I’d take Scarlet, but on second thought, I think it would be better to leave her here. If me being a Nephilim comes into question, having a hellhound with me probably wouldn’t look too good.”
“I agree with you there, though I’d rather you have her with you.”
“I’ll be fine,” I press. “I’ve walked through the woods many times to get to the Covenstead door, I’ve not been attacked more times than I have. And it’s daylight, and we know how demons prefer to lurk in the cover of darkness.”
Lucas presses his lips together and pulls me closer. “I know you’re capable. It doesn’t mean I have to like you going out alone. I can protect you better than anyone else.”
“You can.” I run my hands down his firm chest and hook my fingers inside the waist of his pants. “I feel safe with you.” Closing my eyes, I let my head rest against him, soaking in the brief moment we can just stand here and be still.
“Want me to text you when I get to the door?”
“I’d like that,” he admits, and I can see the tension in his face. He knows I’m capable of defending myself. He’s stronger and faster than me, but when it comes to a magical fight, I have the upper hand.
So it’s not just the fact that I’m carrying his miracle child inside me and I’m going off in the woods alone, but the fact that as a witch, I can walk in the light and the dark. I’ve bridged part of the gap by making it possible for him to walk freely through the house, to feel the warmth of the sun while it’s magically filtered through enchanted glass.
But to actually go outside?
It bothered us both before, more than either of us wanted to admit. And I know it’s bothering him now, because our child will be able to go out in the sun too. I’ll be able to take her on playdates, to school, or go out to lunch with friends.
It hits me all at once, just how much Lucas will miss out on. How I get the best of both worlds while he’s stuck in the dark…and how he’ll remain in the dark once both his child and his wife have aged and died before his very eyes.Chapter 5I flip the hood of my cloak up and pull it tightly around my shoulders. It’s a good ten degrees colder in the thick of the woods, and I’m wishing I’d put on my winter coat. The wind has picked up, and gray clouds stretch across the sky, blocking out the sun. It’s a sight I better get used to, since most of the winter and spring in the Midwest are full of chilly, cloudy days just like this one.
“If the Ley line wasn’t here,” I mutter, watching Pandora gracefully leap over a fallen tree. “We’d be living on a warm beach.”
Binx turns around, looking at me the same way a human might if they were rolling their eyes. Every year around Valentine’s Day, both Kristy and I decide we’ve had enough and make grand plans to move to Mexico or Hawaii and become perma-vacationers. And then the weather starts to slowly warm up and we’re content living in Thorne Hill once again.
Though demon hunting on a sunny day with warm, seventy-five-degree days sounds better than trekking through two feet of snow along Lake Michigan’s shoreline, this is my home, and I’ll never abandon Thorne Hill.
I’m getting close to the door, and the forest is still quiet. I’m a few minutes early, and no one is hurrying last-minute to make it to the summons in time. My stomach tightens, and my nerves are making me feel sick all over again.
I sent both Kristy and Evander a text before I left, begging them for information. Neither answered, leaving me to believe they are both still inside the Covenstead walls, hopefully snuggled up naked together. Evander will be the first to tell you he’s “not into commitment” and Kristy has had her string of ex-boyfriends in the past and keeps going back to Daniel, her most recentl ex. He’s nice and all, went to the Academy with us, but is too bland for Kristy. In my opinion, at least. I have very high standards when it comes to my best friend, and I don’t think I’ll approve of anyone besides Evander.