Page 9

Chapter

Eight

MERRI

I wiped some of the steam off the mirror so I could see myself in it. I had to pop into the shower to rinse off after my unexpectedly hot dream session with Chaos. Who knew the God of War—as I now thought of him—had it in him? My ass was pleasantly sore, as though I’d really been thoroughly fucked and not dream-fucked. Then again, the set of fingerprint-sized bruises on my hips made me wonder just how real that tryst had been. Was it a two-way street? If I’d had the opportunity to scratch up his back, would the evidence be there when he woke up? Something to keep in mind for next time. Especially if these little visits were going to be secret.

And I was absolutely already planning on my next one.

For the first time I could remember, I was truly full. Comfortable and powered up in a way I hadn’t ever felt. Smiling to myself, I pulled a brush through my damp hair and considered that this might have been the missing piece all this time.

A flicker of worry for Chaos sparked in my mind as I heard his phantom grunt of pleasure echo from my memories. I’d fed deeply. Was he okay? Would he even be able to train me today?

Fuck. I was over here feeling like a damn Disney princess with singing birds and sunshine and rainbows beaming out of my ass, and he could be in some sort of sex coma.

I was such an asshole. I should have gone and checked on him first thing. Malice too, for that matter. God, I was an idiot. How could I be so irresponsible?

Making quick work of braiding my hair down my back to keep it out of the way, I shimmied into a matching set of lime green workout clothes. Did I get stuck in my sports bra because I wasn’t fully dry? Yes. Were we going to breathe a word of it to anyone else? No.

I adjusted the twins and gave myself a once-over in the mirror. I had a real Poison Ivy thing going on today, and I kind of loved it. My skin was glowing, eyes bright and vibrant, lips naturally plump and red. If Chaos wasn’t down for the count, he might be once I walked into the training room.

One of his fingerprints was just peeking over the waistband of my yoga pants, and I grinned at the sight of it, a strange sense of possessiveness washing over me. He wanted me. I knew that already, but the proof of it was right there in the mirror. On instinct, I moved to adjust the waistband but then paused and tugged it down a little instead. Let him wonder how that mark got there.

Happy with my ‘fit, I smirked and blew myself a kiss before dashing out of my room and jogging my way through the house and out the door toward the carriage house turned gym.

I heard him before I saw him, and there was no mistaking the tidal wave of relief that swept through me. Our little sexcapade hadn’t done any damage. I could have cried I was so happy.

Grunts filtered out through the partially open doors and, fuck me, I liked that sound so much. Every one of them brought back reminders of how well he’d taken me. I knew without looking I had a full-body flush going on. It was going to be tougher than I thought to keep my focus today.

The second I stepped into the space, Chaos fumbled, almost dropping the heavy barbell he’d been using. I had to swallow back a laugh as he cursed and made a big show of righting it before finally turning to face me. He couldn’t even look me in the eye. I’d never seen him so out of sorts.

“Everything okay?” I asked, batting my lashes and putting an innocent tone to my question.

“Fine. You’re late.”

He raked a hand through his hair, and his intense gaze trailed down my body, stopping on my hard nipples that were poking insistently through the Lycra of my bra.

“My eyes are up here, warrior,” I muttered.

He coughed so hard he began to choke, and I mentally put a little tally mark under my name. Point for Merri.

“What was that?” he asked.

“Nothing,” I chirped breezily. “What are we starting with today? We going to practice some takedowns again? Roll around on the mat a bit?”

“Jesus.”

I snickered. Annnnd there was another.

“You know, my glutes are a little tender. Can we work those first? I think I need to loosen up.”

He huffed, turned away from me, and pretended to be busy replacing weights on the rack, but I knew a discreet hard-on adjustment when I saw one. Or not-so-discreet as the case may be. I knew what he was packing down there; there was no way to be subtle about righting that monster.

I wish I wasn’t enjoying teasing him so much. It was going to be hard to stop.

“How are you feeling this morning? You seem a little flushed.”

I sauntered over to the mat he already had laid out for me and sat in a straddle, leaning over my right leg so I could stretch.

“I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

“No reason. You’re just . . . on edge.”

He grunted but wouldn’t look at me. “Just finish your stretches so we can get on with it.”

“Geez, you’re testy. Have you orgasmed today? Maybe you should go rub one out and come back when you’re in a better mood. It always helps me.”

He started coughing again, and I had to dip my head to hide my laugh. It wasn’t anything I hadn’t said to him before, but after last night, everything was hitting differently.

“Get warmed up. I’ll be right back.”

“Have fun!” I trilled. “Feel free to think about me.”

He flipped me off, and I laughed so hard tears came to my eyes as I worked through my usual stretches. I couldn’t believe how successful my experiment had been. Not only was I bursting with energy, but Chaos was totally unharmed. And we’d had amazing, mind-blowing, filthy sex. It was all upside as far as I could see.

My chest was filled with warmth at the possibilities this new development presented. I could feed from all of them harmlessly, easily, and not ever have to worry about taking too much. I didn’t even need to worry about uncomfortable relationship dynamics around the chateau because it wasn’t technically real. Perhaps I’d need to be careful not to let them leave visible marks, but that was easily remedied with concealer and color corrector too. Idly, I wondered what this meant for my camming career. Would it even be necessary to keep it up if I could get everything and then some from my literal dream lovers? Something to ponder.

Unfortunately Luc couldn’t feed me. He was a figment of my imagination. He was the dreamiest of dream lovers. The one who wasn’t actually real. His energy would be no more than a wisp of my own. But the horsemen... Well, they were a horse of a different color.

Chaos was back before I’d completed my last set of stretches, his audible intake of breath making me grin before I leaned forward just a little farther and deepened my straddle. Yes, my ass was on perfect display for him, and I was going to take advantage as long as possible. Especially now that I knew he was such a big fan of the booty.

“All warmed up?” he asked, purposely not looking at me and ruining all my fun.

“Yup,” I said, popping my P as I sat up.

“Then get over here. I want to work on your agility today.”

“Oh, sounds fun,” I said, making sure the sarcasm all but dripped from my words. “Can’t wait.”

“Brat,” he muttered under his breath, but I still heard him.

“Did you not get enough sleep last night? Have bad dreams?” I batted my lashes at him as I positioned myself in front of the big guy. A flash of him with long hair and that short little Spartan dress thing he’d had on in the dream made my thighs clench.

“Total nightmare.”

Even though he was looking me dead in the eye and delivered it with complete conviction, he couldn’t fool me. I’d been there. I knew exactly how much he’d enjoyed himself.

I also knew exactly what it sounded like when he came, and I was more than a little addicted to it.

“Hmm, I see. Well, I hope you have more... satisfying dreams tonight.”

His jaw ticked as those words sank in, but before I could tease him further, he lunged for me. I dodged his grasp, moving with a grace I’d never had before. I could only attribute it to the fact that I was fully fed.

“Good,” he grunted.

The faint praise made me falter, and I was less prepared for his second attack. This time his fist connected, though he pulled the punch so it barely stung.

“Looks like I spoke too soon. Don’t get cocky, Red. The goal is to evade the hits, not walk right into them.”

“Ha ha,” I said dryly.

He dropped his arms and glared at me. “Have you already forgotten why we’re doing this? Because I don’t need to train. I’m here to help you. But if you’re not going to take this seriously, then I’m not going to waste my time. I’ve got better shit to do.”

The sting his words left had me lashing out. “What’s the point? Seriously. A little Muay Thai is never going to help me defeat a demon.”

“Maybe not. But it just might keep you alive long enough that one of us can get to you.”

I hated that he had a point. And that he’d rightfully called me out for fucking around when I should be grateful he was trying to help me at all. With a sigh and a softly uttered, “Sorry,” I got myself back into position and focused on what his body was telegraphing about his intentions.

Teasing Chaos wasn’t going to help with anything at the moment. The two of us could play in his dreams. That was the safest option for both parties. It protected him from my appetite and me from forgetting what this was. Or worse, getting attached to men I couldn’t have.

Squaring my shoulders, I stared him down. “All right, come at me, bro.”

Chaos smirked. “Good girl.”

It took everything in me to swallow the little gasp his words elicited.

Then he pounced.

Little clouds of my breath hung in the air as I strolled through the garden maze on this chateau’s massive property. I snuggled deeper into the heavy coat I’d found in the wardrobe in my room, warm enough, save my cheeks and nose. I was certain both were pink from the cold, but I couldn’t stay inside for one more moment. Could it be considered cabin fever even if I was in a castle?

“Castle fever?” I murmured, testing it out. “I mean, that’s totally what Rapunzel had, right? So it must be a thing.” With a laugh and a little nod, I decided I was the cleverest girl in all the land. “Ha. I can see it now. Grim standing under my balcony window”—I did my best impersonation of the surly Brit—“Merri, let down your hair to me.”

“Why would I climb your hair when I could just come in through the door?”

My soul left my body. I’m sure of it. The sound that came out of me would put every living Hollywood scream queen to shame.

I spun around, hand on my heart and a scolding on my lips. “If you’re trying to kill me, I’d much rather you just touch me.”

His expression didn’t change at all, but there was a flicker in the depths of those quicksilver eyes. I was sure of it.

He hummed softly in his throat, the wind sending that one forelock curl of his sweeping across his forehead. Fuck me, Daddy Death was sexy.

“Why aren’t you wearing a coat?” I muttered, taking in his very un-wintery attire. The man was dressed in a black button-down shirt, dark trousers, and... were those gardening gloves?

“I don’t need one.”

“Are you gardening? Isn’t it Christian’s job to take care of all this?”

“It relaxes me.”

I squinted at him. “If you get any more relaxed, you’ll turn into a statue.” I’d seen him angry before, but generally speaking, Grim was like a smooth lake. You couldn’t ever really tell what was going on below the surface. There was probably a huge fucking alligator under there, ready to eat everyone.

“Isn’t that a bit of a contradiction? Wouldn’t I have to be tense to be a statue?”

Was he being playful? Was this his version of joking around?

“They’re also emotionless, stoic, unmoving. Like you.”

His brows furrowed ever so slightly. “I am not emotionless.”

“Oh yeah? Have you looked in a mirror lately? You have the quietest face I’ve ever seen.”

A small furrow appeared between his brows. “A quiet face?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Like some people have incredibly expressive faces. One look, and you know exactly what the person is thinking or feeling even if they never utter a word. Others, like you, have all the emotion of a porcelain doll.” Then I leaned a bit closer and peered into his eyes.

“What are you doing?” he asked, immediately stiffening at my proximity.

“Not your eyes, though,” I murmured, not answering his question but my own. “Your eyes can be incredibly loud if one cares to pay attention.”

Those silver orbs were infinite molten pools most of the time, but right now they telegraphed every single thing he was struggling to hold back. I scared him. But I couldn’t figure out why for the life of me.

What could Death possibly be afraid of?

“Step back, Merri.” His voice was rough and tight, but he didn’t break our eye contact.

“Why?”

“You are a breath away from ending your own life. Step. Back.”

“You’re wearing gloves.”

“It’s not my hands you should be worried about.”

I snorted. “You can’t kill me by breathing on me.”

“No, but if you were to trip and stumble into me, your skin coming into contact with any part of mine would be the end of you.”

I almost laughed at the ridiculous image that brought to mind. The only thing that checked the impulse was the sincerity in his gaze.

“Seems a little extreme.”

He shook his head and trained his eyes on the ground. “Perhaps, but it’s the truth.”

“So even a slight touch from you kills?”

Without looking at me, he removed his gloves and reached out to the well-manicured shrub nearest us. One brush of his finger had the greenery turning brown and shriveling in seconds.

“Shit,” I whispered.

He truly did want to keep me safe. From whoever was after me and from him.

“Comes with the territory.”

“But you’ve touched the others. Why are they immune?”

“We’re the same. Whatever it is that made us immortal protects them from the worst of me.”

“But I didn’t get sick when Malice touched me. Why is it different for him but not you?”

He shrugged and turned away from me, walking slowly down the path, clearly wanting me to follow.

“I’m not certain, but our talents are not the same. Pestilence is based on chance as much as anything. Mortals can come into contact with the same germs, but only one will fall ill. War is a choice, though men and women can be persuaded to fall prey to it, which is why Chaos fuels the urge for violence. And famine, well, it's an extreme, isn’t it? Some will be drained by it, others may never feel its touch.

“Death comes for every mortal being, no exceptions. I was the first of us for a reason, as I am the culmination of them all. I am inevitable.”

My heart gave a little pang of hurt for him.

“That sounds like a terribly lonely existence.”

“You’re not wrong.”

He was so sad. Despondent.

Again, it wasn’t so much what he said, or even how he said it. The truth lay deep in his eyes, at the heart of him.

These horsemen were all much more complex than they’d seemed. All of them broken. All of them missing something they craved—though they dared not speak the words aloud. The more I got to know them, the more I saw. I didn’t think they realized just how clearly I could see through them now. Maybe it was part of my succubus nature to recognize and understand emotion, or maybe it was as simple as me finally being able to build real connections with people and not just through a screen.

The desire to fulfill those unspoken needs tugged at me. I didn’t want to look too closely at why I felt so consumed by the urge. I knew I couldn’t fix things. But perhaps I could give them all a version of what they wanted.

Even if it was only in their dreams.

Tonight I’d visit Daddy Death while he slept, and I’d show him how beneficial living with a succubus could be. No real-life touching required.