Page 6 of Revenant (Spirit Realm #2)

JACESON

P ink hair. Heart-shaped face. Ruby red lips. A body that fills my dreams.

My world stops at the sight of her…and so does my heart. I don’t blink for a full minute, worried she’s a mirage that will disappear if I dare to breathe.

I step out of the food line, barely registering Crystal’s sharp voice as she screeches my name like a banshee. As I stalk toward Rue, my strides increase with each step until I’m sprinting across the room. I drop my tray onto the table with a clatter, so eager to have her in my arms that nothing else matters.

When she looks up at me with her big, teal eyes, something in my soul settles. Then my lips are on hers, my hunger for her like a craving that refuses to be denied. I take what I need to survive, the taste of her barely keeping me from hauling her into my lap and fucking her like a caveman.

She tastes like sin and heaven all rolled up into one delicious bundle.

I pull away reluctantly, but I can’t take more than a step back before my body refuses my commands. Each inch feels like my soul is being stretched thin. Dropping into the seat next to her, I straddle the bench sideways, sitting as close to her as humanly possible without dragging her into my lap. I wrap my hand around the back of her neck and press my forehead against hers, breathing in her soothing, smoky floral scent that no product can ever duplicate.

Fuck if I didn’t try.

Flowers, essential oils, candles—but nothing ever replicated her warm scent. Everything was a pale imitation. The only way Jameson could sleep was huffing the damn stuff like he had a drug habit. We’d gone back to sharing a room after Rue was taken, neither of us able to bear being alone.

Jameson is a fucking mess, his manic energy turning into pure pandemonium without her to keep him in check. Unfortunately, her absence fucked with his head. Instead of being a playful agent of chaos, he’s more of a menacing envoy of the devil with slightly murderous tendencies.

The other guys aren’t much better.

The only thing keeping us sane is knowing Rue is counting on us to rescue her.

“What are you?—”

“Jace.” Crystal purrs my name, cutting off Rue before she can finish speaking. The bitch drapes herself over my shoulder as she glances at Rue, unblinking in a way that reminds me too much of a snake about to strike. “Why don’t you introduce me to your little friend?”

It’s all I can do to contain my shudder of revulsion, feeling defiled when she keeps invading my space, no matter how many times I tell her I’m in a relationship. I ease away from her toxic touch, but the damage has been done. Rue’s face turns blank, her eyes locking on the hand caressing my shoulder. Though Crystal’s tone is all sugar and sweet, her nails dig almost cruelly into my skin, her possessiveness raising my hackles.

No matter how much I fucking try to avoid the girl, she keeps showing up wherever I go like a bad rash. I swear she tagged me like a beast she wants to bring down. I do my best not to make enemies, but she’s testing my patience.

I scowl menacingly at Crystal, but she pays me no mind. Her hard, green eyes are glaring such daggers at Rue that I’m surprised they don’t draw blood. When I shove the bitch away, Rue blinks and her eyebrows slowly rise. “Yeah, Jace. Introduce me to your friend.”

Rue pulls away from me, and it’s like she’s tearing off my skin. Frost tinges her voice, and I swear the temperature around me drops a good ten degrees.

Fucking hell.

I might not spend much time around the females of our species, but it doesn’t take a genius to recognize that too polite expression—I’m in deep shit.

I don’t give a fuck about Crystal, my focus is solely on Rue.

Only she matters.

I quickly drop my hand to her knee, clamping my fingers around it in warning…and because I can’t keep myself from touching her, still not convinced she isn’t a figment of my imagination. “This is Rue—the love of my life.”

A little furrow appears between Rue’s brows, and she breaks the standoff to peer at me with a perplexed, slightly bewildered expression. I will her to read the truth of my words in my eyes. We might have only known each other less than a week, but sometimes, a man just knows.

No other girl has ever drawn my interest.

Sure, I fucked them every once in a while with James, but I never sought them out on my own. I never understood the appeal. I could get off just as easily using my hand and not feel disgusted with myself afterward.

Rue is the first person who has ever captured my attention. The only one my hands itch to map every inch of her body. The only one my mouth waters to taste. The only one who makes the world around me come alive.

It’s like I’ve been living in a dream world, and I’m only now waking up. She breathes life into me, and I refuse to go back to that dark existence.

The truth became impossible to ignore on the night of the party, when her life was placed in danger. It became even more apparent the next morning when she was taken. It was then that I realized I couldn’t live without her.

I refuse.

Rue doesn’t appear convinced by my declaration, which is fine. I fucked up, hesitated when she needed me, and I hurt her—the one thing I promised myself I would never do to a woman.

Not wanting to be like my parents, I decided it would be better to just live a life of solitude.

That is no longer possible.

Rue is my soul.

Without her, I would cease living.

I have no one to blame for the fuckup but myself. I don’t do emotions or feelings, so when they smacked me in the face, I didn’t know how to deal with them.

I almost destroyed my future before I had a chance to claim it.

The doubt in her teal eyes only solidifies my determination to claim her for my own. I might not know how to woo a woman—fuck, I barely know how to talk to one—but that doesn’t dull my determination to win her over.

When Rue’s eyes flick behind me, I cringe away from the bitch. “That’s just Crystal. She’s been assigned to show me around the institute.”

A grimace of distaste curls my lips, and I can’t stop myself from scooting closer to Rue and away from the walking STD—otherwise known as Crystal—that won’t go away.

It takes all my control not to tell the bitch to fuck off. The only reason I allowed the skank near me was because she had inside knowledge of the institute. I would’ve done anything to find Rue, even dust off my nonexistent flirtation skills.

Only I must have done too good of a job, because both girls shoot me dubious looks. Unfortunately, I don’t have my twin’s ability to schmooze. I don’t give a fuck about Crystal, but I’ve given Rue too many opportunities to doubt my intentions.

How do you convince a woman that you love her when you repeatedly fail to keep her safe?

Rue’s eyes remain shuttered, her posture stiff, and my chest tightens like a vise at the thought of living without her. At one time, I wanted that distance between us. Now, I fucking hate it and would do anything to take it back. My hesitation was my insecurity talking, but no longer.

I know what I want now.

Her.

“Funny…I wasn’t assigned anyone.” Rue’s cool tone is almost glacial, and I’ll take it as a win that she’s even talking to me.

Now that I have everything I ever wanted sitting right in front of me, I don’t even bother to look over my shoulder as I speak. “Fuck off, Crystal.”

“Excuse me?” Though I can practically feel the rage oozing from Crystal, I don’t bother glancing at her. She’s so unimportant in my life that I doubt I’ll even remember her name by the end of the week.

“Why don’t we go somewhere we can talk?” I murmur to Rue, cursing that I didn’t pay more attention to James when he offered to teach me how to flirt. He only has to look at a girl, and they fall over themselves to do whatever he wants.

I’m desperate to get Rue alone and check over every inch of her, needing to make sure she’s okay. Then, once I’m sure I’m not dreaming, I need to figure out our escape plan. From everything I’ve ferreted out from the gossip over the last few days, the sooner we leave, the better.

“You want to play with the freaks?” Crystal snarls, her face contorting in rage. “Then you can join the morphs.”

She whirls and stomps away with a huff, but I don’t take my eyes off Rue.

“Crystal isn’t a good person to have as an enemy,” the lithe girl seated across from Rue comments with a tiny smirk on her lips, but her bright green eyes are dead serious. She swirls her fork through her food, then takes a big bite, flashing her sharp teeth in warning. It’s all I can do not to flinch when they scrape against the fork, sounding like nails against a chalkboard.

“Really, Sue?” Dillon, the walking skeleton, does a full body shudder at the noise. “You know I hate when you do that.”

Sue just laughs, the tinkling sound at odds with the menacing smile she flashes.

“What are morphs?” Rue asks, purposely not looking at me, and I hate it.

In the past, I’ve done my best to disappear into the background, and I clench my hands into fists to keep from reaching for her and demanding her full attention.

Emotions suck.

As much as I hate that she’s avoiding me, I spin toward the table, then shovel the cardboard-tasting food into my mouth and chew. I’ve slimmed down and lost too much weight over the last few months. If I want to keep her safe, I need the fuel.

I survey the room with new eyes, keeping Rue in my gaze the whole time as I search for threats. Now that I’ve found her, I’m determined no one will ever take her from me again, even if I have to paint the halls red with the blood of our enemies to do it.

If she never forgives me, I’ll spend the rest of my life protecting her from the shadows.

Even if it’s the last thing I do.