Page 26 of Tortured Soul (Soulless #1)

Lola

I stopped fighting halfway between the City Hall and Arc’s house. It was pointless anyway as he didn’t seem to care that I was punching at his back relentlessly, and Dimitri wasn’t inclined to help me.

That fucker was obviously taking sides already.

However, my old lover was reluctant to leave my side when Arc showed him to his room while I was still hanging off his shoulder.

I was intrigued about why Arc lived in a place with so many free rooms when people had made it clear that it was difficult to fit everyone (in particular, binded groups that had to share really small spaces).

I’d counted at least four rooms other than the one Arc was occupying.

Carter seemed to be living in one of them as I was assaulted with his scent when we passed a corridor.

Where was he now? I had no clue, but was glad he was away.

“Could you let me down already?”

Arc ignored me and kept walking at a steady pace. So I did what I did best; I kept talking until he’d eventually crack.

“I mean, I’m in your house, there really is no point to escape now.

Plus , my friend’s here too. I wouldn’t dare abandon him with you, who knows what you might get up to, since you already seem on the same page about being asses and annoying the hell out of me.

Where’s Carter, by the way? Still mad about our little tumble in the archives?

You have to admit, his apology was worth shit.

He lives here, right? Did he move out because you brought me here?

I do have some kind of memory about— ah! ”

After a short fall, my back met the soft satiny sheets of his bed.

“I’m curious,” he said, leaning over me, his arms supporting his large body and making the mattress dip under our weight. “Are you pissing people off on purpose or is it an innate talent of yours?”

I scoffed, giving a dramatic eye roll. “I might have been the first to strike, but Carter deserved it.”

“I never said he didn’t. He’s a jerk, and he got what was coming for him. I’m asking about you pushing everyone's buttons everytime and how every argument seems to be escalating when you’re around.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to put more distance between us. Lying on my back on his bed while he was hovering above me, caging me between his strong body and the mattress made me feel strangely vulnerable.

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“I mean , that you keep riling people up. Why?”

“I don’t do that.”

“You do .”

My jaw clenched. His eyes drifted to the quick motion. Why did this guy see everything ?

“You’re a brat,” he said, noticing I decided to stay quiet, pushing up to stand back up.

My lungs filled in a deep inhale, like his proximity was making me hold my breath.

Was it? Did I, subconsciously, hold my breath everytime he stood too close to me? I blamed that damn cinnamon and whatever it meant.

He turned to face a dresser, opening a drawer to pick up a T-shirt.

“Put this on; you’ll be more comfortable to sleep.”

“I’m not —”

“If you’re opening that damned mouth of yours to tell me you won’t be sleeping here, I suggest you shut it.”

Which I did.

Because I was about to say just that.

He threw the shirt toward me over his shoulder, not bothering to turn back and see it land right on top of my head.

“I’m going to shower. If you leave, I’ll hunt you down and bring you back here.

We made a binding promise ,” he said, turning just enough for me to see the side of his face.

The side with the eye so dark it was nearly black.

“If you break it, it won’t be hard to find you.

I’ll just have to follow the noises of pain. ”

I was starting to regret my actions.

Not the bratty ones, of course. That was something I could never stop and learned not to ponder. But the damned binding promise.

Although he made it seem like it was for my own good, he did manage to keep me monitored, like he promised he’d do when we were in Carrie’s office. And since even Dimitri of all people warned me about the pain breaking a binding promise would bring me, I didn’t feel like trying my luck.

I was well and truly stuck here.

With Arc .

Who was taking his sweet time in the shower.

My hands fumbled with the end of the large T-shirt he gave me.

It wasn’t good.

I was completely enveloped in a mix of his scents and it made me feel strangely sleepy and safe. I couldn’t let him bait me into feeling like this around him. Not when I was mad at him for hiding things from me. For not telling me I was his mate the second he felt it and choosing hostility instead.

And Kai? What was he playing at, asking me to get closer to Arc if he—and everyone—knew about our mate link? Why place me in an unbinded group’s house? Something was going on here, and I was clueless as to what.

But I just knew there was something .

The door to the bathroom opened and my hands turned to fists on the hem of my shirt, trying to pull it down and hide more of my naked thighs.

When he stepped foot inside the room, closing the door behind him, I barely managed to keep my jaw from dropping.

This morning he had been shirtless, yes. But at least he wore jeans. Those boxer briefs left little to the imagination as it outlined every bulge and ridge.

Damn, the man looked fine .

I wasn’t sure if he felt my gaze on him or, like me, the atmosphere in the room changing, but he stopped at the other end of the room, turning around to face me, leaning his biteable ass against the edge of his desk.

When I thought he would cross his arms over his chest to somewhat hide himself a little, he didn’t, choosing instead to place them on the surface next to his hips.

Putting on a show of himself, well aware that my gaze was stuck on his form.

“I’ve been a patient man with you, Lola,” he said, eyes studying me like mine were studying him. “I’ve waited for you to figure it out on your own, but it seems you’re hellbent on ignoring it.”

That body was a work of art. Was it his plan? Using my—most of the time dormant, but wide awake right now—Succubus instinct to lure me in? Was it why he added that last part in our oath, that he wouldn’t touch me unless I asked him to? That ass probably thought I’d end up begging him…

Well, fuck that.

“I thought you just didn’t feel it at first, that maybe it would take time for you.

Maybe being a Succubus numbed the feeling,” he continued when I stayed silent.

“But since you have a mate—a Nephilim mate, that you haven’t properly binded yourself to, I’m now assuming you’re just a selfish brat who decided that avoidance was better than whatever we could give you. ”

His words snapped me out of my short trance.

“Excuse me?”

“No, I’m not sure I can.”

My lips parted in shock. He didn’t move an inch, his usually kind of soft eyes now cold, studying my face.

“You have no idea—”

“You’ve let your mate fall to his curse,” he snapped, interrupting me.

“Did he tell you that?” I scoffed, shaking my head in disbelief.

“He didn’t need to. He said you met a long time ago, and that’s enough information for me to deduce that you had plenty of time to stop the madness from progressing and that you somehow just chose not to.”

I felt my teeth grind in the back of my mouth. If I had any doubts about Carrie keeping her mouth shut about our little talk, now I was certain .

“Not that it’s any of your business since it’s between Dimitri and me, but you’ve got this all wrong.”

“Tell me, then.” He shrugged, and whatever words were about to leave my mouth evaporated. “What could possibly be a good enough reason to abandon your mate to his terrible fate? To let him go mad? Go ahead, I’m all ears, and I can’t wait to understand what the hell is going on here.”

I seethed, nails digging into my palms even through the shirt that I was still pulling down as far as I could.

Turning my face to the side to avoid his pointed stare, my inner brat kicked in.

“Why should I? You didn’t seem too inclined to acknowledge that I was your mate. You were, in fact, quite the ass when we first met.”

His chuckle didn’t sound amused.

“How was I supposed to act?” he asked. “ You looked ready to either try to kill me or flee through the window. It didn’t seem like the right time for a heartfelt confession.”

Not exactly my thoughts at that time, but I wasn’t going to contradict him on that. My brain was actually torn between fleeing, yes, but also fucking him right there in that damn room.

I groaned, hiding my face in my arms, folding my legs closer to my body. The room fell silent until he let out a tired sigh.

“I’m really trying to understand here. I know the… situation , with Carter is less than ideal, but—”

“I didn’t know,” I cut him off, my voice barely audible over the loud beats of my own heart. “That either of you were my mates. I didn’t know. I can’t—” I don’t have a soul. “—can’t feel these bonds. Must be because I’m a Succubus or something,” I lied.

It wasn’t entirely a lie. Up until that same morning, I thought it was the reason. I would have still believed it if not for my conversation with Carrie.

But telling the truth felt uncertain. It could bring false hopes. Could I even retrieve the soul the demon robbed me of? And if I did, would I be able to claim it back? Would I feel the link connecting me to my mates then?

“I know,” he confessed. “Kai told me.”

Our eyes met as I lifted my face. “Kai told you? ”

“That you didn’t know. He can hear minds on a surface level.

” Would have appreciated that heads up when I first got here to ensure my mind and all the things in it were protected from the start…

I could only hope he didn’t glimpse too many important secrets.

“He said you had no clues when he met me to ask about the archives position for you.”

That damn rat—

“Why the hell are you giving me shit about that whole thing now, then? You’ve basically accused me of—”