Page 29 of Tortured Soul (Soulless #1)

Dimitri gave a sharp nod. “This doesn’t explain what your binding promise is about,” he said, satisfied.

“Yeah, I was getting to that. After rescuing her, I brought her here. She started to recharge just with contact, so I kept her in my arms during the night.”

Dimitri nodded, thoughtful.

“That’s what the binding promise is about. We do that everyday, and it’ll ensure she never gets as weak again while also reassuring her that I won’t try anything sketchy with her without her expressed consent.”

I grabbed the cup of coffee sitting in front of me and tried my best to ignore the goosebumps spreading along my skin as Dimitri caressed my naked thighs. What was he playing at?

“You know that’s not a long term solution, right?

” he asked Arc, whose eyes were drifting from his face to the motions of his hands on me.

“Even if you’re mates, what you’re doing is only a superficial touch.

It’s strong for now, as your bodies and energies don’t know each other very well, but it will weaken over time. ”

My eyes closed and I released a shuddering breath when Dimitri’s hand reached the hem of the shirt before going back down toward my knee. For fuck’s sakes, why was my body so responsive to him?

“It’s only a matter of weeks before your agreement turns out to be nearly useless.”

“Lola asked me not to touch her in that way, I’m only respecting her request.” Barely. “When the need comes, we’ll figure something out. ”

Dimitri hummed under his breath, his second hand now playing with my hair. His love language had always been physical touch, and I almost forgot how good it felt to have him fuss over me like this.

Arc couldn’t seem to look away, an indiscernible glint in his mismatched eyes. I closed mine and leaned back against Dimitri’s chest.

“How and when did you two meet?” Arc asked, his voice innocent but with an edge to it.

Here we go …A groan escaped my lips as Dimitri chuckled.

“He’s your mate too, zhizn moya . You don’t have anything to hide from him.”

“Well, you answer the questions then.” Because I was in no condition to think about anything while my old lover’s touch was nearly making me purr.

“We met in her hometown a little under 1,580 years ago,” he said thoughtfully. I could hear the small nostalgic smile in his voice. “She was picking up stones for her mother at the bottom of a cliff.”

How convenient for him to not mention the fact that I didn’t, in fact, collect said stones until much later that day, too busy freaking out about the handsome giant fighting off a Hell Beast in the cave. Arc went to talk again but Dimitri interrupted.

“My turn,” he said. “Is Carter going to be a problem in this whole situation?”

Arc paused, and our eyes met briefly before he focused back on Dimitri, his jaw clenching.

“I’ll turn his balls into dust if he continues being one.”

And somehow, I believed that. With what happened back in that alley to the demon who had attacked me then vanished into thin air, leaving only dark particles flying around, it was possible that he’d be able to do that to a Divine too.

“Fair enough,” Dimitri said, before his hand left my hair to grab his coffee.

Arc studied us intensely. The way Dimitri held on to me, the way I reacted to his touch. Maybe he was jealous that I was letting my old lover put his hands on me when I asked him not to.

“Why have you not binded your souls yet?” Arc asked, and my whole body tensed above Dimitri.

His hand froze on my thigh for a second before moving to my hips with a dry chuckle.

I was lifted from his lap only for my ass to land on the island counter to face him, the shirt barely low enough to hide my uncovered core. Dimitri reached for his back pocket and placed the small tin and knife on my palm.

“Please,” he said low enough that I knew it was just for me, even though Arc probably heard the plea.

I nodded, heat rising to my cheeks and my throat bobbing as he placed his open hands on the top of my thighs, waiting.

There was no way he didn’t notice the lack of panties under the shirt…

Like I did on the bike, I opened the tin and started to apply the light mixture on his jaw, over the short stubble, and under Arc’s scrutiny.

“Lola didn’t only sell her soul when she became the first Succubus.

She lost it,” Dimitri answered, insisting on the word.

“The bastard she sold it to didn’t mention it would happen, and left with that piece of her, never to show his damned face again.

” He paused, casting a glance toward Arc.

I followed his gaze, closing the lid on the tin to leave it on the counter next to me.

“She has no soul to bind to. That’s why you probably felt that she was your mate instantly, but she couldn’t. ”

Placing the knife on his cheek, I forced myself to focus on my task as the two men stared at each other—or at me. I wasn’t sure, and I didn’t want to see their eyes.

“What if—”

“Are you going to be a problem?” Dimitri interrupted him again, his face still turned toward him.

I held my breath, shaving the sharp edge of his jaw. Only Dimitri would be so blunt to almost threaten an Immortal as powerful as Arc in his own home, while casually stroking my thighs and sitting on a stool between them.

“She’s my mate,” Arc said, matter of factly. “Circumstances don’t matter. Whether she can feel it or not, she’s the core of our bind group. As long as it involves you, Carter, or me, and as long as she’s safe, I don’t see why I’d be a problem.”

Dimitri turned his face back to me, lifting his face up when I moved it with my finger. His eyes sparked with something strange.

“Are you—”

“What about her other mates?” Dimitri asked right as the blade reached his throat, holding my gaze with defiance.

My lips parted and my hand froze again. His fingers climbed up and up until they grazed under the hem of the shirt.

What the hell was he doing? His face was unreadable. Was the madness taking over without any preemptive signs?

My grip tightened around the knife as I resumed my shaving, and the corner of his lips tilted up.

“As far as I know, we’re a group of six,” Arc confessed. “At least, that’s what a really old vision of mine showed.”

My hand dropped on my lap as I turned my head to face Arc.

“Vision?” Dimitri crooned.

“Six?” I echoed at the same time.

Arc’s eyes drifted between the two of us, finally landing on me.

“About three or four hundred years ago, I had a vision of myself and the link connecting me to someone. Someone who had four other links going in different directions. So when I met you and already knew that you were Carter’s mate, I knew to expect three others.

Although, I wasn’t expecting one of them to show up so soon, and that you’d already know each other. ”

He sighed, ignoring the shocked expression on my face. His eyes went to the wall behind me and he stood up, avoiding looking at us again.

“I have to go. Meet me in Carrie’s office in one hour. Both of you.”

And he left, leaving me speechless with a half shaved Dimitri, who I was suddenly mad at.