Page 50 of Tortured Soul (Soulless #1)

Lola

C arter was locked in his room when we arrived back at the house. Although, he did leave a pile of towels on the console next to the door.

“Yeah, that’s not going to be enough right now,” Dimitri mused, the piece of fabric white and ridiculously small in his large hands. It would definitely be ruined if Dimitri were to use it. “I’m gonna wash up instead.”

He leaned toward my ear, caging me against the stairs’ railing and ignoring Arc’s intense stare from the front door. Goosebumps erupted right beneath my ear and my toes curled in my shoes, eyes closing from the delicious shiver his proximity caused.

“You know where my room is?”

I nodded, the motion a bit frantic.

“Do you mind meeting me there with a few snacks?” His nose traced the line of my throat, my jaw, my temple, before his lips went back to my ear. “I’m famished.”

Oh . Arc’s low grumble before he headed toward wherever he needed to escape to, spoke volumes about the fact he either heard Dimitri, or saw me clench my thighs in response.

Great, now I’ll have to deal with that.

“Sure,” I whispered back. “I’ll join you in a minute.”

His lips brushed my forehead before he climbed the stairs two at a time, disappearing upstairs to take a well needed shower.

Making my way toward the kitchen where I could hear Arc moving things around, I leaned just slightly to peek inside the room.

I had left in a hurry earlier and he must have followed not long after, leaving the plates on the island and the dishes in the sink.

It still smelled like he had only finished cooking, and the scent felt strangely domestic.

Was it going to be my life if I decided to stay?

Me, coming home everyday to a freshly cooked dinner, three of my mates sitting with me at the island so we could talk about our days and get to know each other? Not fighting?

I had that once, when Dimitri moved in with Blake and I for a little while. My heart took a long time to heal after I lost it, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to go through that heartbreak again.

Fate was just a cruel bitch sometimes.

“I’m guessing you won’t be sharing my bed tonight.”

Arc had his back turned to me as he filled the dishwasher. Had I made an unconscious sound or was he as aware of my presence as I was his?

“I—no. Do you mind if I spend the night with Dimitri?”

It took a little while, the silence stretching before he shrugged and turned his face to the side, just enough so I could see his dark eye.

“There’s no binding promise to keep you by my side now,” he said. “You’re free to sleep with whomever you want—” He paused, turning his words around as I arched a brow in amusement. Was he jealous? “Well, maybe not whomever , but you get the gist.”

I chuckled, taking a few steps inside the kitchen to get closer. “I have plenty enough with the three of you and not the energy or patience to add non-mates to the equation.”

That pulled a slight smile to his face before he focused back on his task. Now standing next to him, I grabbed a clean plate from one of the cupboards and filled it with some leftover duck and vegetables.

“Please, be patient with Carter while we’re away.” Arc’s face was tense in worry, his eyes slightly narrowed and lips pressed in a thin line. “No fighting.”

I rolled my eyes and nudged him with my shoulder.

“Are you worried about your remaining liquor bottles?” His smile didn’t reach his eyes. “ Fine , I’ll try. But you should have this talk with him too, I’m not the only one at fault here.”

“I know,” he conceded. “I did. Talk to him, I mean. And promise me you won’t let your energy drain too low either.”

“Aren’t you going to be gone for barely a couple of days?” I asked, crossing my arms and leaning enough to capture his whole attention. “I doubt I’ll need a refill in such a short time, no matter what’s wrong with the barrier here.”

“But what if we take longer?” Arc turned fully and stepped closer, searching my eyes. “What if we encounter some issues and—”

“Then I’ll swallow my pride and Carter in the process,” I groaned, rolling my eyes.

Arc’s hand came to cup my jaw, the touch soft but firm. “Can’t you be serious for a moment?”

“Oh, I’m dead serious,” I deadpanned. “As you know, he doesn’t need to touch me himself. As long as he’s feeling lust and pleasure, it doesn’t matter if we actually fuck or if his cock is just down my throat, it’s—”

“Lola,” his chest rumbled, the low sound hitting me in places that were stimulated barely over an hour ago but couldn’t seem to get enough. “Don’t— fuck , don’t say things like that.”

A mixture of pain and barely contained restraint gleamed in his mismatched eyes. His other hand slid to my side, grasping my hip.

“Right,” I crooned. “You don’t do stuff like that. At least now, it seems you were pretty active back in the seventies…”

His tongue licked the outside of his teeth in a slow movement before it slid over his bottom lip.

“That mouth of yours, I swear.” A low chuckle escaped his throat as he pulled me closer to him. “I can’t get sidetracked now, but the second everything is settled? Binding promise or not, you’re stuck in my bed for a few nights. Maybe days too.”

His eyes were nothing but ravenous hunger as they swiped over me, stopping at my maybe visible breast through the shirt, then my lips for a few extra beats.

“I understand that Dimitri has always been your rock and that you need to spend this night with him,” he continued, inching his face close enough for our noses to brush.

“And I agree that it’s the best idea so I won’t be tempted to fuck the distrust out of you when I have so many things to think about tonight.

But I hope that, in time, when I have proven myself to you, you’ll choose me too. ”

By the time I entered Dimitri’s room with a plate filled with leftover food, my heart was racing inside my chest and my panties were soaked from the idea of Arc railing me into any flat surface available.

My brain couldn’t even process the idea of a time we’d all get along and more things like what happened earlier with him and Carter would happen again, this time, maybe including Dimitri—or even real sex—too.

I was surprised to see that this bedroom looked actually clean and comfy—some part of me was convinced that Arc had stashed him in a broom closet out of spite.

It was simpler than his own or Carter’s, but the bed was wide and covered with soft-looking cream sheets and, like Carter’s, there was a sitting area in the corner.

Hearing the water behind the door at the far wall, I left the plate on the coffee table near the couches and made my way into the bathroom.

The steam made it difficult to see anything, but I kept my eyes on the shiny gray tiles and the clothes scattered around, following the trail to the shower.

Finally spotting the damn pants, I crouched on the floor, inspecting it.

“Are you playing hard to get?” Dimitri asked from behind the stone wall. “Or were you not planning to join me at all?”

His tone was playful, but I could hear the exhaustion.

“I—You should rest before you have to go back tomorrow. Shower sex doesn’t seem like a good idea, to be—”

“Get your mind out of the gutter, zhizn moya ,” he chuckled. “I’m more than just a pretty face or a sex toy, you know? I enjoy your hands and lips on me, even if it’s not on my cock.”

I rolled my eyes, sliding my finger faster on the waistband of the pants, searching for a little bump or a place where the seam was thicker.

And I did.

I muffled a groan.

“I’ll be right there, just a sec.”

I grew one of my nails into a claw and severed the stitches, opening just enough to remove and check for what was inside.

A small metallic device and small shards of thick glass, but it looked crushed, non functioning.

Did Dimitri break it when he fought outside? Did they give him this one because they knew it was broken ?

“What are you doing out there?” he asked. “I didn’t take you for an underwear sniffer. I was out for three days, agápi mou . You really shouldn’t put your nose in there.”

“ Gross .” I stood up, taking off my clothes and letting them turn to particles on the floor before vanishing entirely. Two seconds later, my underwear was on the floor with his clothes and my front was plastered against Dimitri’s back under the hot water.

“I missed you.”

My heart felt strange in my chest as I forced a smile. “We’ve been separated longer than that before,” I said, downplaying my own feelings. “Three days are nothing compared to the decades—”

“Lola.”

My heart missed a few beats. “Hm?”

“Staying away for a near century was Hell, but having you back for twenty-four hours just to lose you again for three days—”

“You didn’t lose me.”

“It felt like it.”

He turned to face me, sliding his arms around my waist to pull me closer in his arms. His chest rose with a deep inhale, nose nuzzling in my hair.

“It felt like I was being punished for running away. Like fate was mad at me for what happened the last time we saw each other, when I helped you flee London. When I abandoned you in that hotel room and then was too ashamed to approach you again until four days ago.

“Destiny has always played dirty tricks on us, don’t you agree? Bringing us together only a year before it would’ve been too late, and throwing all these obstacles in our way.

“Even though I offered my help to find that prison, the moment I stepped foot outside, I was terrified I wouldn’t get to come back. Or that, when I did, you’d be gone or something, and I wouldn’t have more time with you. And now, I’m barely back and already being sent out again.”

Cupping his jaw with my hand, I made sure he could read all the love and affection I felt for him in my eyes, in the way I touched him and looked at him. In the way my heart always synced up to his, eager to match its pace .

“I missed you too,” I said, sighing when he leaned to rest his forehead on mine. “The last three days, and all the previous decades. In the moments that I was sad, angry, or frightened, and the ones I was happy or proud of something. I missed you, always.”

His stuttering breath mixed with mine as our parted lips brushed, his hands grabbing my wrists to pull my hands behind his back, bringing me closer.

“With or without my soul, you’ll always occupy the largest part of my heart.”

His mouth captured mine, the kiss soft, slow, and salty from what seemed to have been a lone tear, whether it was mine or his.

Through the anxiety clogging my throat, I added, “And I hope Arc and Carter will accept that like Blake did.”