Page 32 of Wicked Ends

Soren’s fingers trace idle lines on my ribs. “Of what?”

“That I’m going to fuck everything up because I can’t decide who to trust, or who to love.” It comes out in a rush.

Soren is quiet for a moment, but he knows what I mean without saying the words. “Ash is a bastard, but even he’s not immune to you. You scare him, Rose. He wants to break you, but deep down, he wants you to survive him.”

“That’s comforting.”

“You’re stronger than you think. Stronger than any of them.” Soren’s eyes go silver for a second. “You just have to stop fighting yourself.”

I close my eyes. “That’s not as easy as you make it sound.”

“Nothing worth having ever is, Rose.” He sighs. “You know what I like about you?”

“I’m dying to know.”

“You don’t back down. Not even from me. You’re hungry, you’re angry, and you refuse to let anyone else write your story.” His lips brush my temple. “That’s rare, in any world.”

I think of all the times I’ve felt small or powerless, all the times someone tried to put me down and I just kept getting back up. Maybe he’s right. Maybe I don’t know how to quit. “Can I ask you something?”

“You can try.”

“What are we? I mean, there’s this—” I gesture between us, “—thing. The connection. It’s not just sex, right? Not just you being an incubus and feeding.”

He goes still, which is very un-Soren like. “You’re not just prey to me, Rose. Not anymore. When I fed from you, something changed. There’s a bond. I feel you, even when I’m awake. Even when you’re with someone else. You’re always there, under my skin.”

That sends a weird, hot thrill through me. “So what does that mean? For you?”

“It means I’d tear the world apart to keep you safe.” His tone is light, but the words are anything but.

I believe him. Maybe that’s the scariest part.

“What about you?” he asks, voice softer. “What do you want from me?”

I almost say I don’t know, but that’s a lie. “I want you to keep wanting me. Even when I’m pushing you away. Even when I’m scared, or angry, or fucking up left and right. I want you to keep coming back.”

He smiles, slow and dangerous. “You’ll never get rid of me, Rose. Even if you ask real nice.”

He kisses my shoulder, then my neck, then lower, and I wonder if we’re about to go another round.

But something shifts. The dream starts to thin out, going hazy at the edges. I feel a coldness seeping in, a familiar chill, like winter air on bare skin.

Soren tenses, head cocked like he’s listening to something I can’t hear.

“What is it?” I ask, suddenly uneasy.

He brushes hair from my face. “It’s time for me to go, and for you to wake up, Rose.”

I reach for him, but my hands pass through his chest, my dream already kicking me out of the scene.

Soren leans in, mouth at my ear. “Remember what I said. When you want me, all you have to do is dream.”

Everything goes white, then dissolves.

But for a second, I can still feel Soren’s hands on my skin, and his last words echoing in my head.

All you have to do is dream.

I wake up in my bed, feeling simultaneously hot and freezing. The room is ice cold, like a window is open letting in the wintery night air, and I know, without looking, that Drake is here.