Chapter 31
Panic singed my veins and sent my thoughts into a tailspin until I realized that the pillow was still sitting on top of my face. As self-effacing laughter bubbled up, I hurled the pillow across the room and rolled over.
“If you didn’t want me here, you could have just told me. No need to start throwing things.”
“Finn!” I threw myself onto the other side of the bed and into his open arms.
“I should stay away more often, if that’s the greeting I’m going to get every time,” he chuckled.
“Don’t get any ideas,” I warned him. With his warm darkness surrounding my heart and his strong arms surrounding my body, you could have told me the zombie apocalypse was knocking at the door and I wouldn’t have cared. Not even a little.
“I was going to wait until this afternoon to return but…” he paused. I peered up at his handsome face and his gaze locked onto mine with intensity. “Every part of me…was craving every part of you.”
“Every part?” I grinned up at him, my reverie and Nadia forgotten in the passion I now found pulsing in his deep blue eyes.
“Every part,” he confirmed with hooded eyes. At his tantalizing words my body came alive, and I wanted nothing more than to feed the craving I could feel in his touch. His fingers slid beneath my hair and around to the back of my neck, as he brought his lips down to mine without hesitation.
The warmth of his mouth as it moved against mine only incited the insatiable need growing within me.
In one swift movement he was on top of me, his hot lips against my neck, threatening to unravel me completely. His teeth gently nipped at my skin, before he licked the same spot and covered it with his mouth. The alternating sensations scorched my body; sending me reeling with pleasure. Before I knew what was happening, my shirt was stripped off, followed quickly by the rest of my clothes.
He leaned back on his knees and tugged his shirt off, as I allowed my eyes to run over his strong shoulders, chest, and abdomen. Craving the feel of his skin on mine, I hooked a finger around the belt loop of his jeans and yanked him down on top of me. He caught himself inches away from my body, leaving me sizzling with desire. His eyes took mine hostage as he slipped his hand around to the small of my back with excruciating slowness. Still holding my gaze, he pulled me against him before slowly pressing his full weight on top of me; kissing me hungrily. Suddenly his hands trapped mine at my sides, as he painstakingly trailed his mouth down my body.
If I thought that his hands felt good, I was anything but prepared for the heat his mouth would elicit on my skin. For fear that I might explode with need, I tried to wiggle out of his grasp; but was rewarded with a crooked grin and a wicked sparkle in his eyes as his lips continued to caress my stomach, my sides, and my legs. As his mouth headed back northward, it covered the tender skin of my chest and I closed my eyes and heard myself moan.
As the intoxicating fog of longing and rapture enveloped us, I could no longer tell where I ended and Finn started. The world exploded as our bodies melted together over and over; overlapping the powerful essence in our souls and intertwining the love in our hearts. As time slowed and my pulse returned to an acceptable rate, Finn wrapped me in his arms and secured me in a blanket of love and darkness that filled my heart to capacity.
“Pasha?”
“Hmm?”
“What do you see in our future?”
“Besides death and destruction?” I smiled at myself, although it was the undeniable truth. He shifted on his side to face me and searched my eyes.
“Besides death and destruction,” he pressed with true curiosity. “What do I have that I could possibly offer a goddess?” I kissed him gently on the lips before answering with a smile.
“Eternity.”
The next morning, my little cottage was filled to the brim with people. Natasha, Elina, Finn, Phoebe, and Zara were all gathered in the living room awaiting my return. After my pathetic excuse of claiming that my stomach hurt, I had holed myself up in the bathroom. I needed to think. My strict training regimen hadn’t included any scream-at-the-top-of-my-lungs time. Apparently I would have to sneak that into the schedule any way I could.
Not wanting Nadia to ruin my magical night with Finn, I hadn’t brought up my reverie to him. Now that it was time to begin training with my essence from the Present plane, I was beginning to feel like my best option would be to throw up and fake my own death instead. Nadia’s words were on a continuous loop in my mind; torturing me without end.
Not only was she still tormenting my sleeping hours, she would soon be tormenting my waking hours as well. They were coming for me. Soon. Time was quickly running out. I stared myself down in the framed bathroom mirror for a couple more minutes, until I’d counted every eyelash and aquamarine strand of hair. Sighing to myself, I flushed the toilet (to put a nice conclusion on my charade) and shuffled back into the living room. Natasha and Elina were discussing the many uses of ginger root in the kitchen over coffee, Zara and Phoebe were giggling about something in a book and Finn was leaning back on the couch with his eyes closed; probably trying to drown out all of the chatter.
As soon as I entered the room he turned his head and gave me a confident grin, which sent my heart fluttering. I cleared my throat.
“I need to tell everyone something,” I proclaimed grudgingly. They all discarded their own pursuits in favor of listening to my announcement. “I had a reverie last night…and Nadia was there.”
Someone cursed under their breath but I kept going. “Among the always-cheerful conversation about sunshine and unicorns, she informed me that they were coming to kill me. And it would be very soon.”
I noted Finn’s darkened features and his suddenly steely eyes. He was at my side in a split second. “What else did she say?”
“Just her normal death threats and blackmail,” I shrugged. “I just wanted to let everyone know so that we could prepare and be watching our backs.” The fact that Nadia had told me she ‘had a pair of eyes on me’ made me shiver. I met the concerned gaze of Zara and wondered if Nadia had just been messing with my head, or she really
“First and foremost, it is imperative that Stasia learns to harness her essences so that she won’t be at too much of a disadvantage, if and when they decide to show up. Nadia has a history of manipulation, so I think we should take her words with a grain of salt. She could just be trying to scare us.”
“It would be wise to err on the side of caution,” Natasha spoke up. Elina nodded her head in agreement.
“I agree,” Finn advised. “She may be manipulative, but she’s also deadly. We do know that Keto and Selene are extremely powerful, and we have to be ready. I’ll hand pick my best Sons to stand guard, and I think we should enchant the house once more to make sure the shield is still in place.” He gestured toward Natasha.
Zara directed her attention to me, “Today we’ll concentrate on the most important aspects of your essences, and the abilities that’ll help the most if you have to face Keto, Nadia, and Selene before your birthday.” I noticed she was using the word ‘if’ a lot. Did she not believe me? Or was she underestimating Nadia?
Finn faced me with consternation, “I’m going to talk to Dad and get you some guards. You can sense if Nadia’s near. Just make sure you’re feeling the area out for any sign of her. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He cradled my downtrodden face in his hands and a tenderness softened his eyes as his voice dropped, “I won’t let anything happen to you, Stasia. No one will get close to you without having to go through me first. And if they try, they’ll regret it.” I couldn’t miss a macabre severity flash in those tender eyes as he disappeared out of the door. Zara took his place in front of me.
“Let’s get started,” she instructed; her tone urgent. She swiftly piled the contents of my valise back inside it.
“I don’t think you’ve explained what the keys actually do?” I questioned as she snapped the lid closed.
“Once you’re done with all of your lessons, I’ll explain their significance,” she justified. “The keys can’t be used until you have mastered the art of combining your essences. You’re doing exceptionally well, but we aren’t quite there, yet.”
