Kit sighed, then added on, as if wanting to resolve the situation, “I mean that she is what she is. How she got there, why it happened, those don’t change where she is now. She still needs to leave—she still needs to hide. Getting lost in the whys will only drag her down and tie her to the past. It will do nothing beneficial for her.”
Hera took a deep breath, then moved her hands to answer.“He’s right. I’m not happy about this, but it is what it is. We have to focus on what we have to do, on moving forward.”
“So what’s next?” Brax asked.
“Moa said she’d have the next step worked out in the next couple days,” I said.
Hera shook her head.“I have something I need to do first.”
And boy did that not sound good. “What do you have to do?” I asked, sure I wasn’t about to like it.
She took a deep breath, then faced me.“When we leave here, we aren’t coming back, right? I need to see my parents before I go.”
Just like I thought. A bad fucking idea…
Hours later, the bed dipped behind me, and a warm body curled around me. Sure, I knew it was Hera. I recognized the curves of her body, the scent of her skin, but that smart-ass part of me couldn’t help but respond with some snark.
“Oh, Deacon, so you’re finally giving into this sexual tension between us?”
A sharp, quick pain in my side said she’d reacted with a jab of her fingers before wrapping her arms around me.
Because I was in bed—and wearing all of nothing—she touched my skin directly. It meant I soaked in her powers, savoring the sensation, the way it filled me so gently. She sighed, her warm breath spilling across the back of my neck.
She didn’t try to have a conversation, as if she only needed my touch right then.
So I held her arm where it was wrapped around me, keeping her against me. “Don’t go,” I asked, whispering into the darkness, sure she’d known what I meant.
She’d already told us her plan, about some rich, political party her parents were supposed to attend when they got back into town. No one had said a word back as she’d laid it all out for us, explained why it was a good plan, until the silence had gotten to us all. In the end, nothing had gotten decided, and we’d all retreated to our own rooms rather than argue.
She pressed her forehead against my back, tightening her arms around me.
“Going to a party isn’t a good idea. Going to the house was bad enough, but actually seeing your parents? At least at the house, you could tell if anyone was close enough to grab you, if anyone was watching, but you can’t do that at a party. You can’t tell who in a huge crowd might be working for the Warden. Even if the Warden isn’t there, what if your parents call her as soon as they see you?”
I wasn’t sure why I asked her these things, why I tried to have a conversation when she couldn’t respond. I just couldn’t not tell her my fears.
“We got out of Larkwood, we risked everything to get here, and you’re going to put yourself right back into the line of fire?” I held her tighter and closed my eyes. “I don’t want to lose you, Hera. I can’t.”
She tugged softly until I shifted to lie on my back. She moved over me, sliding her leg across to straddle me. She had on a nightgown that rucked up, and the warmth of her body told me she had nothing on under it. The thin fabric of my boxers did little to separate us.
Still, I tried to ignore the sudden and insistent demands of my body as I stared up at her dimly lit face. Her weight settled against me as she sat up, teasing my hard cock.
“Don’t do anything that might take you away from me,” I all but pleaded.
Even without the light I could make out her hands moving.“I can’t leave without seeing them one more time. Would you really walk away without seeing your parents again if you could? If they were this close?”
I set my hands on her thighs, wanting to touch her even if I couldn’t deny what she’d said. If I was so near to my mother, I doubted I’d be able to ignore her even if I knew it wasn’t safe.
“Is that what you really want for your future?”
“I don’t know,”she signed.“I don’t know where I’m headed or what I want or what we’re striving for. I think about the future and…”Her hands hung in the air as if she’d stalled. After a moment, she let out a slow breath.“I can’t think about a future, but I know I want to see them again before I lose the chance to. I don’t want to regret not taking that chance, so trust me, please.”
“It’s not a matter of trust. Wouldn’t matter who it was—heading to a place the enemy expects you isn’t smart.”
“They won’t expect it, because like you said, it’s dumb.”
“I feel like dumb is your specialty sometimes.” I squeezed her thigh, holding her tightly as if that could keep her from going. “Take Kit with you.”
She frowned, as if that didn’t make any sense.