“Valhalla, to see your father’s plaque of honor in the Great Hall.”
Marabella blinked. “But you were only gone for a second.”
“That dimension operates in a completely different system of time than what we know here. A second is pretty much the equivalent of an hour there.”
Domino finally broke from her trance and glanced at Marabella. Tears slowly misted in her eyes. “Sascha…an angel.”
Marabella rushed forward and wrapped Domino in a hug. “I know. Pretty heavy, huh?”
“It doesn’t even seem possible.”
“Imagine how I feel. I’ve got his blood running through me.”
Domino’s shaky fingers grazed Marabella’s cheekbone. “I used to blame him for leaving us. I know that sounds horrible. But I didn’t know the first thing about raising a child, much less how to do it on my own. I was convinced I’d be a failure as a mother. And I have been.”
Marabella shook her head furiously in denial, and Domino patted her cheek again. “Yes, I have. And the saddest part is that my refusal to accept failure is what made me a failure. I expected you to live the perfect life that I’d created for you. That wasn’t fair.” Domino leaned forward and kissed Marabella’s cheek tenderly. “I can be stingy with my praise but know that I am proud of you.”
This time it was Marabella’s eyes that filled with tears. “I love you, Mom.”
Domino hugged her tight. “I love you too.” She loosened her grip on Marabella and shifted her attention to Sam, who was keeled forward with his head between his knees and snoring loudly. Her mom frowned. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned about this demon-familiar business, but I’ll do my best to trust that you know what you’re doing.”
Marabella’s smile wobbled. “Thank you. That’s all I can ask.” She just hoped that ultimately she did know what she was doing. Both with Sam, and her heart. Because if she screwed either up, the fallout would be devastating.
Roughly two hours after Domino left, they managed to rouse Sam and pour enough coffee down his gullet to get him lucid. It took a ham sandwich and two slices of cheesecake to make him coherent and functional. Well, mostly functional. He still had a tendency to nod off if no one engaged him in conversation for longer than five minutes.
Concerned, Marabella stroked the hair off his forehead. “Are you sure he’s okay?”
“Yeah, he’ll be fine. This is nothing. You should have seen him the first time you whammied him with your angel light.” Cass gave an awkward cough as Sam slid Marabella’s fingers down to his mouth and sucked on them. Lifting her wrist, Cass made an exaggerated show of checking her watch. “Wow, look at the time. Nik, we better hit the road. We’ve got an early morning ahead of us. Well, you do anyway. I’m technically still unemployed.” Before Nikki could protest, Cass grabbed her wrist and winked at Marabella. In the blink of an eye, both sisters vanished.
“About damn time. I thought they’d never leave.”
She stared down at Sam. “Have you been faking being out of it?”
“Only for the last thirty minutes.” He lifted from the chair and swept her into his arms. His stride purposeful, he carried her to the bedroom and lowered her onto the bed. He made short work divesting her of her skirt, blouse and undergarments before stripping off his jeans. With a growl, he plumped her breasts between his hands and ran his tongue over her nipples.
She gasped and arched against him.
His hungry gaze roved to her face. “Do you know how fucking addictive you are? I want to eat you alive. In fact, I think I will.” He slid down her body until his face was buried between her legs. His tongue plunged into her pussy, tasting her from the inside out. The raw intensity of his devouring was intoxicating and luscious. Submitting completely to his mastery, she spread her legs wide and offered herself up for the feast. He sucked her clit and lashed it with his tongue until her body bowed and shattered into a dazzling climax. He lifted his head and licked his lips. “Delicious.”
The mattress dipped as he grabbed a condom from the end table. He ripped the packet open with his teeth and sheathed his cock with a couple downstrokes of his fist. Anchoring her legs wide again, he entered her in one smooth, deep stroke. His dizzying penetration stole her breath. He positioned her calves over his shoulders and gripped her hips, guiding her into his fierce thrusts. She screamed his name when the second orgasm slammed into her. He answered her call with drugging kisses while he hammered her with his cock.
She wrapped her arms tight around him, holding him close. He was a song in her heart, a dark decadence in her body. She couldn’t contain the overflow of emotion. So she released it to words. “I love you, Sam.”
His strokes faltering, he looked into her eyes. She spied the flicker of vulnerability before the defensive shutters locked into place. “Don’t waste that emotion on me, Bella. I don’t have it in me to return it.”
“It’s okay. I’m not asking you to love me back.” Her heart cramping, she pulled his face close and brushed her lips over his, wishing with everything inside her that she could believe the illusion of her own words.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sam’s restless pacing burned a path in Marabella’s living-room carpet as he waited for her and Cass to finish debating the delicate nature of a newly established witch and familiar bond. Or more to the point—the reason why the fragile threads interconnecting him and Marabella seemed to have lost some of their strength overnight. Despite Marabella being able to command him to her side minutes ago while he’d waited for her summons downstairs in the shop, Cass wasn’t convinced the familiar chain held enough wattage for a longer trip.
“I don’t get it,” Cass muttered as she tossed up her arms. “It makes no sense why the link would just weaken like this.” She slid him a suspicious scowl. “Are you putting up a resistance block? Because that sure as hell can tamper with the results.”
“Why would I do that? I agreed to go along with this, didn’t I?”
Cass plunked her hands on her hips. “After a lot of cursing and foot stomping.”
“You make me sound like a petulant toddler.”
Cass cocked an eyebrow. “If the diaper fits…”
And here he’d thought Nikki was the aggravating Lassiter sister. “I worked through my issues with rebranding myself.” Mostly.
“Okay. Then could there be something else that’s causing resistant friction?”
Without warning, Marabella’s sweet declaration floated through his mind. I love you, Sam. “No.”
“Then I’m really stumped.” Heaving a frustrated exhale, Cass scratched her head.
Marabella perched on the corner of the couch and fidgeted with the buttons on her cardigan. “Worst-case scenario, what are we looking at here?”
“The Death Wards are obviously a lot farther than your shop. Assuming you’ll be able to get him to the Wards, your summoning chain needs to carry enough juice to haul his ass back. It’s a fifty-fifty prospect.”
Marabella’s focus shifted to him. She swallowed, the fear and uncertainty in her eyes all too apparent. “Those aren’t very good odds. I—I don’t know if we should risk it. What do you think?”
I think you’re batshit crazy to be in love with me. “What the fuck. I say we go for it.”
“But…what if something goes wrong? What if I can’t get you back?” Marabella’s voice broke on the last word.
He crossed to the couch and hunkered in front of her. Tears accumulated on her lashes, and he reached out to brush them away. The odd cramping sensation in his heart intensified. “You can do it, babe.”