Divine tore her gaze from the dead man she’d thought of as a grandson and peered at Abaddon. Danny’s death had reminded her of the other boys, the ones she’d raised as grandsons, and she asked abruptly, “Who killed Luc?”
Abaddon glanced to her with surprise. Apparently she’d caught him by surprise, but after a moment, he admitted, “No one. He didn’t survive being turned.”
Divine nodded. “And the others?”
“A couple died when Leonius tried to turn them, but the rest—” He grimaced. “They were edentate, weak, wouldn’t hurt a fly. It made them useless to Leo, and he worried they’d tattle to you, so—” He gestured to Danny. “They went the same way he did only without the shooting part first.”
Divine closed her eyes and bowed her head at the thought of all those lovely little boys, and then glanced up sharply when the phone actually rang rather than make the foghorn sound. Abaddon cursed, took a deep breath for patience, and then answered his phone.
“Hello?” he said pleasantly. “Yes, Leo. I know. I’ll be there as quickly as I can, but I have some business— No, I know, but— Yes, but— Fine,” he finished a little snappily and hit the button to end the call. His teeth were audibly grinding together as he announced, “It would seem I have to go for a while. The other boys will be here to watch you though, and I’ll be back.”
“Thanks for the warning,” Marcus muttered as Abaddon left the room.
Twenty-four
“I wish you hadn’t come here.”
Marcus turned his attention from the door Abaddon had just walked out of and peered at Divine at those words. She looked so incredibly sad. He just wanted to take her in his arms and hold her close, kiss and hug her and tell her everything would be okay. Unfortunately, he was chained to his seat and couldn’t do any of that. At least not the hugging and kissing part.
“I told you, Divine. Your fate is mine. If you’re dead and buried, I may as well be rotting in the ground right next to you.” He grimaced even as he said that, and then added solemnly, “But if I can save your life with mine, I will.”
“And leave me to go on without you,” she said dryly and then shook her head. “Abaddon would love that, then I could add horrible guilt and loss over you to my suffering for the next millennium or however long I live.”
“Then I guess we’d better get out of here,” he said solemnly and began pulling at his chains.
“The chairs are metal and the chains are strong,” Divine said, sounding weary. “We aren’t going anywhere.”
“Giving up?” he chided. “I didn’t think you were the sort.”
“I’m not usually,” she said tiredly. “But right now . . .”
When Marcus remained silent, his attention on straining against the chains, Divine said, “I don’t understand why Abaddon didn’t just take control of my mind and make me accept the offer to be his lover that day. I mean if he thought that would have kept Leonius from touching me—”
“It wouldn’t have,” Marcus assured her. “Leonius probably would have killed him and taken you back. Besides, Abaddon didn’t really want you, he wanted Leonius. And at that point, I suspect it was just a throwaway offer. He saw the way Leonius looked at you, was afraid, and made it. But he didn’t know at that point that you were a possible life mate to Leonius. He was just jealous of the way he looked at you, so there was no real need to push the issue.”
“Oh, yes,” Divine murmured and then glanced to him with surprise when one of the vertical stiles holding the back of his chair to the seat suddenly snapped.
“I noticed it was rusty when he urged me to sit in it,” Marcus said with a grin as the chains around him loosened. He tipped himself over and quickly shimmied out of the chained chair, then stood and came around to her. But he didn’t immediately go to work on her chains. Instead, he knelt before her and cupped her shoulders with his hands. “Divine, I saw your expression when he accused you of enjoying Leonius’s . . . attention.”
Flushing, she lowered her head, but he caught her chin and raised it again. “You have nothing to be ashamed of. Even child abusers and mortal rapists can make their victims experience a moment’s pleasure.”
“But the things he did to me, Marcus. I didn’t like any of those. I don’t like pain. My brain was screaming with horror at what he did, but my body—”
“He was a possible life mate,” Marcus said firmly. “I’m sure of it, and that being the case, what you experienced was his pleasure. Not your own.” When she just shook her head, he asked, “Didn’t you feel my pleasure when you kissed and caressed me last night and then took my cock into your—”
“Yes, of course I did,” she interrupted, wishing she had a Kleenex. Her eyes were beginning to tear up and her nose clogging up. She really could have used a tissue.
“Well, it’s the same thing, sweetheart,” he said gently. “Sucking on a banana would have given about as much pleasure to you as what you actually experienced physically when you did what you did to me last night, more actually because it tastes yummy. But the point is, what you did pleasured me, and so because we’re life mates, you shared in that pleasure, experiencing it with me. And that’s what you experienced with Leonius. Your body might have been in agony, but his pleasure was sent to you at the same time.” He paused and then said sadly, “It must have been terribly confusing for you at that age. Hell, it would have confused an adult too, I’m sure.”
“I felt so dirty,” she admitted leaning her head against his chest and sniffling miserably. “I thought there was something wrong with me, that I was sick and twisted like him. Unlovable.”
“No doubt that’s why Abaddon found it so easy to keep you away from your family all these years,” Marcus muttered, hugging her to his chest as much as he could.
Divine nodded against his T-shirt, leaving a wet trail.
Sighing, he pulled her face back and said firmly, “Well, you’re not like Leonius, you’re not sick and twisted, and I love you.”
She blinked in surprise at that. “You do?”
He nodded.
“Why?” she asked with bewilderment. “I mean I know we have the whole life mate thing, Marcus, but—”
“Sweetheart, from what I’ve seen you’re just like me,” he said with amusement. “I’ve spent my whole life taking care of others, and so have you. At least, I know you’ve tried to help all the people you did readings for at the carnival, as well as the carnies themselves. I’m guessing you’ve done that your whole life. Aside from that you’re brave, strong, smart, and sexy as hell.”
Divine laughed at the last one. She didn’t feel very brave, strong, or sexy at the moment weeping all over his chest. But God she loved this man. Any man who could make you laugh in a situation like this was a keeper, she thought.
“I hope you come to love me too,” Marcus added, kissing her forehead.
Divine bit her lip, but then sighed and admitted, “As much as I hate to admit it, I’m pretty sure you sealed the deal on my loving you when you walked in here of your own free will, offering up your life for mine.”
Marcus grinned and squeezed her briefly, but then eased his hold and frowned as he asked, “Why do you hate to admit it?”
“Because you’re better off without me. If we get out of here and stay together, you’re going to spend the rest of your life on the run,” she pointed out sadly.
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Marcus said, releasing her to move around and look over her chains and the chair she sat on. “That might not necessarily be true.”