Embraced (The Eternal Balance #2)(31)

Her tongue slipped between my lips, so soft. So barely there. I closed my eyes and sighed. Contact. A physical connection. Sam was my lifeline to sanity. It was true what she’d said. We were more than stolen moments and forbidden touches. But I wanted her. All of her.

Her tongue skated across my bottom lip, then traced the top, tasting. The sensations were electric—the feel of her so close, the scent of her all round me. She tasted like home to me. Sam tasted like forever. Screw heaven and hell. Fuck Heckle and anyone else who stood in our way. The universe made her for me. Not for them. Not for Azirak. Not to be a pawn used to tip the balance in either direction. There would be no saving anyone who tried to remove her from my life. From my future.

It took more control than I thought I possessed, but I pulled away, hands still tangled in her hair. “Let’s get moving.”



The cabin Heckle told us about wasn’t hard to find—a simple log shack with stacks of firewood surrounding the entire perimeter like a crude wooden fortress wall. “This is it?” Sam asked, sounding unimpressed. “I was expecting something more…”

“Grandiose?”

She laughed. “Yeah, maybe.” Fingers threaded through mine, she took a deep breath. The smallest ribbon of pink, of hope, swirled around her shoulders. “Time to get this over with.”

The walk up the path was strange. With each step, the temperature grew warmer. The closer we came to the shack, the more different it looked. They were subtle changes at first. The color of the wood lightened. The stacks of firewood became less defined. The overgrowth of vegetation took on hints of off-season color and changed their shape.

By the time we were halfway up the walk, the small wooden shack had transformed into a stately white manor with a perfectly trimmed lawn and blooming foliage. The snow that had coated the ground everywhere else was gone. Here, it was summer. The trees that were bare and lifeless moments ago now thrived with color and life.

Sam stopped just short of the door and surveyed the plot. “I feel like someone just slipped me some acid.”

“No shit.” I banged on the door. “If he answers the door in a speedo, we’re out of here.”

We waited, but no one appeared. I pounded again. This time the door creaked opened, but there was no one in sight.

“’Cause that’s a good sign,” Sam said. I started forward, but she grabbed my arm and wrenched me back. Shaking her head, she said, “Um, did you miss that movie?”

“What movie?”

“The one where the door conveniently opens, the guy walks inside, and is never heard from again?”

“What the hell movie was that?”

“I dunno,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Like, every horror movie ever made?”

“I thought it was usually a stacked blonde bouncing up the stairs in skimpy clothing when she should be running down in sensible shoes?”

“Either way,” Sam said, trying to hide a grin. She hitched her thumb toward the door. “Never a good sign.”

I bit back a laugh and pushed inside. Sam stayed close. I would have preferred she wait outside, but that wasn’t going to happen unless I handcuffed her to the railing.

Hmm. Handcuffs.

Fuck. Mind in the game, Jax.

The hallway was long, lined with white marble and gold trim along the ceiling. Light fixtures hung down, one every eight feet or so, resembling feathers. Every so often a breeze would blow through, ruffling them and making odd shadows dance across the walls.

“Obviously the outside is, um, a little deceiving. I feel like there’s a Doctor Who joke in here somewhere,” Sam said. She ran her hand along the wall, tracing a circular pattern.

“Doctor who?”

She stopped walking and stared. “Seriously?”

“I take it I should know what that is?”

“We are officially over,” she said in mock disgust. “Finished.”

There was another door at the end of the hall, this one painted gold. Gaudy as hell. It, too, opened when we neared, but this time I hesitated. “Kick me to the curb later,” I told her as I nudged it open a little more with the toe of my boot. The room beyond looked empty. “Right now, we need to find Michael.”

“And why, might I ask, are you looking for me?”

I turned and Sam jumped, letting out a squeak. “Jesus,” she said, grabbing the wall for balance.

“Nope,” the man answered with an amused grin. “Though we were BFFs back in the day.”

“What is it with you people and popping out of nowhere?”

Michael stood about six feet tall, and had dark hair and a long, angular face. There was a mist around him, similar to the emotion I saw on people, only thinner and just a single color. White. He eyed me head-to-toe, then turned to Sam.

“It is strange that you should come here to seek me out, of all people, but I welcome you all the same.” He gestured to the door. “Please. Come in and sit.”

“It’s not a social call,” I said, leery. A demon shows up to your house and you invite him in for brews and bullshit? No.

“I’m quite sure it’s not. Your kind would hardly partake in social activities with mine.” He turned to Sam. “And it would appear you have much more interesting company.”

He led the way, and we followed him into the room. Sam took a seat on the large white wraparound couch, while I stayed by the door. I didn’t trust him, but I was confident that I could grab Sam and bolt if needed.