Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Five

Kellan

"I need some things from the forest," Ernest said.

I looked up from my plate, shoveling in another bite because apparently, fighting hellhounds made me hungry. "Like what?" I asked over my food.

"Some herbs that I can use to cast a protection spell. There is a batch of them by a waterfall not too far from here."

Josephine glanced at me with excitement on her face. "I want to go."

Ernest lifted both brows and glanced at her. "Well, we can't send you alone. Kellan, after breakfast can you go with her?"

"Of course," I said.

Josephine had something up her sleeve. I could see her attempting to hide it behind her meal.

Fern cleared her throat. "Do you think Deidamia will come here herself?" She looked so small and helpless eating her food. I didn"t blame her for worrying.

Ernest shrugged. "If we put up enough of a fight, yes, I do."

Fern looked nervous to interact with her. After the stories she was told as a child, I didn't blame her. Ernest reached over and patted her shoulder. "We'll be fine, dear. Don't fret over her. She'll send everyone else to do her bidding before she comes."

Josephine caught her lip between her teeth. "You said she's a demon, right? Who was she before?"

Fern shrugged. "My mother never told me. She has just always been around as far as I know."

"Everyone has a beginning," she said.

Ernest sat his silverware down on his plate. "I wouldn't look too much into that, Josie. Her origin story doesn't matter today. Her end does."

Once we finished eating, Josephine followed me out of the back door. The hellhounds were still scattered around, lifelessly taking up space.

My arm was still sore from the one that caught me, but I'd had much worse in my life. "Stay close to me."

Josephine glanced up with a mischievous grin. "You just want me near, so you can ogle me."

"I can do that without you close."

"Easier access," she said. Skipping ahead a few feet, she turned and looked at me with those electric-blue eyes. "Tell me, Kellan. When did you know I was your soulmate?"

I gripped her upper arm as she stumbled over a root.

"Watch out," I said, steadying her.

She gazed up at me with a serious look. "Tell me."

We hadn't even made it into the forest, and I wanted to press her against the nearest tree. "Josephine," I said softly. "I knew when your father showed me your picture that I was connected to you." I pulled the picture out of my pocket and showed her.

She smiled, rubbing the pad of her finger over her face. "Dad always did keep pictures of me in his wallet."

I slid it back into my pocket, not wanting to lose it, and started back toward the makeshift trail Ernest said would lead to the herbs.

"You're close to your father?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, I was always a daddy's girl growing up. My mother was a good mom, but I wasn't that close to her. She seemed distant sometimes. Especially when Dad was busy being mayor. I don't think she ever found her niche in life."

My mind wandered to her mother being behind the stealing of the spindle. "You don't think your mother would have stolen the spindle?"

Josephine snorted. "No. She isn't that savvy to be honest. I can't imagine her opening a portal when I have to help her with her text messages."

Slapping hanging branches out of our way, I gave her a side-eyed look. "Your father?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I can't imagine him doing it either, but someone did. The only other people at our house are Melissa, our cook and Jenny, our housekeeper. I wish I knew who did it. I'm going to give them a big slap to the face when we get back."

Josephine turned and looked up at me. "What's going to happen when this is over?"

"What do you mean?"

She shrugged. "You're a bounty hunter. Are you going to drop me off and leave? Go back to your job?"

I watched the emotions travel over her face as we continued down the trail. "I have to work."

She nodded.

"Or do you mean will I ditch you once we're back home?" I chuckled. "I don't think you understand."

Stopping, she looked up at me. I moved a piece of ebony hair off her forehead. "What do I not understand?"

I shifted positions on my feet, feeling nervous to admit everything out loud. "If we're bound. If we're soulmates, there is no getting away from one another. God will put us together no matter what." I swept my fingertips along her bottom lip. "There is no getting rid of me, even when you want to, and trust me, you will want to eventually."

She smirked. "Doubt it."

We continued down it until the trail tapered off into a clearing. I gently guided Josephine behind me, stepping into the clearing, where a giant waterfall sat like something out of a storybook.

"Wow, that's beautiful," she whispered.

She rushed over, slipping out of my grip and into the water while kicking off her shoes and clothes.

My body heated at the sight of her in nothing but a pair of panties. Was she trying to kill me?

"Josephine," I warned her, watching her dive into the water and slip underneath it.

The roar of the waterfall drowned out my hearing. I dropped my bag and walked toward the water's edge.

Josephine peeked up several yards away. "Come back here."

She shook her head. "Why don't you take those clothes off and join me?"

Dear God, please make this woman do as I say for one second.

"We don't know what's in that water, Josephine."

She backstroked away from me, staring up at the sky and smiling. "You can call me Josie if you want."

My fingers tightened into fists at my sides. "I want you to come out of there."

Josephine chuckled. "I want a lot of things," she said. "Like you to take those clothes off and join me."

"Get. Out."

"Come. In," she taunted, luring me with her finger.

Irritation and excitement flooded me. It'd been so long since I did something because I wanted. Until I met her, there hadn't been a time I indulged in anything fun. Not since my wife. I had planned to spend eternity in my own personal hell, punishing myself for Deidamia's sins.

Grabbing the edge of my T-shirt, I jerked it off and kicked off the sweats. Josephine clapped her hands above her head as I dove into the water.

The silence underneath the waterfall calmed my racing heart. Even when I noticed her legs and came up inches from her face, my body was calm.

Josephine blinked slowly, droplets rushing down her face and neck.

My fingers twitched in anticipation of touching her.

She pressed her chest against mine, and heat swarmed me.

"Touch me," she whispered.

I wrapped my arm around her waist and took her breast in my palm, loving the heaviness of it and the way it made her moan. She wrapped her legs around my waist. Ungodly things tumbled out of her mouth as I pinched the peaked tip of her nipple in-between my fingers.

Tangling her fingers into my hair, I watched as desire flushed her skin, and she sank down onto the bulge in my underwear, moaning under her breath.

The reality of our situation floated away from me. I pressed her open legs down against my waist, longing to feel inside of her, to push her to a release that I wanted to follow.

She kissed me deeply, grinding on my lap and causing stars in my eyes. Unable to stop myself, I groaned into her mouth and bounced her on my hips.

A shocked cry left her mouth and she pleaded, "Please."

I wasn't sure what exactly she begged for, but in that moment, I would have given her anything she wanted.

Breaking away from her mouth, I kissed a hot path down her neck to her breast, sucking one nipple into my mouth.

She arched her back and pressed herself closer to me. The sounds coming out of her rivaled any other sound in my entire life. I swam us over to the edge of the waterfall as she climbed out. Then I stopped her halfway, her upper half laid on the grass and her lower half still wrapped around my hips.

Leaning over her, I slipped my fingers inside of her underwear and down her slick heat. Everything about her smell, the tightness around my finger made me forget where we were.

I didn't care we were out in the open. I wanted to drive so deep into her that she would never forget this moment.

"Please," she begged, rolling her hips against my hand.

I fed her everything she wanted while she ground her hips against me and clutched the grass beside her. The orgasm building in her stomach caused a shiver to race down her body. I was so hard that I didn't think I could make it another minute without slipping inside her.

"Yes," she whispered, her singsong voice driving a stake into my heart. I was done for. "More," she whispered, pulling me onto the ground with her until she was a quivering mess beneath me.

I continued stroking in and out of her. She rode my finger until an orgasm fell out of her like a broken dam. A lust-filled giggle spilled out of her, and I swallowed it with my tongue. She wrapped her legs around me again.

"Your turn," she whispered.

The beast inside of me begged for release. Gripping the sides of her underwear I began to pull them down, my dick so hard I wasn't sure my underwear could hold him in.

Excitement rushed over her body. She stared at where our bodies met, waiting on me to shove every inch of myself into her when I heard the sound of horses.

I sat up while she fixed her underwear and perched herself onto her elbows. "What is it?"

"Guards," I said softly, pulling her back into the water, I swam us over to the waterfall and underneath it.

The hollowed-out rock was enough for us to sit and hide. Seconds passed when I heard the horses drinking from the water.

"—did the king say why we were looking for the old man?"

"Said he's practicing dark magic. That we need to get him before Deidamia does, and there is a kingdom fight that we can't control."

"How does he know he's practicing dark magic? I haven't heard about anything happening on this part of the forest."

"I don't know," the other guard said. "But we need to hurry and get there. If someone tips him off, we don't stand a chance."

The guard's voices slowly disappeared.

Josephine let out a deep sigh. "Geesh, that was close."

I snaked an arm around her and began to drag her out of the water. "Where are we going?" she asked, clinging to me.

I pointed toward the tree. "Grab the herbs. They are going to arrest Ernest. Deidamia needs to get him out of the way to get us easily."

Josephine hurried toward the shore, dressed, and grabbed the herbs, while I dressed.

She was soaking wet when she walked over. "How are we going to beat them on horses?"

I swallowed. "We're going to run."

She cringed. "Yeah, I'm not too good at that—"

I swept her into my arms. "Hold on, Josephine. Tuck your chin and legs."

She did as I said. With what strength I had left from my fight with the hellhounds, I took us a different direction toward the cabin.

If we didn't have Ernest, we didn't stand a chance at beating Deidamia.