Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Josie

Kellan's arm held me tightly to his chest. I didn't even blink during our ride back to Louisiana. How could I? My mother just waltzed into another realm like she owned the place.

Sisters?

Who the hell had I called Mother for all these years? None of it made sense. Did my father know? How old was my mother to be sisters with Deidamia? What was her real name?

Part of me wanted to go to my house and demand answers. The other part of me was too afraid to leave Kellan's side. What else could my mother do? Was she a witch like Deidamia? Was she even my mother?

We fell from the portal and landed on the soggy ground. Kellan took most of the fall. His arm still looped around my back, pressing me to his chest.

His dark eyes opened, and his gaze settled on mine. There were so many questions resting in them. The smell of his breath and skin made me feel safe. Safer than I ever had before.

"Are you okay?" he asked, rubbing circles against my back.

"I'm fine. Where are we?" I asked, looking around at the forest.

A small cottage sat in the distance, hidden in the middle of the trees.

"Home," he said gently, pushing me back so we could stand up. He stood and looked at the cabin in relief. A small dog sat on the steps. "You have a dog?"

He nodded. "George."

I gave him a look and attempted not to laugh.

"Can I meet him?"

Kellan looked down and offered me his hand. "Of course."

Seconds later, Fern and Ernest landed several yards away. They groaned as they stood and dusted leaves from their body. Ernest glanced over. "We made it," he said. "Where are we?"

Kellan started stalking toward his cabin. "My home," he said over his shoulder. "Come on now. We need to get inside in case she shows up."

I couldn't help the pain that twisted in my stomach. I was running from my own mother. Kellan led me toward his cabin, stopping to greet his dog that pranced around his feet in a dance of excitement.

Kellan continued up the steps while I patted the hound on top of his head. The stairs creaked as I followed Kellan into his home. The cabin was small, with wooden furniture and no dcor.

It reminded me of a home from the other realm, which made sense because he lived there with his family. Kellan walked around the house, picking up a few things and nervously running his fingers into his hair.

"Do any of you want some tea? I could make some."

Ernest stepped into the kitchen. "I can make some. You two have things to talk about."

If that didn't make me nervous, nothing did.

"Fern?" Ernest asked. "Would you mind helping me?"

Fern nodded and swiftly joined him in the kitchen.

Kellan gestured his head toward a bedroom and led me inside. Once the door was shut, he pulled me to his chest and held me close. Tears pricked at my eyes from the joy of being in his arms and the frustrations of our entire relationship.

He ran his palm up and down my back while resting his cheek on top of my head. "I'm so glad you're safe."

I blinked back my tears and pulled away. "Me too."

Kellan cleared his throat. "So, your mother isn't who you think she is."

"No. She's seemed like a completely different person these last few days. It was as if she pulled off a mask. I don't recognize her."

Kellan ran his thumb against my bottom lip. "I was just as shocked as you. Do you think your mother would hurt you?"

I averted my gaze to the scuffs on the top of his boots. I wanted to think that she would never hurt me, but after the last two days, I wasn't sure. "I don't know."

Kellan lifted my chin with his fingers, those too-dark eyes searing me in half. "I won't let her hurt you, Josephine. We need to prepare for what she'll bring if she comes. She may get the spindle and disappear. Deidamia may come looking for her. I don't know what's going to happen next, but if your mother puts us in danger, I—"

I tried to understand what he was attempting to say to me. The distant look in his eyes told me it wasn't good. "You want to know if I'm okay with you hurting her?"

Kellan slowly closed his eyes. "Only if she puts us in danger. I have to protect you. Your father asked me to. It's my responsibility to protect you. You understand?"

I nodded. "Yes."

Kellan stepped back several steps and sat on the edge of his bed. "Come here."

I went to sit beside him but instead curled into his lap. Kellan shifted me until I straddled his waist. The serious look on his face softened. "I was so worried about you."

"I'm tougher than you think."

"Apparently," he said, lifting his brow. "Do you want a tour of the place?"

I shook my head. "Maybe later. How about you kiss me now?"

He chuckled. "I can do that. How about we get a shower first?"

"Yeah," I said, sliding off his lap. "How about a shower together?"

A feverish look traveled across his face. He looked shocked but then stood up and led me toward the shower across the hallway.

The shower was small and outdated. But nothing had ever looked better to me in that moment. Kellan turned on the water and faced me. The tension between us built with each passing moment. Slowly, because he seemed to be waiting on me, I grabbed the edge of my T-shirt and slipped it over my head.

His dark gaze lowered to my breasts, pushed up in one of my bras I'd snagged while at home. Kellan did the same as me, only he grabbed the back of his shirt in that sexy way men did and tugged it over his head.

The lines of his body were deep. The hollows of his obliques and each indention of his abs made my stomach tighten. Sliding out of my jeans, I kicked them to the side and waited for him to follow.

All the tension built between us until Kellan became impatient and stepped forward. He pressed me against the counter, his hard body against my soft one.

"I've missed you," he whispered, sliding his thumb against my jawline. He leaned in and kissed me deeply, tangling his fingers into my hair and dominating me with one kiss.

It was all moans and hard pulls until he worked me out of my underwear and carried me to the shower. His fingers pressed into my skin until I was pressed against the shower wall with him between my legs.

Every moment until that one felt insignificant. I wanted it to last forever. The taste of his mouth. The feeling of his skin. Everything about it had me ablaze.

Kellan shifted, lifted me up and pressed the tip of his dick against my entrance. While staring at me, he lowered me onto his length and watched as bliss formed on my face.

It was being fulfilled in the best way. He lifted and lowered me, gaining a rhythm that made my legs shiver. He leaned closer and bit my neck softly, playfully, and then nibbled up my jaw. "You feel amazing," he whispered. "I can't wait to do this forever."

He sank into me again, causing a moan to slip from my mouth. I prayed they couldn't hear me down the hall, but then again, I didn't care.

I wanted to enjoy Kellan before the storm came. I wanted to ride the rest of this day out on top of him, underneath him, until I couldn't take another minute of it.

Kellan poured himself into our kiss while water drenched us from head to toe, and I lowered myself onto him over and over. There was nothing better than the feel of him loving me.

His power. His dominance. His gentleness when no one was looking. It all made me want him so much more. He was perfect, and I was afraid to let him go.

I was afraid to lose the one thing that made me feel whole.

My fingernails dug into his shoulders the harder his thrusts grew. An orgasm built in my lower stomach, drawing out all of my inner desires so they could pour out of me like liquid sin.

Kellan lowered his mouth to my ear, sending goosebumps up my flesh. "That's right," he whispered. "Take all of me."

Those words hit me square in the chest, releasing all of my built-up emotion, and my orgasm tumbled over into a cry of blissful desire.

Kellan stilled inside of me seconds later and pressed his forehead against mine.

Our heavy breaths and heaving bodies were the only sounds besides the water hitting us. I chuckled softly and opened my eyes to see him staring at me. "Promise me one thing?" I asked.

"Anything," he said in a gravelly voice.

"As soon as this is over, we'll do that all the time."

The corner of his mouth turned into a smile. "That's a promise."

Kellan and I took our time getting ready after our shower. Ernest and Fern both stood outside, drinking their tea, when we finally joined them.

The atmosphere was much quieter than my house, even though there wasn't much space between us. When the sun began to set, Kellan made us some pasta from his almost empty pantry, and I cleaned the dishes.

It was as if we all wanted this to be over. We were pretending that what happened hadn't. Even with the pressure of my mother coming back for vengeance or Deidamia coming to hunt down my mother, I felt lighter to be home.

This felt like home.

Kellan and I were new, but it felt right.

Ernest and Fern took the fold-out couch, leaving Kellan and I the bedroom. It felt nice to slip underneath his covers, with his dog sleeping underneath the bed and the moon shining through his window.

He snaked his arm around me and pulled me back against his body.

Silence greeted us. "What's going to happen?" I asked him. "Even if my mother doesn't come back for vengeance, it'll never be the same. What if she leaves and never comes back? I'll be motherless."

Kellan stroked his fingertips against my skin. "Let's not think about it tonight. We all need a good night's sleep."

I nodded, though it was hard not to think about it. It hung over me like an umbrella or an untimely death.

Minutes ticked by, and I fell to sleep in Kellan's arms. It wasn't until I heard the pecking on the glass that I sat up in bed.

Kellan groaned beside me but didn't move. My gaze shifted around his room, adjusting to the light while trying to see the cause of the noise.

George would have heard something, wouldn't he?

I swallowed the dryness from my throat and swung my feet toward the floor. George's growl startled me. I gasped loudly as he emerged and walked toward the window.

That's when I saw my mother staring back at me. She looked like Deidamia. She wasn't the blonde that baked cookies. She was Deidamia's sister. The woman I didn't know.

She curled her finger at me, making my heart thump loudly against my ribcage. Kellan's callused palm wrapped around my upper arm, and he sat up behind me.

"She's here," I whispered.

Kellan stood on the other side of the bed in his underwear. His gaze settled on my mother through the glass. "Let's go see her, then."