Minx

Minx

Minx followed a dim tunnel to the room she’d been given. It was small and dark, but she managed to grow a few sunflowers that gave it a soft, warm glow. Pushing the thick cloth that served as a door away, she stepped inside only to freeze when she noticed Alec lounging on her bed. Shirtless.

“How is it you have the most comfortable bed in this Goddess-forsaken dungeon?” He asked, his lips quirking at the sides. He had his hands behind his head, propped on her pillows with one leg bent.

Minx choked back laughter, but couldn’t hold it in.

Alec frowned, “That wasn’t the reaction I was going for.” He muttered sourly.

Minx wheezed in a breath, “Sorry, but you look like an underwear model in these magazines I have at home.”

He quirked a brow. “A what?”

“Never mind. Just- put your leg down.” She waved at his leg while regaining her composure. Alec let the leg drop, but somehow it only made it worse. She cackled, bowing over as she pictured him in one of her magazines back home- wearing tighty whities.

Alec barked out a laugh, then sat up. “Would this be better?” He twisted around, laying on his stomach, then propped his chin on his hands while he pulled his legs up behind him. Minx’s breath caught- he must have pulled the image from her mind, straight from the magazines she had been thinking about. His pose was perfect, right down to how he puckered his lips.

“Stop- don’t-” she gasped for air as the laughter shook her entire body. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she couldn’t stop. She wasn’t sure why. Alec looked funny, but was it really that funny?

Then the tears of laughter turned into actual sobs. It was so fast, she barely understood what was happening until she felt his arms around her.

“It’s okay, let it out,” Alec whispered, bending his long body to place a gentle kiss on the top of her head. Minx continued to cry great, body-shaking sobs that made her lungs ache for air. Alec ran his fingers through her hair, brushing it from her tear-soaked face. She pressed into his chest, willing herself to stop but unable to.

“It’s alright, Minx. I’ve got you,” Alec whispered. She clung to his naked chest, trying to focus on his breathing, his heartbeat- anything that could calm her down. After what seemed like an eternity, she ran out of tears and her sobs subsided into dry hiccups.

“I don’t know where that came from,” she croaked against his chest.

Alec shrugged a shoulder, the motion raising her head up and down. “I think it’s been building ever since you came here. It’s been a lot, and if the thoughts in your head are any indication, it’s going to be a lot more.”

Minx took a deep breath. “Sorry, I thought I had a handle on my thoughts.”

“No need to apologize. You aren’t screaming them at me anymore, so there’s that.” He smiled against her head, the sensation sending little shivers down her neck.

“I just feel so guilty- like there’s more I can do to fix what my family broke.” Minx thought of her life back in her birth world- the comforts and technology afforded to her that would have made a difference here. But even back in her world, some people suffered while her family thrived. She’d planned on changing that when she took over, with Sage’s help.

But there was no way she could go back and do that now, not with their families hellbent on killing them. Besides, money was power there, and she had none without her family’s wealth. Here in Neaviah, she had genuine power, and a chance to make a real difference.

Alec gently stroked her hair and inquired, “Tell me, when will you find absolution for your guilt?”

Minx cocked her head back, searching his face in confusion. “What do you mean?” She asked.

He brushed the tears from her cheeks with the pad of his thumb. “Will liberating these cities fill the chasm of guilt you feel? Dethroning Supreme Capricorn? Or will you finally be satisfied when you take back Leox, and rule your homeland with patience and love?”

Minx considered his question. There was so much wrong with this world- so at what point would she feel she’d done enough to make up for what her family had done in the past?

“I don’t know,” she said honestly. “I truly don’t know.”

Alec dipped his head, his warm lips caressing her forehead. “Just promise me you won’t lose yourself in this endeavor. I know your heart is in the right place, and you mean well, but please don’t lose sight of what’s important.”

“What’s that?”

He smirked, “Not becoming that which you are trying so hard to erase.”

Minx sucked in a breath, feeling the weight of his words. She sighed, saying, “The path to hell is paved with good intentions,” and then she kissed away his confused look. “Never mind. I get what you’re saying, Alec. The guilt I feel may never fully go away- even if I were to fix everything my family did. I might always feel it, and that’s my burden.”

His confusion melted as his eyes dropped down to her lips. She felt heat lick through her stomach at his look. The heat coursed through her, searing her skin. Since that night on the boat, they had refrained from going any further. At most, she’d spent the night in his bed, but nothing went as far as what they’d done before. Not that she hadn’t thought about it.

But with everything going on, sex was the last thing on her mind.

She swallowed, trying to find her voice. “What did the Hand say?”

Alec blinked slowly, the heat in his gaze remaining as he forced out, “She didn’t say much, but I was able to get everything we need from her mind.”

Minx nodded, trying to focus on anything outside of his eyes and lips. “You were able to erase her memory, then?”

He nodded slowly. “It’s up to Rhea now. The information she had will help us take over the cities. We now have all the locations of their storehouses, weapons, and where their strongholds are.”

“So, it’s happening then.” Minx mused, then chuckled. “When I followed Sage to this world, I thought we would only be dealing with her soul and the brooding Demon who took it. I would have never considered this.”

“Brooding?” Alec laughed.

“Kade is the very definition of brooding.” She shook her head, smiling. “I can’t tell if that’s just him, or Sage’s personality weighing on him.”

“A little of both,” Alec said.

“I honestly thought all Demons were as sour and hot-headed as him. Until I met you.”

“I am the exception to the rule, in many ways.” Alec grinned.

Minx rolled her eyes. “I take it back.”

His eyes darkened, and before she knew it, he was kissing her. His hands roamed her lower back, pulling her closer as he deepened the kiss, taking her breath away. She leaned into him, a moan rolling up her throat as she melted against his bare chest.

He broke the kiss, and she dragged in a shaky breath.

“Do you still take it back?” He whispered, his voice rough.

Minx glanced up at him and smirked. She pulled out of his embrace, strutting over to the shower she and Rhea and created. Two wispy trees laced with ivy housed the makeshift pipes they’d placed throughout the rooms. Minx turned a knob and hot water streamed out of the bamboo shower head she’d created.

“We have a long day planned tomorrow. Ransacking an ancient city is going to take a while.” She glanced back at him, watching her with molten eyes.

“I’ll leave you to relax, then.” He said, dipping his chin before moving towards the cloth door.

A vine erupted from the floor, blocking his path. Alec looked over his shoulder, raising a brow at her.

“I can relax later. Come, join me in the shower.” He looked like he was about to protest for a moment- until she lifted the shirt over her head.

His eyes widened as she brazenly undressed before him.

She cocked a brow as she stepped beneath the steaming water.

“Come on Alec, make me take back my words.”

So he did.