Chapter Twenty-Six

Nova

I didn’t understand. Harvest and Derrick missed an opportunity to attack. Since my release, Harvest and his dragons hadn’t visited Grim’s woods. Harvest was unaware that the Reapers have lost their powers since he stopped sending his dragons. It should have been reassuring, but the lack of knowledge about Harvest’s plans was unsettling.

Derrick could hide in the woods, watching everything unfold, and waiting for a moment to grab me. He was excellent at hiding, and why Harvest used Derrick’s skills to conceal his hideouts. Derrick could very well be in the room with August and me…

The thought sent a shudder through me. I examined August’s room like the warlock might appear suddenly . Strength didn’t matter in the Underworld. It was easy for anyone to be surprised, especially if they were unaware of what to expect. August plopped on the bed beside me, pulling a blanket over my shoulders. “Cold?” he asked.

“Just unsettled,” I admitted. “The inactivity from Harvest and Derrick bothers me.”

The veins in August’s neck jumped. “Harvest is planning something.”

“He’s always planning something.”

August sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Before I lost you the first time, there were so many places I wanted to take you. I wanted to show you some beaches in the human world. All I could think about was giving you the peace you so desperately deserved with Sofia and the boys.”

A sharp pang hit my chest. I hadn’t reached out to Sofia since I saw her when I needed to. While I had been glad to see her alive, I had been envious of her living with August. She had lived in comfort with August’s protection. I spent so long trying to despise August. No wonder it was so hard to truly hate him. My mate had never been my enemy. And I missed Sofia and needed to learn how to build a friendship with her again.

Seeing Barron nearly lose his mate helped me realize I could lose August, too. He could fade away, and I might die. If that happened, would he know I was grateful? Would he know I loved him back then and didn’t regret putting my trust in him? I only regretted falling for Harvest’s scheme.

“There’s nothing for me to show you anymore,” August went on. “Very little of the human world is left untouched by the end. I could make you a new world—like, how my dad created these woods. I could bring to life whatever you wanted when this is over. All I’ve ever wanted was for you to be mine. Now I realize it would be cruel to claim you when you’ve always been bound by another. But it’s a different circumstance. For I’m yours as much as you’re mine.”

He lifted my chin and his dark gaze felt like it was penetrating my soul with his intensity.

“That doesn’t make me the same as our enemies, does it?” he asked.

My body melted from his honest words. “I understand more and more of what I didn’t before.” Shame crept in with what I was about to admit. “You living a life with a harem—”

“Nova…”

“Let me finish. It hurt me, August, to imagine you with others. So much so that when I learned of Sofia being alive, all I could think about was she got to be by your side, and I didn’t. While I was happy she survived, I still felt unsettled and hurt. I realize now it’s jealousy. To think I was jealous of someone I loved because she got to be with you the last century.” I wiped my face when I felt the tears. “I want to tear Harvest apart every time I think of these things.”

August caressed my cheek before guiding my chin upward to face him again. “Sofia is like a sister. I took care of her for you .”

My heart swelled. His dark orbs held me captive.

“Once I traded for those in the harem, I never spoke to the females again unless it was to parade one around in the Underworld.” He scoffed, closing his eyes. “Greed needed something to do, something to prove. Nothing could satisfy my curse after I lost you. I’m sorry, Nova. I should have fought my curse.”

“No,” I whispered, shaking my head as my throat and nose burned. “Let’s not keep doing this. Every time we get upset about the past, Harvest wins. I don’t want to go another day being at odds with you, August Reaper. Thank you for watching after Sofia. And thank you for saving me. You freed me like you wanted to do so long ago, and if Harvest hadn’t messed with us, I truly believe you would have saved us back then.”

August dropped his head to my shoulder and let his tears fall.

“You aren’t like anyone else,” I added, combing my fingers through his hair. “When you claim me, I know it will be the same way I claim you. You are mine, and I don’t wish to see you with anyone else but me.”

“I’m yours. All fucking yours.” August raised his head, met my eyes briefly, and leaned in. Suddenly, his lips brushed against mine. The contact was the softest, most maddening thing. My lips tingled, and that sensation traveled through me, drifting lower, until a storm felt trapped within me. Unfortunately, the kiss was over as soon as it began.

I breathed heavily as August rubbed my cheek, smiling. The chaos within me hadn’t settled at all. The feelings he invoked always unnerved me. I never felt so out of control as when touching or being touched by him. My body tingled as if it expected something to happen or someone to arrive, but nothing ever did. And it left me feeling depleted and restless for something that never came.

August’s nostrils flared, and his eyes blackened completely. “It’s okay. You don’t have to chase it away every time you feel it.”

“What am I feeling?” I asked.

“Desire for me.”

“I’m not sure I like it. It’s not something I can control,” I admitted as my skin heated under his scrutiny.

“Because sex is something you thought you’d never want,” August finished. “And yet, you yearn for it with me.”

I huffed and pushed him away. “I don’t.”

“Okay,” he said without an argument.

I narrowed my eyes as he brushed his thumb over my lip. That tingle dipped between my thighs, and my core throbbed when his eyes blackened again.

“Stop that,” I said, squeezing my legs together. The slight friction made it feel good, but uncomfortable.

“It’s okay,” he whispered, kissing my forehead. “This is okay. It’s not bad. We’re not bad if we touch. The emotions we have for each other are nothing like what you’ve witnessed.”

My vision blurred as I tried to keep the tears from falling. I knew our relationship wasn’t like the brutality I watched at Derrick’s camp. I was just scared of feeling so out of control.

“Let’s rest while we can.” August leaned over and tugged off mine and his boots, then pulled me onto the bed farther. I melted in his arms as he tucked me into the blankets with him.

Only I couldn’t sleep. August succumbed to his exhaustion within minutes. I assumed he hadn’t recovered from the lack of sleep, but the longer I remained under the blankets, the more frenzied my body became. The throbbing between my legs was constant, especially with August’s scent filling my nose. My nipples pressed against my bra, and my breasts were achy and heavy.

My hands were going to wander over August’s body if I stayed another second, so I climbed out of bed. Taking a deep breath, I decided it was time to visit Sofia. I knew exactly where August’s old home was from Harvest, showing me over and over.

I arrived and found Sofia shuffling through papers at a wooden desk.

She beamed and shouted, “Nova!”

“Are you busy?” I asked, stepping closer.

“Not for you,” she said, tossing the papers down. “Considering everything happening in the human and Underworld, it seems pointless trying to run the casinos. I don’t know why I’m bothering.”

“Do these casinos belong to August?”

Sofia nodded. “In name, yes, but they might as well be mine. He’s always left me in charge. Now that he has you, I don’t think he’ll have a need for anything in the City of the Dead anymore.”

“Are you unhappy I’m alive?” I blurted, and my face burned.

Her eyes widened, tears glistening. “What? No! Why would you think that?”

My chest had an awful burn to it. “Because the second I heard you’ve been with him this entire time, I was happy, but also jealous.”

“Oh, Nova.” Sofia walked around the desk and grasped my hands. “Death couldn’t separate you and him. It’s normal to feel that way when you’ve heard so many negative things about him for years.”

“Are the women here?” I asked.

“Yes.” She tugged at my hands. “Do you wish to meet them?”

I shook my head. “So, he really saved them?”

“Every single one. They’d be dead right now if he hadn’t. But I’ll admit, I often got frustrated with him for bringing more women into his harem.”

I frowned. “Why?”

“No matter how many women he saved, it wouldn’t have brought you back to life. I saw his repeated acts of rescuing them as a constant reminder of his failure to save you.” She lowered her head, shoulders tightening. “So, I have to admit that I confessed my feelings to him at one point, but he rejected me. August has only ever seen me as a little sister, but I wanted you to know because I want to start again. As friends? Sisters?”

“Thank you for being honest. I want to be as we were.” The pain in my chest eased at our admissions.

“Yes.” She laughed. “When you and August finish saving the worlds, there’s so much I want us to do! First, I’d like us to visit Finn, Odin, and Cloud’s grave. Just imagine their faces if they knew August and his family were going to save the worlds.”

My nose burned as I tried to contain the turmoil I felt at losing them.

Sofia hugged me. “Everything’s going to be okay. I have faith in you guys.”

“Thank you,” I mumbled into her shoulder.

“What about this time?”

“For being alive.”

Her shoulders shook as she squeezed me harder. “Same to you.”

“I never want to see the women. You’ll make sure they’re okay, right?” I asked. If they were in difficult situations before August saved them, I was glad he took them in. No one deserved the hardships I endured.

“Don’t worry. We already have a place to hide out when things get worse.”

“Good.”

“Be safe and let August take care of you, all right?”

“I’ll take care of him. Don’t worry.”

She giggled, and it reminded me of when we were younger. “Um. Have you slept with him yet?”

I stiffened. “What?”

“Relax. I can smell your desire, so—”

“You can smell what? ”

She snickered again. “And so can August. Hades, you’re probably killing the poor guy.”

“I’m not having this conversation with you,” I chastised her as if she were still a child. The reality was she knew more of the worlds than I did.

“Please, enjoy yourself with August. I know Harvest had you trapped, but August has done nothing but mourn you and he never touched another. You deserve to know peace and the touch of your lover.”

My body heated at her words, and she grinned.

“Sex is fun in case you didn’t know,” she said.

I didn’t dare admit I knew nothing but the horrors at Derrick’s camp.

August would know despite being a virgin, and that was enough.

____

I didn’t stay but a few minutes with Sofia. Since Derrick was after me, I didn’t want to put her at risk. August would be furious that I left the woods without him, but I felt better after speaking with Sofia. When I ported into his room, my mate was still asleep.

My mate.

There was a weightlessness coursing through my body as I gazed at him. Years of pain seemed to fall off my shoulders. His arm was slung over the empty side where I had been. We should be out destroying the last of Harvest’s hideouts. But the longer I stayed around August, the less hurried I became about getting my revenge. My enemies would always come searching for me. I’d never gotten to be anything more than a weapon someone wanted to shackle. At that moment, however, watching August sleep became a priority.

I had never been only myself, and I didn’t know who I was. With August, I just existed. I was his marked soulmate. I’d learn the rest as I went.

Slipping under the blanket beside him, I lifted his arm and slid closer. With a groan, he shifted onto his side, arms outstretched. August draped some of his weight over me, and his scent engulfed me. Those tingly bursts of magic flourished inside my stomach as his body heat seeped through my clothes. Hands at his chest, I breathed in his scent, memorizing every detail.

An ache settled deep within me, where the throbbing began at my core.

I remained still as my body went berserk. There was no other word to describe the loss of control I felt when I let myself go around August.

Breathing heavily, I finally moved my hands over his chest. I had no clue why I kept touching him, but it was as if I lost reason. I rubbed his shoulder, then his neck, only pausing when that rampant need stole my breath.

I had no one to blame but myself for touching August every time I could.

Suddenly, August’s hand covered mine on his neck. His eyes cracked open as he moved his head closer to mine. His breath heated my cheek and made my overwhelming need worse.

“What are you doing?” he asked, his voice hoarse from sleep.

“I went to see Sofia,” I said. I didn’t have a reason or explanation for touching him.

He scowled. “You can’t leave on your own. It’s dangerous.”

“ I’m dangerous.”

“You don’t have to tell me what I know. What I don’t know is what Harvest or Derrick are planning.” August rubbed his thumb over mine, gaze softening. “I won’t lose you again. I’m done if I lose you again. There’s nothing that’ll keep me in this world without you. Do you understand?”

Fear slithered through me. I understood all too well what living was like in that cell and how I wanted it to end. Like me, August had always seen his immortality as a burden . The thought of one of us dying at odds with each other, never knowing the truth, made my chest tighten.

“I’ll wake you next time,” I whispered.

His throat moved beneath my palm as he swallowed. “Maybe I shouldn’t sleep until this is over.”

“Sleep. You’re tired. I won’t take the risk again.”

August’s lips curled up. “I am, but not so much that I don’t notice your hands on me.”

I yanked my hands away as my body heated all over.

Grabbing my arm, he held my palm against his stomach. “Go on,” he encouraged. “I won’t object to your curiosity.”

He held my gaze with his as he slipped our hands beneath his shirt. The heat of his skin and the slight hair brushing my palm sent sparks of pleasure channeling through my stomach. I’d never understand how touching him brought about so many sensations inside me. I explored his stomach, letting my fingers slide up his chest. The whites of his eyes blackened. At least, he was feeling some sort of extreme emotion, too.

August caressed my chin, leaning closer as I explored. My heart hammered in my chest. “Tell me when to stop,” he said, right before he pressed his lips to mine.

Ecstasy flowed through me. He pulled away, absorbing every detail of me, like he wanted to brand it to memory. He had me in a wondrous daze. His lips curled up on one side, eyes still blackened, as he leaned in again. He kissed me, crushing his lips into mine. As I moaned, he took advantage of the opportunity to slide his top lip between mine, sucking on my bottom lip. Pleasure crashed into me, sparking the throbbing between my legs. I ran fingers through his hair, pulling him close as that needy sensation rocked through me.

I felt wild and fevered. He only made things worse when his tongue darted into my mouth, plunging into me in a way that drove me crazy. My body shook as August overloaded my senses.

“August.” My voice was raspy and unfamiliar to me.

I squeezed my thighs together as the tingling grew stronger. I felt empty and wanted August to make it go away.

“Here.” August lifted one of my legs and rubbed against my sex. That was it!

A sound escaped my lips, and August kissed me again. I rocked myself against him, letting the throbbing turn to a pleasurable sensation rushing deeper inside me.

“August,” I said again, eyes opening as I jerked from his lips. He trailed his mouth down my neck instead, and it was like I could feel that thrill right between my legs.

The sparks were getting stronger, and for a second, I was unsure. I felt like I was about to fall into some sort of wicked spell, and it would damage me. The intensity of the throb sharpened, and something was coming.

“Wait, stop.” I pushed at his chest. He moved quickly so I could get out of the bed.

My heart was still beating wildly when he asked, “What’s wrong?”

I pulled at my curls, then smoothed my palms down my shirt.

“Hey.” August tugged at my shirt. “Talk to me, so I know what I did wrong.”

“It’s nothing.” I took a deep breath, unable to look at him. “Just… something was happening to me.”

“Because we were touching?” he asked, softly.

I nodded. “It was like something was coming, and I didn’t like not being able to master it. How can I control it if I don’t know what it is?”

“Did it feel bad?”

My skin heated. “No.”

“So, you were feeling good?”

“Yes, and unruly, like I couldn’t prevent it.”

“That’s not your magic, Nova,” he whispered. “Look at me.”

His gaze was still so dark. Noticing the bulge in his jeans made the throbbing between my legs return . “This is normal. These uncontrollable feelings you’re experiencing often lead to intimacy between people. You know, sex, the thing you said you never wanted to do when we were kids.”

I understood, but I hadn’t realized the intensity would increase when August kissed or touched me. How was I supposed to remain in control of myself when I felt like I was dissolving into some sort of blissful madness?

Was I supposed to just lose myself completely?

“You didn’t enjoy kissing me?” He tugged at my shirt, pulling me closer.

“I liked it.”

“Do you know all the places I want to kiss you?” August slid his hand beneath my shirt and caressed my hip. “All the ways I could give you pleasure constantly loop inside my head. You deserve to feel fucking good, and so much more after the hell you’ve been through.”

He sat there, waiting, devouring me with his utter focus.

When I remained quiet, he said, “The next time you touch me, I’ll touch back again. I’ll take it as an invitation to seduce my mate. I’ll be relentless in making sure you feel that orgasm you’re so afraid of.”

So, the sensation coming was an orgasm?

He stood, towering over me, and my stomach took that moment to growl, reminding me of another gnawing hunger. Only that one I was used to.

A chicken leg appeared in his hand. “Enjoy it, because I don’t think the human world will have much more time for their restaurant chains. When they lose hope and fall into chaos, there’ll be no more places I can pull food from. We’ll have to use the kitchen when that happens.”

“Can you put this crunchy layer over it when you cook it for us?” I asked as I pulled off the skin and placed it in my mouth.

He smirked. “I’m sure I can figure it out. If not, someone can teach me.”

“Do they still have the burgers? Can you give me one of those?”

He laughed and materialized a bag in his hand. “Anything else?”

“Well, I’m thirsty.”

He materialized a bottle of water.

I sat down as I munched on my food. August was content to watch me, and I didn’t mind his focus. I rather liked it.

“Should we go after more of the hideouts now?” I asked reluctantly.

“I’d rather stay here with you, but taking out Harvest’s army should be a priority.”

“I wish we could see how furious he was when he discovered the ones we destroyed.”

We shared a smile as I finished my food.