“You didn’t see the look in his eyes, Colton. I’ve only ever seen that look in your eyes before,” I tell him. “He doesn’t want to work for Dravin, but he literally doesn’t have a choice.”
“Let’s not think about that now. We’ll worry about that later. We can try to come up with a way to save him, but with the blood promise, it’s tricky. It sounds like Dravin was the one who initiated it. As long as Dravin lives, Jedrek lives. If Dravin dies, so does Jedrek.”
“Does that work both ways?” I ask.
“No, if anything happens to Jedrek it won’t affect Dravin.”
“Why would he agree to a blood promise then?”
“He’s supposed to be dead, Ryanne, but he’s not. It was his time to die, but he turned away from death and found a plan B,” Colin explains. “People will do anything to fight death. Immortality is very sought after.”
“No one can live forever.”
“That means nothing. If you could live past your expiration date, wouldn’t you try?”
“I’ve died twice, Colin. I am living past my expiration date.”
“No, you’re not. You obviously weren’t meant to die those times, otherwise you wouldn’t be here. You’re soulmate saved you once. You only get one healing. You were given a second chance because it wasn’t your time to die. You still have time. Jedrek doesn’t. That’s why it’s hard. His blood promise with Dravin is the only thing keeping him alive right now. If he wasn’t tied to Dravin, the Fates would find him.”
“What are the Fates exactly?” I ask.
“That’s a lesson for another night. It’s a long and complicated story,” Colin says as he stands up. “Now, weren’t you going to sing for us?”
Chapter Seven
“I’m really tired of everyone making me sing all the time. I was perfectly fine being a closet shower singer,” I mumble as Colton pulls me into our room.
“You have a beautiful voice, Ry. Why don’t you like letting others hear it?”
“Because it makes people to look at me more, Colton. I’m already the freak with too much magic. I don’t need to be the freak with too much magic who can also sing.”
“I happen to like that freak,” Colton says as he sits down on the bed. I try to walk past him, but he grabs me around the waist and pulls me onto his lap. I laugh as he starts tickling me and squirm to get away.
“Stop,” I gasp between laughs. “Please,” I whine. Colton stops tickling me. When I’m no longer being threatened, I turn around and look up at him. Standing so I’m facing him, I look straight in the eyes and just watch him for a few seconds. Because he’s sitting, we’re now the same height. I step forward a little and push his hair out of his eyes. His love for me cascades into my body with each movement, and I feel my smile slowly fall. I inhale deeply and push his emotions into the back of my mind. It’s easier to control when there’s only one person in the room with me. I lean forward and gently kiss him.
Colton moves his hands to my hips and lightly pulls me forward. I let him guide me. He removes his right hand from my hip and places it at the base of my neck. When I feel his hand move through my hair, I sigh and melt into him. Colton uses that to deepen the kiss. Running my hands up his chest, I wrap them around his neck and step closer to him. His racing heart matches mine. He moves the hand from my hips to the small of my back and hugs me to him. I can’t help but shiver at the movement.
I push against his chest, forcing him to lean backward. Pulling me with him, he lies down on the bed and slowly moves backward without breaking the kiss. I feel his hands brush against the bare skin of my back, but he doesn’t move them any higher or lower. I brush my tongue against his lower lip. Colton groans and pulls back.
He slowly moves me backward and sits up. I end up straddling him. “What’s wrong?” I ask him.
“You’re acting on my emotions,” he says.
“No, I’m not,” I say as I lean forward and kiss him again. He kisses me back, but ends up pushing me away again. “Colton,” I groan.
He chuckles and brushes a strand of hair away from my eyes. “You’re so beautiful, Ryanne,” he whispers as he leans forward. “And I want you, I really do.” His lips brush against mine when he talks, sending chills through my body. “But I know you wouldn’t be doing this if you weren’t acting on my emotions. It’s very difficult to restrain myself, babe.”
“Then don’t,” I tell him as I gently bite his bottom lip while lightly tracing the muscles on his abdomen. I can feel his heart racing against my chest. This spurs me on. Fisting the end of his shirt, I slowly pull up the fabric. He lifts his arms and lets me pull the shirt over his head. Colton leans forward and kisses me again. I press myself flush against his bare chest. His hand slowly caresses up my back. When he reaches the edge of my bra, he pulls back.