Envy (Dark Waters Book 1)

Chapter Twenty-one:

Memories replayed in my head. Priscilla asked me to show her how I loved her, and I couldn't help but think of her body trembling at my touch; of the way her voice sounded when she cried out and moaned. If I showed her that, wouldn't it be too soon? I know she ached for it. But after meeting me, was she ready to give it all away?

She already has. Every part of her is with you.

I twisted my neck to press my ear against my shoulder and followed Priscilla back to the couch. She sat, legs crossed, looking up at me with such curiosity. It made me wonder if she knew exactly what we'd done. Yes, we were connected, loved each other, and had a wild adventure for a few days. But the stakes of it? What I knew and what she'd agreed to...Thinking back to the night, I lost it all and brought her down with me. It was just one night, but a night with Sin meant an eternity in hell.

Priscilla then, just like now, had to know. Only then, when I gave into the smell of her skin and the need for her sex, there was no before to learn. Priscilla knew what was in front of her; the 'man' who rescued her more than once without questions, without demands. What she wished to learn was me, my darkness, and the allure of my immortality. And as she had become fascinated by my existence, she fell into love quickly, allowing us to share a night, and another, and a third, intertwined in each other's arms.

Priscilla now needed to know what had happened, in detail, and for me to show her how I loved her. I couldn't put the love I continued to feel in my heart into words. I couldn't. It was indescribable. And as I fell deeply in her light and soul, I believed we'd be inseparable. I thought her spirit alone could keep us from the dark.

I was wrong.

Sitting on the left side of the couch, Priscilla crossed her legs under her and cleared her throat, looking up at me with curious eyes. "I'm sorry if I was coming off... forward, I guess. I'm a person who likes knowing every detail of everything. So, tell me, or show me that you loved me."

Don't be like this. Just do it.

As she looked up at me, I pressed my hand against my ear and sighed. "Yes, I loved you," I let the honesty remain in the past tense, "but loving you left us in the dark, unprotected and open to attacks."

She blinked, pursing her lips. "The world is dark, Octavio. So what difference would it be?"

"Me." I raised my brows. "Loving you meant I needed to give up my seat within the Deadly Seven. I didn't think of dismantling them. I thought... shit," I rubbed my brow, "I thought I'd be able to live a life with you."

"Why can't you?"

Can't. Present tense. It made me laugh and trail my tongue over my bottom lip. Lifting my gaze, I stared at her and her undefeated aura. "Because I'm not a part of this world, Priscilla. Without my seat, the realms would clash, and mortals would suffer. And because of my crimes, I would've been endlessly hunted. I was putting you in danger," I pinched my brows together, "I was selfishly killing us both."

"But I agreed to it, right? I wanted it because I love you." Again, present tense. I gulped, watching as she pushed up and away from the couch. Priscilla came toward me with a quick stride. She placed both of her hands on my chest. "I promised to save you, too, didn't I?"

How did she know that? Slightly leaning back, I stared at her face, searching her eyes. "Priscilla, how much—"

"How much do I know? A lot," she said with a slight shrug. "It may have happened a hundred years ago, but it's in me. It's my life. And every second I'm with you, the more I remember."

My stomach flipped. A tinge of joy came over me. She remembered and welcomed all of this. It had been the one thing I'd wanted for so long; for Priscilla to come back and fall back in my arms, no questions asked.