Restraint (The Revelation Series Book 2) (14 page)

“There’
s nothing more I want than a forever with you, siren.” His eyes search mine.

My lips part at
his declaration. Before I can speak, Asher leans down, kissing me at a painfully slow pace. He pushes all his feelings into the kiss, causing a single tear to escape my eyes, inching its way onto my cheek.

With
the pad of his thumb, he brushes it away and helps me step up onto the platform at the end of the bed. I push away the meaning of this entire moment and how significant it is for him, for us. After this, there is no turning back. It’s all or nothing. Everything is about to change.

He
releases my hand and moves a piece of the draped fabric to the side, patiently waiting for me to climb onto the mattress. I turn to face him. My pace is slow as I place my palms down on the bed and sit, causing him to inhale sharply. Keeping constant eye contact, I swallow down the fear and move back on the bed so I’m facing him while lying back on my elbows.

With hooded eyes, Asher just looks me over, ta
king me all in as his lips part. After what feels like an eternity, he unhurriedly moves toward the end of the bed. Releasing the curtain behind him, he climbs over me until we’re face-to-face. The weight of his body pressed onto mine causes my skin to go up in flames. My throat goes dry and my breathing becomes erratic. Asher’s eyes search mine before he takes my hands in his, interlocking our fingers. He lifts my arms above my head, allowing our combined hands to rest on the pillows that my hair is splayed over.

“
Ilem jur pri tú-tim, ew tú-tim pri pos-tim ali ide in-zen, mání, vas-wís
,
ew ter-ort. Esta-de ai esta Ilem de, Ilem pos-tim in-saengkt pri, tú-tim,” he says in his Garish tongue.

“What does that mean?” I ask
in a bare whisper.

“Forever
,” he says while lowering his lips to mine.

1
0
The Eternal Forest

I’m floating
. That’s the only way to describe the feeling I’m experiencing at this moment. It’s difficult to tell where Asher begins and I end. We’re swirling and morphing into one person. I feel every beat of his heart, each breath he takes, and every single emotion that’s running through him. We’re becoming one, mind, body, soul and heart. I inhale and let go, leaving my fears behind. It feels so real. He’s become the only thing that makes me want to live at all.

Large
, warm hands cup my face while a thumb traces my bottom lip. “Open your eyes, siren,” Asher commands softly.

I have no choice
. My body obeys willingly as my eyes flutter open and pull into view his beautiful face. My heart skips a beat as I reach for him.

His smile is so bright.
“I realize it’s a little disorienting. Just trust that I’ve got you.”

As soon as my eyes focus, I realize we’re no longer in Asher’s bed but lying in
dark cerulean moss. My eyes soak in our surroundings as black trees come into view. This realm is nothing like the Kingdom of the Fae. Where that land is full of bright greens, crystal water and blue skies adorned with colorful pinks and whites, this forest is dark and beautifully haunting.

“Welcome to the Eternal Forest, siren.” Asher breathes in my ear, reminding me his body is still
touching mine.
Oh my God!

I take in the
shadowy colors of the realm. It’s filled with deep blues, dark grays, and midnight blacks. The trees have black bark and are beyond normal levels of what we consider tall. They’re maybe over a hundred feet high and none have leaves on them. The tall vegetation crosses at the top, intertwining their branches in an arched canopy, shielding the sky. They remind me of the black, leafless decorative trees people put out on Halloween.

The
exotic plant life is low to the ground, clinging to the land like a carpet. The bubbling water glows jade with a light layer of smoke coming off the top. The forest floor is composed of black soil sprinkled with dark gray and olive rocks. Surprisingly, it’s stunning.

My eyes lock back onto Asher as he begins to stand, holding out his hand for me to take.

“W-what happened? Why do I feel so…?” My voice trails off in search of the right words for the disorientation I’m feeling.

Asher assists me to my feet and brushes the hair away from my face.
There is worry and pain in his eyes. Through our bond, I can sense he’s scared I will reject him. “It’s the bond. We realm jumped together. The first time always leaves you a little out of sorts because,” he pauses and exhales, “essentially, we’ve become one. It will get easier, I promise.”

I assess his face, feeling so different. It’s like every time I look at him, he’s my reason for being.
“I’m not going to sugar coat this. That’s pretty fucking creepy, pretty boy.”

He laughs loudly. “Yeah
, siren, it certainly is.”

“
Finalllllyyyy. What the hell took you two so long?” Callan announces in fake annoyance as we turn to see he and Abby approaching us.

“
We’re here now,” Asher states, interlacing our fingers.

“
Good. Let’s roll,” Callan says as Abby studies me.

My brows pinch together. “What?”

She muffles a giggle. “Nothing. Let’s go meet the priestess.” She offers her arm, linking it with mine, pulling me out of Asher’s grasp.

“Why do I get the feelin
g it’s not nothing?” I question, allowing her to drag me forward.

She stops and leans in. “
All right, don’t snap or anything, but your eyes.” Abby pauses looking like the cat that swallowed the canary. “They’re glowing indigo.”

I freeze. “WHAT?” I
whisper shout. “I don’t have indigo eyes, I have hazel eyes!”

She
rolls her eyes before breaking out into giggles. “I know, Eve. That’s what is so funny.”

“Holy shit! I thought only mated
gargoyles have their eyes change to match their partner’s color?” I squeak.

“Maybe something happened in the
stone state that caused this.” The modelesque gargoyle shrugs casually.

Asher comes up behind me,
apprehension rolling off him. “What’s wrong? I can feel you freaking out twenty realms away.”

I turn and
shoot daggers at him, hoping he’ll notice my new eye color. Asher just smirks at me. His cocky face has a proud look all over it. “Did you do this on purpose?” I point to my eyes.

He almost looks hurt, almost. “Eve, nothing is
permanent. It’s simply a side effect of the stone state we’re sharing. In this realm, because we jumped together, it marks you as mine for protection reasons. I promise, once we’re out of the stone state, your eye color will return.”

After a moment,
I huff. “Fine. No more marking me without permission. I mean it, Asher.”

Asher leans into my space.
“Siren, when I do mark you again, I expect you’ll be screaming your permission. Perhaps even in the form of: ‘OH GOD. YES!’” he says in a low voice that vibrates through to my soul.

I swallow hard. “
Christ.” I turn to storm away.

“
Oh, and Eve, I promise it will be because you want it.” His words cause me to blush.

“
Okayyy. Awkwardness now set aside, we’re already behind schedule so let’s get moving. Unless we want to live out the rest of our days as one of the priestess’ white owls,” Callan offers.

“Waiting on you
,” I retort smarmily and begin walking.

“Ah
, siren?” Asher says, holding back a laugh.

“What?”
I turn and snip, mostly because of the heat in my veins from the idea of Asher marking me, making me his completely.
Damn his dimples.

Asher points his finger to the left. “We’re actually taking that path. The one you’
re on leads to the trolls and they tend to eat humans.”

I cross my arms in
irritation before storming off to the other path. “Damn gargoyles,” I mutter against the laughter radiating from Callan and Asher.

***

I’m tired. And hungry. And maybe a little
whiny, if I’m being honest. We’ve been walking for what feels like hours and these heels Abby picked out, not so comfortable. I’ve lost track of time. It’s weird, there are blue beams of what appears to be moonlight coming through the black lifeless trees, but I see no sky or moon. It’s like we’re shut off from the rest of the world.

“You okay?” Asher asks from behind me.

“Fine.”

“Siren?”

“What do you want me to say, Asher? Everything is just dandy. Haven’t you heard? I’m a weapon in the war between Heaven and Hell. I can realm jump to creepy dark forests to meet fairies and priestesses. My good friend was killed by a rival gargoyle clan who wanted to hand me over to Lucifer, oh and I’m being protected at the request of an archangel by a legion of gargoyles, one of whom I just shared a very intimate moment with and may or may not be bound to forever simply because I laid on his bed. Way to show restraint!” My voice drips with sarcasm.
Yep, definitely whiny and irritable.

“
Actually, I was just curious if you’re okay, meaning are you hungry and do you want a granola bar, but since you seem to have a lot on your mind, I’ll just snack on it,” he teases while opening the package.

I stop in my tracks and turn to
face him. “You aren’t going to share?” I question as my stomach rumbles.

His eyebrows lift. “So not only do you want to share my bed, but you also want to share my granola bar?”

I cross my arms. “I don’t believe I ever asked to share your bed.”

“
You said, and I quote, ‘I would be honored to share your stone state bed.’ Are you trying to take it back?”

“That’s unfair
. I said I would be honored to share it. Not will you share it with me.”

“Same difference.”

“No, it’s not.” My anger is rising. “Please, I’m begging, just give me a bite of the granola bar.”

“Well, since you’re begging.”
His eyes get all smoldering. “With pleasure, siren.” Asher moves slowly toward me as my mouth goes dry. As soon as he is in my breathing space, he lifts the bar to my mouth and waits for me to bite it.

I sigh
then move forward, placing my mouth over the exposed stick of oatmeal and take a bite, savoring the chocolately, oatmeal chewiness.

“Was that so hard?” he whispers.

“Are you two going to eye fuck each other the entire hike?” Callan jests as I close my eyes in mortification.

“Callan
, boundaries, babe!” Abby exclaims. “That was so crude.”

“What?” His eyes go all gooey
. “Baby, if I have to watch them do this the entire hike, I’m going to throw up the granola bar I just ate.” Callan laughs as he pulls Abby into an embrace.

She caresses his cheek. “Don’t you recall how we couldn’t keep our hands off
each other the first time we stone slept together?”
Now I’m the one going to puke. Ugh.

“We have to make up some time, so let
’s keep walking,” Asher says, his playful demeanor gone as he walks around me, taking the lead and ending the conversation.
Thank you, Asher.

I narrow my eyes at Callan. “You’re mature.”

“What?” Callan gives me his best innocent face. “The sexual tension is killing me. Cutie, just sleep with him and get it over with. For all our sake, Eves.”

“Callan
, that is so inappropriate and none of your business. Sorry, Eve. Come on,” Abby apologizes while linking our arms and moving us forward.

“
Babyyyy, I was kidding. Technically, she’s already slept with him anyway.” Callan follows like a scolded puppy dog behind us.

“Is that why I feel all crazy inside?” I ask Abby
in a murmur.

“What do you mean?”

“I dunno, forget it.”

“No, tell me,” she prods.

“Because we’re in stone state together, is that why I want to like, um, jump his bones every five seconds?” I look away, my cheeks stained red.

Abby
just looks at me knowingly. “I think it enhances it. Plus, don’t forget you’re projecting your feelings to him and vice versa. It’s like turning up your hormones times a thousand.”

“Ugh. Crap.” I exhale.

“Would it be so bad? I mean, being mated with Asher?” Abby asks in a serious tone.

“It’s not allowed
, so I can’t even comment on it.” It’s a weak answer.

“Gargoyles can mate with humans,” she reminds me
, her tone now stern.

“
Yes. But not bonded protectors, Abby. He took an oath. There’s also the little detail that he’s the next gargoyle king. How would that go over if he took a human mate? Plus, I kind of have a lot on my plate. You know, saving the world and all,” I reply dryly.