Escaping Death

Chapter 33

Solana

When we got home the guys left me to my own devices. I stole a few more pillows and another blanket and burrowed among them in Ace's room. Each of the guys has a distinct scent, and surprisingly they each compliment one another. It's almost comforting to be surrounded by their scents like this in Ace's bed. I doubt he feels the same way but he hasn't commented about it either.

I'm trying to make sense of what my brother told me today about Rimori and Elena, the mother of monsters. But every time I think about it I smolder instantly, flames threatening to ignite.

I'm so wrapped up in my own thoughts I nearly miss the knock at the door.

"Rise and shine, Sunshine!" Eli's voice is far too chipper for the mood I'm set in. "I've got a surprise for you, get ready to go out."

"Is this an Ace-sanctioned outing?" I spit back at him bitterly.

"Would it really make a difference?" He purrs. When I don't respond he rips the blankets off of me and swats me on the ass. "Up! Put on whatever you'd like. We leave in 15 minutes exactly so I suggest you get a move on."

***

I have zero desire to go anywhere right now, but here I am dressed for the occasion outside of a club I've never been to before.

"Smile Sunshine, tonight isn't about business. This is for pleasure." Eli beams at me conspiratorially looking every one of his 28 young years.

The Den, as the club is called, is intimately small. It reminds me more of a man cave than anything else. Dark liquors on the shelves, leather couches on the edges of the room, and dim lighting where you can easily see your surroundings whilst still feeling protected by the dark.

"Drink?" Eli asks me nodding towards the bar.

He leads me by the hand over to the bar and orders for both of us. The amber liquid burns a smooth path down my throat and warms my belly.

Since we first met at Caligo, before either of us knew who we were, Eli has always come off as the fun-loving one, the easy-going one, carefree. Even when he told me about how he came to be a part of Death and his mate, whatever pain he suffered doesn't seem to have to strangle-hold on him as it does me. The pathetic part is Hunter wasn't even my mate.

"Was it hard?" I ask Eli, whose face breaks into a dazzling, shit-eating grin.

"You're going to have to be a bit more specific, Sunshine." Eli laughs with a suggestive smile.

"Your mate, when you found her. Was it hard to let her go?" Eli's smile falters and he covers it up with another taste of his drink.

"Initially, maybe," Eli responds honestly but then forces a smile, "but now look at me, I'm free! I'm not tied down to anyone, I can go anywhere, do anything. I'm certainly not missing out." Eli's words lack the conviction needed to truly believe what he says. Behind that smile is a guy just as broken as me, just as empty, and just as guarded.

His chocolate eyes narrow in on mine as he runs his knuckles softly along my arm. "I know how badly you hurt when Hunter left, and I can't speak to the man he was four years ago, but neither of you are the same now. Maybe it's time to try something new?"

Eli steps into my space, pressing his body into mine and cupping my face in his hand. "Just for one night, forget the past, forget your pain and your anger, and feel how good it feels to be free."

He brings his lips down onto mine and whether it's the alcohol or our unfinished business from that first night at Caligo, I find myself giving in to his suggestion.