Every Last Breath - Armentrout Jennifer L. - Страница 70

If the wind had blown that second, I would’ve fallen right over. “Lilith saved me?”

“Lilith promised to never attempt an escape again if I saved you, and that was an offer that even I could not pass up. So I made her a deal, and here you are.”

A thousand emotions swamped me, and my knees felt weak. Lilith saved me? Disbelief swirled, mingling with hope, elation and just more shock. Had she finally recognized me as her daughter and had done something redeeming? The bag started to slip from my fingers and I tightened my grasp.

And then it struck me.

If I had died, then Lilith would’ve died, too. There was no point for the Boss to make this deal unless...unless she had partly done it for Roth.

Holy cracker jacks, was the Boss capable of compassion? Oh man, the world had just turned upside down.

“Now, don’t get all ooey and gooey inside, my dear. If you died, then she would’ve died. So did she feel a motherly bond for you or was she in the end, just saving herself? Perhaps she hopes that one day you will change your mind and free her. After all, then she wouldn’t be escaping, now would she?

Who knows? I really don’t care,” she said, raising one shoulder in a delicate shrug. “Neither should you, because you know what you should care about? The fact that besides the Alphas, I’m the only being that can undo Astaroth’s existence with just a snap...of my two little, bitty fingers.”

Both Lilith as my possible savior and the Boss being awesome forgotten, I felt my back stiffen and my eyes narrow as her threat smacked into me. Fury took hold and I had to use every ounce of restraint not to shift right there and freak some people out.

I didn’t even recognize the voice that came out of me in a low growl that caused those walking nearby to give me a wide berth. “I may not be able to defeat you, but I know I can go toe-to-toe with you. So if you harm one hair on Roth’s head, I will bathe in your blood and make a necklace out of your entrails.”

Then I braced myself for some major whoop ass that was probably going to bring the Alphas screaming down on us, and maybe I should’ve had Roth come with me today after all, because my little trip had suddenly taken a really bad turn.

But then Morris smiled and his shoulders shook silently while she tossed her head back and laughed loudly. Nothing about what I said was funny. Or at least I didn’t think so. I glanced around, unsure of what was happening.

“I like you,” she said once she stopped laughing. “I really do. You are deserving of the Crown Prince.”

“Um...”

“And I can see that you and I... Well, I think we’ll get along famously.” She turned back to the game.

“Visit whenever you like, but one last thing.”

“Uh...”

She picked up a knight as she licked her lips. “Threaten me again, and I don’t care what your mother has promised, what friends you have in high places, or what it will do to Astaroth— you will be wearing entrails as a necklace, but they won’t be mine.”

Alrighty then.

I wasn’t stupid, so I knew when it was time to make an exit. I walked away from the table in a daze and it wasn’t until a good five minutes later that I stopped in the middle of the crowded sidewalk to wonder out loud, “If that lady is the Boss, then what or who in the Hell is Morris?”

* * *

Instead of texting Roth, I ended up heading back to the house. I walked in through the front door, placing the bag that contained Mr. Snotty on the chair in the sitting room. As soon as I crossed into the living room, Roth was there. Moving as quick as a shadow, within a second, his arms were around me and his lips were skating up the side of my neck.

Immediately, a soft sound escaped me as my blood heated. One of his hands found its way under my sweater and smoothed over my bare skin, sending a hot shiver through me.

“You didn’t text me,” he said to the space just below my ear.

My eyes drifted shut. “Huh?”

His deep chuckle warmed me. “You were supposed to text me and I was supposed to come to you.”

“Oh. Yeah. That’s right.” I bit down on my lip when he kissed the space his lips had brushed against.

Why hadn’t I texted him? My eyes popped open. “Dammit. You’re so distracting. I need to tell you something.”

“Mmm. Tell me something.” His other slipped down my back. “I’m listening.”

I was having trouble breathing. “I can’t talk when you’re doing that.”

“Doing what?” he said innocently.

“You know what.” Reaching behind me, I caught his hand and pulled it away from my behind.

“It’s not my fault you can’t multitask,” he said as he started walking me backward. He twisted us around and then sat, pulling me down in his lap so that I was facing him and my legs were shoved against the arms of the chair. “Now. I’m sitting. You’re here in my lap, where I like you to be, and I’m listening.”

“Okay.” I blinked slowly while he grinned up at me.

He looped his arms around my hips loosely. “You met with Zayne?”

“Yes, but that’s not what I wanted to tell you.” As his brows drew down, I poked him in the chest with one finger. “I’ll tell you all about that later. It was good chatting with him and all.”

“But?” His gaze dropped to my mouth, and I had a feeling he was going to kiss me.

I needed to get this out before he ended up succeeding in obliterating my senses and it was hard enough when his fingers started moving along the band of my jeans. “But I think I met your mother, Roth.”

His finger stilled as his lips parted. A dark look crept into his face, tightening the skin around his eyes. “My mother?”

“Yeah. You know, the Boss. She was at the Mall, and I heard her humming ‘Paradise City.’”

Everything came out in a rush at that point. “I turned around and there she was. And wow, she’s really pretty. I mean, she looks a lot like you. Not that you’re pretty. You’re handsome and hot, really kind of beautiful and—”

“I get what you’re saying,” he interrupted. “And thanks. But just this once we should talk about something other than my hotness. Did the Boss say anything to you? Do anything?”

“Well, she told me that Lilith made a deal to never escape Hell and that was why I was saved, but that didn’t make a lot of sense, because Lilith dead solves the problem of Lilith. I think she...she took the deal for you—the Boss. And she also said that you were her favorite Crown Prince.” Crossing my arms, I frowned. “She also said that she could undo your existence.”

His eyes narrowed. “Why would the Boss say that?”

“I...um, I kind of threatened her.”

“You did?”

Biting down on my lower lip, I nodded. “I sort of told her that I’d bathe in her blood and wear her entrails as a necklace if she harmed you.”

One corner of his lips twitched. “You did what?”

I lifted my chin. “I wanted her to know that I did not take kindly to thinly veiled threats against you.”

Roth’s face softened. “Oh, Shortie...you do me proud.”

Blushing, I looked away as I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.”

“I’m serious. You sought to protect me.” His fingers curved around my chin and guided my eyes back to his. “I’m honored that you would do that. I’m sure the Boss wasn’t too happy about that.”

“Well, she kind of laughed...and then said she liked me. And then she basically told me I’d wear my own entrails if I ever threatened her again. It was weird. You never told me that the Boss was a female, and your mother. And I thought you called the Boss a he before. Or am I making that up? It doesn’t matter.”

Talk about crazy in-laws, dear Lord.

“A female?” He laughed deeply. “The Boss is whatever and whoever it chooses to be.”

Now I was the one gaping at him. “What?”

He trailed his hand along my jaw, cupping the nape of my neck. “The Boss isn’t my mother or my father. More like my creator, and for some reason recently, the Boss has favored looking like a woman who sort of resembles me, but the Boss is neither male or female.”