The Darkest Touch

He lifted his head, gazed intently at her. “This blood and semen thing is proven?”

“Yes. I touched your face after you passed out, ingested your blood and well over twenty-four hours have passed and I haven’t sickened.”

His eyes widened. “Had the answer all along.” He kissed her face, nipped at her lips. “Thank you. Thank you, princess. Thank you so much.”

“It’s Hades we owe.”

“He’s not the one who took me back and gave me another chance. And I’ll make sure you never regret your decision,” he said. “For the rest of my days I will do everything in my power to make up for my poor behavior.” He released her, only to cup her cheeks. “I love you. You are my treasure, and you are worth anything. Worth everything. I would even eat raisins for you.”

“You love me that much?” she asked softly.

“With all that I am, all that I will ever be.”

“Good, because I love you, too.” She flashed one of her favorite leather chairs into the corner of the room, then flashed Torin into it. Along with the things men liked. A glass of Scotch and a cigar.

He looked at both and laughed. “All I need is the crowd,” he said.

“And you’ll have one. This is your throne, and it will be moved into our new throne room as soon as it’s ready.” She stood a few feet away, drinking in the sight of her man.

My forever man.

“Now for your punishment. You’ll give me an orgasm for every day we were apart, and maybe, just maybe, I’ll call us even,” she said.

A wicked smile curved his mouth. “Double that and we’ve got a deal.” He drained his drink and snuffed out the cigar, setting both aside. He cocked his finger at her. “And, princess? There’s no better time to start.”

EPILOGUE

A FEW DAYS LATER, Keeley stood in the doorway of the dining room, peering inside, trying not to be overwhelmed. This was her first family dinner. All of the Lords and their families were here.

And they were her family. Though she’d bonded to them, no one had gotten sick. Torin’s demon wasn’t part of the bond—he’d betrayed her so many times she would never have to worry about one forming—so there was nothing the fiend could do to any of them.

What’s more, those bonds had given her the power to defeat Hades—he’d been putty in her hands before Torin had gotten hurt. They’d fed her strength—and in return, she would make every dream the Lords of the Underworld had come true. She would find and destroy Pandora’s box. She would claim the Morning Star.

But that was a plan for another day.

Only Pandora was absent from the festivities. She’d taken off without a word soon after she’d woken up. But even William and his kids were here. Though William couldn’t seem to tear his gaze away from Gillian. It was almost embarrassing.

The womanizer—former?—stroked his finger over his fork as if he were imagining stroking something else.

Okay. It was definitely embarrassing. There was such intense heat in his eyes that even looking at him made her feel scorched by the sun.

“Can you believe this?” Galen asked Keeley.

He stood beside her, watching everyone with the same shock and awe she was feeling. Only Torin had forgiven him, but no one was trying to kill him so she’d consider it a win. Galen didn’t seem to care about his less than enthusiastic reception, though.

“I almost can’t. It’s like every real hope I’ve ever entertained decided to come to fruition in a single day.” Well, not every dream. The Morning Star was still missing. But I’ll find it. I’ll never stop searching. I’ll find it and use it and make these Lords as happy as they’ve made me.

“Not all of mine. Not yet.” His gaze returned to Honey. She was his only concern.

She’d returned this morning, but she’d refused to speak to him, refused to be alone with him; he wasn’t pushing her, which was why he was still here. Plus Torin had invited him to the celebration, and though there had been some initial protests, everyone had gotten onboard when her man calmly announced, “The Red Queen desires it.”

It wasn’t that they were afraid of her. It was that they knew the lengths Torin would go to make her happy.

Her heart swelled with love as she watched him pass a bowl of peas to Urban, who grimaced and shuddered in revulsion, and then to Ever, who had the same reaction. Torin just laughed. He wasn’t as staunch about maintaining distance anymore. Nor were his friends. It was amazing to behold.

Kane and Josephina had come to spend the evening with them, thanks to Keeley’s flashing power, and they were now engaged in conversation with Gideon and Scarlet, the women trading stories about their pregnancies.

But as always, Keeley’s attention returned to Torin. Earlier, she’d done a striptease for him while he’d sat in his chair. Afterward, she’d climbed into his lap and they’d made love. Then they’d taken a shower together. Their first. The first of many, she suspected. Their hands had been all over each other. She shivered, remembering how he’d whispered, “Do you need your vitamin D injection, princess? Or do you prefer to call it your medicine?”

Funny man. He was so proud of his magical semen. She had a feeling he was going to tease her about it for the rest of their lives. Something else to look forward to, she thought with a grin.

Laughter sounded. Blinking into focus, Keeley watched as Torin hooked Cameo under his arm and mashed his gloved hand into her hair, drawing the barest hint of a smile from her. Though the female had recovered physically from her time inside the Paring Rod, her mood was darker than ever, Torin had said.