Chapter 27 — The past that haunts us

Nevaeh:

I don’t know where I’m heading, but I can’t stay there any longer. How dare he do this to me? I was fine without him. Tears fall down my face, and sobs collect in my throat as I rush through the mall’s floors. Once I’m a good distance away, I stop near the exit door and lean on a nearby wall.

When I open my eyes, I see Azazel standing before me. Without a word, he pulls me into his arms. “I hate him. I hate him so much.” I say through my tears. Azazel hums as he comfortingly rubs my back. He’s such a good friend.

After a moment, Azazel releases me and pushes me into Mikhail’s arms. Wrapping my arms around Mikhail, I embrace him tightly and kiss his chin.

“It’s alright, princess. Let it out. You know that I’m here for you always. We’re here for you.” He gestures toward Azazel, who winks saucily. After a few minutes, my tears begin to subside. And for once, I don’t feel that hollow ache that I have felt after crying. Because this time I’m not alone. I have Mikhail to hold me and soothe my tears. Mikhail moves my head back and dries my tears with his hands. “Are you okay now, baby?” Nodding my head, I take a deep breath and smile. “I’m fine because I have you, Mikhail.” His lip quirks as he gazes adoringly into my eyes. “Come on, let’s get out of here, princess.”

“How about we go to my club? Tonight, is a theme night. It’ll be brilliant. My staff is dressing like Greek gods and goddesses. You’ll love it, mate. Nevaeh can dress as Artemis, and you can be her Orion.”

I give Azazel a grateful smile because I know that he is trying to lighten the mood. “What are you dressing as?”

He leans his shoulder on the wall and smiles devilishly. “Well, love, I’m to be the God Apollo, of course.”

Mikhail rolls his eyes and punches him in the shoulder playfully. “Hopefully, your costume will fit, considering how big your ego is.”

Azazel chuckles arrogantly. “I’m just stating the truth, mate. What do you say?”

I shrug my shoulders. It would be nice to get out of my head for a little bit. “Sounds like fun.”

Mikhail releases a defeated breath. “Alright, but I’m not wearing a skirt.”

“You don’t need to wear a skirt, mate. Not with your ugly knees.” Azazel answers dryly, which makes me break out into gales of laughter. These two are such a hoot.

The party is fun, but instead of Aphrodite and Orion, Mikhail and I are dressed as Ares and Persephone. As always, he’s wearing black. A black shirt, tank top, leather jeans, and boots. I’m wearing a white off the shoulder goddess gown with high heel sandals.

Azazel is, indeed, Apollo. His golden costume is striking on him. But of course, Azazel would go all out and dress the part like he was born into it.

Jez took the night off and is here too. Azazel told me to invite her. She loves these kinds of dances. When Mikhail needs a break, Jez and I dance together. Jez is now dating the guy she met at the club the first time we came. His name is Jack. He seems nice even if he had a million tattoos. Sweat glides down my back, and my chest is heaving by the tenth dance, so Jez and I decided to get something to drink. Azazel told the bartender to give us whatever we want to drink, at no charge. Right now, Azazel and Mikhail are in a deep discussion about video games. What can I say? Boys will be boys, even if they're not quite human.

While I’m dancing, an arm slides around my waist. I turn around, thinking that it’s Mikhail. Unfortunately, my happiness turns to surprise when I come face to face with Travis. Pushing away from his touch, I grit my teeth and ask. “What are you doing here, Travis?”

Travis tries to take me in his arms again, but I quickly stumble away. “I think you should go.”

The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end when he laughs. It’s not a jovial laugh. It’s more mocking and bitter, which puts me on alert. Before I can say another word, he pulls me back into his stifling embrace. To make matters worse, Henry shows up and sandwiches me against Travis and him. My heart is beating a mile a minute, and my breath is heaving with panic.

However, my panic is short-lived because Mikhail and Azazel step in. Travis and Henry try to throw a punch, but the boys easily dodge their fists. Thankfully, the fight only lasts a couple of minutes. As soon as the fight is over, Mikhail grips Travis by his neck. “I told you to stay away from her, Travis. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will kill you if you touch her again. Am I understood?”

Travis nods his head with a wheeze and flail of his limbs. He looks like a fish caught on a hook.

Mikhail gives him a warning glare and shakes him several times before he releases him and rigidly calls out to Azazel. “Get him the hell out of here before I kill him.” You can hear in his tone of voice that he’s on the edge of violence.

Azazel nods his head and snaps his finger, warning his bouncers to remove Travis and Henry. As I watch them haul him away, I tremble. I’m shaken by the encounter. Why have Henry and Travis become so persistent suddenly?

Mikhail takes my hand with a concerned frown and leads me out of the club. “Let’s go, princess.”

Azazel intercepts us, his brow furrowed with concern as he looks me over. “Are you alright, luv?” I swallow hard and carefully nod my head. “I’m fine. I just want to go home.”

He doesn’t reply as Mikhail leads me out of the door. He simply gives me a wan smile and steps out of the way.

Once we get to my house, I pull Mikhail into the shower. He removes my dress slowly, kissing his way down my body while I remove his leather jacket, shirt, and jeans. This time our lovemaking is urgent and hurried but very satisfying. At this point, my need for Mikhail is beyond intense. Sometimes I feel like I need him more than I need to breathe.

As I lie in his arms, I trace patterns across his naked back and bask in the afterglow of our lovemaking. Mikhail’s breath caresses my skin enticingly as he slides his fingers across my mark and naked hip.

We spend the day cuddled in his bed, watching television and eating pizza. It’s nice. Everything is going great until there’s a knock on the door. Frowning, Mikhail sits up on the edge of the bed and calls out. “Yeah,”

Alex’s voice echoes through the door. “Mikhail, you need to come downstairs—right now.” Mikhail and I stiffen at his urgent tone.

“Yeah, give me a minute,” Mikhail replies.

Looking wary, Mikhail and I head downstairs and come face to face with Alex and Azazel. Both men look grim, which puts us both on edge. Of course, what he says next is worse than anything I’ve ever imagined.