Makeysha

Thanks to Ronin's excellent memory, my mood lifted a thousand levels. I was curious though, why Lucia thought we were indestructible. I'd never heard that before.

"Lucia," I said, turning to face her. "What made you say that we're immortal?"

"It's a known fact. My mother was torn from her soulmate when God and Lucifer opposed one another. Her immortal status remains intact though."

I thought back to the three immortal couples I knew of in Heaven. None of them had been in my castle so I hadn't ever really gotten to know any of them. I could feel their names whirring around in my memory somewhere but couldn't quite grasp them.

"And you're sure? That soulmates are indestructible?"

"Oh yes," Lucia said, the ghost of a smile pulling at her lips. "Once two souls have been fully reacquainted, they're impossible to pull apart. Except, of course, for differences in opinion tearing the heart to pieces instead."

"If they're soulmates," Ronin said, frowning. "Shouldn't they have the same thoughts and opinions?"

"Oh no," Lucia said. "Quite the opposite. It would be like having a coin with two sides the same otherwise. What one soul is missing, can be found in the other, and vice versa. Like a two-piece jigsaw puzzle."

"Lucia," I said, licking my lips as I chewed over her words. "You said 'once two souls have been fully reacquainted, they're impossible to pull apart'. What did you mean?"

"Physical bodies get in the way of souls fully reconnecting on the first touch. Of course, over time, holding hands and such empowers the connection, but it won't ever complete it. That can only be done by uniting physically. At that point, the soulmates become immortal."

My heart skipped a beat. "Uniting physically?"

"Yes," Lucia said. "Through inter—"

"Yes, yes, yes, I get it. I just can't believe what I'm hearing."

I glanced at Ronin who was grinning from ear to ear. "So, we've got to have sex in order to save my life. And I didn't even make it up."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Don't go getting excited, smooth dude, we've still got plenty of light left between us yet."

"Why wait, hmmm? No point in pushing me to the brink of death is there?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you keep talking and see where you end up?"

"I'm just saying," he said, chuckling. "If there was ever a reason to have some bump and grind, now is it."

"Bump and grind?"

"Yes, you know—"

"I know what you mean, Ronin. I'm just in shock that my soulmate could use such a phrase. Totally tasteless."

He grinned and winked. "I can assure you, tasteless I am not."

"Ewww. So rude. Good things come to those who wait, wise guy."

"Well, if you wait too long, all this sexy might be gone. Then what would you do?"

I smirked. "I'm sure I could bump and grind my way through eternity."

The amusement on his face disappeared instantly. It was almost like I'd pressed a button to activate the glaring stare of an unimpressed Ronin.

"That's not funny," he said.

"Is it not? I thought it was far more amusing than your lame lines."

"Hey, I'm dying here. I'm desperate."

I fixed him with a deadpan stare.

"No, no, no, no, no," he said, holding his hands out. "I didn't mean it like that."

Inside, I was giggling, but I maintained a poker face, for the purpose of my own enjoyment. Wanda laughed behind him but kept her eyes on the ancient book still open on her lap.

"Desperate? Nice. I'll remember that."

"I didn't mean it like that," he said, grabbing one of my hands. "You know I didn't."

"No, I don't. I barely know you. Which is exactly why, impending death or not, you're not getting your 'bump and grind'."

He sighed. "This must be a first...lack of sex killing a man..."

I grinned and gave him a playful shove on his shoulder. "I'm not saying it's off the table. Just that you've got to earn it."

His golden eyes lit up with joy. "That sounds like a challenge." He twisted his lips into a mischievous grin. "A challenge I can rise to."

I giggled at his bad innuendo. "You keep making bad jokes like that and there won't be anything to rise to."

"Where it concerns you, there's always something to rise to."

I burst out laughing. "Ten out of ten for cheese, but I like it."

He gave me a cheeky wink. "Like it enough to kiss me?"

"Maybe," I said, grinning. "I'm still deciding."

"Guys," Wanda said. "I hate to interrupt but I need to point something out."

I glanced over at her. "What's up?"

"Lucia said the Hellmouth is coded to their unique aura's. That leads me to believe you can't just go waltzing straight in there."

"Shoot," I said, mentally cursing myself. "You're right. I completely forgot about that."

"Lucia," Wanda said, looking over at the bewitched Twin. "Can anyone pass through the Hellmouth."

"Oh no," she replied, the same chilling, robotic smile painted on her face. "Your aura has to be coded into it. All of Lucifer's creations carry the same mark in their aura that the Hellmouth recognises."

"What happens if you try to enter without this specific thing in your aura?"

"You burn up and die."

Wanda raised an eyebrow and looked at both me and Ronin. "That could be a problem. It kind of gets in the way of the whole dagger mission."

"There must be something we can do," I said, wondering if my magic would be able to assist in any way. "Their auras were coded in so there must be something that can be done to allow me in."

"And me," said Ronin.

I narrowed my eyes at him but decided to have that discussion later. "Can we somehow disguise ourselves with Lucia's aura or follow her in or something?"

Wanda shook her head. "No. I would have to find a way to either trick it into accepting your auras or coding yours into it."

A sense of urgency started to climb inside me. "But we need to get those daggers. Now."

"No," Ronin said, shaking his head. "We don't. They're not going anywhere. And we have two of them. Nothing can be done without all seven. Lucia, can anything be done without all seven daggers?"

"No. All seven daggers are needed to complete Lucifer's ascension."

"See?" he said, smiling at me. "Chill out. We don't need to go into this at breakneck speed."

"But we can't just sit here doing nothing, Ronin. The world is literally at stake here."

"We're not going to," he said, standing up. "We're going to go and do what we both said we wanted to do."

I frowned. "What's that?"

"Tour the French Quarter."

I smiled. "I would love to, but it feels rather inappropriate to go on some tourist adventure whilst Lucifer is plotting the end of the world as we know it."

"Why don't you both get some sleep for a few hours?" Wanda said. "I will, too. Then, in the morning, when we're all refreshed and thinking straight, we'll sort a plan for how we can get you past the Hellmouth to save the world."

"Ok," I said, sighing in defeat. "I might have a different perspective on things after a decent sleep." I stood up and smiled at Wanda. "Thank you, Wanda, for everything. I'll come by around ten a.m.?"

She frowned at me. "Where are you going?"

"To my bed. In Odd Fellows."

"Don't be so silly. You can take the other side of the house. There's no point in you sleeping in some abandoned graveyard when I have a perfectly good bed here."

I faltered, not really knowing what to say.

"And he can stay too," she said, nodding her head towards Ronin.

My cheeks burned with heat. Ronin grinned at me. "Don't even think about it, wise guy," I said.

He let go of my hand and held his hands up in a surrender sign. "I wasn't going to say a word."

"You didn't need to. That grin said it all."

Wanda laughed. "Once I'm asleep, nothing wakes me up."

"Trust me, Wanda. There will be nothing going on to wake you up."

Ronin pouted and looked at me with puppy dog eyes.

"I've lasted this long, smooth dude, I don't think a few more weeks is going to hurt," I said.

"Can't blame a guy for trying."

I shook my head and turned to Wanda. "Thank you, Wanda, for the offer of staying here. If you're certain, I'd love to accept."

"Of course I am. There are three bedrooms you can choose from on that side. The master bedroom has an en-suite, but there is a main bathroom at the back of the house, too."

"Thanks, Wanda." I looked at Lucia and sighed. "Lucia, I'm going to show you the room you will be staying in."

Lucia stood up and stared at me. As I ventured out of the living room and up the stairs, I wondered how I could ensure she wouldn't escape whilst we were all sleeping. Should I tie her to the bed? Would the door lock? Or considering her new compliant state, would a simple instruction of 'don't move' work?

I heard Ronin saying goodnight to Wanda before his footsteps then followed me up the stairs. My heart leapt into my mouth and nerves churned around in my stomach. I wanted him, of course I did, but just because he was my soulmate, it didn't mean I was going to lose all respect for myself by jumping him the first day I met him. Even if his life was at stake.

Turning right at the top of the stairs, I opened the first door I came across to discover it was the main bathroom. It looked to be in keeping with the rest of the house, but as I looked around the modest sized room, I realised it was actually more 'shabby chic' than French colonial. However, the casual rustic look fitted really well.

"That's the bathroom, Lucia," I said, turning around to find her stood inches from me. I jumped back in surprise. "Do you need to use it?"

"No, thank you, Makeysha."

Ronin locked eyes with me briefly and we exchanged a look of confusion before moving on to the next room. A single room was behind the next door, its walls painted in a pale blue colour. A white wardrobe sat against one wall, whilst a matching dresser stood next to it. The bed was a simple plain divan with pale blue sheets. I resisted the urge to shiver at the coolness emanating from the room.

"Lucia," I said, standing back from the open doorway. "This will be your room. Is this ok?"

She stepped into the room and glanced around before sitting on the bed. "Yes, thank you, Makeysha. It's lovely."

"Ok. Get some sleep," I said, briefly wondering if she could sleep. "And we'll call for you in the morning. If you need the toilet, the bathroom is right next door."

She nodded before climbing under the duvet. Laying flat out on her back, she pulled the covers up to her chin and just laid there, staring at the ceiling. I looked at Ronin and raised my eyebrows.

"Creepy mofo," he said, his brow creasing together as he stared at the evil warlock.

"As long as she stays like this, I couldn't care less," I said, closing the door. "Do you think I need to put a lock on the door?"

"How is she going to use the toilet?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. I could put a block up at the top of the stairs that will stop her from going down them?"

"Are there any potential repercussions from it?"

"Not really. Except it'll block Wanda off from this side of the house."

"I don't see that being an issue. She said it used to be two apartments."

"Don't you think its rude though? To do that in someone else's house?"

"Makeysha, she's not stupid. She knows we've got to be careful with Lucia. It's only for a few hours, not forever."

I pursed my lips and sighed. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Don't really have much choice unless we want a hypnotised warlock running around the streets."

"Technically, that's a paradox," Ronin said, giving me a cheeky smile. "If she's hypnotised, she won't do anything but what you tell her."

I smirked at him. "Are you going all geeky on me again?"

"Maybe," he said. He reached out and grabbed my waist, pulling me in close. Heat sizzled my skin from our contact. It made me very grateful that our clothes were in the way to lessen the connection slightly. "Depends if you like it."

"Hmmm," I said, running my index finger down his t-shirt. I could feel the hard chest hiding beneath, making me rethink my determination to make him wait. "It's kind of cute."

"Cute?"

"Yes..."

"Do you remember that conversation we had about 'adorable'?"

I giggled and wrapped my arms around his neck. My forearm nestled against the smooth skin of his neck, lighting us up in an instant. I ignored what it meant, wanting to savour the moment instead of worrying about everything else. "Maybe..."

"Well, cute falls in the same category as adorable."

"Does that mean you don't want to kiss me?"

"Oh no," he said, grinning. "Quite the opposite. I'm more than willing to kiss and make up."

I burst out laughing. "Nicely done. I think you almost deserve a kiss just for that comment."

He grinned at me and curled his arm around my back. "I think that's the best news I've heard all evening."

"Better than finding your soulmate?" I teased.

He laughed. "I know you're trying to catch me out here and I'm not falling for it."

"Me? Never."

"Anyway," he said, smirking. "My soulmate offering me a kiss is definitely a step up from finding her."

"Oooo, now that's smooth. That definitely earns a kiss."

He wasted no time in leaning in for a passionate embrace. The second our lips met, I felt a surge of excitement coursing through my veins. Heated, fuzzy tingles shot to every part of me. My mind whirled with the instant link between us growing stronger and stronger. Pure bliss settled deep in my soul, soothing all my worries away in a millisecond.

When he opened his mouth and deepened the kiss, I basked in the new wave of pleasure that soared my soul to new heights. The two millennia I'd been alone were worth every second if this was my reward. I'd never felt such calm and happiness nor wanted someone so much either. My body ached for him, but I was not going to give in. Yet.

The slow stroke of his tongue against mine stirred my core, lighting me on fire. Within seconds, a slow, sensual kiss turned into a frantic, passionate embrace that threatened to break down every last bit of my determination.

I pulled away, breathing heavily. "Steady on, wise guy. Remember what I said."

"I made a bet with myself I could make you give in," he said, grinning at me.

"I'm sorry to say that you're going to lose."

"I reckon a few more kisses like that and you'll be like butter on hot toast."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Someone is awfully self-confident."

"Is that a problem?"

"It depends if you're confident in all areas of your life."

He ran his tongue over his lips and smirked. "Well, why don't you find out?"

I laughed at him and pushed him away. "I will do. Soon enough."

"Damn it," he said, chuckling.

"Do I need to shut you out of this side of the house for the night?" I asked, smirking.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

"I'm trying to."

I giggled. "Alright, enough now. Go and get the bed warm whilst I seal us up."

He wiggled his eyebrows at me and all but ran into the master bedroom at the front of the house. I loved our banter and the naughty innuendos he seemed so natural at responding to almost everything with. As I created a solid wall of impenetrable magic, I couldn't wipe the smile from my face. Life had never been so good.