Chosen by Autumn Gray

Author:Autumn Gray [Gray, Autumn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-08-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

Ralph

Ralph kept his hand on Asi’s low back as he guided her down the mountainside. These past few weeks with her, she’d gotten used to the fact that he was a demon. Her eyes glistened with tears each time she saw the wound on his arm from the holy water. He’d switched to long sleeve shirts as he didn’t want to remind her. Foolish, really. She knew his secret now and there was no going back. But he longed for the way she’d looked at him before.

Now he wasn’t sure if it was pity or sympathy. He longed to haul her into his arms and kiss her until she forgot everything but the two of them together.

He ground his teeth until his jaw ached. Damn, but she’d gotten under his skin and into his heart. What would she say if he told her, he was falling in love with her? That he, a half-demon half-changeling, wanted to be with her always. Regardless if Lucas and a million demons were after her or not. Would she laugh? Or would she cry and scream?

When she slipped, he reached out and steadied her with a hand on her waist and one on her elbow.

“You okay?”

She let out a frustrated sigh. “Yes, I’m fine. Just wish I was as sure-footed as you.”

“Practice. I used to rock climb in my spare time.”

“Really?” She breathed out as they continued their descent. “I’ve always wanted to do that but I have a fear of falling from high places.”

“After all this is over, I’ll take you climbing with me. We’ll start small. Just an indoor gym. Before you know it, you’ll be scaling up and down cliffs like a spider monkey.”

“Don’t know if I’ll ever be ready for that. Just doing this with you makes me nervous.”

To ease her fears and the fact she clutched his hand like it was a lifeline, he continued. “Nah. You’ll love it. And if you don’t at least you’ll have the experience of knowing if you like it or not. Who knows,” he shrugged, “you might love it so much that you want to go cave diving next.”

Her foot kicked a rock. “Seriously? You do that too?”

“Yeah. I did a lot before my human family discovered what I really was. Lucky me didn’t hit puberty until I was almost fourteen. My foster parents were adventurous. We skydived, rock climbed, camping, cave diving, everything.”

“Sounds like you miss them.” She gave him a smile that stopped his heart.

“I did. But mostly I miss having a family and doing stuff together. Memories of my parents always tangle with the bad ones.” All the times they took him to priests and exorcisms. The torture of holy water and crucifixes. How the love in their eyes faded, then shifted to disgust and hatred.

She placed a hand on his arm. “I’m so sorry for your loss. For what they did to you.”

His throat worked but no sound came out. Deep in his chest, his heart swelled for her.

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