Read Two Halves Series for Free Online Page A

pictured him levitating the way he always did when he was high on his own power.
    Xela tugged insistently at my shoulder, and I complied, following her to the lair.
    I welcomed the cooler temperature inside her home, dropping to sit cross-legged in front of the fireplace. Xela came to my side, stroking my arm.
    “He’s planning to kill everyone,” I said.
    “You care,” she cooed, leaning in. The tips of her fingers touched my pelvis as she pulled the shirt over my head.
    I turned to face her. “Of course I care.” I removed her top, then lifted her legs to wrap them around me. My thoughts fogged. Xela’s closeness drew my attention to her, and away from Aseret’s plan to destroy humanity. I pulled away by a fraction.
    “Then you should understand why you are to be marked with a water mark,” she murmured, pressing herself to me again.
    I strained to concentrate.
    “What did you see in the fire?” I asked.
    “We’re not meant to be.”
    “No hope?” When she didn’t confirm, I added, “There is hope?” My heart thumped and I widened my eyes.
    “I’m not sure. I looked far ahead. At one point, we will meet again, but we won’t be together yet.” Her fingers kneaded my shoulders. Each touch sent electricity through my body reviving all my muscles, like shock therapy, but I was certain she hadn’t used magic.
    “Yet?”
    “Beyond that, it will depend on your actions. You’ll want to kill me.” She lowered her hands to my arms, continuing the massage.
    “I never will. I promise.”
    I wasn’t sure whether her smirk was because she knew I’d break the promise or because she’d waited for me to make the promise.
    “Do we still have some time?”
    She lowered her hands, pressing them to the small of my back, her front forced against my chest. “Very little.”
    Her mouth inches away, I shared her breath, its sweetness intoxicating.
    “Then let’s not waste it talking.” I leaned back to lie down, pulling her on top of me. She moaned as her thighs flexed, and I was lost in her again.
    At two in the morning, I lay on my back, my arms resting under my head. Xela’s cheek was pressed to my chest; her eyes were closed, but she wasn’t sleeping.
    “You’re hungry,” she said.
    That’s when I felt my stomach grumble and my nose picked up a new smell. Goulash . I forgot to readjust my taste buds after we returned and hadn’t noticed when Xela prepared the stew bubbling over the fire. I must have dozed off.
    She stood, not bothering to get dressed, and walked away to lift two bowls waiting on the mantel to fill them from the cauldron. After dipping pieces of bread into the heavy pepper-onion sauce, Xela returned to me with the bowls. I licked my lips.
    “They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” she said, handing me one bowl and slipping her legs under the velvety blanket we’d shared.
    “I’d argue with that.” I smirked, my gaze wandering to her breasts, then falling to her hips.
    “Oh?”
    I laughed and focused on soaking the bread in the goulash. The sauce dripped onto my chin when I lifted the bread to my mouth. Xela wiped it with her fingertip, then licked it off her finger. The sauce was spicy and sweet, with enough consistency to settle on the soaked bread. I pictured myself happy with Xela and couldn’t imagine anyone else in my life—no other woman, witch, vampire, shape-shifter, or demon. It would always be Xela. If not her, then no one else.
    Suddenly, the stench of spoiled eggs and dirty socks filled the lair. I inhaled it, remembering the burning sensation on the inside of my mouth.
    “No! Not now!” Xela shot upright. She snatched up her clothes and quickly pulled them on.
    “What’s going on?”
    “Stay here. I’m being summoned.” She waved one hand at me, chanting a spell while pulling her tank top over her head with the other hand. “They won’t see you. I’ll be back.”
    “Where are you going?”
    “To see Aseret. Shh.” She pressed her