Page 104 of Shadowface

But this was different. It was as if I didn’t exist at all.

Summer, however, is not dead despite being injured. I made him promise one thing after our rare and vivid conversation after we fucked her in my office.

Not to kill her.

I suppose he kept his promise, although the shattered glass in the bathroom and the cuts on Summer’s cheek indicate it was difficult for him. And now I am burdened with the overwhelming guilt of what he did.

Guilt…

My blood is absorbing his emotions, and it’s been slowly happening since Summer came back into our lives. His anger and guilt—they hit me in waves, almost like he’s turning on a faucet and giving me more than I can handle.

It is changing me, transforming the very essence of my being and my purpose. Because I also sense his hatred as if it were my own. And that fragmented split is starting to grow, implanting itself in my bones.

I should have captured it when I had the chance. Instead, I have spent the morning accepting what is happening and deciding not to resist it. The process of fusion is taking place, and I will not fight it. When he sends me these emotions, I get a surge of power.

Desire. Anger. Guilt.

It is exhilarating, and now that Summer is by my side, I am beginning to explore her in every way.

He may be strong, but so am I, and this is the life I have created. Unlike him, I do not carry the memories that shattered his mind. He needs me just as much as I need him. Without me, he will always be fractured.

He shoots me a hint of jealousy, and I can’t help but smile at the irony of it. I will take whatever shred of emotion he will give me.

I’d sacrifice everything to feel emotions, but I’d give up my soul to experience a single second of loving her.

She moans and turns around, lifting her leg out of the duvet and crossing her leg over it. I close my laptop and watch as she finally starts to make motions.

Mikael stirs deep within…and I shove him down.

At some point in the night, she found my shirt and slipped it on. Her hair is damp, she smells like my shampoo, and not to mention the shattered glass in the bathroom I had to clean up.

My eyes are fixed on her legs, her toned thighs hanging out of my shirt. A throb of desire consumes us. Our joint emotion intensifies everything, intensifying my arousal and fueling that split as it flaps around inside me like a banshee.

My head pounds, so I take off my glasses and set them on the nightstand and my vision clears, his chaotic emotions erupt at the crystal-clear view of her.

I give him a moment with her as she opens up and smiles at me. He’s like a tornado destroying everything in its path. Whatever he’s feeling right now, it’s hazy, and I can’t quite capture it. Like he’s hiding from me or pushing me out.

When I glance back over, her face is a blur. I place my glasses on and smile. “Wake up, Summer.”

Her brows twitch and pretty lips part, then she visibly relaxes. She didn’t know which one of us she was getting, I realize. Only Mikael brings out that look of fear in her eyes.

She lays her head down and continues peering at me. “I think I’m going to puke,” she says, moaning. “Make it go away.”

My lips graze her hair as I continue typing. “Someone shouldn’t have taken so many drugs last night.”

She runs her lips over my arm and her hair falls over her face. “Like I had a choice,” she mutters but can’t help but smile. Xander targeted her the second she decided to walk into this house. “I feel dirty.”

I adjust my glasses. “Why would that be? Because you spread your pretty legs for both of us last night, or because you fucked Mikael near a toilet.”

She blinks in surprise, then her eyes gleam as she lifts her head up to her elbow. “Lincoln Kennedy, are you jealous?”

Taking a deep breath as the waves of this emotion course through me, I close my laptop to give her my full attention. “Jealousy must be one of the single worst emotions to ever exist,” I say to her. And truly…it is quite icky.

She merely nods and lays her head back down on me. “Yes, it’s not very fun, is it?”

I don’t know if it’s his emotion or mine. And that thought is unsettling.

A deep, mocking laugh erupts from within.