And Then There Were Four novel Chapter 185

Chapter 185: Mapping out the Future

Cassie.

I didn't know what to make of it when Lucas kissed me, but the moment he did, I melted into him with a soft moan that only seemed to make his actions more frenzied. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling myself up closer, helping to deepen the kiss already captivating me.

I had dreamt of this moment for so long, and now that I was finally having it once more, I didn't want it to end. I couldn't let go. Just his touch alone captivated my heart and made it soar higher than I'd ever made it felt. However, the moment I pulled closer, he quickly broke away.

“We have to stop,“ he whispered. He was breathless just as I was, and the sound of his voice swirled within my ears because the close proximity of us together made me shiver with anticipation.

“Why are you stopping? We don't have to stop.*

Staring into his eyes, I could see the heavy confliction that weighed within part of him wanting this, but the other part, the unruly-fearing part, did not. We had only had this once before, where we had actually allowed ourselves to give in to the indulgence we wanted. After that, things became chaotic, both of us unable to move forward because of the darkness that ended up taking over Lucas's mind. Darkness I wouldn't allow to ever come back.

I loved him. Wholeheartedly, I did. But I could never tell him that, not truly. Not unless I knew he felt the same way. And with the way he looked at me now, I couldn't help but feel conflicted if my feelings were true or if I was simply being a fool.

“As much as I want to do this, Cassie, I can't. You are the prize at the end of these games, and I will admit that I am scared. I'm terrified of hurting you again. But the other part of me longs for you more than you know. So if I want to be by your side, I'm going to have to win the games just like any other contestant would."

I was shocked he was saying this, that he was going to participate in the games when Silas was the one who had asked him to come into it in the first place. He didn't come into it willingly. He came into it because he was told to, and now he was saying if he wanted this with me, he would just have to win the games.

Was that like him saying if he didn't win, it was because he didn't want to?

I was confused in that moment about how I felt. I was confused about whether or not I was going to actually allow this to happen or if I should just push him further and take advantage of a situation, which would definitely be in my character. But then again, sometimes I wondered what my character was, considering I wasn't any longer the person I used to be.

"I don't know what to say..."

It was the only truthful thing I could actually come up with. I didn't know what to say, and as he stared at me, a chuckle came from his throat. What I knew was a sense of amusement he felt at my confusion. Something that even more so infuriated me because I was confused, and he found it funny.

With a heavy sigh, Lucas placed his hands on the outer part of my arms, rubbing them up and down. He stared at me with such intent, I would never be able to forget it. "I know that all of this is confusing. But as much as I want to give in to the emotions I feel right now, I can't. It wouldn't be right.*

"Since when did you become so chivalrous? This isn't the person that you are, Lucas. What happened to us being mates, to being together? If we are together, then there's no point of the games at all," I replied in desperation, trying to make him see the truth behind it. That if we did go ahead and consummate this between us, decide that we want to be together, then there would be no reason to have these games because I would already be taken.

Another heavy sigh escaped him as he shook his head from side to side. "Unfortunately, Cassie, that kind of thinking right there is what causes problems, and if both of us are ever going to make it through this with the possibility of being together, we both have to follow the rules. There are too many people who have come here from other realms, from what I can see. And the last thing that your grandfather's going to want is a war.*

"A war?" I scoffed, crossing my arms over my chest. "Who in the hell would actually go to war with Odin? They would be decimated."

"It isn’t just about that, Cassie. Everyone who looks at me sees the man that almost killed you, that did kill you. They see a monster, and if we break the rules of the games, they're never going to not see me like that. They will always see me like that. The games are a way for me to prove to them that I'm not that person... to prove to myself that I’m not that person."

Lucas wasn't wrong about that. People did look at him like he was a murderer, a monstrosity that shouldn't be an Asgard, but Odin had deemed that he was to stay here under the watchful gaze of his reign and therefore stay here by me even if they didn't really want me around him.

No one under my grandfather's rule had actually come out and said they didn't like that Lucas was here, but I could see the way that some of the other gods had looked at him shortly after the entire incident had happened. When Lucas had to come before Odin and take his punishment-that was far less then what was expected, everybody was surprised, myself included.