“We need to debrief about tonight.” Her father, and someone I considered the closest thing I’d had to a parent, reminded her quietly.
I knew he didn’t know what was going on with Arabella and me exactly, but I was positive he could tell she was upset. The woman was normally calm and collected, so when she did feel something, she didn’t hesitate to express it.
Unfortunately, I also knew that he relied on me to help in debriefing and anything else with the team since he was horrible with communication, so I would have to wait to chase after Arabella.
Hopefully, by the time I found her, she wouldn’t hate me even more.
“I’ll go,” Blackwell offered, turning to follow her before anyone could disagree. I let out a small grunt and refocused back on the rest of the team that looked somewhat uncomfortable with Arabella’s obvious tense nature. Her father was now talking quietly to the medical team, so when Damian asked his question, James didn’t hear it, thankfully.
I didn’t mind explaining to her father what was going on here, but we probably needed to talk to Arabella to figure that out in the first place.
“How did she come to that conclusion?” Damian asked, his voice exhausted as he rubbed his neck, where he had a grazing wound that he had managed to hide so far. I wondered briefly who had mentioned the situation to him, but knowing him, he had heard us clearly from across the room. Nosy fucker.
“That would be my fault,” Amun offered and winced. “I thought it was pretty obvious, but clearly I was wrong.”
Motherfucker.
Saint chuckled as I narrowed my eyes at the bastard. I think the only thing worse than Saint wanting to kill Amun was them getting along.
I let out a tired sigh and deflated slightly, trying to figure out a fucking way around this. Because everything told me that I was supposed to be with Arabella. I refused to accept that there were no goddamn options.
12
Arabella
In truth, what I needed was a drink, not some fresh air.
Looking up at a clock I passed, I realized that it was almost two in the morning, and I briefly wondered if there would be anyone at the institute’s bar this time of night. Probably… but it would be worth it. The institute featured quite a few recreational facilities, and while it didn’t just serve ‘normal’ drinks, nightmares usually preferring far stronger versions of alcohol you would find in the human world, I knew they would have at least some wine.
I nodded resolutely. A glass of wine sounded absolutely amazing right now. Then I could try to get some sleep.
Making a quick escape down the hall, crossing my arms under my chest, I found myself wishing I had changed into something a bit warmer than a short-sleeve shirt and yoga pants. Honestly, it had been a bit of a petty move on my part, but after everything that had happened with Razar, I just wanted to make it clear that I had absolutely no problem with the marks his magic had left on my wrists while pinning me to the wall and giving me one of the best orgasms I’d ever had.
You didn’t see me trying to cover up Cy’s mark on my neck!
I frowned, wondering if he had seen it yet. Mind you, we hadn’t gotten to spend a lot of time together yet, but something told me he would find it… interesting.
Or he would have a reaction like Razar did. I wasn’t positive my little heart could handle that right now.
My throat tightened as I refused to get caught up on what had happened. I will handle it tomorrow. It had been a long day, far more complicated than I could have ever expected, and my emotions were more of a mess than they’d ever been before. I would have a more level head tomorrow. Or at least, that was what I kept telling myself. It was a comforting notion.
“Arabella.” Blackwell’s voice echoed through the long corridor behind me, his familiar dark magic coasting against my skin as the feeling of oil seemed to swarm around me. I honestly considered ignoring him, but I instead came to a stop, turning to face him before putting my hands on my hips and offering him what I hoped was a blank expression.
“Yeah?” I asked, feeling like I was on the edge of losing it. If he tried to stop me, I honestly wasn’t positive how I would react. I usually liked him manhandling me a bit and being overbearing, despite my protests, but not tonight. Tonight I couldn’t do it.
“Where are you going?” His voice was firm, clearly breaking through my bullshit excuse of ‘getting air’ that he’d known was a lie. It didn’t surprise me. The man was far too perceptive, and he wasn’t one to let shit go.
“I’m going to get a drink,” I admitted, putting my hands out and offering him a tired sigh.
“A drink?” He tilted his head curiously, a confused but amused expression covering his face, as if surprised by my words. I offered a sharp nod before he continued to walk toward me, motioning me forward. I stepped into him, melting against his hard, firm chest. After a moment, he began to lead me down the hall as he walked next to me, wrapping his arm around me and letting me inhale his amazing burnt wood and ash scent.
As if knowing how comforting it was, he momentarily stopped, shrugging off his suit coat before slipping it onto my frame. Honestly, I would normally make fun of him for wearing a fresh suit after a mission, because we had comfortable clothes in this world for a reason… but I found the expensive material actually really soothing against my skin. I made a noise of contentment that had Blackwell flashing me a small smile that I absolutely loved.
It surprised me sometimes how sweet he could be.
I didn’t spend a lot of time alone with Blackwell—mostly because of him, for the record—and I didn’t push it because I didn’t want to make him uncomfortable. If he had control issues around me, I would wait for him to come to me. Or, at least, that had been my plan. Now, things felt different, and he had sought me out.
It didn’t change that he was staying away from me clearly for the exact same reason as Razor, no doubt, but at least he had been clear about wanting me. With Razar it had always been a blurred line.
That glass of wine was sounding very appealing right now.
He wrapped an arm around my waist as we pushed open a large, dark door, leading us into a warm, fairly crowded space that quieted the moment we entered. I ignored it, offering a small smile as Blackwell let out a low growl, making the nightmares look away as we made our way through the crowded space. I knew people were terrified of Blackwell, but I liked to think that I balanced that out. I also didn’t expect anyone to risk talking to us though, since my legend terror wasn’t one to shy away from violence.
Blackwell led me towards a round booth, and I slid in as he walked towards the bar, not asking what I wanted. Then again, he seemed to always know what I wanted without asking. I watched as the bartender offered him a nod and he strode back towards me, sliding into the booth and putting an arm behind me on the dark leather couch, encouraging me to turn into him. I let out a small sigh and buried my head against his shoulder.
He didn’t bother filling the silence, instead just running his fingers through my hair and resting his lips against the top of my head.
Why couldn’t it always be this easy? It should be! So why were we over-complicating everything? I closed my eyes, feeling my headache mount.