“Why did you slit my tires then? I mean, I know Blaise did it because he was pissed at me, but why did you help?”
“Blaise didn’t do it because he was pissed. He did it because you got under his skin, and he was trying to get under yours. I’ll admit, it was pretty damn cruel what we did. But we were in a dark place after being trapped in that plain, boring world for ages. And even though you might not want to hear this, I totally got off on how fucking smart-mouthed you were that day. You fucking handed us our asses.”
“I really did. You were really mean back then, too.”
“I so was not.” He feigns being hurt while pressing his hand to his chest.
I make a big show of rolling my eyes. “You so were.”
He wavers. “Maybe a little bit. But, like I said, my brothers and I were struggling with our banishment at the time.” He falls into silence, his head angling to the side. “Can I be honest with you right now?”
“You can always be honest with me,” I tell him. “In fact, I prefer that you do.”
All the humor evaporates from his eyes. “My brothers and I, we’re not normally nice. In fact, we’re known for being cruel, each in our own ways. Our only exception to this was Scarlett, and that was because she was like a sister to us.” His fingers seek out the loose wisps of hair framing my face, and he brushes them aside. “And now you.” My lips part to make a comment about how they’re only nice to me because of what I am, but he shushes me by sliding his fingers to my lips. “We’re not just nice to you because you’re our cursed fire reaper. Although, that does play a part in it. But we aren’t that different from each other. We both know what it’s like to lose a creature we care about, we both know what it’s like to feel that emptiness that comes with not having parents in our lives, and we both know what it feels like to be hurt by creatures that were supposed to protect us from the harsh brutalities that come from existing.”
He’s right. At least the part he said about me.
My chest feels oddly constricting. “Who hurt you guys?”
“Another story for another time,” he tells me quietly. “And when we’re in a more private place.”
“But you promise you’ll tell me?” I don’t know why it matters so much to me. It just feels like it does.
He nods with his brows furrowed. “If you want me to.”
Like he’s done to me at least a hundred times, I brush a lock of his hair out of his eyes. “Yes, I want you to.”
“I want to, too,” he murmurs as he leans in to kiss me.
I almost lean back, mainly out of intimidation of where we are. This club feels kind of like a whore house, and my mind fleetingly wanders to the creatures in the other room that I know are going at it. But my attention becomes dazedly enraptured on his lips nearing mine.
He pauses right before his lips touch mine. “Is this okay? I can sense you’re nervous.”
I think that’s what pushes me over the cliff—just the fact that he cares enough to ask. Maybe that makes me pathetic—that I’d melt over a few nice words. I’m not sure. All I know is that when he utters them, I practically leap off the cliff and into an unknown, possible abyss, as I slam my lips against his.
The noise that vibrates through his chest is a combination of a growl mixed with a moan. He immediately grabs me by the waist and tugs me closer. And like a total lunatic, I easily move with his tug, so much so that I climb onto his lap and straddle him, just like I did while I was feeding off him. The reminder makes my throat burn and my entire body tingle.
As our tongues tangle, the feeling swells, and I start rocking my hips against his. He grips my hips and thrusts his hips into my movements, grinding against me. But then he’s breaking the kiss and leaning back. His eyes remain shut, his expression twisted in agony.
“What’s wrong?” I sound breathless, which is a bit weird since I don’t breathe.
“I …” He takes a moment to collect himself, and when he opens his eyes, I detect a hint of the shadows, but only for a snap of a second. Then the swirls fade into his pretty eyes again. “I don’t want to lose control with you. Not when you’ve put your trust in me.”
“Oh.” Confusion webs through me. “I don’t really understand, I guess, because … I’m kind of the one who was …” I pause, refusing to let my cheeks warm this time. “I was the one grinding on you.”
He slips his hands up my back, holding me in place. “I know, but you’re still in that perplexed frenzy phase where you’re figuring out the line between what you really crave and what your hunger is telling you that you want.” He glides his hands up further. “When we fuck, little daredevil, I want to be positive that you want to do it, especially considering it’ll be your first time.”
Don’t warm cheeks.
Don’t you dare.
Just don’t.
“Who says my first time will be with you?” I challenge in an attempt to regain some of my composure. “Maybe I’ll find another creature to do it with.”
He sinks his teeth into his bottom lip. “You know, if you said this sort of shit to Blaise or Rhyland, they’d probably lose their shit. But me … I can tell when you’re just trying to get me riled up. And you are, just probably not in the way you mean to.” He swoops in for another kiss. “Maybe I won’t be your first, but I’m really fucking hoping it is me.”
I start kissing him again. In the back of my mind, I am waiting for him to pry me off again. But he allows me to kiss him for a bit. He just keeps things slow from the way his fingers lazily trace up and down my spine to the slow, sensual way his tongue caresses mine. And I do my best not to rock my hips, but dammit, I want to.
I get so consumed by the sensation that I barely register the sound of the door opening up.
“Christ, Alex. When I left you to keep an eye on her, I didn’t think you’d take her back to one of the fuck rooms.” Rhyland’s voice floats through the lust fogging up my brain, and this time I’m the one to break the kiss.
As my mind slowly begins its ascension back to reality, I become aware of the situation. While Alex and I stopped grinding against each other, I managed to wiggle my legs out from under my dress and latch them around him. And our bodies and hips are pressed so firmly together that I can feel all of him, including how hard he is.
“I wasn’t fucking her,” Alex says, blinking away the shadows in his eyes. “We were just testing the waters to see how far we wanted to swim.” His lips tug upward as he looks at me. “Right, little daredevil?”
I make no effort to respond, only giving a slight nod before moving to climb off his lap. But he loops his arms around my waist, holding me in place.
“Give me a few more minutes,” he whispers then adds, “Please.”
I don’t answer, but stay put, and his smile widens. Then he leans to the side to look at Rhyland.
“Did you talk to her?” he asks, all lightness leaving his tone.
“I did.” Rhyland pauses. “Unfortunately.”
Silence elongates between us.
“And?” Alex finally presses.
Rhyland’s footsteps scuff across the floor as he makes his way over to the sofa and sinks down onto the cushion. “She scheduled the meeting with the keeper for me.”