I opened the door to the apartment and checked the safeguard spell before tossing my keys onto the coffee table and heading into the kitchen. "Honey, I"m home," I mumbled, inhaling deeply of something divine.
Larissa could cook like n.o.body"s business and did often. My stomach chose that moment to make its needs known. The smell of freshly baked bread lingered inside the room as Larissa must have been baking while we endured the Fae.
Larissa lifted her sparkling green eyes and smiled, "You"re alive."
I exhaled and threw my limp form into the small wooden chair next to the little nook table we"d bought secondhand. "Barely, you almost inherited my entire OPI collection today."
"Seriously? How bad was it?" She asked limping to the sink to wash the jar out before tossing it into the recycle bin. She tossed her chestnut-brown hair over her shoulder and turned to me with a curious look on her beautiful face.
"I killed Chandra today," I blurted it. s.h.i.+t, I really needed to get a filter for my mouth. I watched as Larissa"s eyes grew wide in horror. I chewed my lip nervously as she digested the news.
"Was it within sanction?" Her question caught me by surprise. How easily we could kill one another without remorse, but not me. I took it in and beat the c.r.a.p out of myself over it. Sanctioned or not "It was. We got caught, they had Adam and I chained to a wall, the Fae Prince never left the building-instead he was inside the vault when I opened it. We were drilled for information, she was going to spill the beans...it was a set-up, Alden set the entire thing up!"
Larissa exhaled and shook her head, her eyes flooding with guilt.
"But then you knew that, didn"t you?"
My stomach clenched from the knowledge. How could she have known and not told me? The desire to eat was suddenly gone. I closed my eyes before pus.h.i.+ng off the small table and standing up.
I entered my room in a daze, had Adam known? No, no-he"d been just as distraught as I"d been. I wanted to cry, to scream at those who could have stopped what I had done-I"d taken a f.u.c.king life! I walked to the small cherry wood dresser I"d brought from the Guild and tried to find something clean to wear to bed and gave up with a sigh when I found the drawer empty. I missed the Guild"s laundress, it beat doing my own laundry any day.
I could still smell sulfur and ash on my skin. And Fae. The bathroom was an ugly olive green from the seventies, but at least the water worked. Who cared what it looked like? Rent was cheap and unlike the other places that we could afford, this one was close to the Guild.
I turned the water on, watching the steam curl around to lick my skin gently and beads of condensation forming over my hand. I closed my eyes, but the instant I closed them, all I could see was a devastatingly primal pair of golden eyes.
It was like he was watching me, as if the Fae Prince was sitting inside my bathroom! I instantly opened my eyes and started to strip down to nothing. It didn"t take much, he"d trashed most of my clothes and in my haste to redress I had only ripped them more. The entire walk home had been one of shame.
I sank into the water, letting a blissful sigh steal from my kiss swollen lips. Freaking Fae had made them puffy and I"d be d.a.m.ned if I hadn"t enjoyed it. Sparks had flown from his touch, the fire he"d created inside of me and the feelings I"d felt were dangerous and exciting. It was why they were considered the most deadly of the Otherworld. They could make you like it as they f.u.c.ked you to death.
I let my nose sink beneath the water, holding my breath as the heat from the bath blistered across my lips, hoping it would erase his taste and touch-only it didn"t. The moment I popped back up, I could still feel it. His kiss, his mouth, his f.u.c.king taste. My traitorous body wanted more, my mind wanted him dead.
I quickly washed, ignoring the darkness of the dimly lit bathroom and ugly green walls. After I was done scrubbing my skin raw to get his touch from my skin-still unsuccessfully, I growled and got out. I looked in the mirror and noticed I was bruised below one eye, more than likely from fighting against him. Thankfully I heal quickly-it was some sort of running joke within the Guild that Adam and I should been brother and sister in truth as we healed much faster than the others. My azure blue eyes were too bright from using magic. My normally platinum blonde hair was a few shades darker when wet, making my skin look pasty white.
It wasn"t as if I had a lot of spare time for tanning though, my spare time was used for reading so that I could escape from reality for however much time I could. This was never enough, in my opinion. I turned while wrapping the towel around my body and picking up to discard my clothes in the trash.
I groaned, frustrated with how today had turned out. I"d killed a fellow Guild member. Sure, I"d pa.s.sed their sick little f.u.c.ked upped test, but I didn"t want the job. I hated the Fae and everything about them stunk in my book. I wanted nothing to do with them. I left the bathroom, ignoring Adam as he entered the small apartment, leaving Larissa to deal with him since all I wanted to do was sleep and forget. Tomorrow I had a job to lose.
Six.
I awoke to a disturbance, something was inside my room. I pulled the eye cover I used to sleep off of my face and screamed. Golden eyes looked over at me from next to me! "Get the f.u.c.k out of my bed!" I growled sitting up before remembering I"d fallen asleep naked.
"You"re late. I do not accept tardiness, Synthia."
"Fire me, please." I grumbled trying to pull the covers from beneath him to wrap myself up for modesty sake. It was like tugging a blanket from beneath a solid boulder. "You mind?" I asked after a moment noticing there was no way to get up without him seeing me in the buff.
He sat up, resting his long frame on the duvet. His eyes flickered over the top of my b.r.e.a.s.t.s where I had been unable to move the blanket to cover them, lingering a brief second before he stood and moved to look out the single window inside my room.
"Stunning view," he said after a quick inspection of the building across from our own. Yeah, it was c.r.a.ppy, but again rent was cheap. It was something he had probably never seen...rich boy"s had way better views.
He kept his back to me, I studied it briefly. His suit was black and hugged his form well enough that I could just make out every muscle in his a.s.s-.
He turned, those d.a.m.n disturbing eyes smiling as if he had followed where my mind had gone. I glared as I finally managed to bring the covers up far enough to cover myself. I wanted to pull it over my head completely and die from suffocation, which would be better than working for him.
"My car is downstairs, you have exactly ten minutes to be down and inside of it, or I will be back up to dress you myself. I do not like to be kept waiting, nor will I stand for you to be late again."
I raised my brow line and allowed my lips to curve into a small smirk. "You think you could Fairy boy-"
I was off the bed and on the floor covered in six feet of Fae before I finished talking. My head hit the floor with a jarring thud that made my eyes explode with tears. His hands held mine above my head. My body was pressed against the rough carpet by his much larger frame. l.u.s.t thick and dangerous erupted inside of my core.
"Never challenge me, I promise that you will lose. Every. f.u.c.king. Time."
"Get off of me!" I growled, I was trapped and exposed. His knee was pressed against my naked heat, as if to show me just how exposed I was to him.
"Think you can make me?" He challenged with his mouth entirely too close to my own, images of last night came rus.h.i.+ng back with a vengeance.
"Now!" I yelled, tired of whatever game he was playing. I wasn"t stupid, I got that he was higher in the immortal food chain than I was.
"All bark and no bite?" He asked raising his eyes from where they had been on my mouth to meet my own.
I struck, sending my hips bucking against him, using the element of surprise against him, but it was futile. Ryder just ground his knee further in, making pain and pleasure pulse through my junction as he held my arms in place effortlessly.
"By all means, fight me," he purred as fire lit up his amber eyes until I could see them pulsing, thousands of stars locked in their fiery depths. His nostrils flared and his tongue jutted out to lick his lips as if he was considering kissing me.
I was p.i.s.sed. Anger was pulsing, rus.h.i.+ng through my veins as surely as a fire through a dry forest. Not to mention, I had zero possibility of getting up without him seeing me naked. I think he realized it at the exact moment I did, if his c.o.c.ky grin was anything to go off of. He started to sit back up, but I pulled him back down the moment he released his vise-grip hold on my arms.
"Don"t even freaking think of it Fairy boy," I warned.
"You want me, don"t you?" He asked as his eyes latched onto my lips, encouraged by my seemingly sudden change of mind.
I pushed him up, making d.a.m.n sure I went with him. "Dream on," I growled.
"I don"t f.u.c.k Witches, so if you-"
I pushed him up to his feet, pus.h.i.+ng off the floor with my bare feet, never allowing my eyes to leave his. My b.r.e.a.s.t.s were pressed against the softness of his suit jacket, my legs inches from his. I walked him backwards and he allowed it. I inched him further back as he kept eye contact, up until the point where I reached behind him slowly, surely, allowing my hands to caress him softly, but firmly as I reached for the door k.n.o.b behind him. I quickly pulled it open and enjoyed his look of shock as I pushed him out of my room, managing in the process to keep him from seeing my neither region at all.
I smiled frostily at the door and the cussing Fae behind it. "I don"t f.u.c.k Fairies. So at least we agree on that subject pretty boy."
I think I heard a soft laugh, but I couldn"t be sure.
"Ten minutes Synthia or I come back in and drag you out," He growled through the door, making it quiver as much as I was and it was solid oak.
I listened to his shoes as they thudded down the hallway and my beating heart didn"t calm until I"d heard the door close behind him on his way out. How the h.e.l.l had he gotten through the protection spell enveloping my room?
I looked up at the incantation spell and narrowed my eyes, glaring at it for turning traitor. It was written on my ceiling in white ink so it was invisible to the naked eye and intruders. It was supposed to keep creatures like him out and away from me while I slept. It had failed, as I had just done for the second time where that freaking Fairy was concerned.
I replayed his shocked image in my mind a few times before putting on a silk robe and grabbing a few items of clothing to take with me to the shower. I was smiling as I opened my bedroom door and ran right into the solid chest of the Dark Prince. Hard.
I flew backwards and landed flat on my a.s.s at his feet. I looked up and glared angrily at him.
"Pay back is a b.i.t.c.h, I don"t f.u.c.k around little girl, remember that."
"c.o.c.ky much?" I barked already standing back up so he didn"t have as much of an advantage as he did with me being flat on my a.s.s.
"Self-a.s.sured, I always win," he replied with lips too full and too f.u.c.king kissable for his own good.
I pushed past his body and headed towards the bathroom, dismissing him completely from my mind, okay...so I tried to anyways. He was the most beautiful, exquisite creature I had ever laid eyes on...also the most deadly, which I was humming inside my head to keep the hormones at bay. Not that it was helping me any.
"Ten minutes, if you"re not out by then I will dress you myself," he growled deep in his chest to drive his point home. It sent s.h.i.+vers racing down my spine.
I shut the bathroom door in his face and leaned against it catching my breath. The man was incorrigible and what the h.e.l.l was he doing inside my house? Larissa was going to hear it from me, if she had allowed him inside. Didn"t she sense how deadly he was? I was pretty sure she wouldn"t have allowed him inside my bedroom, unless he"d f.u.c.ked her funny...no he wouldn"t have done that...would he?
I shook my head, he needed my help. Touching my friends wouldn"t achieve that, she was probably off his radar for now. I dropped my clothes and rushed beneath the water, quickly was.h.i.+ng my hair before jumping back out to toss my hair in a quick ponytail, apply some lipstick and a touch of blush.
"Two minutes," He growled from behind the door.
Seriously? Was he sitting with his d.a.m.n ear against the wood? I slipped into a black satin thong and matching bra and quickly pulled up the low-rise jeans I"d chosen before slipping on the tight black, sleeveless s.h.i.+rt on in a hurry. I took a quick peek in the mirror and opened the door.
His eyes raked down my body with a hint of disgust in their golden depths but he remained silent. I followed him down the hallway and to the front door stopping only to look at a note from Larissa, she"d gone shopping. Figured, I was paying the rent and Miss-Shopaholic was out shopping, which meant she better be bringing home coffee.
"Problem?" Ryder asked when I didn"t move fast enough for his Highn-a.s.s.
"How the h.e.l.l did you get inside my house?" I asked as I closed the door and we headed to the elevator. His only reply was a c.o.c.ky grin, which left me with my question still burning inside my head.
The elevator was waiting on my floor with the doors open, so we didn"t have to waste time waiting for it. I stepped in and felt the pressure as it shut me inside firmly with the Dark Prince. I"m not normally one to fidget when nervous or uncomfortable, but standing next to six plus feet of pure masculine grade A alpha male? I was so freaking fidgeting! My hands fisted and relaxed, only to fist right back up again. I chewed nervously on my bottom lip with my eyes plastered to the floor.
The silence was deafening, bad enough that I was suddenly wis.h.i.+ng we had some corny elevator music. I could feel the sizzle of his power more so now that I was shut in a tight place, alone with him. When the doors opened to let us out, I gave a loud audible sigh of relief. If he noticed, he said nothing.
His car was a Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4, orange in color. I whistled and just stood gaping at it for a moment before a subtle cough pulled me back from making love to the car with my eyeb.a.l.l.s. His eyes went from mine, back to the car and back again.
"Try not to drool on the upholstery," he said.
I was going to have to touch everything inside of it, just to p.i.s.s him off now. I watched the door rise with a soft smile on my lips. I"d never been in a car that cost as much as this one did. h.e.l.l, I hadn"t even actually seen one in person until now!
"How fast does this thing go?" I asked unable to stop myself, the leather seats were black and actually real leather!
"Fast enough."
I met his golden eyes and narrowed my own, "Bet you"ve never taken it past the speed limits."
He said nothing. He was un-rattled or moved by my goading-d.a.m.n. I wanted him to let loose and floor it, instead, he slowly pulled out into the light traffic of downtown Spokane. You would think that he being Fae that he"d let loose and break pretty much every law that the human race had.
I reached over making sure my hand stayed far enough away from his leg as I turned on his stereo. G.o.dsmack"s I Stand Alone blared rattling the windows of the expensive car. I don"t know what I had been expecting him to have in, but it wasn"t that.
He turned his head slowly, inhumanly. His eyes glowed iridescent amber as he growled. I swallowed to keep myself from gasping audibly. "Do. Not. Touch. Anything."
Okay then! I placed my hands in the seat and folded them on my jeans, wis.h.i.+ng I"d brought a jacket or something since he"d turned the air-conditioning on when we had gotten in.
I was watching traffic, right up until the point I could feel his eyes bearing down on me. I looked over at him, his eyes still doing that glow thing, lowered down at something below my face. I looked down and blushed from head to toe. My nipples were straining against the thin s.h.i.+rt and completely visible due to the air-conditioning. I crossed my arms and held my tongue. Not having caffeine running through my veins was sorely testing my temper.
His lips quirked up and then he was once again watching the road. We drove with the music now off. I didn"t want a repeat of the earlier performance. I thought the elevator was bad, this was ten times worse. I could actually feel his strength and power pulsing against my skin. It was like standing next to a transformer with the power on full capacity.
"Where are we going?" I asked after the silence had gotten to be too much.
"This way," he replied without turning his head.
"Do you speak more than four words? Or do you lack the brains to?" I asked after another few moments of the blistering silence.
He ignored me.
"Seriously-"
We had hit the highway and he floored it. The motor hummed and I smiled. I was pressed back against the cool leather seat, my hands instantly going to it for balance, as if it would help. I sat like that, listening to the motor until I looked back over at him. The smile left my face instantly.
"Stop looking at my b.o.o.bs!" I said more sharply than I wanted to.
"I don"t play with my food," he said calmly.
"I am not your food," I said through clenched teeth.
"If I wanted you, that f.u.c.king spell on your neck would do little to stop it from happening I a.s.sure you of that."
My hand flew up to the back of my neck, my fingers trailed over the white ink that was invisible to the naked eye. "How did you know it was there?" I asked uncertain I wanted the answer.
"I watched you sleep," he replied unamused or affected by my surprise at his words that showed all over my face. He turned his head and stared directly at me as his foot pressed down further on the gas pedal, pus.h.i.+ng the speed even faster on the deserted highway.
Disturbing, he actually watched me sleep and I hadn"t even noticed he was inside my bedroom. The ward inside the bedroom should have stopped anyone not marked as one of our group. The one for the apartment was only to ward or restrain anyone intent on harming us. Still, it set my nerves to fried just thinking about how long he"d been inside my room and I"d been naked since I"d gone to bed too tired to care.
The car decelerated and started pulling off the highway which caused my attention to jump back to where I was and who I was with. There was nothing but pine trees on both sides of the highway as far as I could see, the road was still deserted, but he pulled off anyways onto the soft shoulder.
"If you brought me all this way, just to drop me off in the middle of b.u.m-f.u.c.k-nowhere, think again," I warned, irritated that we"d stopped.
"Get out of the car. We need to discuss some things before we hit Darklands."
Darklands? No freaking way! Sidhe Darklands was an exclusive by invitation-only club owned by Mister Highn-a.s.s himself. It wasn"t somewhere I had ever wanted to go either. I fumbled at the door, but he was out and around the car with those Fae freaky movements of super-speed before I could continue to fumble for more than a second. The door was lifted and I glared up into his beautifully etched face.
I stood smoothing out invisible lines from my jeans and I waited, for what I had no clue. When he stepped closer to me, I stepped back only to fall on my a.s.s inside the car at an awkward angle. He grinned, amused.
"They told me you were one of their best, I"m beginning to think they lied," he growled now unamused with my reaction.
"They told me you were taller, guess they lied to me too," I instantly regret it, it was lame to say.