Plus, I couldn’t get the smell of Falcon out of my nose, which would make being in a car with him overwhelming. It was like I was in tune with his scent. The sharp, clean scent of lemongrass along with the sweet notes of orange partnered with the knowledge of his addictive blood, I knew I would be in trouble with him. The only one that had affected me this much was Cosmo. Which reminded me why I shouldn’t have drank his blood.Stupid. Stupid, Rayla.
I somehow ended up draped across the three heirs’ laps in the back seat. We all shot down Cosmo’s idea of having me steer the wheel in his lap, that seemed counterproductive. Rick’s seat was pushed forward so far to give Ax the leg room he needed that I would be squished into the windshield if I sat with him. Which was how I reluctantly had to take the position I was in now—lying down, face up, across three laps.
Cosmo’s eyes tracked me through the rearview mirror. A few times, I glared at him, and when that didn’t work, I called out, “Watch the road.” He shifted forward, his whole body wound so tight the steering wheel groaned under his grip.Now I know what to get him for Christmas.He was always so hard to shop for.
Tension, desire, and violent anger swirled around, filling up the car quickly. Rick took that as his cue to start telling stories about our childhood, purposely getting some details wrong so Cosmo would correct him. It was a good trick to get him to think about something else, and I appreciated the reprieve of his eyes overflowing with judgment and rage. I was fine, so I didn’t understand why he couldn’t let it go.
I tried to balance on my elbows, as I wasn’t comfortable lying on my back, staring up at the inside roof of the car. My mind kept circling back to being saved by Lex. My lips tingled every time I thought about how soft his lips were as he kissed me. Desire to lick my lips to see if any remnants of his taste was still present filled my head.
The guys all thought I was crazy, maybe hallucinating from Breken’s magic, but when Falcon said he saw a flash of a male shadow, they all scowled. I understood their hesitation, their skeptical gazes when I told them, I would be in the same boat, too, if I didn’t see him with my own eyes. It was Lex, the real Lex, and I knew it deep down in my soul.
What I couldn’t figure out was why he had not come forward sooner? Was he in town the whole time or only recently? It’s coincidental that he would show up when we finally all got together for the first time since we were kids. Why didn’t he contact me sooner? Now that I thought about it, I was a little miffed he didn’t at least try to contact me before today. I know we had only met that one time, but something about Lex clicked with me that day in the cemetery. It was a kinship of sadness. An unspoken agreement to not let each other be lonely. So, why wouldn’t he have contacted me sooner?
“Soon, my rose. Soon.”
What the hell did he mean by that? My devilish side turned its head, laughing as it cooed in my mind,Why wait? Why play by his rules?He was the one not where he belonged. Get him. Show him who he is messing with.
“What are you thinking so hard about?”
I jerked, not expecting Ax’s hot breath against my ear while I was so deep in thought. At the same time, Cosmo hit a speed bump, and I yelped out as I started to fall off their laps. Three sets of hands grabbed me, yanking me backward.
You would think that once I was settled, they would let go and sit back, but nope, not this group. Falcon gripped my shins as Avery held my torso, and Ax grasped my shoulder. As soon as the ride settled, they relaxed and rested their hands on me just in case.
My gaze landed on Falcon facing forward, watching the road, then his sharp and sweet scent hit me while his fingers drew slow, sensual circles around my ankles. A tingling traveled up my leg, and I realized I needed to look elsewhere. I focused on Avery, hoping it would help ease the rising need in me to rub my calf along the center of Falcon’s pants. That would be a big no-no, especially with others in the car.
You would think Avery was paying attention to Rick and his stories as he would laugh and give his two cents, but his hand snuck up my shirt, and he ran his thumb up and down my side, causing my stomach to quake. As if that wasn’t enough, I had Ax, whose hands were firm in keeping me in place, staring down at me like I was a snack he wanted to devour.
“Who knew you were so jumpy.” Ax snorted, and the inner demon of embarrassment reared its head as I snapped out.
“There was a speed bump, and I’m lying across three men’s laps... it’s not my fault you’re acting like a bad seat belt.” All three glared at me with hostility until I raised a finger. “Remember, I wanted to ride my bike, you all”—I circled my finger around the whole car—“decided that I had to be in the car.”
Three mouths opened, ready to argue, when Cosmo cut in, ruining all my fun. “Don’t argue with her when she’s like this. She’s stubborn and won’t give up. For your own sanity, just scold her in your head... like I do.” I popped up on my elbows, trying to balance on Ax’s thighs as I glowered at him. His eyes met mine with a smug satisfaction. “It will drive her more crazy to not argue. Plus, in your head, she’ll listen and do what you say like agood girl.” My heart pumped blood faster at his emphasis on good girl.
That is it!I scrambled up. “Oh, so you want to fucking di—” I reared my hand up to smack him across the head when I became immovable. Ax’s thick, tree trunk of an arm grabbed my outstretched arm before anything happened while Avery slipped his arms around my waist and Falcon pinned my ankles down. I glanced backward, eyes narrowed. “What the fuck?”
Ax licked the shell of my ear, heat built in my belly as I became much more aware of the hands touching me. “We shouldn’t hit the driver, Siren, that could cause more trouble than it’s worth.”
Avery chimed in with laughter in his voice, “Plus, like you said earlier, you need us to be a better seat belt.” His hand snaked up the valley of my breasts, grazing my nipple on his way up to my shoulder. I bit down on my lip, enjoying the bit of attention way too much.
“Just be good for once and lie down. We’re almost back.” Falcon’s no-nonsense voice cut through the humor of the other two as he looked out the windshield. I paid attention to his reflection in the mirror, and his stone-cold eyes staring back at me spoke volumes to his irritation at the situation. I settled back in a huff, taking a deep breath and relishing in his scent, even as it calmed my nerves but also made me acutely aware of his attention on me. The memory of his earth-shattering, delicious blood from earlier had me licking my lips, telling myself it would be good not to anger him.
While I knew all that magical power surging through his veins was bound to taste good, I didn’t expect to crave it after I let go.
His light and sweet taste was crisp and cool like water, something I could drown myself in. Then the surprising pop of power against my tongue was electrifying, almost like that pop rock candy. It was a punch of overwhelming sweetness that was addicting for someone who already had a sweet tooth.
I darted my gaze down at his forearm, salivating for another taste. A sip. My eyes narrowed on the unblemished spot I licked at. He wouldn’t even miss the amount I would take.
Avery disentangled himself from me, pinching my nipple as he pulled his hand away, and I almost gasped out loud, but I was oddly thankful. It brought my attention away from almost attacking Falcon’s arm. This was why I shouldn’t have drank from him. I get a little territorial, a little obsessed with my blood sources, and I’d never had one as good as his.
My eyes flicked toward the back of Cosmo’s head. Well, I have never had someone taste as good as him, but I worked hard to not cross that line again. I didn’t think I would survive it if I did and then couldn’t have him again. I was getting the same feeling for Falcon, and that made me nervous. I needed to be more careful.
“Damn, what did you do to RayRay, Birdman? She usually never listens to anyone but Cosmo. Even then it’s a fifty-fifty chance,” Rick said as he turned around in his seat, staring at Falcon with wide eyes.
I glared at Rick, wishing I could kick him and his loud-ass mouth. Falcon, thankfully, didn’t say anything, but he let go of one of my ankles, and I took that as the go ahead to do what I wanted. I snapped my leg out and kicked Rick in the chest. Not hard or anything, just enough to give him a thorough warning to shut the fuck up.
Falcon’s mouth tipped up as Rick cried out while rubbing his chest as he grumbled about me needing anger management. Falcon grabbed my leg and brought it back down, and I smiled at him. Apparently, both of us didn’t want to acknowledge or talk about the suck, suck, bite, bite that happened between us, which was fine with me.
“Cosmo! RayRay kicked me!” Rick was trying to get sympathy since he knew no one back here cared, but even I knew he was barking up the wrong tree.
