I was serious about watching a movie, and we eventually agreed on a couple of superhero movies where we made fun of the villains and critiqued on how much worse they could’ve been if they just tried. It was one of the funnest nights I’d had in a while.
Heat radiated from behind me, covering my back, and I snuggled into it, liking the warmth it provided. A large, heavy hand curled around my waist, cupping my breast before the soft and repetitive sounds of Ax snoring made me smile.
Cosmo was facing me with his eyes closed and his hand clutching mine. When we were kids, sometimes, we would end up like this, holding onto each other into the night to keep our demons at bay. Looking at him now, I felt this sense of safety and home. Like if he was with me, everything would be okay.
I knew this dating other men thing was hard on him, but I wanted him to know I wasn’t doing this to hurt him or teach him a lesson or anything like that. I just really enjoyed each of these men that were going to be a part of my life whether I wanted them to or not.
Deep down, I knew I wanted them to.
I knew it was too early to be up when I felt the heat from my window where the setting sun was falling, but a familiar urgent need called me to relieve myself. I slowly climbed out of bed, mumbling I needed to pee before they all woke up.
I stumbled into the bathroom, my eyes half open as I took care of my business, then stepped out into the hallway. My hand trailed along the wall, making sure I knew when I needed to turn, when a wisp of something curled around me.
I paused for a second, but a second was all he needed, and a hand circled my throat and shoved me against the wall. “You hurt my feelings, my rose. You did all this bonding with them and didn’t include me.” His face came into view, and his dark eyes were haunting as he leaned in and whispered in my ear, “Your mate. Now how is that fair?”
He crowded me against the wall, black shadows and smoke were curling around me, encasing me into a tomb of blackness where it was only Lex and me. His anger was palpable in the air, but I saw true hurt peppered in his eyes.
I knew fighting him would only make the situation worse, so I needed to think of another way to snap him out of it. I lifted my hand slowly, letting him track my movements as I ran it through his hair, gliding over the hidden bump of his horn as he closed his eyes and purred.
He leaned into my face again and placed his lips on my cheek. “Do it again, Ray. Do it again, and I will be yours. All I need is your touch, and I will be the most loyal of dogs. Much better than the mutts you entertain in there. Just touch me.” His unspoken wordsPick me,love mebroke my heart.
I ran my fingers through his hair again, and he closed his eyes in pure bliss. The hand around my throat loosened, letting me slide down until my feet hit the floor. His body covered mine, every part of us touching as his forehead leaned against mine, the hand around my neck was more like a loose necklace than a threat, just another way for him to touch me.
“Lex—”
Then all hell broke loose as Cosmo bellowed, “Let go of her, you demon!” Not giving me a second to talk, he zoomed forward and tackled Lex to the ground.
Oh, shit.
1.Curiosity by Bryce Savage
Chapter 22
“Stop!Cosmo,lethimgo!” Cosmo’s whole body covered Lex as he shoved his head into the floor. Lex didn’t help by looking slightly deranged as he laughed like Cosmo was tickling him and not trying to pound his face into the floor hard enough to crush it.
“What the fuck is going on? Rayla, are you okay?” Avery asked as he showed up next to me. Ax circled his arm around me and pulled me back into his chest as he growled at the two men on the floor. Falcon said nothing as he slipped to my other side, just watching the two idiots try to kill each other.
“I’m fine,” I called out. That wasn’t the problem at the moment. “Fucking, damn it! Cosmo, Lex wasn’t hurting me.” Cosmo snarled, not paying attention to my words, as Lex rolled his hips up, wrapped his legs around Cosmo’s chest, then swung to the side. It only took Lex two seconds to get the upper hand in the situation. His arm snaked around Cosmo’s neck, and he pulled up like he was trying to tear off his head.
“Awww, poor little Cosy getting all angry when my rose has another bee around, but sooner or later, he’s going to run into the wrong bee... and get a stinger up his ass for getting in my way.” His voice deepened at the end, and the smile fell from his face as he tightened his grip around his neck. I didn’t like that look on his face, the one that said he didn’t care what happened to Cosmo as long as he won. If he wanted to be my loyal dog, like he claimed, then he needed to learn when to heel.
I shoved Ax’s arm off me and stepped forward to take control. “Lex.” My firm voice let him know I was not fucking around as I crossed my arms and cocked my hip. “Let go of Cosmo. Now!”
His head snapped up, and he looked at me like he didn’t realize I was here, then smiled widely as he let go. Inky lines of smoke flowed out of him, covering him completely, then he disappeared before our eyes. Cosmo was already getting up, glaring at the space around us like he was trying to find him. Like he knew Lex was still here. If there was one thing I had learned about Lex, it was if he didn’t want you to find him, you wouldn’t.
It took a second for a shadow to fill the space in front of me, and Lex appeared with smoke wafting off him as his hand lifted to cup my face lovingly. “Hello, my rose. Miss me?” He rubbed his nose against mine in an Eskimo kiss, smiling like a happy kid. “I followed you like you asked, but I have to admit that I made a little bit of a mess at your front door.”Oh, no, what the fuck did he do?
I turned around, confident he wouldn’t start shit with Cosmo again as I ran over to my window and rolled up the blinds. There were splashes of blood all over the front, and the four front guards were on the ground, lying in pools of their own blood, but each of their chests rose and fell. They would be fine after some healing and blood.
A calm, playful voice with an edge of crazy sounded behind me. “I made sure that I didn’t deal a death blow to a single one of them.” I turned around, suddenly boxed between his arms as his big black eyes swirled with so much affection. The pregnant pause in the air was so thick with want for validation. I practically heard his call for me to tell him he was a good boy for not killing my men.
A silver glint of moonlight was the only warning I got before a blade appeared against Lex’s throat. Cosmo behind him, glaring at the back of his head as if he could burn a hole right through it with his eyes. Menacing darkness spilled from his lips as his eyes turned into a deep-royal purple. “Get away from her, demon, or lose your life. Your choice.”
That was it. This was getting out of fucking hand. I sped underneath Lex’s arm, sliding right in front of him, and positioned the blade right next to me so if he wanted to slide it into Lex, he would have to do it to me, too. “This is the second time that I’m telling you that you are taking things too far.” Cosmo’s arm swung, removing the blade, but his anger still blazed.
Lex turned around so my back was against his chest. “This is Lex Devil, an heir to the Syndicate, and you are not to harm him. Do you understand?”
Cosmo’s back straightened as he clutched the handle of his sword so hard the metal creaked. “His hand was around your neck in a threatening manner. I don’t care if it was one of the bosses themselves, I will protect you at all costs.”
