She ran her fingers along the table, thinking about what to do next. She lifted a finger. “One stipulation.” He nodded eagerly. “You must return before sunrise. No exceptions.” She stood up, moving around us and headed toward him. Her heels the only sound as he stood straighter.
Running her hand up his chest when she was close enough, she cooed like a lover, “And if you are not back in time, if you make me come find you,”—she grabbed his neck and dug her nails in him as she shoved him to his knees while talking through clenched teeth—“I will chain you in that basement until you come to your senses and take your seat willingly. I will put magical trackers on you to ensure I know wherever you are at all times.” His eyes shone up at her like she was giving him everything he had ever wanted until she leaned down and whispered in his ear, “And I will make you become my father’s apprentice, being his little bitch boy until he releases you.”
For the first time since I had seen him, Lex’s eyes flashed with anger, pointed at Rayla. She patted his cheek as she smirked, snagging the tablet out of his hands. “Yes. That’s what I wanted to see. That motivation to listen for once.” She turned away from him, walking back to the desk before looking over her shoulder. “You better hurry along to interrogate thatartist, the clock is ticking.”
He glared at her for a second before that standard crazy smile of his showed back up. “Yes, my queen.” Suddenly, he was covered in smoke, the shadows around the room gravitated toward him as he disappeared in the darkness.Damn it! That was fucking cool.
After Lex left, she turned to us and asked that we talk to our personal guards to see if they had any idea where our fathers were going. She told us she wanted to exhaust all the information avenues before making a hasty decision. She also asked Falcon to do an extensive search on the video, noting down anything worthwhile to figure out where they were being taken.
She immediately went back to work, focusing on some of her father’s documents, trying to find clues as to where he might’ve gone. Cosmo went into full soldier mode, telling her he would follow up with all the captains and start a small underground search. Falcon immediately went to his lab, saying he had more tech there to help him with the video, while Ax and I left for our villas to talk to our people.
After talking to a few guards, putting out some feelers, changing clothes, and taking a trip out to see Veshta and her contacts, I came back to the Desmond house beat. I was informed by Cosmo before I made my way up to the office that she was not in a good mood due to being told there were more supes disappearing and more hooded figures dealing drugs. Our people kept trying to catch them, but they would either give them the slip, or, if they got caught, they gave up their lives before being tortured for information. It was frustrating, and I was sure we all felt that way, but I bet she felt worse because this was her territory, her reasonability, especially since her father was gone. I needed to go see her, even if it was only to give her some support. She may not want to talk about being mates right now, but we were both Syndicate leaders, we could share some of the mental load.
Rayla was right where we left her, sorting through papers, but, this time, she was grumbling to herself. “He’s a fucking lunatic.” Her grumbles turned more violent the closer I got. “As soon as you come back, I’m forcing you to make a system. I will gut you where you stand and not take out the knife until you file your damn papers.” She gripped the papers in her hand, crumpling them so hard while she stared at her father’s desk like it was the root of all evil.
“You know, if you pinch your brows like that for too long, wrinkles will start to form.”
She jerked at my voice, eyes flying up to see me, and nodded before resuming her work at cursing out her father for his lack of organizational skills. She slid one of the drawers open and then shoved a whole pile into it before producing another pile she cursed at as she leafed through it. “You know what, I thought being a boss of an underground criminal organization meant that we didn’t keep any paperwork, but I’m finding them shoved all over this office. Important ones, too!”
Her hair was flipped to the side, giving it an extra messy look. She was slouching, and her eyes were drooping, probably tired from all the reading of the cursed papers. Seeing my mate so tired, so drained, and so stressed made me want to do something. To pull her away from all her troubles and ease her mind, remind her what it’s like outside of this office.
Watching her made me think she was also using this issue to not have to talk to us about being mates, about what Cosmo did, about any of her feelings. It was simpler that way, and I understood that, but that didn’t mean you worked yourself to the bone trying to escape. You were just taking yourself out of one hole and going into another. That was no way to live.
1I pulled my phone out, scrolled through my music, and put my speaker on high. I wasn’t going to force her to face our situation, her feelings, but I would pull her out of the workhorse hole she was digging herself in so she could take a breath, clear her mind, and maybe, just maybe, lean on me a little. I was more than a pretty face and a smoking-hot bod.
I slowly tugged on the papers in her hand, and she resisted as she tilted her chin up to me. Those gorgeous, strong eyes that I fell for instantly made my heart stop and my chest tighten. She was so fucking beautiful. I couldn’t help it when I rubbed my thumb along her bottom lip, sighing out, “You need a break.”
Her back straightened, and she looked back down at the papers with an argument on the tip of her tongue when I leaned forward and nibbled on her ear. When she let out a small sigh, I yanked the papers, grabbed her fingers, and lifted her to stand.
She shook her head while looking back at the desk. “Avery, I don’t think—”
“No,” I cooed, “right now you need to not think. Not talk. Not do anything but feel what’s happening.” I pressed the play button on my screen and pulled her to the open space in front of the desk.
She resisted again, tugging her arms away, but, this time, it was less forceful, more pleading. I smirked as I yanked her into me and wrapped my other arm around her as I led her in a small circle. “You have time for a dance.” The song was relaxing and melodic, enticing anyone to take it slow and easy. “Just breathe, Fierce Girl.” She made a show of inhaling and exhaling quickly, and I smirked at her. “Brat.”
She finally smiled up at me, and her eyes twinkled with mirth again as she settled into a rhythm with me. It didn’t take long for her to start staring at the desk every time it was in her line of sight. She eyed it like a ticking time bomb and only she had the knowledge to diffuse it. That would not work for me.
“Hey,” I whispered in her ear, and she turned her face toward me. “Close your eyes.” She narrowed them on me, and I ran my lips along her neck, kissing my way to her ear, and she sighed in appreciation. I tightened my hand around her waist and growled, “Close. Your. Eyes.”
I pulled back to see if she had complied, and I was surprised to see them closed, even if she had a scowl on her face. “Now what?” Her haughty tone made me want to turn her around and spank her bottom until it mimicked a ripe tomato color, show her who she was messing with, but I needed to be the bigger person here. With her eyes closed, her skin paler than usual, and fatigue showing, I wanted nothing more than to have her drink from me.
It wasn’t about her mark or completing the mate bond, it was more about not liking her in discomfort. Wanting to provide myself as a way for her to feel better, be more healthy, ready for anything. I shoved those thoughts down, knowing she wasn’t ready for that, but I still wanted something, needed something from this exchange.
“I am going to hold you, guide you, as we dance. I don’t want you to think about your next moves, or how to sway your hips, or where to place your feet. I don’t even want you to think about keeping yourself upright. I want you to just feel.” I hushed along the column of her neck, and she shivered at my words. “I want you to trust me. Do you trust me?” It was her choice; it would always be her choice.
I held my breath, waiting for her answer. With her eyes closed and her breathing picking up as her chest rose and fell, I felt the tension leaving her body as she nodded. My heart expanded as I couldn’t help the smile that formed on my face. “Then come here, let me hold you.” She took a shaky step forward, and I plastered her to my chest, making sure she knew I had her.
“Now, let go. If your head falls back or forward, then I will catch you. If you sag into my chest, I am here to hold you up. If your legs refuse to work, I will be your legs that move you. Just feel the music. Just feel me.” She took a shaky breath as we swayed.
Her breathing slowed the less she concentrated, and her arms grew limp by the second, but I kept a tight grip, letting her know that she was going nowhere—I would keep my promise.
Her legs parted, and my thigh rubbed against her center as we rocked into each other. Her body melted into mine as she released more and more of that tight grip she had over herself. Seeing her today reminded me of how strong she was, how good of a leader she was. She didn’t hesitate to bring the hammer down, but she also worked as hard, if not harder than, her men. She was exactly what Lex said, a Syndicate Queen who could rule the whole thing with her strength and natural power. Seeing her now, holding her here, I realized how taxing that all was. How being the leader took a lot out of someone, and every once in a while, even a leader needed to be taken care of.
Her seductive floral scent had me captivated, dreaming of a field of jasmine with her standing in the center, holding a white, thorny rose with blood dripping out, and a smile on her face. I buried my face in her hair, covering myself in her scent as her hand traveled through the slits in my clothes and caressed my wing.
I couldn’t help the moan that spilled out of me, and my cock reacted by poking into her, almost like he was tapping her and saying,excuse me, coming though. My hand dug into her hair, gripping her hard as I threatened her. “Don’t push it too far, Fierce Girl. I was trying to do something nice and sweet, but I only have so much resolve in me. Only so much I can take.”
She put her head against my neck, licking at the pulsing vein and causing my mind to go haywire as all my alarm bells went off. Her voice was soft and lazy. “This is your fault.” I almost snapped out of my lustful haze to argue that fact, but she fingered the base of my wing again, and my legs buckled, barely able to catch myself from falling.
