Wraith and I are in bed, with the house eerily quiet. I’ve forgotten how peaceful the Southside of Mayhem is, especially compared to the 24/7 bustle of the north end of town. Or Gomorrah, for that matter, with its guards and dogs and security lights. Here, it’s about mountains and moonlight. It reminds me of when I lived in Ocala National Forest, surrounded by nature and without a care in the world.
“I’m listening.”
And he’s stiff as a board while doing so.
“Before we left Gomorrah, I took information from David’s security system.”
“What kind of information?” His tone may be calm, but his body goes even more rigid.
“I downloaded a month’s worth of the Coliseum’s activity on a thumb drive.” I wriggle out of his arms and sit up. “You want to kill David?Thisis how you get to him. We use this information to wipe out every powerful person he has in his pocket. And once we have him where we want him, you do what you need to do. I already told Crow. I gave him the drive. Even he agreed that it’s a good plan.” I grab Wraith’s hands. “We got him, Wraith. We gotallof them.”
His expression is hard, unreadable, and a muscle tics in his jaw. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me about this before?”
Well, this isn’t going as planned. I assumed Wraith would be thrilled. “I’m telling you now.”
“You could have been fucking killed,” he snaps.
Up goes my chin—as do my defenses. “It’s my life to risk.”
He bolts upright and grabs me by the jaw. “That’s where you’re wrong, Jamie. Your life is mine.”
“I’m not property.” I slap his hand away. “And I did what I did because you’ll never get to him as long as he’s surround by those assholes.” I move back, putting space between us. “But let’s say you kill him. Then what? What happens after? Evil like David’s is a hydra. Cut off one head, and two grow in its place. So, we can’t just cut off one. We have to rip out its heart and make sure it stays dead. To do that, we have to take out everyone who enabled and profited off Gomorrah.That’show you get revenge.”
Wraith watches me through the moonlight filtering in through the open window. I want to shrink away and retreat under his scrutiny.
“Come here, runt.” He holds out his arms.
My body moves forward before my mind catches up to it. I snuggle into his arms. “Don’t be stupid, Wraith.”
“Don’t tell me what to do.”
I shift to stare up at him and stroke the chiseled planes of his face. “This is anussituation. My part is the brains. Yours is the brawn.”
“Oh, is it?”
I ignore the humor in his tone and keep petting the side of his face. “Yes. You’re good at punching things, as you’ve proved, and I’m good at finding people’s weaknesses. It’s how I survived.”
Wraith runs his tongue along his lower lip, his gaze locked on mine. “Yeah? Then what’s my weakness?”
“I don’t know yet.”
He buries a hand in my hair. “Yeah, you do.”
His mouth whispers over mine, achingly gentle. He gives me all the time in the world to move away. The moon could drop out of the sky, and I wouldn’t budge from this very spot. I’m dizzy, lightheaded with exhaustion, and drunk on Wraith and freedom and the unexpected thrill of being back in Mayhem. I hate it here because of the memories, but I love it here because it’s wild and obscene.
Wraith parts my teeth with his tongue, and I open for him, my body humming to life under his touch. His hands are hot and rough, sliding over the cotton T-shirt he gave me to sleep in. I’m swimming in it, but it’s suddenly suffocating me.
And then I’m above him, his hands on my ass as he guides me over his body. He positions me so that I’m straddling him, and it’s odd and wonderful to have all his power between my legs. Offered to me for the taking. I flip my hair over my shoulder and lean down to lick a path from his neck to his earlobe, savoring the delicious taste of him. But it’s his growl that clenches my womb and sends a flood of wet heat that soaks my panties.
Wraith clamps his hands on my hips and grinds up into me. Our lips crash together, and we’re like two teenagers, grinding against each other. But we never got to do this as kids because I was a mental wreck, and Wraith, for all his bad-boy reputation, didn’t take advantage of me. Sometimes I wish he had, because at least his touch would have kept me company during those long and lonely years. But he hadn’t, and right now, I’m grateful because it makes this moment golden. New. Exciting.
He hitches up my shirt, and his hands are on my breasts, rolling my nipples between skilled fingers.
I throw back my head and lean into his touch. “More.” He sits up and takes one breast in his mouth, teasing my nipple with his tongue. I grind down on him, and frown when I notice I seem to be the only one enjoying the moment. “What’s wrong?”
Wraith rips his mouth from me with a frustrated growl. “I can’t,” he says as he lifts me off him.
A frisson of terror slides through me that David suffered his affliction on Wraith in that final torture session. “Is it…? I mean… Can you…?”
