Well. At least now there’s no ambiguity about how she feels about what just happened between us.
“Let’s go,” I bark out.
Her head snaps my way. “What’s crawled up your ass? You got a free fuck out of this. I’d think you’d be in a great mood.”
I grit my teeth so hard I’m surprised they don’t crack. I refuse to lose my shit on her right now. “There’s a dangerous goddess still on the loose. And now she knows who you are. So get your ass back on your bike so we can figure out our next move.”
Phoenix’s mouth drops open. “No one speaks to me like that.”
I spread my arms out wide. “Well, Princess, wake up and smell the coffee. We’re stuck together for the time being whethereither of us likes it. You think I enjoy this situation any better than you do?”
She looks offended by my words. Beyond that, maybe a little hurt. But what the fuck am I supposed to do? There’s no pleasing her. Well, thinking about pleasing her just flashes images of her lying satisfied against my chest moments ago. But that’s no use to either of us now.
So I stomp down the side alley toward the front of the club where her bike is parked.
As Phoenix walks up to the bike behind me, I hear her on the phone. “Lock down the city. The murderer got away.” There’s a pause. “No, I’m not slipping. She just escaped, okay?”
By the irritation in her voice, I assume she’s on the phone with her grandfather. “Yes, he’s here with me.”
She spins to hold out the phone to me while looking furious. “He wants to talk to you.”
I take the phone from her and hit the speaker button. Even though I’m still upset about what just happened, I want to keep things completely transparent. I know Phoenix hates it when Vlad tries to use the people in her life against her.
“Hello?” I growl into the phone.
“Have you put a baby in her yet?” Vlad asks crudely.
I can see Phoenix fuming as she stomps several feet away from the phone, but she stays within hearing distance.
“We’re after a dangerous threat at the moment. That’s not really the priority right now.” Even as I say it, my mind flashes back to what we just did in the alley.
“Fucking my granddaughter should be your only priority!” Vlad’s angry voice comes over the phone speaker as if he can read my mind.
My eyes snap open to see Phoenix’s livid face staring at me.
Phoenix snatches the phone away from me. “We’re losing time here. Did you lock down the city? If this monster gets away completely, that’s on us.”
“How did you let it slip through your fingers the first time?” Vlad’s voice is accusatory.
“My compulsion didn’t work on her. And it had other skills that distracted us while it got away.” Phoenix’s eyes flit briefly in my direction. Her cheeks color again. “But we won’t fail twice.”
“You better not,” comes Vlad’s threatening voice. “It’s time to start focusing on your real honeymoon duties.”
I can see Phoenix working hard to control her anger. “I’m having the honeymoon I choose. He’s here with me. We’re bonding.” Her eyes flash unwittingly toward the back alley of the club where we just were.
“The only bonding I care about is the kind that gives me more children to carry my name. Don’t forget, I hold a life debt over his family.”
“We’ll be in to check city surveillance,” Phoenix snaps at him. “Text me when the streets are locked down.” She ends the call abruptly. Then she glares at me as she fits the phone into the snug back pocket of her dress. “What?”
I hold my hands up in surrender. “I didn’t say anything.”
She lets out a furious huff that I assume is intended more for Vlad than me. She swings a leg over her bike and gestures angrily for me to get on behind her.
I shut my eyes to try to block out memories of the last time our bodies were wrapped together. But that only makes it more vivid in my mind. My teeth grit as I climb on the bike behind her. I try to ignore the way my cock stiffens at being near her again.
The monster inside me roars back to life with a staggering hunger unlike any I’ve ever known before. Because now I’ll carry the memories of what it felt like to have her gasping and squeezing on my cock. Like a starving man given a feast onlyonce before being sent back into the cold to slowly freeze. I have a feeling this is the type of thing that drives a man to madness.
But then again, what’s a little more madness and torment to a monster like me?
