I grab the hem of my t-shirt, pull, but barely reach the first ab before her fingers close over mine.
She’s… she’s touching me.
She made that move.
Not because we needed to flit, but because she wanted to.
Why? To stop me pulling off my top—
“Don’t you dare.” Her voice is so sexily vicious.
I stop immediately, studying her eyes darting around the empty shop.
Was that… jealousy in her voice?
No. No fucking way.
I can’t be this lucky.
I already made sure the shop was shut to the public; no way I’mletting any other fuckers look at her. Except that damn server. Still deciding if his staring is crime enough to earn him a trip to the Pit...
But then Red’s darkness stirs, licking at the edges of mine, and all my focus snaps back to her.
“What’s wrong, Red?” I tease, basking in the heat of her fingers still on mine.
“You can’t just go around stripping wherever and whenever you want! I mean…” Her eyes flick to my t-shirt. “That thing barely counts as clothing. It’s practically see-through.”
“Is it?” I take my chance, catch her hand with my free one, pry her fingers open and flatten her palm against my stomach.
Fuck. She’s right.
The heat of her skin seeps straight through, burning into me. The fabric’s so threadbare it may as well not exist. I wish it didn’t.
“What’s wrong with it?” My voice comes out too soft, too hoarse. But fuck, she feels so good.
“Too thin.” Her fingers shift, pressing in, brushing slowly over my stomach, and every muscle jumps under her touch.
This is agony.
But I want it.
So bad.
“You don’t need to stalk us, Red.” The rasp in my voice only makes her glare sharper, like she hates that word even more. I just smirk. “You have us.”
Her eyes soften, and she’s still touching me, still looking up at me all soft, and so damn pretty.
“Ask me anything, anything you couldn’t find out, anything you want to know. Tell me what you want, and I’ll give it. Information, pictures, my soul, anything.”
Probably shouldn’t have said the soul bit out loud, but I mean it.
I never let her hand go, keeping it pressed to my stomach even as I drag a stool behind me closer and sit, bracketing her legs with mine, trapping her and causing her knees to touch my thighs.
“Ask me, Red,” I murmur.
She swallows, eyes flickering over me before she finds her words.
“Well, I started researching bonds, but everything is so heavily restricted with the lockdown. I couldn’t get onto many things, or talk to anyone. And then I…” She peeks up, sheepish. “I tried to find you guys, to get information. But I didn’t even know what to search for. I only had your first names. I tried combining them with ‘enforcers’ and ‘Council member’, but… nothing.”
