He looked me over for a moment, a slow grin rolling to his lips. “Good.” Pressed against him like this, I could feel the rumble of his words, the vibrations traveling through me. I was so turned on I could barely breathe right now. My cock tested the confines of my pants, brushed up against his massive thigh. How easy would it be to rut against those muscles until I came?
“You look needy, pet,” he murmured.
The endearment sent an immediate bolt of lust through me. His deep, rich voice, that word—everything about it veered close to the fantasies I kept locked away.
“Desperate,” I gasped out.
His lips twitched, and he reached down to cup my length. His firm grasp made me incinerate. Fuck. A few tugs and I’d unload in my pants. A whimper escaped my lips, and his grin widened enough that those fangs were on clear display. He was so damn gorgeous he stole my breath away.
“Too bad I’ve got a meeting to get to,” he said, a tease lingering in his voice. “Guess you’ll just have to be patient for me.”
“Maybe I’ll handle it on my own,” I challenged.
He reached up and rested his massive hand around my throat, which tipped my chin up. The devilish glint in his gaze sent a shudder through me. “Trust me, pet. You’ll want to wait.”
I licked my lips, the slight pressure against my throat making my adrenaline spike in the best damn way. He relaxed his grip, but not before he pressed a light kiss to my lips again. Then he stepped back, and the lack of his body against mine was like plunging into cold water. Cillian slipped his hands into his pockets as he turned on his heel.
“I’ll see you soon, Beau.”
With that, he stepped out of the library, leaving me there amongst the stacks, my world flipped upside down.
Chapter 15
Cillian was gone.
After all the big talk of being patient for him, he’d had to leave today for an emergency meeting. Amelia had been very hush-hush about who it was with, and I took her avoidance as a cue that whatever he’d gotten involved with was trouble. Danger lingered around the man like an aura. Too bad for me I was addicted.
I lost myself in the stacks for the day, since he’d given me free reign to organize as I saw fit, and the variety of books overwhelmed me. I’d expected to find some comparable to those in Peregrine City’s library, but no. This held unique books for almost every monster species I could think of, though my knowledge was clearly limited as I discovered new types all day. And yet, despite the thrill of searching the stacks and starting to flip through some of the books, the place also reminded me even more of his presence.
The way he’d kissed me yesterday had been nothing short of transformative, as if I’d been sleepwalking through life only to jolt awake.
When I’d been back in my room, the temptation to jerk off and find release myself had risen in a strong way, but I’d tamped it down. Because the curiosity of what he might deliver if I waited held an even stronger appeal.
Except now he was gone, and Amelia had been vague about the timing of his return. I placed another book on the shelf, in its new location, one that made a bit more sense. The stacks clearly hadn’t been organized in an age, and even when people had put the books back, they hadn’t all placed them in the spots they belonged. The golden rays of the setting sun tapered in through the windows, casting their gilded light across the surfaces.
Yearning tugged deep inside me. And the truth of who I yearned for still elicited complicated emotions, because my situation with Cillian was anything but ordinary. Yet those stolen moments here with him remained in such bright and evocative color inside my mind.
Was he okay? He rarely left his tower, apart from furtive meetings down in the casino, but he seemed almost as trapped as I was some days.
And my escape had taught me that the man had dangerous enemies out there.
A knock sounded at the door, drawing my attention.
My heart raced, but when I spun around, Amelia stood in the entrance. She was dressed down in a muscle shirt, black pants, and combat boots, looking far more herself than when she donned a staff uniform. For a woman who was probably in her fifties, she was fit enough to take me down in a fight.
“If you’re bored later, we’ve got our monthly game night. We’re playing Sparks. Even though Cillian hasn’t come back yet,if he makes it in tonight, he’ll join us.” Her eyes softened, and I couldn’t help but wonder how much she’d pieced together.
I chewed on my lower lip. I hadn’t played Sparks in a long while, and I’d never been good at it in the past, but the idea of a diversion sounded perfect right now. “You’ll have to refresh me on the rules.”
“We ordered pizza too,” she said. “Since Theo’s with Cillian right now.”
I hadn’t realized my shoulders were tensed until they relaxed. If Cillian wasn’t alone, that made me feel marginally better, even though I suspected what they’d headed into wasn’t as simple as a business meeting. And whoever it was with wouldn’t be docile. No detours to go and pet puppies or frolic through a garden.
“I’m down for pizza. Is it just you, Charles, and me then?”
Amelia grinned, one that made her look younger than her years. “Oh, no. Game night is when everyone else comes to visit.”
I lifted my hand in a mock gasp. “You’re telling me Cillian has friends?”
