“She’s none of your business,” I repeated.
“Don’t be like that. We just want to get to know her—” Grady was cut off as I lunged forward, grabbing his Weezer shirt. He held up his hands and panic flashed in his eyes. “Nothing weird, she’s yours. We all know that,” he said quickly. I dropped his shirt and stepped back. They all shifted around quietly, off-put by my sudden outburst.
I rolled my eyes.
“Sorry,” I said, smoothing the wrinkles from Grady’s shirt. I rested my hand on the side of his neck and smiled widely. Sometimes smiling didn’t entirely work. This was one of those times. It seemed to have the opposite effect, making them give me a strange expression. He also didn’t seem to like me touching him.
It was so hard to figure these things out sometimes. Touch me, don’t touch me. Blah, blah. What the fuck ever. I stepped back into my own space and dropped it.
“What’s going on here?” I asked Brandon. For all his annoying shit I could at least rely on him and Matthias not being interested in Ava.
“We just want to get to know Ava, talk to her. It was wrong to blame her for your decision. See, I don’t think she’s even really aware of… well,” he chuckled, “quite a lot.” He gave me a toothy smile and self-satisfied eyes. I swept my gaze over the three of them.
What did they plan on telling her exactly? They had no idea I wasn’t human, so it wasn’t that at least.
“She doesn’t know, does she?” Brandon asked.
“Doesn’t know what?” I asked. He stepped up in my face.
“What a little fucking sociopath you are,” he said in hate. I looked back and forth between his eyes. A smile slid across my face.
“If you go spouting shit to her—” I started but Brandon took a step back, rolling his eyes.
“I probablyshouldwarn her... “ He trailed off. I noted Matthias coming back from the bathroom, a damp towel folded over his shoulder, and his hair wet.
“See, I get it now,” Brandon said.
“Get what, exactly?” My attention focused back on him.
“You’re obsessed with her and for whatever reason, you go where she goes from now on. That’s what you were getting at before, right? Well, what if she wanted to tour with the band?” He asked.
“Thisis your grand plan?”
Brandon shrugged, nonplussed by my reaction. I thought it over. The idea of touring around with Ava could be great but why would she agree? Our relationship was just now finally starting. Also, I couldn’t ask her to quit this travel photography job. It was her first time away from her family. The first time she was putting her foot down about what she wanted. She was so excited about it. I couldn’t take that away from her. I wouldn’t even ask.
“Nah,” I said, scrunching my nose. Brandon’s face flashed with an angry expression. I smiled and shrugged at him. That seemed to piss him off more. At least this time I’d intended that reaction.
“See you guys later,” I said with a bright smile as I went back to Ava. They watched me go with frowns, Brandon clenching and unclenching his fists.
Quickly I unzipped the tent, feeling frantic to be near her, to touch her. My eyes went half-lidded and I let out a strangled breath as I thought again of last night. Of Ava underneath me, of her body grinding and squirming, my fingers playing with her pussy.
She stirred as I came into the tent. I didn’t bother zipping it back up, just kneeled down, my eyes going to my bite on her neck. All that was left was filling her up deep between her legs. Then she’d really be mine, not that there was any question of that.
Nokken were always male and imprinted with human women. It was an instantaneous thing that made my heart seize in my chest when I first saw her. It had been an overwhelming, life-changing experience.
Some nokken went a lifetime without finding their mate. Yet they were driven to constantly seek them out. It made for a bunch of manwhores, pulling women in with their wiles as often as possible, looking for the one who would be special.
Not me though. I’d only been fourteen when I first saw her. My new stepsister, with wide beautiful brown eyes and a curvy body that made me grind my teeth with a ravenous urge I’d never felt before.
There was not a single thing I disliked about her, except that she didn’t instantly love me too.
“What time is it?” She murmured sleepily as I settled beside her in the tent. I buried my face into the mating bite and she made a small noise of pain that made my head spin. Pain and pleasure could be so similar, the sounds almost identical and the intensity equal. My poor Ava, did she realize I wanted to hurt her? Just a little though, just enough so that she could have even more pleasure.
“Nearly eleven,” I said as she brought her fingers to the bite, delicately exploring it with the tips of her fingers. I didn’t want to think about anything outside this tent. Not the thing in the woods that wanted her, my bandmates across the street, nor the big bus and rolling camera.
Only Ava.
“Caspian,” she said somewhat in shock, feeling the wound I left her with. A slow smile of satisfaction spread over my face. I dropped it quickly as she turned, giving her an apprehensive look as I waited to see if she was angry.
