ELODIE
My muscles are loose and my mind is in that beautiful bliss of emptiness. Not the kind that leaves you foraging for answers, but the alternative, where you feel like you’re floating on a cloud, ignoring the world like the harsh realities of life don’t matter.
The ache between my thighs is the main thing keeping me grounded, and I like it more than I care to admit.
Shuffling toward the exit, I grimace at the state of the door that lies fallen at my feet. But despite how much my actions make me cringe, it also reminds me of what I did. My magic didn’t rise to the surface to drain someone of their magic; instead, it burst from my palms, knocking the door from its hinges. I don’t know what to make of that fact, but it’s something I know I need to explore more. Just not yet, not when I’m riding a high and already acutely aware of the fact that my bubble is about to pop at any given moment.
A truth that grows stronger as I watch Rion inch closer to what remains of my father, tapping away on his cell phone for a moment before he turns to me with a beaming smile that transforms his entire face.
He looks at me like… no, that’s ridiculous. Before I can get wrapped in my thoughts, I shake off the lust charging through my veins and clear my throat.
“What are you going to do with him?” I ask, folding my arms over my chest as I nip at my lip.
“Do you really want the answer to that?” he retorts, cocking his brow for good measure as he rakes his gaze over me.
Despite the desire in his eyes, I shudder at his words. My nose crinkles as I shake my head. “Probably not,” I admit, but I can’t just leave it at that. “But you know it’s not your responsibility to deal with my shit, right?”
The panic in my chest leaves me on edge. The thought of being indebted to someone makes me nauseous, and I don’t like it.
His raised eyebrow only seems to go higher as he tilts his head at me. “Do I need to bend you over and fuck some sense into you? Because it seems like that’s the only time you actually listen to me,” he states, and all I can do is gape at him as he draws closer, stopping when we’re toe to toe.
“That doesn’t sound like a terrible idea,” I admit, completely distracted by him as amusement dances in his eyes.
I shiver when his hands come to my waist, instinctively making me unfold my arms to press my clenched hands against his chest. We both move at once, unable to decipher who took action first, but a second later, it doesn’t even matter. With his lips pressed against mine, I lean into him, unable to get enough as my fingers curl around his neck, my nails sure to leave marks on his skin. My thighs clench, confirming just how insane he makes me.
All too quickly, he leans back, pressing an extra kiss to my forehead before his heated gaze meets mine. “You’re insatiable,” he rasps, threatening to turn me into jelly in his arms, but beforeI can even figure out how my tongue works to say something in response, I startle at the sound of metal clanging.
My gaze snaps to the top of the stairs as the door swings open. I squint, the natural light too much for my eyes, but it only takes a second to blink through the haze to see who it is.
Thorne.
He doesn’t look happy. With his hands on his hips, his chest heaving with every breath, and his narrow gaze set on the two of us, he looks ready to kill someone.
My fingers flex against Rion, uncertainty warring inside of me, but before I can jump to any assumptions, Ocean’s face appears around the corner of the door frame. Her smile is tight and her eyes are wide.
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t hold him off any longer,” she states, leaving me to blink at her in confusion as Rion waves her off.
I should say something, cut through the ice that’s dropping the temperature of the space, but I’m locked in a stare off with Thorne as he charges down the stairs toward me. The second he’s within arm’s reach, he grips my chin, tilting my face up so he can examine me. Rion’s hands tighten at my waist, confirming he’s still here, but he doesn’t interject as Thorne takes stock of me. It’s on his third pass that he finally speaks.
“You’re okay?” he grunts, and I nod, earning a pointed look that speaks volumes without him saying a word.
“I’m okay,” I answer, feeling the grip of his thumb slacken as Ocean rushes down the stairs.
I don’t know what I expect when she gets close, but to my surprise, Rion lets go of me at the last moment, spinning me to face her head on before she sweeps me up in an embrace. My heart thunders in my chest as we sway from side to side, my hold on her growing just as strong as hers on me.
“Don’t ever leave me alone with these assholes again,” she mumbles, making me grin as Rion gasps.
“Don’t you dare, Ocean. You better take that back right now,” he warns, and she sighs, rolling her eyes for good measure as she leans back.
“Fine, he’s not my least favorite anyway,” she admits as a shadow casts down from the top of the stairs, making me stiffen.
I can’t bring myself to look. It can only be one other person, and I don’t want to see him right now. Instead, I turn to glance at Thorne, watching as he rakes his fingers through his hair, sweeping the brown curls back off his face.
“So, what happened?” he asks, and I almost consider looking at Kael instead of having to deal with that question, but it seems I’m out of luck.
The sound of someone clearing their throat makes me freeze; the noise is so acutely familiar that I know who it is before they speak. “It was The Sanctum, like we thought. Those motherfuckers took her, and?—”
“If I wanted the answer from you, I would have asked you out there,” Thorne snarls, turning his withering stare to the man who remains at the top of the stairs, seemingly aware that he’s already too close for my liking right now.
