She goes willingly. She’s used to me maneuvering her to a prone position so I can edge her.
I flip up her sweater dress and inspect the gusset of her panties. They’re damp but not soaking. Not yet.
Elodie sucks in a breath when I very lightly run my thumb up and down her inner thigh. “You spoke to Lucy about tonight.”
“You were listening, weren’t you?”
I don’t bother to deny it. “You said you were sure about the ritual.”
“I better be.”
I stop touching her until she explains, “I’ve found that in life, one choice flows from another.”
“And that means?”
“It means I’m sure about you. And that makes me sure about the rest.”
The front door bangs open, and Elodie jumps. I press my palm to her sex, grounding her before flipping her dress back down and helping her up. “Your friends are here. They’ll get you ready.”
Elodie
Honey,Daria, and Angel all come and help me prepare. I hear them enter the penthouse, and their loud voices ring out, and then fall to a hush when Kaiser greets them.
Jaeger opens the bedroom door for them, and they all troop in. Once he shuts the door, they get loud again.
“We got the night off,” Honey cries happily. “Lucy said so.”
“She told me,” I say. “She was just here.”
“Lucy was here?” Daria looks around, wide-eyed like Lucy might magically appear.
“You’re so obsessed with her.” Angel gives her a playful push.
“Shut up, I am not,” Daria says so vehemently that I raise my brows. I make a note to study her interactions with Lucy next time I’m at Inferno.
Honey sets up her makeup case and starts prepping my skin while peppering me with questions. “Was that Jaeger’s brother at the door?”
“Yes. He’s always hanging around now.”
“Doesn’t he hate you?”
“He’s come around.”
Daria plops down on the bed next to me with enough force that Honey scolds her. Angel pulls out a bag of dark chocolate.
“So. Tonight. He’s claiming you?”
“That’s the plan.” I ignore the little flutters in my gut. My nerves are eclipsed by the needy pulsing in my clit. All the work Jaeger put into edging me has seen to that.
I’ve kept my promise to him and haven’t run. He’s healing up faster than me, but I have crutches now. In theory, I could get away.
After tonight, it’ll be too late. I’ll be bound to him. I’ll enter his world and let the darkness close over me.
Because of Jaeger, the shadows don’t seem so scary anymore. He loves me, and I love him. I’m no longer prey to anyone but him, and that’s only when we play our game.
With him, I have protection and a safe place to land.
With me, he has rom-coms on the couch. A home. Someone who cares for him and loves him as intensely as he loves me.
