He stands at the end of the foyer with his arms crossed, blocking our way to the kitchen.
“May we come in? Or is this yet another juvenile test of dominance?” Ezra asks in a bored tone.
Iain’s gaze shifts to the space behind us with a wicked smile.
“You two can wait right here. I’ll work with the wee hound.Alone.”
Iain crosses his arms, his muscles rippling under the slightly too small light blue Care Bears T-shirt.
Ezra’s shadows ripple too, but not out of admiration. Eddy the fifth, who could win an Oscar for dramatic overreaction, slinks over his shoulder and flicks toward Iain’s shirt.
Apparently, even sentient inkblots have aesthetic limits.
Louie stares, slack-jawed, until I elbow her.
“What? Fuck that. Aurora needs this more than I do. She should be first. Plus, I don’t trust you, wrakh.”
“I’d feel more comfortable if I could be with Louie. Maybe I could learn—”
“Sorry, queenie. My magic, my rules. You want help? The hellhound works with me alone. It’s either that, or you can find some other fool to help you.”
I look at Ezra, who has his lips drawn in a tight line. It’s clear he doesn’t trust anyone else with this.
I turn to Louie, who looks like she’s contemplating the best way to remove the wrakh’s vital organs using the most painful method possible.
“It’s up to you, Lou. I totally understand if you’re not comfortable. We can figure something else out.”
The hellhound’s face softens when her gaze flicks to me.
There’s something in her eyes. Something resigned.
Louie huffs then roughly pushes Ezra and me out of the way.
“Let’s go, you bald motherfucker. The sooner you turn your little trick, the sooner I can get the fuck out of your orbit. My only concern is protecting Aurora. I’d rather eat glass than sit in the same room as you, but I obviously don’t have much of a choice if I want to keep her safe.”
When my gaze shifts to Iain, I have to stifle a giggle.
His head tilts to the side when Louie walks past him, very purposely shoving him with her shoulder. With a snort of amusement and a smug smile, Iain turns on his heels and follows behind Lou, leaving Ezra and me alone in the cramped foyer.
Ezra exhales through his nose, and his shadows flicker out for just a moment before slithering back under his skin, twitching with barely-leashed irritation.
“Well, I guess we’ll have to entertain ourselves for a little while,” I grumble, more annoyed than I probably should be.
“Also, seriously. What thefuckis in the well?”
My fingers barely brush the doorknob before Ezra spins me around, his mouth crashing into mine. One hand travels up my spine, then roughly fists in my hair while his other hand grips my hip so hard I know it’ll bruise.
His touch isn’t just fire. It’s fucking conflagration.
The moment I open my mouth for him, he takes—a slow, claiming stroke of his tongue that makes my stomach drop.
I barely register the movement until something bumps the back of my thighs.
When I open my eyes, I realize we’re in the small powder room off the foyer.
Ezra doesn’t break the kiss as he lifts me with terrifying ease. He pulls me to the edge of the counter with deliberate slowness, wanting me to feel every inch of his control.
He kicks the door shut behind him, parts my legs, then nestles himself between them, rubbing his already stiff cock against me.
