“I didn’t think much about the fact I had gotten it done, until both my brothers came home with the same one. Dumbass one and two had a high school friend do it over a kitchen table as a surprise for me.”
Another wave of emotion rolled through him, and this time, I was able to catch it before he buried it. His blue eyes filled with nostalgia, and his face softened, as if that memory was one of his favorites.
This Silas was everything the other version was not, a view that I didn’t think a lot of people were privy too. Lifting my finger, I traced where the piece laid. “So what you’re telling meis that you guysallhave a lifelong reminder of the questionable decisions you make.”
“It wasn't all bad. The tattoos ended up infected, and Kyrin found out he had a knack for medical things.” A soft chuckle from him made my body shake and without thinking too much about it, I suddenly wanted him to know things about me too.
“Can I do truth again?”
He nodded as his fingers traced the back of my arms, his question coming out soft, almost like he was scared of the answer. “Why are you here with me, when you could have run?”
My whole body clenched, but it wasn’t because of the question.It’s because of the truth behind it.“Sometimes there's a voice that turns on in my head,”—I bit my lip as I watched his fingers graze my skin,—“and against every fiber of my being, it told me to stay.”
A small nod was his only response, and for a brief moment, I wished I could see into his thoughts. I formed my next thought as he processed my previous answer.
“I dare you to touch me.”
His body stilled as he answered with one word. “No.” His tone neither angry, or defensive—just flat, and exactly what I’d expected.
I nodded once in his direction. “Okay.” I didn’t push him, but that didn’t mean I was giving up. “I dare you to close your eyes, then.”
He looked at me like he knew I was up to something, his blue eyes full of suspicion. After exhaling loudly, he closed them.
“Keep them shut,” I added, sitting up and pulling away from him.
It was apparent he didn’t like me leaving his arms. As I moved, he outstretched them toward me until he couldn’t feel me anymore, and then he said my name, a word full of warning. “Ember—“
I grinned, even though I knew he couldn’t see me. Moving quietly across the room, I dragged a chair just to throw him off.
One eyebrow twitched and I giggled. The sound felt foreign but light. I circled the room once and then darted to the other side to grab his mask. With every sound I made, his head turned in that direction.
“Ember,” he warned again, but this time, his voice was starting to sound playful. I liked the sound of it.
“Sir. Eyes closed.”
Shaking his head slightly, he sighed in defeat.
I fastened the mask on my face and bolted out of the room. Slipping out of the office, I sprinted down the hallway with my bare feet slapping against the floor. I didn’t stop laughing until I reached the main level. I knew how ridiculous this was, how ridiculous I probably looked in this crowd. For the first time since I met him, I wasn’t running because I was scared—I was running because Iwantedhim to chase me.
27
Silas
The door to my office clicked shut with a sound that was barely audible, but as soon as I heard it, I knew she was gone. For half a second when I opened my eyes, I stared at the empty room around me.
I assumed she hadn’t left because she was running. So, what were the chances she would reappear with that crooked smile? The more I thought about it, the more I quickly realized that was not the case.
I hadn’t imagined it, the bond that had solidified between us. There was no way she didn’t feel it now, that she didn't feel the fact we were made for each other. Moments before she’d asked me to touch her, but I had said no—would that be why?
My eyes locked on the door to my office as I stood. Up until this moment, I had given her every bit of control I could. If she was comfortable now, that meant I could take some back. Knowing her, that's what she wanted—to play.
She didn’t just get to surrender everything to me and then leave me. She belonged by my side, right next to me. I grabbed at the spot where my mask had been, only to realize it was gone. I studied the empty space and rolled my eyes at her. Ifher goal had anything to do with something outside of playing, she wouldn’t have grabbed that. If it was any negative emotion, she would have done anything she could to break my rules out of pure spite. A cold, razor-sharp clarity sliced through me, and I knew she wanted to be hunted.
I should have known right away, because this was her—this wasmyEmber. She was trying to play a game with me, one I had originally refused by saying no.
I laughed to myself as I grabbed a different mask. I had two options. One was a fun form of primal play where I could hunt her down through the crowd. This method would probably be her favorite, but selfishly, I knew it would be faster to use my security cameras. For a second, I considered how to fuse both. I moved to the balcony and looked out at the crowd. The music swelled as I stepped out, and the lights streamed across bodies as they moved. Everything below me churned with sin and sweat, with my girl now hiding somewhere within it.
Smiling, I realized it should be really easy to spot her. Her shirt was stained with blood, and her bandages were not easy to conceal. Both of those things would call out to me like a warning label. My eyes searched, cutting through the crowd. I scanned past all the masks and bare skin. Interestingly enough, it was her hair that caught my attention first. For a brief second, it was almost as though she felt the connection and turned back to look at me. I swore I could see the smirk on her face underneath the black mask.
