Moments later, we landed in a cramped studio apartment. It must have been smaller than my room at the estate. Not to mention the Ortensian castle. How could people live like this?
He fidgeted behind me.
Adorable.
‘My brother’s place. He’s away,’ he said quickly, like he needed to justify it.
Posing as a gracious host, he poured us drinks. Or maybe he just needed something to do with his hands.
I took a slow sip of juice, matching his movements, watching him over the rim of the glass. ‘Tell me, have you had any experience?’
His gaze dragged slowly over my body, lingering just long enough to betray him. ‘I’ve… done things.’
‘What things?’ I pressed, tilting my head slightly.
He hesitated. The confidence slipped off him piece by piece. ‘I… haven’t. Not really. No one wanted to.’
The innocence almost made me hesitate.
Almost.
I didn’t particularly care about him, but I would rather not break him either. There was something about him thatmade me genuinely want to help him. Probably how hopeless he was. He required a confidence boost, and what better way than to get lost in mindless passion?
‘Well,’ I murmured, stepping closer, ‘that changes today. I’ll teach you how to make girls lose their minds.’
My hand slid down his torso. While he looked lean, his pectoral muscles didn’t disappoint. ‘Would you like that, Adam?’
‘Yes,’ he choked out.
I guided his hands where I wanted them.
‘Good boy,’ I murmured, dragging my nails down his stomach. ‘Take this dress off me. Slowly.’
He flinched like he already belonged to me. His fingers rushed for the buttons, fumbling as he tried to pry them open.
‘Not like that,’ I said, catching his wrist. ‘Slower. Pay attention.’
Chapter Twelve
Avari
Ispent the night tossing and turning. Not only did I overthink what searching for the Crones with River would mean for me, but when my mind finally quieted, Alec and Willow’s shouts kept waking me.
They were insufferable, throwing tantrums downstairs, upstairs, and in the corridor outside my door. Screams, shouts, stomping—none of it led to anything except a pounding headache.
From what I could make out, she had screwed somebody else. It was relatively fast after the last one, but I couldn’t say I was shocked. For Willow, sex seemed as necessary as breathing.
Alec’s hopeless vision of a future with her bordered on delusion. She was a soulless succubus without a shred of morality. They would never build anything real. It just wasn’t possible with somebody like Willow.
I walked into my wardrobe and picked out a deep red sweater and black padded jacket. Autumn wasn’t kind tothose with perpetual chills, and lately that was my body’s response to stress.
The search put me in a difficult position. Everything about River bothered me. And still, something in me kept yearning for him. Not to mention, I had to work with him, while I didn’t trust him.
My power thrashed inside me, reaching for his, and at times it felt like it would tear me apart for denying it. It was the kind of pain that lingered and woke you breathless, like a night terror.
‘Are you ready?’ Miriam asked from the doorway.
‘As ready as I ever will be.’ My brows furrowed as I allowed myself a moment to self-soothe. ‘You?’
