Chapter 12 #2
I was already moving, crossing the room in a run and crashing into the corridor beyond.
The interview had been in one of the Crimson Palace’s lounges, and he had to be nearby.
He couldn’t have gotten far. My head was pounding, but I forced myself to take a breath.
I caught a whiff of plums and wine, leading me to the left.
I followed. He hadn't smelled stressed, but I needed to see him. Needed to be sure.
I wound through some back passageways toward the garden, finally stopping at a heavy wooden door. The hinges creaked as I opened it. “Jewel?” I called out, stepping inside.
It was a sunroom, spacious and bright, but I couldn’t see him anywhere.
“Hugo?” I froze. It was him. He sounded normal, speaking in his usual lazy cadence. “I’m just over here!”
I still couldn’t see him, but I moved closer to the voice, walking further into the round room. It wasn’t that big a room, and surely, I should have seen him by now—
I whipped around as something clattered on the ground to my left.
As I looked, a warm weight crashed into my right, and arms wrapped around my neck.
The scent of plums and wine saturated the air, and I felt the cool kiss of a blade pressing into my throat.
Jewel gave a breathy laugh as his thighs tightened around my waist.
My skin prickled and arousal shot through my veins as his lips brushed my ear. In a moment, reality seemed to splinter away from me, leaving me disoriented and dazed.
Like I was just an observer in this sunlit room, watching the scene play out before me.
Was this a dream?
It felt like one.
“Got you,” Jewel sang, spinning his knife so it was no longer pressed to my throat. I suddenly remembered to breathe.
He slid down and landed on the floor, his hand trailing down my arm as he moved around to my front. His hooded eyes caught mine, so intense I couldn’t hold his gaze.
I glanced away, clearing my throat as I clawed my way back to sanity.
“You disappeared after the interview. I was worried.”
He hopped up onto the table behind him, cocking his head to the side. The sunlight caught on his golden hair, making it shimmer. He was wearing tight, pale blue pants, and I was trying desperately not to look at the bulge in his crotch.
“Aw, that’s so sweet.”
He leaned back and crossed his legs, exposing a sliver of midriff. The sleeve of his silky jacket slipped down over his shoulder. There was nowhere safe to look, not when every single part of him oozed sex.
“Just practical. After this morning.” My mouth went dry.
He smirked and lifted his leg, his toes moving up to hover in front of my torso. Like usual, he was wearing heels, and it made his foot look mind-numbingly hot.
Could feet be sexy?
Jewel’s were.
“Yes, it was a bit stressful, wasn’t it? God, this whole day is, really. I just feel so tense, everywhere.” He let out a groan, letting his head tip back and exposing his elegant neck.
This man.
This man was going to kill me.
Suddenly his foot brushed against my stomach, dangerously close to my belt line. But he hadn’t moved.
Oh.
I had.
His eyes slid open again, as if considering me.
Weighing my worth, perhaps.
“I can’t wait for this all to be over,” he said, his foot brushing against the top of my pants.
I think we were far past the point of me trying to pretend I wasn’t hard as fuck.
Or to pretend that Jewel hadn’t noticed. But this was Jewel. Flirting came as easily as breathing to him.
Not with alphas, though, a small voice in my head reminded me. He can’t stand other alphas. Just you.
He was still here, touching me anyway. Or maybe he wasn’t. Maybe I’d wake up in a moment in my bed, alone with a boner that could cut glass.
“I’ve been thinking of what I want. After.” His toe trailed down, brushing against the head of my cock. The pleasure was searing, white-hot and electric. It almost brought me to my knees.
“What do you want?” I asked, my voice like gravel.
Anything.
I’d give him fucking anything right now.
I’d burn down the world for him.
A smirk hitched his mouth up. Everything seemed to distort, the world narrowing to those pink lips. His words seemed to echo as he spoke.
“I want you to dark bond me, alpha daddy.”
I was sucked into the promise those words created, drowning in a vision of claiming Jewel like that. Making him mine.
Forever.
The scars on my arm tingled, and whatever spell I’d been under snapped like a dry bone. I flinched away from him, taking a step back.
Fear was coursing through me, fear and shame and disgust.
“Don’t say that,” I said, anger making my voice crack. “You almost died today. Don’t play fucking games, Jewel.”
He cast his eyes down, his face settling into a cool smile. It was almost perfect, but he hadn’t quite hidden the flicker of hurt in his expression.
He tapped the table with a pointed nail. “Ugh. Everyone keeps saying that. That I’m playing games. I’m not.”
“It’s that, or you’ve gone fucking insane, Jewel. Pick your poison.”
His eyes met mine again. “You don’t want me?”
I gritted my teeth, steeling myself. “Of course, I don’t. You’re a kid.”
“I’m only, like, ten years younger than you.” He was pouting now, his tone sulky.
“Stop wasting your time. It’ll be better spent on someone like Jade. Like Casey.”
Because he couldn’t have me if he wanted them.