Chapter 14 Elodie
FOURTEEN
ELODIE
“Are you guys coming?” Ocean asks as she swings the car door open.
“Not yet,” Kael grunts, clamping his hand on my thigh the moment I try to move for the passenger side door. I glare at him before glancing back over my shoulder to make eyes at Ocean.
“Yes, we are,” I blurt insistently as Kael’s fingertips dig deeper into my thigh. He shakes his head but keeps his gaze on my friend.
“She'll meet you up there.”
“No, I won’t,” I retort, his cockiness delving under my skin, all while Ocean’s eyes dance with amusement.
They’re both going to be the death of me.
Ready for some space, I curl my fingers around the door handle at the same time Kael hits the locks.
Ocean grins, ignoring me as she turns her attention to Kael. “Well, for that, you can carry my bags too,” she declares, making the vampire beside me roll his eyes.
“Whatever,” he mutters, waving her off.
With a passing wink, Ocean goes, leaving me to fend for myself with the enemy.
“Was that necessary?” I mutter once she's out of sight and it's just the two of us.
“Which part?” Kael asks, leaning back in his seat. He doesn't make any effort to move his hand as he takes me in, his words still lingering in the air from earlier.
“You don't have to do that alone, you know?”
“All of it,” I grumble, and he shrugs.
“We're just talking,” he states, and my throat starts to dry under his attention.
I’ve known him longer than I’ve known anyone else here, and I’m aware that talking is not our specialty.
“I didn’t know we knew how,” I muse, and his lips twist slightly as he bites back a smile, but it quickly melts away as he clears his throat.
“You asked me what I would know about piecing myself back together.”
“And you didn't answer,” I mumble, feeling my pulse quicken as I earn myself another eye roll. I watch as his Adam's apple bobs before he clears his throat again.
Overwhelmed as the air thickens, I look straight ahead, staring at the garage of Institute Thirteen.
Once upon a time, I would be completely obsessed with the fact that I'm in this car at all.
A freaking mustang with a full-throttle five-liter engine, but right now, it's his touch on my thigh that consumes me.
“My family aren't good people,” he mutters, and I huff.
“Snap,” I breathe with a humorless grin, and I spy a half smirk from the man beside me as I dare to glimpse at him from the corner of my eye.
Silence dances over us, a familiar setting as he works his jaw with his free hand. I can tell he's deep in thought when his lips part again.
“Were you a product of your surroundings, Elodie?” he asks, and my gut twists.
“Yes,” I admit, and he nods.
“Me too.”
“Then what happened?” I quiz, my curiosity getting the better of me as he sighs.
His long fingers run through his hair as he swipes it back off his face. “It's complicated.”
“How vague of you,” I say with a loose smile, turning to face him, and his gaze draws to mine instantly.
“I needed the space to figure out who I am,” he explains, like that makes any sense at all.
“Is that why you killed that girl?” The words are tasteless on my tongue as his brows furrow.
“What girl?” he asks, and my eyes widen.
“There have been others?” I bluster on a choked breath, and he gives me a pointed look.
Clearing my throat, I sigh. “I mean, the reason you were at The Sanctum,” I clarify, and he rubs his lips together.
I can’t tell if the topic has reached its limit and he's not going to say anything else on the matter, but I find myself wanting to continue talking anyway.
“How has this place been going for you?”
He stares straight ahead through the windshield. I don't know why I asked, but the question fills the air, thickening with every breath before he speaks. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve been completely consumed by you.”
My gaze snaps to him, only to find him staring at me already.
“No, you’re not,” I grumble, and he rolls his eyes.
“Of course, you're right. What do I know?” he mutters, shaking his head at me.
Tension thickens around us. “Did you manage to discover anything about yourself tonight?” he asks, changing the subject.
My defenses rise instantly, but I manage to tamp them down. He’s been a little open with me; he deserves that in return, even if I have little to say. “I don't know,” I admit.
“Yet you’re still walking around in Ocean's clothes,” he points out, and I frown.
“What did you expect me to do? Change halfway through?”
He shrugs like it's as simple as that, but even as his eyes eat me up, I’m not prepared for his next words. “You can do it now.”
I can’t breathe as my pulse thunders in my ears. “No, I can’t.”
His tongue flicks out, running across his lips in a way that should not be hot.
“Show me,” he pushes, and I shake my head.
“Show me,” he insists, and before I can blink, he moves, gone from the seat beside me, his hand no longer on my thigh, only to reappear a moment later with a specific piece of silk dangling from his fingertips.
“Maybe this is more you than what you're wearing now,” he offers, running his gaze over the jeans and sweater I borrowed from Ocean.
“Of course that’s what you chose,” I grumble, and his eyes dance with a challenge.
“Prove me wrong.” His tone matches the laser focus in his eyes.
“You're insane,” I mutter, and he grins. “I’m not trying it on here,” I protest, and he levels me with a stare that takes my breath away.
“It's here or in my room,” he grunts, reaching to cup my cheek as he stares deep into my eyes. “I'm locked in.”
“You're locked in,” I repeat, gulping as he nods.
“Uh-huh.”
“Uh-huh,” I rasp, caught in his web.
“Tell me you don't want me to see and I'll let it drop,” he murmurs as I sink my teeth into my bottom lip.
“Tell me you didn't buy it in blood red to make me feral for you,” he rasps, sending a shiver down my spine as my pulse quickens.
The silk material is right between us, but I can't bring myself to reach for it quite yet.
“Your friend fucked me earlier,” I say with a gasp, but not a single part of his face reacts.
“Rion?” he clarifies, and I nod. “Did he make you come?”
I gape at him. My intention to burn through whatever this moment was fizzles to nothing as I splutter. “What?”
He gives me a pointed look until I nod, bewildered by the fact that this is where my self-sabotage is leading.
“Good,” he states, reaching across to press his thumb against my chin to hold me steady—my heart stutters.
“Your body is doing the talking that your tongue isn't finding the words for,” he rasps as I gulp.
“Here or my room,” he repeats, my breath coming in short, sharp pants.
The fire I felt earlier morphs into a burning need for something else. I wonder if he’s a secret vampire that has magical abilities too, because I’m firmly trapped under his spell.
“In the car or against it?” I retort, watching the salacious grin curl across his face.
“Against whatever the fuck you want, but first, change,” he commands, waving the fabric between us expectantly.
With what little confidence I can muster, I reach for the little slip in his hands. The fabric is soft against my skin. The sound of the car lock clicks, inviting me to climb out, and I exit before I can change my mind. Each step I take echoes around me as I move to the front of the car.
My brain desperately wants to rattle off all the information about the car, the stats and specs beyond my wildest dreams, but I'm too caught up in the man in the driver's seat, so my heart takes the lead. Or is it just my body? Maybe just my pussy.
Coming to a stop in front of the car, I look down at my outfit as I lay the slip dress on the hood.
Spying the vampire over the steering wheel, I clear my throat as I stand tall and reach for the hem of my sweater.
I have barely moved it an inch, I’m startled by the headlights turning on, pinning me in the spotlight of their beams, I feel like I'm going to pass out under his attention.
Before I lose my nerve, I tug the sweater over my head, discarding it without a single care, then I slip my hands into the waistband of my jeans and shimmy out of them, kicking my shoes off in the process.
Standing in just my bra and panties, I decide I want his full attention for the show.
I unclasp my bra, letting it fall to the ground too, before I reach for the blood-red silk dress.
My body tingles as I slip it over my head, shivering as the material ghosts over my skin, all while my gaze is locked with his.
I take two steps back just as his car door opens.
His long legs stretch out of the vehicle first before he stands, shutting the door behind him, and the sound makes my bones rattle with nerves as he prowls toward me.
He doesn't come all the way to me, though.
Instead, he leans back against the hood of the Mustang and twirls his finger, signaling for me to give him a full view.
With my teeth leaving imprints on my lips, I fight the urge to fold my arms over my chest, spinning slowly instead as his eyes graze over every inch of my skin.
“Stunning,” he breathes, and I shake my head as my eyes fall back to his.
He crooks a finger for me to come closer.
Once I'm between his thighs, he tips my chin up, making sure he has my whole attention.
“Am I forgiven too?” he asks, and I shake my head.
“What will it take?” he pushes, and I shrug, completely lost in his presence.
“I don't know.” It’s the truth, but his distaste is instantly real.
“Not good enough. What will it take?” he doubles down, making me sigh.
“It's not as simple as that, Kael,” I insist, and his fingers clamp down over my mouth before I can speak.
“What will it take? And don't say you don’t know again. It's bullshit,” he grunts, leaving me silent as we stare deep into each other's eyes. “What will it take?”