Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
We called it quits after eleven, Cate declaring me her lucky charm. All because I told her to pick green after she said she always played as red.
She’d won. Twice. She kissed me on both cheeks and picked me up to twirl me around the room in a shocking display of joy.
“You’ll break the poor guy!” James cried.
“I can take a lot of punishment.”
Cue laughter, some probing into my private life. I told them about my dalliance with a troll and a five-hour threesome with two very girthy fae guys.
“How could you even walk after?” Trev asked.
“I told you, I’m durable. Sorry, I’ve been way too open.”
“Don’t be, mate,” Trev responded. “I’ve got a semi.”
“Me too,” Paige added.
I said my goodnights, returning to my flat as rain began to fall. A drizzle at first, quickly becoming a heavy downpour beating at the glass.
With this Lance Forest on my mind, I avoided taking a peek through the blinds, kept every candle snuffed, every wind-up lantern and my penlight off. The fun times were over, worry back to sour the cherries.
I paced the living room, brain overworking, Miko at the forefront of my mind now. Was he okay up there by himself? He liked to be alone, so I guess he was. Yet that sat uneasy within me. A constant poke, the bone a dog would not let go of—or whatever the saying was.
I went to my front door, stopping myself as I reached for the handle.
No. Going up there disrespected his wishes for solitude.
Backing away, I decided to go to bed.
The decision crumbled within twenty seconds, my legs dragging me back to the door, hand taking the handle.
Just a brief check?
No!
Maybe…
No!
I backed away, I stepped forward, to the side, back to the door, turned to leave, returned, tapped my fingers on the handle, going around in wretched circles until I yanked the door open. More to break the cycle, totally not expecting Miko to be standing there with a lantern in hand.
I jumped back, falling into battle stance.
“A good reaction to have,” he said.
I straightened, remembering to breathe. “What are you doing here?”
“Not testing your reaction times.”
“Is that a joke?”
He shrugged. “Are you alright?”
“Racing heart, but good. I was going to come and ask you the same thing.”
He remained in the hallway, not making a move to enter.
So polite.
“I heard you pacing behind the door,” he said.
“Oh? How long have you been lurking for?”
“I never lurk, Orion. My wolf hearing picked up the details.”
“While you were lurking?”
“No.”
“It’s fine. I probably would have lurked outside your door. You beat me to it.”
“Sorry for surprising you. I’m still not sure why I’m here.” He rolled his shoulders. “You should get some sleep.”
“No. Miles from sleeping.”
“Me too.”
“Do you really need that lantern with your wolf eyesight?” I asked.
“No. But you do.”
“Compared to you, yes.”
Why were we talking about this?
“Come in, Miko.”
“Thanks.”
As he walked past me, a ripple of electricity kissed my face, shooting through my body. “What in the stars…”
“Shit…”
“Did you feel that, too?” I asked.
“Yeah.” He didn’t delve deeper into the whys.
Neither did I, closing the door.
“I wanted to talk to you,” he said, placing the lantern on the dining table.
“Is it safe to do that?” I asked, nodding at the lantern. “Isn’t light dangerous?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Because of Lance. James was telling us about him.”
Miko angled his head in the direction of the window, glints of hate in his eyes. “If Lance is back, he’ll already know we’re here. As for the light giving us away, remember the blinds are blackout.”
I hadn’t remembered, deciding to creep myself out instead. “Now I feel silly.”
“There’s nothing wrong with being scared, Orion.”
“Thanks for saying it.” I immediately lit some candles, putting them around the living room. They made it cozy, the flickering warmth helping ease some of my inner tension.
Ah, what a lovely romantic vibe. A shame it was being wasted here.
“Nice,” he said. “May I sit?”
“Of course.” He took the left side of the sofa while I took the opposite end. “This is the point where I would offer you a drink or nibbles, possibly a hot chocolate.”
“I do miss hot chocolate.”
“Me too. Cream?”
“No. Just milk and the cocoa. I don’t go for extras.”
“Not even rainbow sprinkles and chocolate shards?”
He twisted his body to face me. “How many layers do you have on your hot chocolate?”
“As many as I can handle.”
“That’s a lot of sugar.”
“I have a terrible sweet tooth.”
He nodded. “Mine is more on the neutral.”
“Good to know if we ever find fresh milk again.”
“Not a fan of the powdered stuff?”
“It does what it needs to, but it’s not for making the perfect hot chocolate.”
Miko crossed his arms. “I’m sorry for pestering you, Orion.”
“How are you pestering me?”
“By disturbing your evening.”
Why did he seem so cute yet so broody and imposing? “I already told you I can’t sleep. But why are you here? Don’t you want to be alone?”
It took him at least half a minute of staring into space before he answered. “I like being alone.”
“Then why are you here with me?”
“Because…” He shook his head. “Because I got fed up with my own company.”
“And you wanted mine?”
He looked at me, his eyes seeming brighter than before. “Should I leave?”
“No, no!” I lifted my hands. “You can stay as long as you like. I’m just shocked you’d want to be around me and not your friends.”
“I see. Well, I find you…calming.”
I couldn’t help but giggle. “Even during our bickering?”
His lips twitched, almost a smile. “Even then. There’s a soothing energy about you which I don’t understand.”
He was making my cheeks hot. “That’s really sweet of you to say.”
“Unexpected.”
“That too.”
He dropped his arms, hands resting on his thighs. “Am I coming across weird?”
“No. I’m just shocked. In a good way. I’m…” I lost my speech for a moment. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Those big arms folded again. “You are?”
“I was worried about you. Especially after hearing about Lance. That’s why I almost went to your flat.”
No answer.
Stars, he made me nervous. “Are you okay?”
“Thank you for caring.”
“That didn’t answer my question.”
“I’m fine.”
“But not really.”
“I’m never really fine.”
“I get that.” I shuffled an inch closer. “Do you want to talk?”
He shook his head.
“You don’t have to. But you can. I’m a good listener.”
“I’m not really here to talk.”
My dirty mind tried to whisper a naughty sentence. I shut it down. “Then you just want to sit here?”
“I don’t know. I suppose so.”
“Alone with your thoughts but without being fully by yourself.” I felt my forehead crease. “Sorry, I’m talking at you.”
He smiled properly and I almost melted. “You can talk.”
“What about being alone?”
“If I wanted to be alone, I wouldn’t be here.” His eyes glittered, his perma-tense body language seeming to ease. “You have a soothing voice.”
Heat pooled in my belly, a rush of excitement pushing me forward another inch. “No one’s ever said that to me before.”
“It’s true.”
“Oh.”
His smiled dropped. “I really am sorry for my behavior yesterday.”
“It’s okay.”
He tensed up again. “I keep replaying it in my head. How I focused so hard on getting you there. I even contemplated taking you somewhere for interrogation. Tie you up, frighten the truth out of you. Have you ever been so hell bent on getting what you want you forget how to behave like a decent person?”
I had to gather myself together to answer. “But you didn’t do those things. And I do understand. You want to make the world better. That is an amazing attribute to have, Miko. I admire it so much. I really, really meant what I said when I offered my help.”
“You’re just saying that.”
“No. It’s true.”
“I should’ve thought things through better.”
The guilt this man carried was potent. How much more did he have stored up? “Miko… It’s okay.”
“It really isn’t. The moment you fell through the glass, I knew I’d fucked up. I realized you were frightened of me, completely clueless to everything I was saying. I smelled the truth on you as well as your fear.”
“You can smell fear?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I’m so sorry.”
My desire to hug him spiked. “Is that why you’re here? To try and make things better?”
“Partly that, partly because of you being so soothing. And also because…”
I shuffled closer. “Because of what?”
“I need… Fuck.”
“What do you need?”
“I need… to talk… something…” I watched his throat bob, the hesitation played across his handsome features. “Fuck it.”
“What’s wrong? Is it Lance?”
He chuffed. “Most of the time. The prick. I’m still thinking about the next steps. But no. This is about… Shit. I don’t know why this is so difficult to say.”
“Take your time.”
He stood up, folding his arms. His sigh was practically a growl. “The electric shocks.”
I stilled. “You felt them too?” I knew he had but didn’t think he’d bring it up.
“From the moment I carried you.”
“Are we…” His piercing stare got me hot under the collar. “Are we supercharged?”
He raised his brows. “I have no idea.”
“Shall we test it again?”
“Test?”
“Join hands. See if anything happens.”
“Yeah.” I didn’t expect such a swift agreement.
He sat back down, closer to me on the sofa now, reaching out a hand.
I mirrored him, trembling as our skin inched closer, pulse racing, my skin remembering the roughness of his touch.
He took my hand, curling his fingers around my knuckles.
I gasped, waiting for a jolt, a spark.
Nothing happened.
He stared at me. “Maybe we’ve lost our charge.”
An explosion of electricity sent my mind spinning into a riot of bursting stars and darkness, thunder crashing, his grip on my hand as hard as rock.
“Miko…” I struggled against the influx of wind and rain and more thunder. “What…”
Still there, still holding on. But where was he in the darkness and the stars? Was he calling my name, drowned out by the storm just beyond these stars?
I summoned more volume. “Miko!”
Lightning split across the dark, the sounds of heavy rain splashing on the ground, another boom of thunder rocking the shadows.
The stars burst one final time, each one snuffed out like candles within a minute. The spinning stopped, the darkness beating, the storm raging on.
“Miko?”
His grip tightened.
Still there. He was still there.
The darkness cleared, giving way to moonlight and the storm. Rain beat down on a vast, rolling meadow in the night, nothing around me for as far as the eye could see.
Apart from Miko. Drenched, topless, standing barefoot in soggy jeans. Arms by his sides, hands balled into fists. Panting, his eyes obsidian fires boring into me like hot drills.
“Miko?”
How was this possible when he still held my hand?
“Miko?”
He shook his head, as if shaking his wolf fur, and surged forward, looming over me within the blink of an eye.
“Mi—”
The alpha grabbed a handful of my jumper and tore it from me.
“What—”
Thunder crashed, lightning violet claws in the sky.
“Miko…”
He raised his arm, taking a swipe at me. Something sharp sliced into my skin, pain a searing sting. But I didn’t scream, didn’t make a sound. I simply looked down at the five gouge marks in my chest, over my heart. Blood sluiced down my skin along with the rainwater.
I lifted my eyes to his.
He cocked his head.
The storm rolled on, the rain falling harder.
Somewhere else, Miko kept ahold of my hand.
I touched the wounds, crimson flowing free and easy. Let it paint my fingers.
Miko growled, moving closer.
I smiled, lifting my fingers to his lips, smearing the blood across them. He moaned, lapping at the blood, sucking on the tips.
“Mine,” he whispered.
“Yours,” I responded.
The meadow shattered like glass, returning me to my dry flat, the rain safely outside.
Miko still held my hand.
“What…” I blinked to clear the haze, to fire up my mind, my cock raging in my pants.
He stared, mouth wide open, not letting me go.
“Mi—”
A spark lit between our hands, but neither of us recoiled. Eyes fixed together, drowning in stares, our frantic breathing tuned to the same rhythm.
“Fuck,” he said, sliding closer.
I slid at the same time until our knees bumped together, my desires unfurling like a million flowers welcoming the sun at once.
“What’s happening here?” I asked, my voice a whisper of a whisper.
“I…” He didn’t finish, his hands finding my head.
Calloused palms and fingers brushed against my cheeks, his face moving closer. I quivered in confusion, in anticipation of those lips closing in on mine.
Were we about to kiss?
His hands were electrifying as much as they were unbelievable.
This had to be a dream. Miko Reyes wouldn’t do this.
Not the broody, moody alpha. Why would he want to kiss a fae like me?
It would be lovely to be kissed by such a man, but this was nothing more than my wishful thinking working overtime, dragging me into the depths of my dreams.
His trembling breath reaching my lips told me otherwise.
“Miko…”
So close, so close.
So. Close.
By the stars!