11. Where does this rollercoaster end? #3
Moments pass with neither of us relenting, and heat permeates throughout my body, growing more intense.
This dress can’t hide his effects anyway; a warming sensation circles around my breast as pressure slowly builds.
Sweat beads inside my palms, despite the wall’s cool touch, and each exhale he makes sends sparks over my lips.
“I’ll be back with Angie. The next time you see fit to threaten me…don’t.” He steps back and turns away, hopefully for the last time, reminding me why I can never like someone like him. And he wants you dead.
“Wait. If you find her, you can’t kill whomever she’s with.”
“Why?” He peers around his thick braid, slung over his left shoulder.
“Because Angie would never forgive you.”
“Does it look like I care about forgiveness?”
“When it comes to her, yes.”
With his attention still locked on me, he squints then vanishes into a golden sigil.
A shaky sigh passes, and I use this time to clear my head of any trace of him.
Pacing slowly across the living area and waiting for their return, I wonder how long it will take, or if he will find her before the night’s end.
I repeatedly look at my phone, expecting a message from Angie, but mostly, I’m just checking the time.
After thirty minutes or so, I call it quits. Figuring she is safe from his tyranny, I shower away tonight’s failures, then wrap the towel around me and prepare for bed.
The heated floor warms me from the bottom up, and I exit the bathroom. I am excited to spot Angie perched on my bed as I make the small distance across the hall into my room, but take caution viewing the wrinkles flourishing across her forehead.
“Hi,” I mouth, and she returns an annoyed eye roll. “I take it Ethan found you. Is your friend okay?”
“He’s alive, for now,” he answers, leaning against the bedroom door and scaring the hell out of me.
“What the fuck. Why are you still here?”
“Language.” He pries his eyes from his phone long enough to drift over my body before returning.
“You call that being alive? You transported him to the mountain tops and left him there,” Angie yells.
“He did what?” I question, holding back a chuckle. She rises, pointing an accusing finger at Ethan, and his brow lifts.
“Would you prefer I go kill him?”
“Did you know about this?” She turns her manicured finger towards me, frowning in tandem and ignoring his ridiculous question.
“No,” I say as Ethan scoffs. “I mean, yes, I knew he was looking for you, not that he was planning on doing that.” Angie’s face converts into a look of betrayal, which only makes it worse for me to endure.
“You could’ve warned me that he was coming like a real best friend would have,” she spurts.
“I didn’t think he’d be able to find you tonight, let alone transport the poor guy. Plus, I didn’t want to interrupt you from finishing whatever y’all were doing. Like a real best friend.” I throw that out for good measure.
“Yeah? Well, I didn’t get to finish, Kyra. I was almost there until he showed up.”
Lord, it’s me again. Back looking for the strength not to laugh in her face. This demon I’m fighting easily has the upper hand. “I’m sorry, truthfully,” I murmur, almost letting a laugh slip.
“That’s not the worst part.” She steps closer to him yet still engages me.
“The toy we were using, Ethan ripped from his hands, shoved it inside his mouth, then disappeared. Now he’s out in the middle of nowhere with my vibrator.
My favorite vibrator. Limited edition with two heads simultaneously rotating in separate ways, and pulse action,” she bellows in his direction, and that does it.
A roaring laugh bursts from me as I hunch over, letting it ring throughout my room.
“It’s not funny. I have to wait until next year for a chance at getting another one.
” She plops on my bed and groans. My composure returns, and I face Ethan.
“Go get him.”
“Would you like to join him?” he says firmly. Refusing to press my luck, I let it go. At least he isn’t dead, so that is a win.
Ethan walks into my closet unannounced and comes back with a pair of clothes.
Uh what the fuck. “Excuse me, who gave you permission to do that?” Black sweatpants and a hoodie sit folded within his grasp.
Handing them over, I notice he also picked out some underwear.
A pair of white lace cheekies that dips into a ‘V’ at the front and back.
Basically, something only meant for my man. If I was dating anyone.
“No one wants to see you naked, Kyra, cover up,” he criticizes, extending them out for me to grab, and my pride shatters into pieces.
“Well, it’s not like I wanted you to see me naked anyway.
And you don’t get to touch my underwear, Ethan!
” Snatching them away, my cheeks redden with embarrassment as he frowns in confusion.
“Boundaries, dude, learn them.” Pouting, I head back into the bathroom and change.
Through the door, I hear Angie’s laughter.
“That’s what you get. Now we’re even,” she says, amused.
As I reenter my room, she points in the living area’s direction where he stands against the wall, looking out my window with folded arms. She is obviously still pissed, based on her fingers typing a mile a minute against her phone’s keyboard, so for now, I let her be.
“You can leave now that she’s back.” Entering the living area, I address Ethan.
He remains stagnant and unfazed by my request to vacate, trained on something lingering outside as he scowls from the sight.
I approach, inspecting what has him ignoring me, and find Raine walking away from my dorm. What was he doing over here?
“Fortunately for you, a contract with Alex secures your life until we get answers, so for now, you’re safe.
” This stops me from walking away and messaging Raine.
Yep, I’ll never let my guard down around Ethan again.
“I’ve come to ensure Angie remains overnight just in case Holland has malicious plans.
No one is taking your life–that right is reserved solely for me. ”
I’m taken aback at how he can stand here and dictate who gets to end me as if I’ll sit still and allow it.
“No one has dibs on my life. Not glooms, Holland, and sure as shit, not you. I don’t care how strong you claim to be.
I’m not afraid of you or them.” Terror and courage fight it out internally as my chest tightens from the thought of too many things wishing me dead.
The way he masks how he truly feels when face to face with me is psychotic.
Never a hint of hatred until he speaks it.
A true predator of the most dangerous kind.
He finds me through the window’s reflection and emits a golden glow.
“We will see about that.” He vanishes into the brightness of his sigil.
I’m relieved he left quickly because how the fuck do I respond to that.
Every pleasant or cordial moment between us shatters once he reminds me how much I’m worth in his eyes. Which is jack-shit.
I enter my room, not giving his threat another thought and force back the dread upsetting my stomach.
“He’s gone,” I say, plopping on the bed beside Angie.
“How’d he find you anyway?” She rotates her arm, revealing a small golden mark on the back.
A symbol of sorts, rather a smaller version of the sigil he uses to transport. “What’s that exactly?”
“A summoning sigil.”
“Come again.”
“He’s able to find me anywhere with this.” Her tone is annoyed.
“So, a tattoo he uses to summon you? That’s fucked up. ”
“No, not a tattoo. It’s one of his sigils. He placed it there without my knowledge,” she says, exasperated, “and it only transports him to me. I found a way to block him, but just when I was reaching a climatic high, my magic weakened, and I assume that’s what broke the spell.”
“Damn, that sucks.” Having another look at her arm, I continue, “I wonder if he placed one of those on me.” I look over my own arm for any signs of his markings.
“Doubt it. It’s not like you can disappear whenever you want too.”
“That’s true.” Giving up my search, I’m stunned at her realization that I’m practically trapped here.
“I guess since he’s like your brother, it comes with the territory.
I understand him overstepping.” Placed in her shoes, I’d be equally mad if not more.
It’s been over a year since the last time I was intimate with anyone.
I can only imagine not being able to release because someone intervened.
“Tell me about this affinity bond between you and me.”