Chapter 22
Ezra
I fucking loved this shower. This pulse setting specifically. The sore muscles in my back melted under its assault, and my groan bounced off the tiles like an obscene soundtrack. My neck and shoulders were the first to complain once Rani and I rushed back to the house ahead of the impending storm.
In hindsight, the tide pools probably weren’t the most comfortable of places to prove my skills, what with the shifting sand beneath my feet and the unadjustable ledge I spread Rani out on.
Holding her still while she bucked like a wild bronco under my tongue was a tough job, but not one I was going to complain about.
Too bad my muscles didn’t get that memo.
After making her come for a third time, my body let me know in very spasm-like ways that I needed to stop crouching over my bond’s thighs and instead have her ride my face while I lay on the puffy cloud that was my mattress.
First, I needed to regain full range of motion in my neck; hence the heated massage.
I shut off the shower as a steady crash of thunder shook the room.
Not bothering with a towel, a puddle of water formed beneath me as I stared out the window and tried to see through the sideways rain that pelted the glass.
Lightning illuminated the backyard, freezing everything in a sharp purple hue before plunging it into darkness once more.
It came again and again, each flash highlighting something different; a tornado of leaves and branches flying over the peaked waves of the seething swimming pool, the table umbrella tumbling across the lawn.
This was a true summer squall.
I fucking loved it. Heavy storms never failed to get my blood pumping; it was the wildness in me wanting to run free—unbound from the rules and role I’d been forced to bend to my entire life.
Grabbing the first towel my fingers touched, I quickly dried off and threw on some sweatpants.
Maybe the storm was getting to Rani, too.
Did storms make her scared or invigorated?
Was she one to scream along with the thunder or cuddle under the covers?
Shit, maybe we could pretend, and I could comfort her with my fingers. And tongue. And cock.
Fuck, not my cock. Down, dude.
This afternoon was great, but I knew we were a way off from sealing that bond.
I still had a lot of work to do, and Rani didn’t even know I loved her yet.
Not that there wasn’t plenty of time to tell her, but I was better with actions than with words.
Perhaps by the fiftieth orgasm, she’d figure it out on her own?
Despite our rooms being right next to each other, the hallway felt too fucking long between her door and mine.
I wanted my hands on her. Now. Giggles and a stream of chatter came through the crack in her door.
Fuck, she was on the phone. I recognized Eryn’s voice on speaker and tiptoed past, making my way downstairs to the kitchen instead.
Rani needed her girl time. Let her brag to her friend about her bond’s skills with his tongue. I hope it reached Kai and pissed him off to no end; it was always nice to remind my cousin who was superior in the bedroom.
Warm cup of tea now in hand, I stood in front of the large bay windows and watched the growing destruction in the backyard.
Good thing we were on top of a cliff because it was flooding out there.
The pool was definitely overflowing, and all that extra water pooled onto grass that was already saturated.
I had a nagging worry for the three djinn bodies I buried.
Would they be floating down the drive by dawn, loosened and set free by a ground made too soft? Guess we’d find out. Wait, what if only the heads got free? I contemplated how I’d hide decapitated heads from Rani for a second time when I felt a tug on my magick.
It didn’t come from me.
Like someone repeatedly flicking the back of your ear or an annoying voice growing louder while you intentionally tried to ignore it, one of my active spells was fighting to be heard. I zeroed in on it and followed the thread to its source.
Oh gods, please don’t let this turn into a cascade of shit. Please, please, please.
It was the godsdamned barrier spell. Something was wrong, or loose; I wasn’t sure.
All I knew was that the barrier could not fall.
There were eight crystals out there strategically planted, and I had no time to dig them up and replace them before the djinn would surely be upon us.
Fucking hell, why did this spell have to be so temperamental?
The thing about the barrier spell was, it was kind of like having multiple programs running on a computer; but when one of them crashed, it took the whole fucking thing out and you had to reboot it. On a full moon. With a new, fully charged crystal.
It was fine. Everything was fine. The wards were just responding to the change in atmosphere. It didn’t matter that they’d never done that before or that I’d never heard of such a thing, that’s what—
My tether to the wards broke, and the mug in my hand nearly crashed to the floor as I felt our protection disappear in an instant.
There was no way the djinn didn’t feel that.
Such a large discharge of power wouldn’t go unnoticed.
Were they behind it? Before I even finished the thought, I discarded it.
There’s no way the djinn were out in this storm, and they couldn’t have gotten to the crystals anyway. It must have been the storm; that was the only explanation. I knew I shouldn’t have buried that last crystal on the beach.
Cova said Rani needed access to the ocean .
I knew it was true, and I wouldn’t have traded my afternoon in the tide pools for anything, but fuck .
Our time was up. What we’d accomplished so far would have to be enough because the second this storm fizzled out, we were going to have to run.
Which meant we had only a few hours to pack and get organized.
I dropped my cup in the sink and flew up the stairs. A brief knock was the only warning Rani got before I eased open her door and interrupted her conversation. The panicked look on her face almost made me forget what I was doing, but Eryn’s voice brought me back to the danger at hand.
“What’s wrong?” Eryn asked, her voice a hushed giggle through the speaker. “He’s there right now, isn’t he?”
Oh, I definitely wanted to know what they were talking about.
Later. Barrier. Danger.
Right, protect Rani first. Uncover her secrets after.
“Eryn, tell my cousin that we’ll be home by morning,” I called, and ignored Rani’s shocked expression.
“We’re leaving tonight? ”
I followed her gaze to the window and prayed the storm would continue a while longer. Just enough for us to gather everything we needed. It would be some time before we came back to this house.
“The second the roads are drivable, we’re out of here,” I reiterated. “The barrier is down. The house isn’t safe anymore.”
Rani
My legs still felt like Jell-O as I buried them under the blanket. The storm that lingered overhead all day finally unleashed itself. Thankfully, it didn’t take out the reception. Or maybe I shouldn’t be that thankful. If Eryn didn’t stop laughing, I was taking all the thanks back.
“It’s not funny!” I whisper-shouted. The last thing I needed was Ezra coming in here and hearing my best friend’s unfiltered opinion on what went down in that cave.
“You swore all last semester that you’d marry a worm-infested heifer off your parents’ farm before you let him near you,” she countered, still snickering. “Which is exceedingly overdramatic, by the way. Yet two months alone with him and he had his fingers—”
“I know exactly where his fingers were, Eryn . And again, no , I don’t want to hear about how his cousin has the same proclivities, the dirty, dirty things you both are into, and how I should start to prep . Nothing else is going in my ass, bitch. Nothing.”
She laughed so hard that she snorted. I fought to keep my lips from curling; this was a serious matter.
I didn’t care that Ezra made me come harder than I ever had in my life, his finger in my ass was a one-time deal.
One I was going to make sure he understood before he tried to get into my panties again.
“W-who knew you were s-such a prude,” Eryn gasped, her giggles still out of control. At my growl, she fought to contain them. “Sorry, sorry. It’s just ironic, okay?”
What was ironic was that I swore up and down never to settle for a playboy, and yet here I was, falling for one anyway.
Granted, he was my bond and so fucking obsessed with me I didn’t have the slightest doubt that he was done with that life…
but how could I be sure that anything I felt for him was real?
It felt like I’d gone from hating him, to tolerating him, to attracted, to BAM ; full-fledged feelings in less time than it took me to choose what scents to add to my body wash collection.
“For all I know, this damn bond is making me like things I wouldn’t normally be interested in,” I grumbled, and her laughter finally trailed off. “I mean, we can feel each other's emotions, right? So what if I’m just feeling his love of all things to do with my ass?”
“Hmm, nope,” she argued, popping the P for emphasis.
I could picture her puckered face clear as day.
“The bond doesn't work like that. It can’t make feelings and interests appear from nothing. Sure, you may get that extra intensity from his side, but his feelings won’t suddenly override or become your own. Does that make sense?”
Goddammit. There went my theory.
“Rani?”
“Yeah, yeah,” I answered. “So, what you’re saying is—”
“You liked his finger in your ass,” she deadpanned, and broke into giggles all over again.
Worse than that, I think I was in love with him.