18. Kalix
Chapter 18
Kalix
T he serpents are restless. That fact seeps into me like a cold wind, pouring through my insides and sucking away all of the warmth. It’s a curious thing, feeling the emotions of animals connected to me. Without them, I wonder if I would ever have any true emotions of my own.
That thought drifts away like mist though as the chamber door opens and Kiera steps inside. Her head is down, her hair covering half of her face as she turns to quietly shut the door behind her. Ruen and Theos are both asleep already. They would have stayed up for her, I suspect, had a Terra not stopped by to inform us that she’d been called away by Caedmon.
I, however, could not rest until her return. Now that she has, though, I’m curious as to why she appears so agitated. From my position against the low burning fire in the hearth, my shoulder propped against the stone, I watch as the woman moves further into the chambers. She shoves her long silver hair back over her shoulders and marches towards the door leading to Ruen’s bedroom.
About halfway there, she stops, though. Her muscles tense, and in incremental movements, she pivots to face me. The shadows upon her face nearly hide her expression. What I can see of her features are the soft but strong line of her jaw, the petite ridge of her nose, and the side of her forehead. The rest is encased in darkness.
“Kalix.”
That’s it. One word. I never knew my name could make my cock stand at attention so quickly. Yet, here it is and my serpents are squirming inside the walls, behind closed doors, sensing my impending burst of arousal. Does she know yet that we can affect our familiars as much as they can affect us?
I don’t speak. Instead, choosing to wait for her. Kiera turns more fully towards me until the shadows pull back from her features, revealing more. Her plush bottom lip disappears as she bites down, drawing it into her mouth before releasing it abruptly.
“Where were you during class today?” she asks.
I tilt my head to the side. “Do you want to know?”
She blinks and frowns, stepping towards me. The sudden movement captures my attention as I look down at her clothes. She’s changed out of the sand caked trousers from earlier and is now dressed in a similarly dark pair and a black tunic that molds to her chest and sides. The brown leather belt around her waist gives me insidious ideas and before I can stop myself, I feel a smile blossom over my face.
“I really don’t feel like playing any more fucking games tonight, Kalix,” she snaps, her tone tight with irritation. My cock hardens further at the sound. The serpents hiss in my mind, hungry.
Pushing away from the stone wall next to the hearth, I stride towards her with slow, measured paces, not stopping until her chest is barely a hair’s breadth from mine. Her face is aimed right at my throat, but she tilts it back until she’s looking up her nose at me.
“You seem upset,” I comment.
She blows out a breath. “Can you blame me?” she replies. “This whole … everything is…” She waves her hand and rolls her eyes, unable to finish the statement.
Unable to help myself or the craving I find to touch her, I lift a hand to her face and brush a lock of silver hair back behind her ear. It’s thin, softer than anything I think I’ve ever beheld, ever so much like a spider’s silk. The urge to wrap it around my fist and yank is so violent within me that it’s a shock I manage to hold myself back.
“Kalix?” Stormy eyes, the color of monstrous seas and clouds, stare up at me, through me. I suspect she knows exactly what I’m planning for her. My lips widen further. Still, she doesn’t run away.
My little liar is brave.
“ Sssssssss… ”
My smile drops and my gaze flashes up to the serpent peeking its head out from the railing above us. A bolt of fear shoots through the creature and it disappears from sight in an instant.
The absence of warmth against my front alerts me to Kiera’s movements and I drop my hand to my side as she backs up a step and shakes her head. “I’m tired, Kalix,” she says. “Whatever you’re doing, I don’t?—”
Reaching out, I latch on to her wrist and drag her back into me. Her chest slams into mine as I round the back of her neck with my other hand. My head descends and my lips slant over hers in an instant. Her frozen body is rock hard against mine, unyielding, but I’ve learned what it takes to get what I want. Even if I don’t understand it, I know what she needs.
I part my lips and tease the seam of her mouth with my tongue. “Open,” I command.
She doesn’t. Not right away. Kiera remains still in my arms, against me, as I pry her lips apart and delve inside. My shaft strains against my trousers. She tastes of darkness and shadows and wickedness.
When, after several beats, she doesn’t soften up or return my affections, I pull away and arch a brow down at her placid expression. “Now is really not the time for this,” she says, glaring up at me.
I offer her my most pleasant smirk. Usually, it makes others scramble away from me, but not this one. Not my little liar. She merely hardens her stare.
“I can think of no better time.”
Her hands plant themselves on my chest and push back. I don’t move, but she does. “Go to bed, Kalix,” she snaps. “And I’ll?—”
Enough is enough, I decide. I don’t let her finish her statement as she turns away from me, I whip her back around and lift her, hauling her smaller frame over my shoulder. Pivoting to the end of the stairs, I leave behind the main room and start walking.
“What the fuck!”
“The others are sleeping,” I remind her, though it doesn’t matter all that much to me if she wakes them. They’ll get their turn with her when I’m finished and not before.
When she next speaks, though, her voice is lower, though no less angry. “Put. Me. Down.”
“Of course,” I agree, pleasantly as I take the stairs two at a time, hurrying now that she’s in my arms and more than ready to unleash my plans.
“I mean now,” she snaps, punching my lower back. I pause and reach out with a hand to grip the railing. Pain flares against my kidneys as she punches it again. My teeth sink into my lower lip as I close my eyes and relish in the heat that spears through my groin.
Faster. I need to get her to the room.
I open my eyes and race the rest of the way up the stairs, not stopping even when she protests and curses me until we’re in my room and the door is shut behind us.
“ Sssssssssss… ”
Kiera’s body goes rigid over my shoulder as the sound reaches her ears. “Kalix…” The word is a warning, one I don’t listen to. She hasn’t tried to fight me off, yet, not truly. Not like she had in the baths. I release my hold on her, letting her body slide slowly down mine until her booted feet hit the floor.
Her muscles bunch and jump beneath her flesh, pulled tight over bones so small, I wonder how she hasn’t shattered before now. Will she break if I use her too hard? I want to find out.
One of my braver snakes unfurls from the nest they’ve built upon my bed and slithers over the side of the mattress. Dropping to the floor, the creature chances moving closer, slinking across the stone floor until it’s upon us, curling around her leg and making her entire frame jolt at the sensation.
Wide eyes turn up to meet my gaze. Shadows haunt her. Anger. Wrath. It practically vibrates off her in waves and she has nowhere to unleash it.
Lifting another strand of her hair, I rub it between two of my fingers, wondering what it’d feel like wrapped around my cock. “We’re not doing this.” Despite her words, her voice is breathless. I almost chuckle aloud at them, but somehow manage to keep the bark of laughter back.
“We already are,” I remind her, releasing her hair to reach for her tunic. I don’t bother pulling it off her head, instead, I grip the neckline and rend it down the middle. The sound of tearing fills the room and at the sharp noise, the serpents waiting begin to move faster, curling over each other, hissing and rattling as they sense the incoming storm that bubbles in all of our blood.
The under corset that had been hidden beneath her shirt makes me scowl, but she doesn’t stop me when I reach behind myself and remove a blade from the hilt at my lower back. I cut through the laces with brisk, sharp movements until that too becomes useless. The shredded remains fall to the floor.
She doesn’t bother to cover herself, making me smile, but just because she doesn’t pretend modesty like many others would, doesn’t mean she isn’t annoyed. The little v that forms between her brows smooths out after a moment and when it does, I narrow my eyes. She takes a step back and bends. The snake circling her ankle hisses and though she pauses at the sound, it’s only for a brief second before she lifts her pants leg and withdraws a blade of her own from a hidden sheath.
If it were possible for my cock to harden any more, it would. It fucking does . An image of her dragging that blade of hers over my flesh, up and down my chest, my arms, holding it to my throat, makes me want to sink inside her.
“You’re a fucking asshole, Kalix Darkhaven,” she bites out as she uses her own knife to cut my tunic away. The end of the blade grazes my abdomen. I can feel a bead of precum slip from the head of my shaft.
I lift both hands and part my fingers. The dagger I’d been holding clatters to the ground, leaving her the only one with a weapon.
“Take your anger out on me then, little Thief,” I challenge her.
Gray eyes narrow further upon my face as if she’s trying to decide if I mean my words or not. I’ve never meant anything more than I do right now.
Slowly, I lower my hands to my side as the remains of my tunic fall to the floor, colliding with the scraps of her clothes. She fights it—I can see the battle waging upon her expression—but inevitably, she can’t help herself. She looks down and then so do I.
I suck in a breath at the sight of blood that greets me. A thin line tracks up the center of my stomach, droplets of red dribbling down to the crotch of my tented trousers. The small wound is already healing, much to my disappointment.
Kiera doesn’t apologize. Instead, she reaches out and presses the pad of one finger into the line. My blood smears across her paler flesh. My hunger for more burns inside me. I want her. Crave her. Need her to hurt me the way I know she wants to.
Only then will it be okay for me to hurt her, I suspect.
If I’ve learned anything from my brothers and our stint here at the Academy, it is that few will ever understand my needs. Fewer still would like them. That never mattered before. Causing pleasure was a side effect of getting what I wanted. She is different.
I’ve never wanted something so much as to wish for another’s enjoyment.
Kiera withdraws her hand and shakes her head. Before she can wipe off the minuscule amount of blood from her thumb, I capture her wrist and bring it up to my face. “Kalix?” My name is a question on her lips.
In response, I bring her hand closer, turning her thumb until it’s right beneath my nose. The smell of my own blood sends arousal pounding through my limbs. Slowly, keeping my gaze locked with hers, I enjoy watching her eyes widen as I part my lips and suck the pad of her thumb into my mouth. Hollowing out my cheeks, I suck and swipe my tongue over the blood still there.
Her breaths come faster, each one attempting to catch up with the other, but inevitably failing to do so. Once wasn’t enough and I doubt many more will make it so. I don’t care if I must share her with my brothers, having her is still making her mine.
My wicked little thief.