CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE #2
“I think we need to have a chat about the deal we made, little mermaid.” He leaned in and braced his hands on either side of me, his body so close I had to crane my neck to maintain my glare.
“The one where we’re supposed to maintain the facade that we’re an item.
Because you certainly aren’t acting like it. ”
“How could I possibly forget that hostage situation?” I countered. “Oh, wait… I’m not the one who forgot, am I? That’s all you, Captain Can’t-keep-it-in-his-pants.”
“And yet it’s been in my pants for quite some time now, regrettably, so I’d love to know what the hell you’re talking about.”
Genuine irritation tugged at the corners of his eyes as he waited for an explanation I had no intention of giving him. He could play dumb if he wanted to; I had no interest in dragging the truth from him. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Oh, I think it does—”
“Here!” the bartender called from behind me, pressing a cold beverage against my back.
I squealed and arched away from the icy glass right into Yael.
My breasts pressed tight against his body, forcing the swells of them to spill out of the top of my shirt, and his gaze dropped quickly to take them in.
Frustrated and flustered, I spun around, grabbed the tumbler of clear liquid, and took a big swig before jerking my head toward Yael.
“He’s paying.” I walked away before he could stop me, smiling into my drink as I made my way back to the lane, where Sasha was attempting to use magic to save face since she was absolute garbage at bowling.
“That’s cheating!” I shouted at her to break her concentration. The ball hit the gutter, and she collapsed to the floor in defeat. Instead of stopping at our table, I walked over and scooped her off the ground, then handed her my drink. “It’ll make you feel better. Promise.”
She eyed the tumbler, then looked over at the scowling fae storming our way before handing the drink back to me. “I think you need this more than I do.”
Seeing the truth in her words, I tossed back half of it and shook off the burn trailing down my throat. “Whose turn is it?”
“His,” she said, pointing to Yael as he stopped in front of us.
I grabbed a lime green ball from the return and held it up for him. “Your turn, fairy boy. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
He plucked it from my hands, smiled, and said, “I’ll show you once we’re done here tonight,” as he strode up to the lane and let the ball go.
It curved through the middle, then swung back around, heading right for the center pin.
Before it even crashed into it, he turned around and sauntered back toward the group as though he already knew the outcome.
Imagine my dismay when all ten went flying through the air in a perfect strike.
“Time for that explanation now, little mermaid,” he said in my ear as the others cheered him on.
I turned to tell him off but found myself nose to nose with him instead, staring into those bottomless green eyes until I couldn’t even remember why I was mad at him any more.
“Myra!” Sasha shouted at me. “Stop eyefucking your boytoy and throw the ball already, or we’re never getting out of here tonight.”
“Looks like you’re going to have to wait for that explanation,” I said before I walked away, leaving him to stew.
With the help of a couple more drinks and Laney’s clingy tendencies, I managed to keep him at bay until the game was almost over.
But when I went up for my final frame, I tripped on the raised platform and tossed the ball into the adjacent lane.
Cackling sounded from my friends as I pushed up off the wood floor with some effort, and I looked over to find Sasha in a hysterical heap on the carpet with Laney and Curtis doubled over on each other above her.
As I crawled over to join them, a pair of very expensive shoes stepped into my path.
“I think maybe it’s time we get you home,” Yael said as he towered over me.
His air of superiority made me want to smash a bottle over his head if I’d had one—or been standing.
Instead, I climbed up his legs for balance, then grabbed my glass off the table.
I chugged down its entire contents and tried not to wince as what I could only describe as lighter fluid slipped down my throat.
Yael looked me up and down, assessing just how dire the situation—i.e.
, I—was. Given the hard set of his brows, he was far from thrilled.
“In light of what I have planned for us tomorrow, I think a good night’s rest might be in order, don’t you?
Maybe sleep off your drunken stupor so you’re capable of putting a coherent, and dare I say, compelling sentence together when necessary? ”
“Noooooo,” Sasha slurred as she pulled herself up on the table and bulldozed her way between us. “You can’t take her! She’s so much fun when she’s this hammered!”
I gestured at her with two hands as if to say, ‘see? Even she gets it.’
“It’s true,” Curtis said as he tried to stand Laney up. “I haven’t laughed that hard in years.”
“And she only has one more roll to finish this frame.” Laney’s protest bordered on drunk-girl whining.
“Once she’s done, I promise you can carry her away to get some ‘sleep’.
” She leaned forward to wink at Yael for effect and nearly face-planted for her efforts.
She steadied herself on Curtis’ shoulder, but then slipped and stumbled backward into the table, knocking our drinks over in the process, which earned a collective groan from the group.
“Aww, c’mon, Laney,” Sasha grumbled, “it’s too early for party fouls!”
“While I appreciate your predicament,” Yael said, looking at The Riff Raff crew as he reached for my arm, “I really do need to get her home. And for the record, Laney, I prefer my women fully in control of their faculties and capable of consent when I bring them home to ‘sleep’.”
“Speaking of consent,” I said as I walked back over to the ball return and snatched one from the lineup, “I did not consent to leaving yet. Feel free to go without me.” My legs wobbled as I made my way to the lane, bent over, and two-hand rolled it from between my legs.
The sound of yet another strike echoed through the building as I turned back and smiled at the fae scowling at me.
“If you’re worried about her getting home safe,” Curtis said as he sat Laney down in the booth, “I’ll take her.”
Yael could not have looked less comforted by the defective shifter’s offer.
Sasha’s giggling was immediate. “No offense, Curtis, but I think Myra is scarier than you are.”
Molten gold flared in the new kid’s eyes as he glared at her, but that was the extent of his threat because, in truth, Sasha wasn’t wrong.
He, like me, was mostly bark with little bite, which was exactly what had landed him in the Devil’s Playground in the first place.
A shifter who couldn’t shift was of little use to any pack.
Especially a dragon.
“Careful, Sasha, or he might toss you into a portal so you can get lost for a few weeks. Again.”
Her expression soured in an instant. “On second thought, Yael, maybe you should take her home before she ruins a good time.”
“That’s what I do best,” I said with a bow, stumbling a little at the end as the booze I’d downed a touch too enthusiastically hit me hard.
Yael’s hands caught my shoulders and steadied me.
I pulled back and brushed my hair from my face, stray strands sticking to my forehead as a light sweat dampened my brow.
“You don’t look so good,” Laney said with genuine concern. “Maybe you should go home, Myra. Sasha and I can cover for you tomorrow at the bar.”
“You just want me gone because I’m winning.”
“She’s being kind,” Sasha said. “You actually look like you’re going to puke any second now, and I did not sign up to deal with that.” She winked at Yael. “That’s boyfriend territory.”
“Too bad I don’t get boyfriend perks because I’m just fucking him,” I argued.
“Tonight you do,” he said, slipping his arm around me. “Now, let’s go outside and sober you up a bit.”
I attempted to pull away, but his grip was a vise, and my body seemed to grow weaker by the second.
Something about it felt strange, but my mind was suddenly too fuzzy to put the pieces together.
He led me toward the exit and waved to the others as they said their goodbyes.
Their voices sounded like they were under water, muddled and faint, drowned out by the rushing of blood in my ears that pulsed at an alarming rate.
“Easy now,” Yael whispered in my ear as we stepped out into the night.
In response, I tripped over my feet as I attempted to walk. I looked down at them and yelled, “hey! Try to keep it together—”
“Who are you talking to?”
“My feet,” I slurred in response. “They’re not working very well.”
Yael pushed me up against the brick building and pried my eyes open enough to assess something.
Muttering curses under his breath, he bent down enough to reach a crack in the sidewalk where grass sprang through and pressed his hand against it, whispering words my brain was too far gone to understand.
When he shot back up, there was a flower pinched between his fingers.
“Thanks, but I’m not really a flowers kinda girl—”
“Eat it,” he said as he pried my mouth open and shoved it in.
The bitterness was immediate and I tried to spit it out, but his hand pressed against my lips, forcing me to keep it in.
Eyes watering, I struggled against his hold as I chewed the vile weed and gulped it down.
Satisfied, he pulled his hand away and took a step back as my body broke out in sweat, my stomach roiled, and I felt like Death himself was clawing his way inside me to steal my soul.
As the world around me began to swim, my heart began to slow, and Death took my frail life in his hands, I looked up at Yael and whispered, “what the fuck did you do?”