Chapter 15 #2
“Wouldn’t you like to know.” Gretel’s smirk said everything.
“Chances are, we’d be incompatible,” Ursuline responded, their full lips twitching.
Based on their firm tone and the suggestion there, I had a feeling the cecaelia had a dominant streak.
Like a certain demon I knew. I sucked in a sharp breath at the memory of how he’d kissed me until I melted.
What would he do when he got his hands on me?
Fuck, the idea made my whole body immolate.
The fantasies that had haunted me last night were lurid and demanding, and I’d barely been able to sleep, my cock hard and dripping, and my balls desperate for release. My being vibrated with the need to be around him, yet he was gone.
Risking his neck for gods knew what reason.
My stomach flipped. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to eat much tonight.
“How good at Sparks are you?” Charles asked, leaning in.
A grin lifted my lips. Thank fuck for distraction. “I’m terrible. In fact, I need a complete refresher.”
“Oh, perfect,” Gretel said, her eyes meeting mine.
For some reason, seeing her here calmed a part of my soul.
Maybe because she was someone I’d met outside of here, a reminder of my former life before I’d entered the Spires.
Or maybe because the air of sharpness around her reminded me of myself in a way.
Prickly, like a thorn. It was a foundation block of my personality.
“Okay, okay,” Charles said as he brought a stack of cards and the multi-hued glass pebbles over. “I’ll update you on how to play, and then you can kick everyone’s asses. Except for mine, of course.”
“I’m in.”
***
To my surprise, Sparks wasn’t as difficult as I’d built it up to be in my head.
Maybe because the last time I’d played had been as a child, but the strategy made sense now, and I lost myself in the patterns and playing against the talented people at the table.
Amelia hadn’t been bragging for nothing—she excelled at this game.
However, so did Gretel and Ursuline. Jaffar and Charles seemed to be having a bad night, or they just weren’t good players. I couldn’t quite gauge yet.
The pizza, beer, and camaraderie made the time pass faster than I’d realized. I hadn’t looked at my phone or the door in a while, even though an ever-present tug remained in the back of my mind.
After being devoid of companionship for so long, far earlier than when I’d come here, this sort of gathering should’ve been tougher.
And yet, I felt comfortable here in a way I didn’t amid the bars and coffee shops of Peregrine City.
It helped that the company was better than I could’ve chosen myself.
Ursuline was sharp and witty, often exchanging barbs with Amelia, and Jaffar had a dry sense of humor that I appreciated as well, a good counterbalance to Charles.
An understanding flowed between Gretel and me, but whether it was due to a shared prickliness or not, I wasn’t sure.
“Damn, we should probably clear up the game,” Amelia said, stretching her arms over her head. “Tomorrow morning’s going to come early.”
My stomach churned as I glanced at the door again. Still no Cillian.
“Not all of us are ancient, Lia,” Charles teased.
Amelia took another sip from her beer, not dignifying him with a response.
“I should be getting back to Sofia,” Gretel said, rising from her seat. “She’s a harsh mistress.”
“Just the way you like it,” Ursuline teased, their voice low and seductive.
Gretel smirked. “Don’t be jealous.”
“I’m jealous,” Charles complained. “My boyfriend’s still out there, dangling his pretty werewolf ass in front of trouble.”
My heart thumped hard at Charles stating the words aloud. Because I’d felt Cillian’s absence acutely all day.
“Oh, so my ass is pretty?” Theo’s voice sounded from the doorway.
Everyone’s heads whipped in that direction. Theo leaned against the frame, arms crossed. His hair was ruffled, questionable streaks across his skin, and the tears in his jeans weren’t a style choice. My chest squeezed tight.
“Where’s Cillian?” Amelia asked the question I wanted to ask.
“He’s in a mood,” Theo said. “At least, too much of one to socialize. He’s going to head back to his chambers.”
“Big bad demon heading off to brood?” Jaffar commented. “Color me shocked.”
“I think I’m going to call it a night.” The words escaped me before I could rein them in, and I rose from my seat.
Sure, the excuse was flimsy and transparent, but I needed to see him.
I needed to remind myself that what happened last night hadn’t just been a fever dream.
My footsteps echoed as I swept across the dining hall, not bothering with goodbyes.
Theo smirked as he pushed away from the doorframe where he leaned.
“Go get him,” Theo murmured before he strode past me.
My heart lodged in my throat, but I stepped out into the corridor. Cillian’s heavy footsteps were audible from here, as he headed down the opposite way. His silhouette was clear, and I strode in his direction, unflinching.
The shadows from the hallway seeped into me, a velvet dark I was growing accustomed to. The thump, thump, thump in my chest was so loud I was shocked he couldn’t hear it, but I quickened my pace.
Even still, he moved faster than me from the sheer length of his strides alone.
“Didn’t think you were the type to hide,” I called out. My words echoed through the corridor, amplified even louder.
Cillian stopped.
Then he turned around.
Feral didn’t quite describe him. When he took the first steps toward me, I froze.
The wildness to him had drawn me in and unnerved me from the start.
Yet tonight, that was elevated. His shirt was torn, his slacks too, and the blackened streaks across his skin looked like gashes.
His shoulders heaved, and his golden gaze was so intense I swallowed, an audible gulp.
He strode in my direction, step by careful step, but I didn’t dare move.
I’d called him over here, so I would face the demon whose attention I’d snared.
“You’d be safer to run tonight, pet,” he growled, his voice low, deadly. “I’m on edge.” Still, he continued, closer and closer, until we were mere feet apart. This near, his presence overwhelmed me, and yet the tug inside me finally calmed.
Cillian was back, and he was in one piece.
I licked my lips, my heart thumping out of control at this point. “Maybe I don’t want safe. I don’t want to wait any longer.”
His lips curled into a smirk that revealed his sexy-as-sin fangs, and my cock throbbed at the sight. Fuck. His presence was an accelerant to the fire begging to combust inside me. “Careful what you wish for. If I take you tonight, pet, I won’t be nice.”
My blood scorched.
“What about me made you think I wanted nice?” I responded.
His low growl simmered through the space between us, and a second later, he closed those few feet. One second I was standing staring at him, and the next he’d scooped me up in his arms.
“Then come on,” he said. “We’ve got a long night ahead of us.”