12. Fighting for Her
Chapter 12
Fighting for Her
Sloan
H er entrancing eyes held mine for minutes before they skittered away. Over to him. And I knew it would happen the second Phillip returned, knew how her heart truly only beat for him, but I hadn’t expected it to hit quite as hard as it did. So, I gave into pettiness, into the urge to express how close we’d become, if only to satisfy my own childish frustration.
I touched her without reason, without restraint, without any idea of what I truly wanted from this ambiguous thing she and I shared. Knowing that I couldn’t have her. Knowing that I’d lose her before I could ever capture her. But still, I reached for her. I touched her velvety-soft flesh and burned it into my memory.
It was a lump in my throat when I realized I’d likely spend the rest of my life replaying every small memory of her, so I didn’t dare to miss a single thing.
I recalled the way her skin flushed a soft rose color when I fingered her. How her tongue teased mine and her lips eagerly moved to kiss me. Remembered her surprising boldness and the tight warmth when she swallowed my prick inside of her. Remembered the beautiful curve and pulse of her body when she was overcome by the pleasure I gave her, and the raspy note to her voice as she came. Recalled every sultry upturn of her mouth when she caught me off guard with her aggressive actions. I’d gladly be enslaved to her just for one of those smiles.
And that night we spent together, I’d drowned in her intoxicatingly sweet aroma and reveled in how the warmth of her body put my own into chaos. I wanted it to last forever. Couldn’t fathom this beautiful creature ever being anywhere else but in my arms.
Had we not been interrupted, I would’ve very likely spent all night memorizing every line, every curve, every beautiful stretch of her body. I would’ve worshipped her shape and left nowhere untouched by my hands or mouth alike. Had her as many times as she allowed. If I had it my way, I would’ve taken her somewhere to shut out the world. Bring her into my arms and spend the night holding her, caressing her, singing of her beauty and kindness.
I’d never let her go.
Despite what Phillip disclosed to me prior, the feelings I had for her weren’t simple lust or infatuation and, therefore, not caused by whatever ancient blood she harbored—I refused to believe pheromones from some Royal Siren could ever be this strong. It may explain my initial fascination with her, but her mannerisms and personality were truly what intrigued me. And I refused to believe that this ongoing captivation was caused by a pheromone reaction, because it wasn’t her body I was after.
It was her heart.
“Sloan?”
I looked up, having been lost for several minutes to my internal contemplation. “Have you said your goodbyes?” I asked, knowing she already had. Her expression told a story of sadness but determination to make the people who genetically created her pay.
“Nigel took a little longer than the rest,” she clarified with a small, wispy laugh.
Of course he did. The wolf is clearly still in love with you.
“I imagine you had to get creative?” I teased, lips lifted.
Her answering smile eased the coil in my stomach—the one that had been there ever since I knew Phillip planned to return.
“He’s salty, but he gets it,” she said, laughing again in a way that always got my blood pumping.
I was so far gone in my captivation that I no longer tried to hide it. I couldn’t. Every moment with her put a smile on my face, and concealing them was next to impossible as time went on. It bore repeating, but I was wholly besotted. I could no longer taunt Phillip for his overwhelming attraction anymore, because I’d fallen into the same trap. And now we were two poor sods pining after the same young Hunter.
What a tragically poetic story this is turning out to be…
And then Phillip was beside her, his intelligent eyes already depicting the struggle inside my heart.
I might be clever enough to hide my intentions from V, but Phillip was nearly impossible to fool. It was likely he knew well before I did. As infuriating as it was to admit, Phillip was a proficient Hunter and very little got past him. I took solace in the fact that he seemed completely inept in love. And because I revered him, it was all the more reason not to surrender without a fight .
Phillip may be who stole her heart first, but he didn’t deserve her, not the way he was right now. It was my sole objective to prove he needed to be more or piss off. I would win her heart by any means necessary.
Phillip being the clever man he was knew what was coming. It was the entire reason the Austrian was at such odds with himself. If he didn’t fight for her, he’d lose her. His present self would never win against me. And while I never intended to lose a fight, if he fought at his best and I at mine, then I’d never second-guess her choice.
Whoever she chose.
“You seem a little out of it today. Are you really okay?” V asked, surprising me stupid for a second.
She seemed to pick up on my emotions better than anyone else did sometimes. I’d even argue before I knew them myself. Always far more in tune with others than she was with herself.
The tragedy of life.
Phillip scoffed and eyed me quietly. “He may put on a good show, but Sloan’s a lot more absentminded than you’d believe.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “That would be the pot calling the kettle black, aye, Phillip?”
V seemed incredibly amused by our banter, but to my eternal glory, she fitted her arm through mine and escorted me to the front door ahead of Phillip. I didn’t need to look back at the other man to know it’d gutted him. The heat of his anger was practically in the air around us.
“I’m driving,” she announced, snatching the keys right from my hand. “I’m tired of feeling like you guys are chauffeuring me around. I’m a goddamn Hunter, too.”
Sassy little bird .
I pivoted just in time to see Phillip’s happy grin, and it struck me again how much the other man genuinely worshipped her. Guilt panged in my chest, but I had already decided to see this through because my feelings were just as strong as his.
V deserved someone at their best. Someone who was ready to surrender their entire self to be with her. Someone who would support and encourage her to keep that spark and bite. Nothing less would suffice, not with what resided in her blood.
She’s the future.
After Phillip explained what he learned from Cassius and what the Organization toyed with in their genetic trials, the stakes were beyond what any of us imagined. Risking our place in the Organization was essential to getting what we needed, but it couldn’t be done without Phillip’s assistance. It was risky. We’d be up against our own, but we had something they didn’t.
V.
Before I was given a chance to ponder where to sit, Phillip stole the front seat and offered me a smug grin when V sighed loudly, not at all happy.
“Backseat, perv. I don’t want to be this close to you for the drive,” V complained when I walked over to the car.
The feeling in my chest intensified, but I ignored it.
I’d absently wondered how the top-level Hunter might address the tension between them, or how he might remove himself emotionally, but Phillip seemed more inclined to get as close as possible and antagonize her at every opportunity. Quite the paradox, seeing how the Austrian hadn’t intended to return in the first place.
Falling in love turned him into quite the child .
Phillip carded through his luscious dark hair, then swiped his lower lip with his thumb, idly fingering his snake-bite piercings. “Thought you were a professional, lass, or is all that equipment for show?”
What a low blow.
“Don’t be a dick. You don’t get to play Patronizing Phillip when you went off on your own despite having a partner. If anyone here is unprofessional, it’s you.” Her words were delivered with cutting precision, and I couldn’t have been prouder.
Hiding a smile, I got into the backseat despite her complaints. Knowing Phillip, he wouldn’t surrender the seat no matter what truth she spat at him.
And like a self-fulfilling prophecy, the Austrian leaned back with his arms bowed behind his head. “You’re right. I’ve been an asshole, and I deserve to be punished. So whenever you’d like to get on with it, I’ll let you do whatever satisfies your anger, sweetheart.”
“Oh?” she exclaimed, feigning surprise. “Whatever satisfies my anger, you say?” Something about her unnerving tone caused my body to stiffen. “Then you’ll have no problem taking the reverse serum and sparring with Sloan until my anger is satisfied. You’d, of course, need to keep taking the reverse serum for a day to really feel the pain of your injuries. It’s only fair. Can’t lie, imagining you slapped around by Sloan is already making me really happy.”
Lifting a hand, I covered my mouth and tried not to laugh too loudly. But Phillip’s face from where I sat was enough to have me snickering for days. His eyebrows rose into his hairline and his smug smile was instantly gone. It was a rare expression of surprise and confusion on my longtime mate, and one I’d tease him about for the decades to come. She’d gotten him, and I’d never seen anyone beat Phillip at his own game quite like she did.
But very quickly, my amusement turned into acid in my throat. She and the Austrian were a perfect pair, and I couldn’t ignore how good she was for him. V could handle someone not even Kris or the cleverest Hunters managed to handle after years and years of hunting with him. Not even I could put Phillip so swiftly into his place.
“Let’s just go, you annoying prick,” she said with a huff, but I would’ve had to be blind to miss the way her lips rose into a secretive smile.
Bollocks.