Chapter 7
SEVEN
Crispin lounged on his side across the bed, propping his head up with one elbow. In his other hand, he held the contract, his blue eyes skimming the words. I had already read it. It seemed simple enough, but devils could be tricky, and Sebastian was especially so.
Standing before the bed, I held out my hand, wanting to read the contract one more time.
Crispin handed it to me with an eyebrow raised, his eyes drifting to Ringo as he let out a loud snore on the adjacent pillow.
Ringo had the right idea. We were nearing the wee hours of the morning and I still needed to get some sleep.
At least I had finally gotten my shower, and was comfy in an oversized teeshirt and shorts.
My eyes blurred a bit as I started reading the contract.
“Will you be keeping your promise to go on that date tomorrow?”
I lowered the contract to look at Crispin. “It wasn’t exactly a promise, but I wasn’t planning on canceling unless something goes wrong with Penelope.” Remembering that he was part of the deal, I added, “Unless you don’t want to go.”
He rubbed the edge of the silk sheets between his fingers absentmindedly. “I have no qualms with going. You seemed to be the one against it.”
I sighed, lowering the contract as I sat on the bed. “It’s a pain, but I know she’s just nervous. Since I’ve never actually seen her care about a guy, I feel compelled to help.”
“You’re a loyal friend to do so with everything you have going on.”
I snorted. “Hey, I’m not the only one who has to go.”
“We will be witnessing a date between an elven noble and your brazen, part-troll, ex boss. I really don’t mind going. I dare say, I’m excited.”
I tossed myself back against the pillows, placing my cheek near Ringo. “It won’t be anything like hanging out at the tavern in Willowvale with a bunch of werewolves.”
There was laughter in his voice as he said, “I am well suited to all sorts of gatherings.” He leaned into view. “As long as you trust me to protect you without Gabriel or Sebastian around.”
I smirked. “Chances are, Gabriel will be loitering in the street nearby.”
“And Sebastian will be on the other side, trying to get a rise out of him,” Crispin added.
I swiped a palm across my face, leaving it to cover my eyes as I shook my head. “I am not cut out for all this drama.”
“You handle it admirably. Just as you handled swimming out of that cavern. You’re good under pressure.”
I slid my hand far enough to crack one eye open at him. “I nearly had a panic attack and died.”
He lifted a finger. “Ah, but you didn’t have a panic attack, nor did you die.” He looked down at me. “I’ll let you get some rest. I think the contract is fine.”
“Thank you,” I said as he climbed out of bed. I sat up before he could reach the door. “And thank you for getting me out of that cavern.”
He bowed his head. “Thank you for trusting me to do so.”
As he left the room, a funny sort of feeling came over me. I had trusted Crispin with my life yet again, and hadn’t thought twice about it.
Braxton was right. I really was going soft.
I hadn’t fully fallen asleep when the bed shifted, but I hadn’t heard the door open either. I tensed, my thoughts racing so quickly I couldn’t settle on a single one. Had someone found me here? The watchers at the Bogs?
Then I smelled Sebastian’s scent—funny that I could recognize it so easily now—and I relaxed.
Though I probably shouldn’t have.
“What are you doing in here?” I whispered.
Ringo’s gentle snores sputtered, and Sebastian’s hand found mine, leading me from the bed.
With Crispin sleeping on the sofa in the living room, the only place to go was the bathroom.
Once we were inside with the door shut, I leaned against the sink, rubbing my eyes.
Sebastian had left the lights off rather than blinding me, which I was grateful for, but it was difficult to see his expression in just the scant amount of light from the built in white glow of the sink outlet.
When Sebastian’s eavesdropping bubble snapped into place, I hopped fully onto the sink, prepared for a long chat. I desperately wanted more sleep, but if he’d found something important enough to wake me, I should probably have the patience to hear it.
With his hands in his pockets, Sebastian stepped in front of me, trapping me on my perch. “I did not locate any goblin spies, but there are some unsettling rumors circulating.”
I instantly thought of Dawn. “Please don’t tell me they’re about my sex life.”
There was just enough light for me to see his brows lifting. “Should I be watching out for such rumors?”
“No,” I huffed. “What did you find?”
“There’s talk of an angelic after the bounty. She is gathering allies. If she comes for you, she may prove difficult to defeat.”
I hunched my shoulders. “Great, just great. Maybe if we can locate Lucas, he’ll know something about her.”
“We’re already being careful, so there’s not much we can do regardless. Just—” His teeth flashed in a look of distaste. “Don’t trust anyone.”
“Well obviously.” When he didn’t back away to let me go back to sleep, I looked up at him. “By the way, I’m pissed at you for taunting Gabriel.”
“I did not taunt him. It is not my fault if he read it to be so.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah right. He might have read into it at first, but you smiling at him definitely egged it on.”
He lowered his hand to my leg, sliding up the bare skin toward the hem of my shorts. “Perhaps he should be jealous.”
I slapped my hand over his, halting his progression. “I don’t want him jealous. You and I haven’t even talked about what happened between us.” It was difficult to keep my hand pressed over his when tingles were starting to crawl up through my skin to my core, but I managed.
He leaned closer, lowering his voice. “I can think of better things to do in this moment.”
My throat went dry. Suddenly being in a small, dark space with him seemed like an incredibly bad idea. “No more taunting Gabriel.”
He smiled wickedly, his face heavy with shadows. “As you wish.” His hand inched further, and this time I didn’t stop him. His fingers toyed with the hem of my shorts, then he disappeared into his shadows, reappearing on his knees before me.
My body throbbed at the thought of his head between my legs, but I tried to keep my magic tamped down. Mistral and Gabriel wouldn’t sense us all the way across town, but Crispin was just out on the sofa. It seemed rude.
I tilted my head back as Sebastian kissed my inner thigh, making me think that maybe rude wasn’t the worst thing in the world. He kissed higher, discovering that I wasn’t wearing any underwear.
I don’t know why I asked it in that moment—maybe because sex was never just sex to me—but I muttered, “Is this all just a game to you?”
“Everything in this life is a game, dear Eva.” He slid my loose shorts aside and found me with his tongue, going almost painfully slow.
“What the hells does that mean?” I panted, tilting my head back further.
Sebastian tugged me toward him, balancing me on the edge of the countertop with one hand on my ass and one hand holding my shorts aside. “It means that someone always wins,” his word vibrated across me, “and someone always loses. If you don’t realize that, you will always be the latter.”
“That’s a horrible adage to live by.” I stifled a moan as he licked with more force, then slid a finger inside of me, using that hand to keep my shorts out of the way.
“No one can hear you,” he said right against me, and this time when his tongue slid across me I cried out.
Despite my efforts to keep my magic in check, red and purple lights danced around us. His finger slid deeper, finding just the right spot. “I don’t think you really believe what you said,” I panted.
“If you want to believe I’m better than I am, you’ll be disappointed.” He nipped lightly at my wetness, then used his mouth to send me over the edge, making me see stars both literally and metaphorically.
As my body slumped he scooped me up, carrying me like a child. Before I could protest, he flung open the bathroom door, then walked me back to the bed, laying me down right where he’d found me.
He stayed leaning over me for a moment, his arms still loosely cradling me. “Sleep,” he whispered. “We face the terror that is my sister in the morning.”
Sebastian disappeared then, but I stared at the darkness for a long while. Maybe he really was the awful person he wanted me to think he was, but as he’d laid me down, I’d gotten another hit of his normally well-guarded emotions.
He cared. In his own twisted way, he cared, and he had probably felt when I sensed it. Maybe that was why he’d disappeared so quickly.