Chapter 20 Rune #2
“Nail night,” Eleanor said brightly, a mischievous sparkle in her hazel eyes. “No boys allowed. Mandatory debriefing. Also, we found glow polish.”
“Oh Fates,” I muttered, but let them haul me down the hall.
“You were taking too long,” Aura told me, taking me into her room.
Aura’s room smelled strongly of floral scents.
It was so strong I couldn’t pinpoint what kind of flowers made the scent.
Her bed had a tray of nail supplies that sparkled under the crystal sconce lights on the wall.
Dozens of tiny glass bottles were set up in all kinds of colors, some with shimmer, others glowing faintly.
They practically tossed me onto the bed before following suit.
“Pick your colors,” Aura declared, tossing a bottle of glittery blue into a fluffy pillow like a dagger. “That’s mine.”
Eleanor giggled and snatched up a soft rose-pink, while I picked up a neon green that pulsed faintly under the dim light.
“You want to go toxic?” Aura asked, raising a brow. “Very accurate of you.”
“I mean, I am toxic,” I replied, uncapping the bottle.
“Ah! Wait you need a base coat,” Aura shrieked.
“And this!” Eleanor grabbed my hand and started shaping my nails with a file, her motions gentle and practiced. “Can’t forget to prep.”
I had never actually done my nails before. It was oddly comforting being around other women in a way I hadn’t expected. My closest female friend was Pandora, and we had never actually hung out one-on-one before.
“So…” Aura started, way too casually. “We overheard that you might be spending the night with Zuko.”
Eleanor nearly dropped the file she was holding, but she finished shaping my nails beautifully. “I did overhear that.” Her voice was a mixture of worry and curiosity, but her cheeks were already blooming with pink. “Will you be sleeping with him tonight?”
I shrugged, but heat crept up my neck. “That’s the plan. Why?”
“I mean…” Eleanor bit her lip. “You guys don’t really know each other that well. It’s just…fast, right?”
Aura rolled her eyes and flicked Eleanor’s shoulder. “It’s not something bad, El. It’s just sex. Rune’s not the type to make stupid decisions.”
“Thanks,” I said, giving Aura a grateful smirk. “But it’s actually not just sex. I feel something more with Zuko. I don’t think it could ever just be sex with him.”
“What about with the others?” she asked.
“Others?” My heart skipped a beat.
I knew exactly who she meant.
“Yes, the others. Zuko, of course, but also Slater, Dimitri, Koa, and even that one agent…Jesper?” Eleanor brought up the other men that made me feel weird things. “You have a lot of chemistry. With all of them, honestly.”
“That’s true,” I agreed softly. “Sleeping with Zuko won’t change that.”
Eleanor nodded slowly, her voice dreamy. “You light up around them all differently. And Slater’s literally always watching you like he’s already yours.”
I smiled faintly. “Yeah. I like Slater. A lot.”
“And the others, right?” Aura waggled her brush at me like a wand. “You don’t even have to pick. Not unless you want to. You’re hot, and you’re not bonded yet. Enjoy it.”
“Maybe they’ll even be your mates,” Eleanor gushed, waving her hand over her face to cool herself off. “Oh, goodness, how cute would that be?”
“And what about you, Eleanor?” I asked, giving her a pointed look as I started putting my base coat on, like they had done already.
Eleanor’s blush extended out to her ears as she immediately busied herself with her own nails, painting the pink onto them. “I mean…Lorian’s not not hot,” she admitted. “And he’s so weirdly sweet when he thinks no one’s watching. He carried me to my room that one night.”
Aura let out a snort. “Fates, you and Lorian have so much chemistry it makes me uncomfortable.”
“I agree,” I said. “He’s always staring at you.”
The three of us fell into a spiral of giggles as stories poured out. They were harmless gossip, weird dreams, and about our romantic crushes. It wasn’t often that I got to just be a girl, away from the pressure of studying, fighting, training, or constantly looking over my shoulder.
Tibby was the best brother, but he definitely didn’t talk boys with me.
This was nice. I found out that I actually enjoyed spending time with Eleanor and Aura.
By the time we were done, my nails glowed a venomous shade of green, like they’d been dipped in bioluminescence.
I fucking loved them.
“They look deadly,” Aura said proudly.
“They are,” I smirked. “One scratch and you’re paralyzed.”
“Oh, no, that’s just your venom from your fingertips!” Eleanor shook her head, still smiling as she cleaned up the polish bottles. “You’re actually terrifying.”
“Thank you,” I said sweetly, standing and stretching. “But I think I’m gonna head out. Thanks for the nail therapy, ladies.”
“Have fun with Zuko!” Aura teased, flopping back onto her bed dramatically.
Eleanor hugged me gently. “Be safe, okay? We don’t judge, but we do worry. Zuko looks like he’s going to mark you all over.”
I gave her a wink. “I wouldn’t mind that at all.”
She gasped as Aura laughed.
As I slipped out of Aura’s room, my nails looked so badass, I couldn’t help but feel a little more loved somehow.
I had friends—real friends.
It was something I’d always wanted.
“Are you really going to Zuko’s?” Dimitri’s smooth voice hit my ears.
I jolted, holding a hand to my heart, looking over at him.
He was out of his academy-issued suit, wearing only his sweatpants and holding a crystal chalice of blood from the kitchen.
I couldn’t stop myself from scanning my eyes over him and memorizing his tattoos.
He had “be good, do good” scripted across his ribcage, “art” written on his right wrist, “trust” on his left wrist, and a rose on his right pec.
The tattoos were hot, but the scar on his throat twisted my heart in a painful way.
It had been far too long since someone had snuck up on me, but I was glad it was just Dimitri.
I found myself nodding. “Yeah, why not? He has venom I’ve never tried before.”
His gaze dipped to my throat. “I have venom, too.”
Intrigue flooded me. “I’ve never tried vampire venom before either.”
He smirked, leaning in until I could smell his cinnamon and nutmeg scent. “Too bad you’re not getting mine.”
I gasped, taking a step back. “Rude.”
“Sorry, lethal darling, but I want to beat you this year fairly. Not because you’re distracted, and my venom would certainly distract you.” He turned on his heel, went into his room, and shut the door without turning back.
Shaking my head, I couldn’t believe that Dimitri had just played me like that. “Distract me? Don’t flatter yourself,” I grumbled, making my way to Zuko’s room.
The door was left cracked open, so I pushed it open and went inside, shutting it behind me. As I turned around, shock reverberated up my spine.
Zuko was already completely naked, lying on his bed, stroking his very pretty cock with a tatted hand.
I’d never really paid much mind to his hand tattoos, but they were so fucking cool.
Skeletal hands were inked over top of them, but it wasn’t his hands that were keeping my attention.
He had eight glinting piercings up the underside of his shaft that made a rush of heat go straight between my legs.
Jacob’s ladder.
He had a lean, toned body, and he was sculpted beautifully. Since he was naked, I could see the extent of his tattoos, and fuck. I wanted to lick every single one of them.
On his right arm, he had a full sleeve depicting what I could only describe as torture methods with an hourglass and two dice within it on his shoulder.
There were twelve items underneath it, and each one had a certain amount of dots in them.
There was an eye in a jar, two nails, a venomous spider, cherries soaked in venom, a scorpion, a human-made gun, a dagger to a heart, a beetle, acid, a syringe, a femur bone, and a skull.
On his chest was a red heart with a sunset-colored snake wrapped around it, and on his left shoulder was a rose.
I had so much inked skin to play with.
His smoldering orange eyes raked over me with an immense amount of heat. “You’re awfully overdressed, pretty little poison.”
“You should fix that,” I told him, breathlessly.
He was up off the bed, caging me against his door in a second flat. Up close, his burnt sugar scent embedded into me. His hair fell over his face, and the way his sunset yellow roots faded to molten orange ends were so pretty.
Leaning in, he grabbed my suit and pulled my arms out before tugging it down to my waist, freeing my breasts. A guttural growl tore from his throat as he stared at them. “Fuck me, Rune, how are you this Fates-damned perfect?”
My breath caught as orange venom dripped at a faster pace from his fangs, splashing onto my boobs.
I moaned as the hot venom hit my skin, rolling over one of my nipples. “I was wondering the same about you. Look at those piercings—your fucking tattoos.”
“You like them, huh? You’re going to love my next one, then.” He backed away from me and moved toward his nightstand.
My heart pounded against my rib cage as I slumped against his door for a moment. “Oh, yeah? What is it going to be?”
“You should ask me where.”
“Where?”
“My cock.” Turning on his tablet, he switched on some music that immediately slipped into my senses like warm silk against my bare skin.
It was slow, sultry, and intentional. Vocals poured like honey out of the speaker.
“The song is enchanted by a siren. Nobody can overhear anything we do with the melody on. So, we don’t have to worry about disturbing anyone. ”
“Good.” My lips curled into a smile as I pushed off the door and walked toward him, slipping my suit down my body until I stepped out of it and stood in front of him as bare as he was. “Let me taste your cum.”
His head fell back as he moaned. “How can you just say—”