Chapter 27
Graysen
Rivulets of water ran around my fingertips where they pressed against the cool wall. Nelle’s scent hung heavily in the air, and I frowned, wondering if it had seeped in here beneath the bathroom door, or if my fucked-up overactive imagination was simply messing with me.
I exhaled hard and tipped my head back, roughly scrubbing my face as streams of water struck off my forehead. Loosening a sated sigh, I stepped closer to the recess in the dark stone wall, stilling when I took in Nelle’s favorite strawberry soap imprinted with its leafy design.
Unfortunately, my gaze continued onward to skim over Nelle’s fragrant shampoo and conditioner, and all the other girly shit she owned.
As per fucking usual, Nelle’s products were scattered haphazardly along the shelving, and godsdammit, the caps of the bottles weren’t even closed. I had no idea that was even possible. That not closing your hair products, hells, any fucking product, was actually a thing.
Hissing through clenched teeth, I quickly snapped the lids shut, readjusted the bottles and jars to sit beside one another neatly, shifted them about to use order, nudged them slightly apart, and made sure their labels faced forward.
Would she thank me later?
Fuck, no.
That girl was stubborn as all hells.
I grabbed hold of my bar of soap and stepped back into the fall of water.
Annoyance, leaden with weariness, made me sigh once more, this time at sharing my personal space with someone who had no concept whatsoever of what cleaning up entailed.
Or went the other godsdamned way and used someone’s toothbrush as a cleaning tool.
Something I sure as hells hadn’t forgotten.
I ran the soap across my collarbone…
…and stilled when a strange tension plucked at my nerves.
Something hung in the air, taut with anticipation. Even the steam carried a memory of fiery spice and bittersweet blossoms. With every inhale, my head grew heavier, my thoughts unspooling as I breathed in more of the sweet, poisonous air.
And my cock, sure as fuck, wasn’t softening either.
I needed to leave my quarters, especially with Nelle on the loose, toying with me. And there was some digging I had to do in the library tonight before I met up with my brothers.
However, there was no way in Nine Hells I was going to wander around the Keep with a godsdamned erection tenting my sweatpants. I rubbed my chin, and for one long moment, I considered whether to jerk off all over again to get my godsdamned cock to lay the fuck down.
Deciding against it, I got to work lathering up my chest. Creamy froth spread beneath my hands as soapy suds slithered down my torso. The tangy scent of citrus soap infused the air and momentarily dispersed the memory of Nelle.
Yet, I shook my hair like a dog, water spraying everywhere, trying to shake off the peculiar feeling that something wasn’t quite right. I scrubbed my groin and thighs into a rich lather, and just as I bent over to sluice the suds down my legs I heard something strange behind me.
Ssshhh… shsssshsshhssshhhh…
My senses honed in on the weird bristling noise.
What the hells is that?
Shock slammed into me when Nelle spoke. Her voice was strangely slurred and muffled. “Bend over a little more…that’s it…give me some more of that sweet ass candy, Crowther.”
I snapped straight.
The sly little assassin was at it again. She’d snuck in here and watched me—
Holy shit, she would have seen everything—
She would have heard—
Internally I groaned, wondering how loudly I’d moaned her godsdamned name.
Loud. Fucking loud.
Mortified, I bowed my head and gently pounded the stone wall with a fist.
Fuck.
Fuuuck!
Slowly, I turned around. Steam had blurred the room into a soft haze.
And there Nelle was, twisted sideways against the vanity, her long pale locks tied up all messily, like sexy just-got-tumbled-in-bed hair.
Her position and the steam-dampened tendrils spiraled into curls, hid her face, but I could feel her lustful gaze sliding all over my figure, as sweet and hot as a midday sun shower.
My cock swelled even harder under her appreciation.
Shit, shit, shit…
When Nelle rounded to face me, smugness gleaming in her eyes, a jolt of creeped-out revulsion shuddered down my spine. I jerked back, forearm rising instinctively to ward her off. The soap slipped from my slackened fingers and skidded across the shower floor.
Holy Zrenyth!
“What the fuck is up with your face?!” My startled voice boomed inside the small room.
It looked like a thick slather of goopy mud had exploded from a geyser all over Nelle’s face. Most of it was sticky-wet gray, while other parts resembled dried plaster that had cracked like a disfigured statue.
She glared back at me, industriously brushing her teeth.
Ssshhh… shsssshsshhssshhhh… ssshhhh… Minty-green toothpaste frothed all over her lips like a kid who had shoved their mouth into an ice cream cone.
“It’s a facial mask, Crowther,” she snapped back with a look I imagined beneath the muck to be duh.
“It exfoliates and hydrates, and afterward my skin is super soft and glows.”
I blinked. Well, shit, that actually sounded good. I wondered if she’d let me touch her cheek afterward, to feel how soft it would be.
Nelle shifted about to lean her elbow cockily upon the vanity, crossing an ankle over the other, while jabbing her toothbrush at me.
“Now get on with the show. I was enjoying myself.” She leered at me, checking out my ass like she was at some kind of skeezy strip club, tossing dollar bills at my feet.
Indignation sparked.
The sassy little assassin really had come in here to mess with me.
I swiftly rinsed myself off and turned off the shower. The soapy water gurgled softly as it ran down the drain.
Nelle rolled her eyes and scoffed at me. “Gods, Crowther, so this is how you’ve been spending your time. Jacking off like a horny schoolboy.” She snorted and then turned away to face the vanity, scrubbing her teeth and ignoring me.
I rankled at the schoolboy jab. There was nothing boyish about me at all, and she godsdamned well knew it.
Horny?
Fuck yes, I owned that shit.
Stalking closer, I warily studied her profile and all that weird gunk. “You started it. Can you blame me with all that taunting you’ve been doing?”
“Get a grip, Crowther. I was just reading—”
“Erotica.” For fuck’s sake.
Her lips twitched with a smug smirk.
Heading for the towel rack, I caught her stealing swift glances as she tracked my movements.
Interesting…
I slowed my pace to rotate a shoulder and roll my neck as if easing a crick.
And I saw it.
Her lashes fluttered to half-mast as she leisurely drank up my naked physique, thinking I wasn’t paying attention.
Her cheeks puffed out with a slowly expelled breath before the nip of white teeth on a toothpaste-frothy lip.
The air suddenly spiked with a wild floral scent, and my entire body tightened in response to her arousal.
I barely suppressed the low growl that threatened to rattle from my chest.
Nelle blinked, rallying herself. She spat out a mouthful of toothpaste, rinsed her toothbrush, and put it away in the glass canister next to mine.
Stretching her short stature as tall and imperious as she could muster, she half-twisted around to face me.
Her mean mouth was parting to say something snarky, I expected, when I whipped around to snatch a fluffy towel from the rack.
I dramatically flicked it open with a flourishing snap like a hedonistic matador.
But did I cover up?
Fuck no.
Soft fibers soaked up the moisture from my hair as I rubbed the towel over my head.
I took my sweet time, slowly pacing the bathroom as I wiped up the beads of water running down my chest and made sure my arms were dry, paying special attention to my biceps, flexing them and watching her mouth fall open even further as she devoured the veins on my forearms with a wide-eyed gaze.
Instead of wrapping the towel around my hips, I casually hung it around my neck to leave my cock pointing at Nelle, waving hel-fucking-lo.
Nelle blinked as if startled from a daydream. Her gaze snapped up to mine. “This isn’t a photoshoot for Playgirl, Crowther.”
I grinned. “Lucky for you it is.”
“Don’t you think you should cover up? I wouldn’t want you suffering from the cold and, for gods’ sake, soften,” she hissed, popping out a shoulder with attitude.
I ran the flat of my palm down my abs, challenging her to look lower. “Is there any-fucking-thing soft about me, Wychthorn?” I purred, cocking a brow. “Anything at all?”
She kept her defiant gaze locked on mine, but I saw the way her fingers stiffly clutched the lip of the vanity behind her, and I carefully hid the glee when her pupils slowly expanded.
Nelle’s mouth had gone bone-dry. I heard the rasp to her weak-assed denial as she croaked, “Gods, your over-inflated ego.”
Stepping wide, I shifted my stance as I ruffled the hair at the back of my head. “Anyway, it’s my bathroom. You’re the one who came in here.”
Nelle quickly spun away to wipe the mess of toothpaste from her mouth, some of the face masque coming away as well.
She hastily cleaned the cloth under running water, fumbling as she folded it, a slight tremble to her hands, leaving me with the distinct impression she was desperate to scurry from the bathroom as soon as possible.
Well, well, well…
I sidled up and partially blocked her retreat. Her gaze whipped upward, clashing with mine in the steam-smeared mirror. Lowering my chin, I narrowed my gaze. “What the hells are you doing here, anyway?”
“It’s our bathroom, and you were taking forever. I needed to get ready for bed,” she snipped airily.
Part of me, the part that had wondrous warmth flooding my chest at her choice of words, wanted to point out the fact she’d said our bathroom. But she would have hated it and despised herself for a moment of weakness. Instead, I replied, “You could have”—fucking—“knocked.”
Her gaze darkened with anger. “Highly doubtful you would have heard me knocking over the sound of you moaning my name.” She twisted around, deepening her voice to mimic mine as she moaned, “Nelle.”
Gods, my little bird was vicious.
My gaze sliced to that wicked, mean mouth of hers, and my cock throbbed and swelled and ached. All the blood rushed to my iron-hard erection, and I went a little lightheaded under the wicked spell she’d cast.
Hells, she was so hot when she was cruel.
So fucking hot.
But that girl needed to be met with fire.
I bowed my head so I was level with hers.
“Nelle,” I husked, moaning it right back at her.
She nearly exploded with fury.
And the bathroom erupted into the ridiculous sound of both of us squabbling like schoolchildren mock-moaning at one another. My little bird even jerked her fist as if she were beating off at the same time.
“Nelle—”
“Nelle—”
“Nelle—”
But mine were deep and husky and true.
And something happened as I gruffly moaned her name.
A full-body shiver shuddered through Nelle’s slender figure. Her damp yellow dress rippled with delightful motion. The cruel expression faltered and slipped from her features, leaving her open and vulnerable.
And her irises spiked with a shot of black.
Perhaps to deny it, she abruptly screwed her eyes shut and lifted her hand as if to silently demand I shut up. But the movement slowed and became sluggish. I watched in confusion as she bodily wove from side to side, her weight shifting off balance as a soft, mindless hum rumbled from her throat.
Suddenly, she tipped forward, her fingers latching onto my bicep.
I helped support her supple body as she melted against me.
Though I knew she was going to despise her momentary weakness, I bathed in the feel of her beneath my hands and where our bodies touched as she buried her nose into my chest and greedily breathed me in.
Holy Zrenyth…
And then, understanding slowly crept upon me.
That girl was lust-drunk on me.
All that mocking and scoffing she’d done earlier was false bravado.
She wanted me, but she’d been doing her very best to pretend otherwise.
The washcloth was soft against my fingertips as I plucked it from her slackened grip.
Her eyes, gloriously dazed with desire, flashed open.
But her body stiffened with mortification as she realized what she was doing.
She tried to back away, but I dug my hand tighter around her waist to stop her from running.
There was nowhere to escape.
Nowhere else to look but directly at me.
Nelle stood stock-still. I wasn’t even sure she was breathing. Her long lashes fluttered with barely concealed craving, and I imagined her resolve crumbling to dust when her gaze slowly dipped lower, sliding like hot honey over my physique, and it burned with shameful appreciation.
I angled my chin, indicating her face coated with clay. “I think beneath all this I’ll find you blushing.”
Her horrified gaze sliced back to mine. “No, you wouldn’t.”
Lush lips, full and inviting, parted on a sharp gasp when I gently pressed a fingertip to her cheek and scraped gently along the curved cheekbone to reveal the flushed skin beneath. “It’s that adorable rose pink.”
She breathed out embarrassment. “That’s just the force of your fingertip on my—”
“You’re blushing even more deeply now.”
She tried to deny it with a shake of her head, and tendrils of spiral curls wavered. She froze, her eyes growing impossibly wide, when I pressed the cool, wet washcloth to her temple and chanted softly, “Liar, liar, liar.”