CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
The night was as cold and dark as the fear that swept through my chest as I stared at the house. Soft firelight shone through the windows, illuminating two rocking chairs on the pinewood deck. My hands shook at my sides. But rage boiled my blood. I stepped toward the front door.
I opened my eyes to a rather impressive erection.
Griffon and I were on the floor of the music room, his back to a wall and my head in his lap. I pivoted to find a guilty smile tipping his lips.
“I’ve been contemplating my options for a few minutes and well…there just wasn’t a good one.”
I smiled and buried my face in the crook of his hip, every fiber aware of how close my face was to his arousal.
“I could have moved,” he continued, “but that would have woken you up, and you looked so peaceful. So, I tried to think of a horde of da’kai, instead. But your mouth is very close, and I kept getting distracted by a far more…stimulating fantasy.”
Every muscle in my core tightened. I couldn’t even pretend I didn’t want him anymore. “It doesn’t have to be a fantasy,” I breathed.
His finger hooked under my chin and tilted my head up.
The heat in his gaze scorched the air straight out of my lungs.
I pushed onto my hands and knees, my eyes glued to his as I swung my knee over his hips.
I settled against his cock and moaned at the jolt of pleasure that coursed through me. He rocked against me and I bit my lip.
“Lydia.” My name fell off his lips like a prayer.
He tugged my lip from between my teeth and traced the curve of my mouth, the pad of his thumb rough against my skin. My fingers fisted in the fabric of his shirt. His burrowed into my hair. My lips parted and I moaned again, every point of contact with his body on fire. He drew me closer.
Footsteps lanced my awareness. My eyes popped wide, lips so close to his I could almost taste him. “Fuck!” I scrambled off his lap and landed in a heap beside him. A couple quick fingers through my hair probably did nothing to tame it.
“What do you want, Alexei?” Griffon growled.
I buried my breathless laugh at his tone in a cough.
The smirk smeared all over Alexei’s face said everything I needed to know about what he’d seen. “You both missed breakfast,” he said, a laugh in his voice. “And are late to training. Laney sent me to find you.”
“You found us,” Griffon snapped. “Now go away.”
Half of me wanted to snicker, but the other half wanted to throw my boot at Alexei. I squeezed my thighs together and tilted my head back against the wall, every piece of me aching to climb back on top of Griffon and finish what had almost started.
Alexei held his hands up. “Okay, okay. I’ll tell her you found something else to eat. Have fun.” He winked at me, then disappeared around the corner.
Griffon turned his hot-as-hell gaze on me, and I damn near ignited.
“We should probably go,” I breathed. “Before Laney shows up to us in a more, uh”—my eyes dropped to the erection that still strained his breeches—“compromising position.”
His fingers flexed at his side before raking through his hair. “I’m going to kill him,” he muttered.
He found his feet and tugged me to mine, his fingers grazing across my palms as he relinquished my hands. The tension that sizzled between us made the hair on my arms stand at attention.
“Thank you. For…” Holding me. Staying with me. For the song that still soared through my mind and buoyed my heart. I cleared my throat and tossed my finger back to where we’d slept. “For being a pillow.”
He exhaled, his taut body relaxing a fraction. “Thanks for letting me.” His cocky grin fanned the lust that still consumed me.
“I didn’t, really.” A smile played on my lips, and I forced myself to back toward the door. “I just woke up with your dick in my face.”
“Don’t make me wait too long for an encore.” His gaze shamelessly roamed my body. “Or I’ll lose my damned mind a lot faster than I thought.”
“Encore.” I nodded slowly. “But let’s also include a finale next time.” I winked and side-stepped into the hall. His answering moan caressed my ears. I leaned against the wall and huffed out a heavy breath. “I’m so fucked.”
Once I made it back to my room, I flung the door shut, ran a basin of cold water, and dunked my head in it. I caught a glimpse of my reflection as I resurfaced and whipped toward the mirror, the frigid water running off my hair in rivulets. “Whoa.”
I didn’t look half-dead. After solstice. Perhaps not vibrant, but…no bruises beneath red, watery eyes, no dull and oily hair, or sallow skin. My cheeks had the softest hint of a glow, and the faint smile tipping my lips was just weird.
I spun around and put my back to the mirror. “Gods and moons, I’m like a virgin with her first cock. Get your shit together!” I braided my wet hair and stormed into the bedroom to change into a pair of training leathers, then into the hall to pound on Beck’s door.
“Come in,” his muffled voice answered.
I opened the door to him sprawled on the bed, his head buried in a book. His gaze tipped to me for all of a heartbeat before sliding back to the page.
He couldn’t have made it more than a sentence before his head jerked back up. “You look awfully…okay.”
I tossed a shoulder. “Bawling your face off is cathartic, you know?” So was talking about your feelings and grinding against a dick, apparently.
His mouth hovered open for a second. “Sure. If you say so.”
“I do.” I twirled a strand of hair I’d missed around my finger and shifted from foot to foot. “What are you reading?”
“One of those books Laney dropped off. It’s the gargoyle equivalent of our fairy tales.
” He finally gave me his attention, his eyes alight with excitement.
I cocked a brow. “This one has beasts called dragons.” He sat up.
“Giant flying lizards the size of Council Hall. That breathe fire.” His smile was contagious.
I laughed. “Do they fancy being pets? They sound cute.”
“Cute?” He snorted. “You would think that.”
“Peel yourself away long enough to train and get some food?”
He looked like he’d rather not. “Only for you.”
I fidgeted as we headed for the sparring room, a wealth of nervous energy sparking through me. “Where’s Astra?” I whispered. “I haven’t seen her since that first day. Which is good, I guess.”
Beck waved me off. “I sent her home. There was no reason for her to stay.” His brows knitted together. “I don’t think the other falcons liked her being here, either. I saw a couple attack her.”
“Where is she going to stay? I’m not sure what she’ll do without her palace—I mean your house—to stay in.”
“Ha! Don’t worry. I left a window open. I’m sure she’ll leave me a few dead mice on my pillow in thanks.”
We turned into the sparring room and my eyes found Griffon in a heartbeat, drawn to him like a flower to the first rays of a morning sun. His were already pinned on me.
That dark, brooding gaze slid to Beck and narrowed. I glanced sideways and found Beck staring back with every bit as much vitriol. I sighed. This was going to be fun.