Chapter 45 #3
I felt the shadows give way and tried to flee, but in the blink of an eye, Zion wrapped me in his overcoat, grabbed me by the waist, and threw me over his shoulder. I hung there like a rolled-up cigar, my legs bound together by the shadows. He held me in place with just one hand.
“Damn it! What do you think you're doing?” I had a prime view of his ass.
I managed to free one arm from the overcoat and grabbed at his lower back, yanking up his military shirt to expose the skin.
I dug my nails in, scratching him like a crazed cat.
He growled at me, but it wasn't a growl of anger, and my toes curled in response.
“So you want to play?”
Suddenly I felt a hand sliding over my ass—the nightgown had ridden up and bunched around my waist. I didn't have time to think about how invasive that was, because he landed a hard slap right there, making my whole body jolt.
I groaned through clenched teeth.
“JERK!” I shouted in shock, releasing his skin. He laughed and kept stroking my exposed ass, as if soothing the marks his fingers had left. “Are you going to carry me through the forest like a Neanderthal? Very rational, Zion! Congratulations on the originality.”
“Yeah, I'm cute like that,” he said sarcastically, walking at a leisurely pace.
“You're a son of a bitch, you know that?” I cursed, kicking my legs, but he put his hand on my butt again, his calloused palm caressing the skin as he threatened another slap. I stopped before my other cheek turned red too.
“Good thing we're getting along. You told Kiara you wanted to know all my facets.” Suddenly we were swallowed by shadows as Zion transported us home.
“So, meet the not-so-controlled side. You can be angry, you can curse me and throw this little tantrum, but you passed the test, and that's the only thing that matters to me today.”
I growled at him the instant we emerged in the shadow of a tree on our block. It was a primitive, irrational sound—something I couldn't control, no matter how much I wanted to. He just laughed.
“Doesn't Adele matter? You don't seem sad about her—what were you doing while she was overdosing?” I shouted, breathless.
“Of course Adele matters. While she was overdosing, I was counting the minutes.
A feeric, as you well know, can go ten minutes without oxygen and start breathing again without any problems. When you went up, she was at the one-minute mark.
If it had reached five, I would have intervened, but that's all resolved now—she's in the hospital and will recover with help from professionals trained for this.
If she didn't matter to me, I wouldn't have bothered hunting Ivanov through every corner of the sewers. I would have just sent the patrol alone.” Now he seemed offended.
“The thing is, Kyller, I've seen so many crimes and horrors working in the army that few things shake me anymore.
I'm sorry about Adele and I hope she recovers well, but right now, I'm happy for you.”
I wasn't going to say anything more. Arguing with him was like talking to a door—except at least a door didn't throw me over its shoulder or deliver those infuriatingly maddening slaps to my ass.
So I fell silent, and so did he. After a few seconds—the shadows swallowing us like a black cloak—we finally arrived home.
“Just so you know, we got Ivanov. Serguei is taking care of the rest.”
“What happens now?” I asked, still angry, though my fury had eased a little after hearing about Ivanov.
“Adele will wake up tomorrow with all of Ivanov’s fortune. Then she’ll be emancipated, and the state will grant her custody of her sister, since the mother proved negligent toward both daughters. As for Ivanov, I don’t think there’ll be much left of him when Serguei’s done.”
I sighed, still draped over his shoulder. The position was making me nauseous.
“I hope he pays for what he did.”
“He will. Serguei will make sure of it.”
I shuddered, and only then did I notice I was still slung over Zion’s shoulder.
“How much longer are you going to keep me on your shoulder?” I asked. He laughed, disappearing with me into the shadows and reappearing in my room a moment later.
He dumped me on the mattress like a sack of potatoes and stepped away. Before he could even open the door, I grabbed my hairbrush from the vanity and hurled it at him with all my strength, but just as it was about to hit him, he vanished again. I heard his laughter from the next room.
“Still want to play, my sweet ray of sunshine?”
Furious, I blocked the bond and raised my mental barrier. Then I washed up, changed into a fresh nightgown, and went to bed still breathing fire.
“Asshole,” I grumbled, hugging Kiara, who was already snoring in my bed.
“Wonderful. You’re absolutely gorgeous when you’re upset.”
“Arrogant jerk,” I cursed, rubbing my butt. The skin there burned, but it wasn’t from pain—it was desire, and that made me even more furious.
“I can imagine your mouth whispering those curses in my ear.”
I shuddered. I couldn’t tell anymore what was teasing and what was real, so I blocked him. My body was burning, and the desire only grew as his voice provoked me. I closed my eyes, but even in my dreams, his voice kept making my body burn.