Chapter 46
forty-six
He Left the Fridge Open
The tingle of Jade’s magic is more like the crackle of a campfire blowing across my skin than the electric feel of the portals in the IBMA headquarters. I’m gasping for air when we reach the other side, and fan myself to fight the gathering sweat on my forehead.
We emerge into what looks like an evil lair, and when I glance over Bastian’s shoulder, I see we’ve walked through the fireplace. No wonder it felt so hot!
Rhazan has Jade’s face in a firm grip and he’s leaning down into her space, his neck craned to get in close. Her arms are crossed but she’s angled into his touch like it’s the best thing she’s ever felt. Their dynamic eludes me…
“Not another word of it, or else,” Rhazan says the last word with the vicious bite of a challenge.
Jade smiles, her bunched up cheeks going round below her eyes. “Yes, RhazDaddy.”
Their dynamic eludes me no longer…
Bastian clears his throat loudly.
Rhazan releases Jade and straightens up, addressing us. “Welcome to our home in the Mirror realm. You’ll make your binding here instead of the café, since Jade’s location is too delicate for a portal of that strength.”
“Delicate,” Jade scoffs, then mumbles something in Chinese.
Rhazan’s eyes seem to blaze as he glares at her.
She eats up the attention and smiles sweetly.
The fiery demon replies in Chinese and Jade’s smile disappears, replaced by glowing red cheeks.
Jade drops her head, hiding her face with the long strands of dyed hair.
Satisfied, Rhazan turns his gaze to Bastian.
“You can add your markings there,” he says, pointing at the mantle of the fireplace behind us. “But I must apologize for our lack of hospitality. I have a brat who desperately needs my attention…”
Jade turns her head away and clasps her hands in front of her. It’s as if a different woman has taken over her body.
“So, you’ll need to depart when you’ve finished the binding,” Rhazan says, his tail flicking behind him in an agitated manner. Or maybe I’m projecting cat behaviors on the demon and that motion means something else entirely.
Bastian nods his head. “We’re happy to depart with haste.”
He turns around and the fire licks my skin once again. He puts his foot up on a nearby stool and balances my butt on his knee, then uses his claws to carve into the black wood mantle. I can’t focus on his markings, though. My attention is firmly on the quiet conversation happening behind us.
I peek my eyes over Bastian’s shoulders and watch as Rhazan’s massive hand clamps on the back of Jade’s neck and turns her body to face him.
She lifts her gaze, but not her chin. He says something I can’t hear that makes her knees lock together.
His tail curls around her joined wrists and he whispers something in her ear.
His posture is so assertive that suddenly, I’m a little worried for her.
Her eyes flick to mine a moment later and she smirks, making a dimple in her rosy cheek.
“I’m good,” she mouths, and then I catch Rhazan’s gaze locked on me, too.
I turn my eyes back front, embarrassment heating my face. Maybe a little more than embarrassment…envy? What a fascinating relationship. I thought they only existed in my romance books.
“What’s this?” Bastian whispers. “Aroused, in someone else’s house?”
“Fat chance,” I murmur.
“Feral miscreant. Were you eavesdropping?” he rumbles.
I look up at him innocently. “What would you do if I were?”
He grins, showing me his sharp canines. “I might remind you that your gaze is for me, as is your body.”
His tail tightens, the tip of it pressing firmly against my crotch. I peep out a surprised gasp, my nails digging into his shoulder.
“Place your magic into the mark.” He grabs my wrist and puts it on the mantle. “So I may take you home for a proper reminder.”
I do as he says, and the runes take my energy.
“It was good to see you, brother,” Rhazan says when my contribution is complete. “Please leave now.”
Bastian huffs, a little smile tugging on his lips. “Always so blunt.”
He runs his fingers along the freshly carved markings and his black explodes out in front of us. Orange weaves through the hovering oval splotch of ink, until there’s a tapestry of swirling light. Flecks of gold glitter throughout it, calling to us.
“Be seeing you,” Rhazan says.
I glance back over Bastian’s shoulder and give Jade a little wave. She twists one of her bound hands and waves back with a sheepish grin.
Gold sparkling blackness envelops us and warmth caresses my skin like diving into a pile of laundry fresh out of the dryer. I lay my head on Bastian’s shoulder and close my eyes with a gratified moan. It’s just so nice to be in his arms, surrounded by him.
Bastian chuckles.
“What’s funny?” I mumble, my breath whispering over the hollow of his throat.
“There’s only one sound in the world more satisfying than your contentment.”
“Oh?”
“It’s a secret.”
I peer up at him, recognizing the ceiling of our apartment. I want to ask exactly how we got here, but I want to know the secret much more.
“What can I exchange for that knowledge?” I ask.
He lowers his arm and dips me, then leans into me in a movement so fluid I swear I can hear romance music tinkling somewhere through the background of my life. His lips brush mine in a gentle kiss and my eyelids flutter closed.
His kisses move across my lips to my cheek, then my ear, and he whispers, “You will know when I get what I want.”
I swallow hard. “And what do you want?”
“You. In my nest. Making it ours.”
“Nest?”
He laughs again, the most I think I’ve ever heard from him in the half year we’ve lived together.
“First, let us check on the feline,” he says, pulling away but not setting me down.
“Feline!” Bastian calls.
There’s a deep, loud merow from the hall to the front door. Oscar saunters in, all black with glowing red eyes and a bright, flicking tail.
“Hi buddy!”
I reach for him, but Bastian won’t set me down. When I glare at him to demand it, the possessive fix of his jaw and his glassy eyes make me reconsider.
A proper reminder.
Oscar hops on the kitchen counter and bats the fridge door open. He drags out an old slice of pizza, then trots away triumphantly.
“You didn’t close the door,” I shout after him.
Bastian flicks his fingers and a whip of black magic wraps around the handle. He tosses it closed and disappears the magic back into his hand.
“The hoard is standing. The feline is safe and fed. Will you accompany me on our date?”
My brow furrows. “But what about Renee and Andrew, and our whole setup at the fair. What day is it?”
Bastian sighs and uses his tail to pull the bag out of my grasp.
He flips it and I gasp at the crude handling of his most precious book.
Suddenly, his tail splits apart, becoming seven different ends.
Each one grabs an item that comes tumbling out of the open purse.
His book, my phone, my wallet, lipstick, and more.
He catches each thing and sets them gently on the counter, save the phone.
He walks to the bedroom and sits on the edge of the bed as he plugs my phone in. The screen comes on after a moment, and it dings. Again, and again. Message after message and so many missed calls.
Renee, my parents, and…Dan Michaels from Waldorf?
It’s been three days since the IBMA took us, and everyone is rightfully concerned since the attached news report from Renee includes a dark, blurry picture of Bastian in his fifteen-foot-tall dragon form taking off into the sky with me pinned to his chest. The comments range from “OMGWTF IS THAT” to “Lucky girl, wish I’d get abducted by space dragons! ”
I text Renee first, then my parents, to let them both know I’m safe at home. Then, I open the message from my former boss.
Dan: If Caitlin’s abductor is reading this, please know that Waldorf Press will pay for her safe return.
“Ho. Lee. Shit…”
“Oh? Something good?” Bastian asks.
“I guess word got back to my old job about my disappearance. My boss said he’d pay my ransom.”
“Hmm, how much should we ask for?”
My mouth hangs open as I look up at him.
He chuckles. “I’m not serious, of course.”
I scoff. “Since when do you joke around?”
He goes quiet for a moment, then a soft smile lights up his face. “Since I realized how perfect my life is, I suppose.”
My heart thumps so hard I know if my ribs weren’t there to keep it in, it would be in his lap right now.
My phone dings again, and while I sort of want to reconnect with everyone to ensure them I’m safe, I’ve messaged the two most important people…and I’ve got somewhere to be. I set the device back on the nightstand to charge and wrap my arm around Bastian’s neck.
“I’m ready for that secret.”
Bastian tucks me closer as he stands, then walks into the living room. He pulls back the rug I used to hide his Bookhenge and begins activating the runes.
“I knew it was a summoning circle,” I say.
“Much better than that.” He smiles. “It’s a spatial displacement ring.”
“What does that—”
The runes flash and Bastian’s magic fills them up. A line of power shoots from the circle toward the front door. I can’t see it because of the short hall, but glittering gold sparks fly from it like snowflakes in a gale. The magic fades not long after, and Bastian stands.
He walks down the hall and into the stairs, then closes the door behind him. We stand in darkness for a moment as he brings his thumb to his mouth. He spears himself with his sharp canine until his dark blood wells to the surface.
“What are you doing?” I whisper.
“So impatient,” he murmurs as he marks the door frame with his blood.
He smears more blood on the door handle and turns it to the right before looking down at me. “Right is our apartment,” he says as he pushes open the door.
There’s the colorful runner leading to the combination shoe and coat rack at the end of the short hall. He closes the door.
“And this way”—he looks down at me with a broad grin brimming with excitement as he turns the handle to the left—“leads to our nest.”