Chapter 22
Chapter
Twenty-two
Rolling over across her bed with a questing hand, Skylar expected to encounter a warm, firm body next to her. All she felt were empty sheets, and her eyes flashed open.
She sat up and looked around her room, finding it completely empty.
There was no trace of the strange, beautiful man who had sent her to the brink repeatedly all night.
It was as if she’d only dreamed of his hoarse, decadent groans, his body-tingling breaths, and the way his hands and limbs caressed her all over.
But it definitely couldn’t be a dream – not with the slick coating her thighs, the mess of her hair, and her sore throat from crying out.
She looked down at her chest bone and saw a black mark against her skin.
It was a circle with a diamond shape in the middle and wiggling spikes coming out from each inward curve – or were they tentacles?
Not quite what she’d been expecting. Then again, she also hadn’t realised it would appear on her skin like a tattoo, rather than just teeth marks.
So where was the one who left it?
She stretched a leg out as she listened to her silent house, then kicked something firm and small. The ferret bat, Skaarvar he said its name was, was on its back with its legs, arms, and wings spread as if it paid rent.
Then something registered in the dim room as she leaned closer and a beam of light peeking through her blackout blinds pierced her poor eyes.
It was daytime. Not the muted light of morning.
Sucking in a breath, she scrambled for her phone and clicked the power button.
“11 a.m.?!” she rasped, throwing her blanket to the side to put her feet on the ground.
She unlocked her phone to call Kaylee, only to see multiple call and text notifications.
6 missed calls
14 messages
All were from Kaylee.
She flicked open the chat bar and scrolled up to read the first one.
K: Dude, where are you? There’s a guy here saying he’s opening up for you.
K: Wtf? He has your keys.
K: You never give your keys to anyone. I’m starting to get scared.
K: PICK UP YOUR DAMN PHONE!
K: He said he’s going to make the coffees. Who the hell talks like that? Where did you pick up this guy?
K: Ring ring, bitch!
K: Dude, seriously. Where are you? Do I need to call the police? He said you’ll come in when you wake up, but this whole situation gives me the eeks.
The next message was a bunch of emojis ranging from a censored mouth, to an angry frowny face, to a question mark.
Ignoring the rest of the messages, she clicked the call button. Within seconds, Kaylee answered.
“Oh my fucking god, I thought you were dead,” Kaylee whisper-shouted into her phone. “What the hell is going on?”
“Who is there?” Skylar asked, hopping up to find something to throw on so she could bolt out the door to her precious café.
“What’s he look like?”
It couldn’t be Vorg... unless he waltzed his horned and tailed butt out of her house for humans to see! Probably naked, as she didn’t own a single piece of men’s clothing. I didn’t think about the fact that he’ll never be able to leave my house unless we pretend he’s in costume.
“So you seriously don’t know this guy? What happened last night? I thought you were going on a date with Oliver, and this guy sure doesn’t look like–” Her voice grew quieter even as she shouted, “Hey!”
“Hello, darklight,” Vorg drawled, his voice just as sinful as she remembered it last night as he spoke wicked things in her ear.
For a guy who had been Mr Tentacles without the ability to speak just days ago, he sure had a sexy mouth on him.
Before she could answer, he continued, “I’m doing a spectacular job, but you better come before your friend here claws my eyes out.”
The call abruptly ended, and even when she tried to call back, no one answered.
“I’m going to kill him!” she screeched, causing Skaarvar to spring up onto his pawed feet, suddenly alert and ready to fight.
She booked an Uber and quickly showered and dressed before it arrived. Although it was something she’d usually never do, she skipped her make-up in her haste and donned the first appropriate thing she could quickly slip on: a pair of black jeans and a cute top.
In the back of the car, her hands shook as she put her simple boots on, then read through the messages properly, the five-minute drive endless. As soon as her feet hit the sidewalk, she sprinted to the front door of The Bean Alchemist and shoved it open.
She froze when she saw Kaylee, whose eyes grew large at seeing her, and the man – a human-looking man – behind her at the coffee machine.
He looked like Vorg, just without all the sexy, devilish bits that had gone with him.
Even his skin had shifted to a light tan rather than blue, and his eyes no longer glowed.
He wore a pair of her track pants that were far too small and looked like tights against his thick thighs. He’d squeezed into a red tank top that couldn’t handle the size of his torso in comparison to hers and had slipped up to reveal the sides of his narrow, muscled waist and deep vee hip bones.
Why did men wearing crop tops that showed off their slutty little waists appear so mouthwatering?
“Hey,” he greeted with a grin, waving at her. “See? Everything is fine.”
“Fine?” Kaylee bit out. “You’ve made everything wrong and burned every coffee you have made!” She leaned over the counter and reached her hand out beseechingly to Skylar. “You know I can’t make a latte for shit like you. Please tell me what’s going on.”
Vorg had the audacity to pout his bottom lip forward. “It’s my first day.” Then he grinned and winked at Skylar. In the span of that wink, his form wavered, as if he wanted to give her a peek under the glamour he’d cast over himself.
I didn’t know he could use magic.
At least that solved one problem, but it didn’t answer any of her more pressing questions.
Storming forward, Skylar went behind the counter and grabbed Vorg’s wrist.
“Sorry, Kaylee. Just give us one moment,” she pleaded, before yanking him through the café and then down the hallway.
She passed the kitchen, shoved him into the storage room, and shut the door behind her.
“What the hell?!” she shouted as she spun to him. “You can’t just do–”
“Fuck, I missed you,” he said in a low rumble.
Then he grabbed the sides of her jaw and neck with both hands and yanked her in while slamming his lips down on hers. She squeaked beneath his lips, only to moan a second later into the kiss. Perhaps she was a little too weak to resist him because she returned it and was blessed with a deep groan.
He pushed against her until her back met the shelves, his glamour slipping away to bring back the strange man she’d spent all night entangled with. He reached down, grabbed the backs of her thighs, and wrapped them around his hips as he ground a hardening cock against her.
Even though she moaned when his girthy length rubbed her clit, it also woke her from her stupor. She shoved her head to the side to break the kiss and beat his shoulders.
“Why didn’t you wake me?” Her punches were soft, as she didn’t have the heart to actually hit him, but she was so angry, so annoyed, that she wanted to more than anything. “You keep turning my alarms off! My café means everything to me.”
He pressed his forehead to hers. “You looked so cute asleep, and I just couldn’t bear to wake you. I thought I would help out so you could rest after being so good by bouncing on my cock all night.”
She stopped punching him and glanced up at his electric-blue eyes. He looked so sincere, as if he’d truly just been thinking about her wellbeing. She ignored the perverted way he said it and read between the lines.
Her annoyance softened, and she pouted with a grumble. “But you don’t even know what to do. How did you even know about my café?”
“I’ve been watching you through Skaarvar’s eyes since you first summoned me. I thought it would be enough to learn, but it appears what you do is much harder than I thought.”
She narrowed her eyes into a glare. “I knew something was up. You can’t just watch people!”
“I’ve only watched you,” he said, nuzzling his nose into the side of her neck. “It was my way of protecting you and communicating with you across the dimensions. He’s able to jump dimensions he’s been to, and I slipped him out of mine before I left that first morning.”
Skylar lowered her legs, and he reluctantly put her down.
“Don’t do that again. This is my shop, and I can’t have you ruining its reputation by making terrible coffee.”
“Then teach me,” he offered, gazing down at her while tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear.
“I want to help you. This is what you do, so I wish to assist and take away some of the strain.” Then he chewed on his bottom lip as he raked his gaze over her.
“Especially when I intend to tire this body out every chance I get.”
Her face betrayed her by flushing in response, and even her nipples hardened. When he went to flick one, she slapped his hand away and pointed up at his face. Her anger deflated, and her finger went limp.
“Do you really mean that?”
“Of course. You are my lifemate. You and your desires are all that matters.”
She opened her mouth, but she didn’t know what to say. He was proving that she’d made the right choice last night by letting him claim her, even with all the unknowns involved.
Faltering, she averted her gaze and grumbled. “Fine. I’ll teach you.” Then she looked down at her clothing and remembered she hadn’t donned any make-up. “Dammit. I can’t work like this.”
“Why not? You look gorgeous.”
She pointed up at his nose with squinted eyes, only to sigh. “I need to go home and change.”
“I can glamour you, if you like. Give you your war paint. We can just pretend that’s why we were in here.”
Once more, Skylar faltered. Honestly, she was just so stressed about getting to work and fixing everything he probably did wrong that she was itching to get into it. Plus, there was also the mess with Kaylee, who was likely about to implode any minute.
“Thanks, I’d appreciate that.” Then she peeked around him to the door. “But we will talk after work, okay?”
When she looked back at him, it was obvious he had more nefarious plans for once the shop closed, yet he conceded with a restrained nod.