Chapter 18 Sai
Stay cool. Stay fucking cool.
I stand behind Red as she looks up at the massive board of drinks. Half of them sound made up—a matcha macchiato? Sounds like a torture technique.
And I’m still so knackered from last night.
When things went to shit, Zeek arrived like a freaking angel, throwing out a wall of light so big it chewed away some of Julien’s darkness. Somehow, it even got him to sleep.
I spent the rest of the night with the big guy. Kane didn’t want to leave, but I shoved him off, because someone had to keep hunting for our old pal Prospero.
Now I’m running on fumes and nerves, bouncing on my toes to stay awake.
And why am I so fucking nervous?
I’ve spent time with Red alone, this isn’t new. Those times are permanently tattooed on my brain, those delicious, lewd, hot…
I shake my head.
Do not get a boner here, Sai. Don’t you dare.
But fuck, I am nervous. This is a date. Red agreed to go on a date with me.
If the other person doesn’t know it’s a date, does it still count?
Yeah. Yeah, it does.
And I can’t fucking wait to drop this in the group chat, anything to wind those bastards up.
I snap a quick pic of Red while she’s still staring up, her long red curls swaying as she studies everything, the ends almost brushing her ass.
An ass I’ve touched.
A perfect ass I’ve had my hands all over, gripped tight as I ground her against my hard co—
“Coconut latte or vanilla macchiato?”
I’ve no idea what the fuck she’s just said.
Thank fuck she hasn’t turned around, or she’d see what I was really thinking about.
“Both?” I say, hoping that’s a good enough answer. My hand slips into my pocket to adjust the hard-on I’ve just given myself.
She huffs, still facing the menu. “I can’t get both, that’s caffeine overload. What are you getting?”
I step closer, my chest almost brushing her shoulders. “Nothing. I don’t drink coffee.”
She twists around slowly, shock covering her face. I chuckle.
“What do you mean you don’t drink it?” Her gaze darts between my eyes, mouth hanging open.
Fuck, she’s adorable.
Everything she does is sweet or sexy or… fuck. I’m getting harder. This is not how it’s supposed to go.
“Red, d’you think I need more energy?” I smirk, hoping she does not look down. “Imagine me on caffeine.”
Her lips pull into a smile.
Fuck, yessss. I’ve made her smile.
She shakes her head like I’m ridiculous and turns away.
“Well, what flavours do you like?” she asks, looking back at the board.
Anything that tastes like her. Something I never got a chance to do.
I was so close, so fucking close, then Kane had to ruin it all. Demanding I take down my barrier before he came to investigate.
But Julien… he’d told me what she smelt like. What he craved.
Kinda like honey, vanilla and caramel all mixed up together. It was more poetic than that though: ‘nectar of the gods’ and ‘ambrosia’, some shit like that.
When I asked him what that actually meant, he summed it up in one word: ‘sweet’.
“Sweet things,” I say, and she glances over her shoulder at me, and damn, that’s a sexy look. Her brow arches, waiting for more. “Caramel, vanilla… maybe honey.”
“Mmm, I like those too.” She smiles.
That sound. That tiny little hum. Fuuuck, I swear my knees almost buckle. And that smile—shit, that smile—like she’s no clue it’s lethal.
But then the server walks in, and she turns that smile on him.
Something tightens in my chest. A deep buzz hums.
Her eyes should be on me. Her smile should be on me.
The hum in my veins turns sharp, the air crackles…
I shake my head.
Calm down. Breathe.
Smiting a barista on our first date is not cool. Would not go down well.
But I could crush his throat in an instant...
She orders, don’t ask me what, I’m too busy burning holes into Apron Boy while he fumbles with the screen. Every few seconds his eyes dart to me, so I crank up my best Kane death stare.
Red doesn’t notice, too busy squinting up at the board, tripping over the names, and fuck, why is that so cute?
When did I even start using that word?
Oh yeah. After she called me cute. Twice.
“I guess we pay after?” Red asks as the server scurries off.
Yeah, fuck off. She’s mine.
“Sai?”
I look at her and… fucking hell, she’s so gorgeous. Sunlight hits her eyes, makes them glitter, and a soft, uncertain smile pulls at her pouty lips.
“We don’t pay.” My voice comes out a little rough, so I tack on a smirk to cover it. “The owners know us.”
Then I wait, seeing what she makes of those little titbits of information.
We promised not to lie. Anything she asks, we answer. But she knows so damn little—about us, this district, the realms. If she never asks certain questions, I’ve got to make sure I find a way to feed her enough without tripping her into a panic.
I want—no, I need her to trust me, but I also can’t let her leave. I can’t handle that absence again.
“But you don’t drink coffee, so how can they know you?” Her brows pull together. “Actually, how did you even know about this place?”
Ah, shit. No lying. So how the hell do I spin this without freaking her out?
“In this district, most people know us.”
She tilts her head, eyes narrowing. Ah, fuck. Too vague. “So what, you’re like… celebrities or something?”
I chuckle low, watching her brows pinch tighter as she hops onto a stool. I lean against the high counter, close enough to feel her warmth.
“Nah. But Kane and Zeek have been here since the first owners of these businesses were around.” She catches the weight I put on first, but doesn’t interrupt. “Then me and Julien joined them. And we’ve been here… a while. Zeek’s a Council member, we’re his unit. Word travels.”
She huffs a sound that’s half laugh and shock. “You are like celebrities! I bet you’ve got fan pages and everything.”
Does she like that idea or not?
Her lips curve in a soft smile, brows smooth, but she’s pulled out her phone.
She types something, then stops. “If you tell the guys what I’m about to say, I swear I’ll k—”
I smile when she cuts herself off, her eyes narrowing. Normally, I’d jump in with something. Maybe please, try and kill me, any excuse to get your hands on me, but she pivots.
“I’ll hurt you, very badly.”
Oh, fuck me.
Now’s probably not the time to tell her I’m a bit of a masochist. That the thought of her hurting me with her hands, her shadows, her teeth…
Fuck.
Come on, Sai. Think about what Julien would say. Behave, Sai. Now isn’t the time.
Imaginary Julien’s right.
So instead of saying any of that, I pinch my thumb and forefinger together and drag across my lips in a zipping motion.
Her gaze flickers, a little hesitant. “I tried to search you up, just to research you guys, see what I could find. But there’s nothing. It’s really weird.”
I grin. “You our little stalker, Red?”
Her eyes widen. “No! I was just trying to—I wanted to see…”
“More pictures of me?” My grin slides into a smirk as I drop my voice. “You want more? I can do that, better yet, I’ll take some now.”
I grab the hem of my t-shirt, pull, but barely reach the first ab before her fingers close over mine.
She’s… she’s touching me.
She made that move.
Not because we needed to flit, but because she wanted to.
Why? To stop me pulling off my top—
“Don’t you dare.” Her voice is so sexily vicious.
I stop immediately, studying her eyes darting around the empty shop.
Was that… jealousy in her voice?
No. No fucking way.
I can’t be this lucky.
I already made sure the shop was shut to the public; no way I’m letting any other fuckers look at her. Except that damn server. Still deciding if his staring is crime enough to earn him a trip to the Pit...
But then Red’s darkness stirs, licking at the edges of mine, and all my focus snaps back to her.
“What’s wrong, Red?” I tease, basking in the heat of her fingers still on mine.
“You can’t just go around stripping wherever and whenever you want! I mean…” Her eyes flick to my t-shirt. “That thing barely counts as clothing. It’s practically see-through.”
“Is it?” I take my chance, catch her hand with my free one, pry her fingers open and flatten her palm against my stomach.
Fuck. She’s right.
The heat of her skin seeps straight through, burning into me. The fabric’s so threadbare it may as well not exist. I wish it didn’t.
“What’s wrong with it?” My voice comes out too soft, too hoarse. But fuck, she feels so good.
“Too thin.” Her fingers shift, pressing in, brushing slowly over my stomach, and every muscle jumps under her touch.
This is agony.
But I want it.
So bad.
“You don’t need to stalk us, Red.” The rasp in my voice only makes her glare sharper, like she hates that word even more. I just smirk. “You have us.”
Her eyes soften, and she’s still touching me, still looking up at me all soft, and so damn pretty.
“Ask me anything, anything you couldn’t find out, anything you want to know. Tell me what you want, and I’ll give it. Information, pictures, my soul, anything.”
Probably shouldn’t have said the soul bit out loud, but I mean it.
I never let her hand go, keeping it pressed to my stomach even as I drag a stool behind me closer and sit, bracketing her legs with mine, trapping her and causing her knees to touch my thighs.
“Ask me, Red,” I murmur.
She swallows, eyes flickering over me before she finds her words.
“Well, I started researching bonds, but everything is so heavily restricted with the lockdown. I couldn’t get onto many things, or talk to anyone.
And then I…” She peeks up, sheepish. “I tried to find you guys, to get information. But I didn’t even know what to search for.
I only had your first names. I tried combining them with ‘enforcers’ and ‘Council member’, but… nothing.”
“What are you trying to ask here, Red?” I lean closer, elbow propped on the counter, bringing our faces just inches apart. “What do you want to know? Ask me.”
“Are you all already bonded? Like a platonic bond? Or familial, or…” She doesn’t say the next one, hanging onto the silence in hopes I’ll fill it.