Addicted
Blaine had a brother?
I knew he was the only child in his adopted family back in Mystic Harbor, but I never considered what his real lineage might be. I went from gawking at the man’s runes to studying his face, trying to find a familial resemblance. I wasn’t really seeing it. Blaine’s cheekbones were sharp, high, angular, and his serpentine eyes were so pale they looked like that of a young wolf. His brother’s face was more oval, accompanied by hooded bedroom eyes darker than his hair. The man beside me may have been more rugged, but Blaine was still unquestionably more handsome.
And I had plenty of time to make further comparisons. A good hour passed before we finally pulled off some remote back road into a gravel parking lot. I honestly wasn’t sure what state we were even in anymore. An inky blue farmhouse rested up ahead where muffled melodies greeted us as we stepped out of the beaming new Cadillac. The stranger gestured for me to follow, and we passed by a few old-fashioned whiskey barrels at the entrance, seeing a sign that read, “Nucky’s Hideaway.”
“Val!” greeted the hostess as my traveling companion and I approached her at the end of the front hall. Based on the dozens of 1920s jazz photographs lining the walls, it was safe to assume this place was a speakeasy. “How lovely to see you again! Table for two? We’re a bit full tonight, so it’ll be a wait.”
“That’s alright,” said the stranger—Val. “We’re just here to find someone.”
The woman nodded with a smile as she motioned us on, but then paused, taking another look at me, at the tattooed band wrapped around my left ring finger. “You’re…? Oh, well now...” The hostess took her time admiring me from head to toe. “Aren’t you just delicious.”
She bared her teeth, revealing pointed canines as her eyes flashed a golden yellow.
Hellhound.
“Ah…thank you,” I muttered, my nerves clearly getting the better of me.
Val chuckled, wrapping his arm around me as he guided me into the bar. “Don’t mind her. It’s just that your reputation precedes you with a few folks of the demonic persuasion.”
“Reputation?”
“You know. You and my brother, a.k.a. Hell’s cutest couple,” he affirmed.
I attempted a smile, but it was shaky at best before I suddenly gasped, pinching my eyes shut as I instinctively covered my lips. The tantalizing sweet scent hit me hard, compelling my fangs to jut out from the roof of my mouth. This very reason was why I refused to attend high school parties anymore. Hormones and alcohol were a surefire combination of lustful behavior. But even the most sexed-up high school rave couldn’t compete with this place. The overwhelming scent left my body buzzing with a high I could only imagine cocaine addicts would understand.
“Hey.” Fingers brushed my chin, forcing my head up. “Open your eyes.”
“I can’t,” I murmured.
Val let out a low laugh. “Open your eyes.”
“I. Can’t.” I couldn’t risk a crowded lounge seeing my eyes like this.
To my complete and utter horror, Val ripped my hand away from my lips. With my fangs completely jutted out, I couldn’t close my mouth, leaving the pointed incisors on full display for anyone to see.
“What are you doing?” I shrieked, forcing my eyes open. I’d been prepared to bolt for the door, but the sight in front of me glued me in place.
Val’s towering frame lingered right above me, his eyes as red as blood and his fangs as sharp as razor blades. “Look around.”
Still petrified to be seen like this—like a monster—I stole a quick glance at the other patrons. Wait…
All their eyes were completely black or glowing yellow. Every last person in here. They were all either demons or hellhounds.
Val smiled. “This is the one place where our kind never has to hide our true nature.”
And he was right. People glanced at us, with our fangs and red eyes on display, and they all simply nodded or smiled.
“Freeing, isn’t it?” Val purred into my ear. “We put wards up all around the joint, making it impossible for anyone who isn’t demonic to find this place. No humans, angels, or Reapers allowed.” I sighed, only inciting his smile to grow. “It’s a shame my brother didn’t take you here sooner. Seems you could’ve used it.”
This felt…amazing.
I’d spent how much time trying to rein myself in, to not allow myself a slipup. And yet here I was, in full exposure to everyone, and nobody cared. Nobody was scared. Nobody was running away, screaming, “freak!” Nobody had a gun aimed at my chest. Nobody judged me.
And the ugly truth that I needed to be in a room surrounded by Hell’s Finest in order to feel normal quickly killed my buzz.
Val unreservedly hooked his arm around my waist, guiding me inside a dimly lit dining hall full of rich leather furnishings, elegant red velvet couches, and gleaming hardwood floors as everyone chatted loudly over the live jazz band.
“I’m gonna grab us some drinks,” remarked Val over the clamor. “Wait here.”
I turned to protest, but he’d already disappeared into the throng of people as he headed to the bar. I caught the growing number of eyes suddenly taking notice to me. Whispers were bountiful, and certain words clung to my skin like cellophane. ‘Marked,’ ‘mate,’ some… seriously graphic profanity.
“Think it’s legit? I mean, mates are supposed to be all over each other. Sitri would’ve presented her to the Master by now if they were together. Right?” remarked someone to my left.
The person beside the commentator cast me an enigmatic grin, nudging their friend. “It seems we’ll just have to wait and see for ourselves.” Both men took notice to the rune wrapped around my ring finger, inciting dangerous smiles.
I was officially going to vomit.
I took a step back, only to knock shoulders with another patron. “Oh, sorry,” I muttered. Then I looked up. And I was anything but sorry.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t Little Miss Goodie Two Shoes Gone Bad.”
He looked so much more imposing than I last remembered. Although, most of my memories of Daniel were nice ones, back during a time when he wasn’t pure evil and trying to kill my best friend—a.k.a. his own girlfriend. But there my former classmate stood, his wavy brown locks falling into his eyes, just above a shit-eating grin. He’d once been so sweet, so caring, and completely in love with Carly. That man was long dead, replaced by a merciless killer who still wore his face.
“Oh, how the Mighty have fallen,” the Hellhound mocked, invading every inch of my personal space as he hovered over me. His interest immediately homed in on the fangs I hadn’t managed to retract yet. “Diggin’ the new accessories, Princess.”
I shuddered at the nickname. Only Reese called me that, and it was a playful reference to Princess Leia from Star Wars. Not because Blaine, the Crown Prince of Lust, had apparently damned me into becoming his eternal mate, and therefore his Princess.
“How’s my girl doing?”
“Your girl?”
“You can’t tell me Carly hasn’t been pining for me,” Daniel crooned. “That little spitfire needs a real man to get her pilot lit, and boy, does she have an appetite.”
I scoffed.
He didn’t seem to appreciate the gesture, because his grin quickly turned venomous. “Perhaps I should go pay little Car-Car a visit. Remind her of what she’s been missing.” He bared his teeth with a growl, revealing vicious canines of his own as the yellow in his eyes turned to gold. “Oh, when I get my hands on her—”
My arm grew hot, and before I could think, I slammed Daniel facedown onto the nearest table, sending the shot glasses and beer bottles occupying the space to shatter on the floor. The demons seated at the table didn’t seem keen on getting involved, ditching their remaining drinks as I pinned Daniel in place. They all stood and backed away without objection.
Daniel merely snickered, his cheek still mashed against the resin wood table top. “You forget, Princess, I don’t feel pain.”
“Oh, I remember,” I sneered, wrenching both his arms behind his back. “I’d just like to see how you’re gonna get your hands on Carly when you have no arms.” The runes on my skin roared as I twisted his forearms, taking pleasure in hearing bones break.
Despite his considerable strength, Daniel couldn’t wiggle out from under my hold. My runes only grew hotter the harder he tried, seeping their potency into my limbs. Panic finally seemed to settle in, because Daniel began thrashing, hearing a loud crack! as I twisted harder.
Warmth spread over my chest. My eyes immediately snapped up, spotting him instantly across the dance floor. He seemed to share the sensation, because his spine stiffened. Slowly, he turned around, his own eyes as wide as the sky as they settled on me.
“What…?” Even his voice in my mind couldn’t find the words.
“Get off me!” Daniel barked. He threw his weight up, attempting to break free. I teased him, letting him up just enough so I could relish in knocking him back into the table. I looked back up at where Blaine had been, but he was gone.
Daniel was suddenly wrenched out of my hold, his body slamming against the pillar beside me with a gloved hand clamped around his neck.
“What did you do to her?” Blaine growled, tightening his grip.
“Nothing,” Daniel choked out. “She attacked me. Put your bitch on a leash!”
Blaine pried the Hellhound off the pillar, slamming him back into the table, this time with Daniel facing upward. The Dark Mage pulled out what appeared to be a flask from his back pocket, dangling it above the Hound’s face. A malicious grin spread across his lips until it stretched into a cruel smile.
Something about the flask made Daniel suddenly go still. “Come on, man. Take it easy. I didn’t break your order. I never laid a hand on her.”
“What did you just call her?”
Daniel squirmed, knowing full well he was in trouble, and that glimmer of fear only made Blaine laugh. Everything about the Prince made him appear thrilled by the present situation, but the scent in the air betrayed his veneer. It should have been floral. Instead, the sweetness that had ignited my fangs was overwhelmed by a bitter tang. Blaine was livid.
Keeping one hand pinned to the Hellhound’s throat, he flicked open the lid to the flask and began pouring its contents out onto Daniel’s face. The liquid was clear, like water, but smoke rose up from the flesh upon contact. The skin sizzled and blistered, turning a painful, beaten red. Hellhounds weren’t supposed to feel any pain, but this… Oh, Daniel felt it. Throwing his limp, broken arms up in a pathetic attempt at defense, he howled and screamed and begged for the Mage to stop, his body crumpling onto the floor as Blaine finally released his hold.
“Next time you so much as look at her in a way that displeases me,” Blaine growled, “you’re gonna be taking a bath in this shit. Understood?”
Daniel’s entire face was scorched with what looked like second-degree burns, his body trembling from the agony he was trying to suppress. He barely managed to nod.
“Good boy.” Blaine patted a gloved hand against the Hound’s seared cheek. Daniel shuddered painfully at the contact, seeming to only please Blaine more. He laughed as he removed his gloves, tossing them aside with indifference. “Now, get out of my sight.”
A couple of nearby patrons helped pull Daniel up to his feet, careful not to touch any of the liquid dampening him.
The haltered graphic tee I wore was completely bare down the length of my back, and Blaine’s bravado didn’t wane as he rested his hand on the small of my back, pulling me into him. “Well, it appears even angels can be naughty, because you look like the Devil tonight. Killer bite.” He, too, admired my fangs, cupping my chin with his free hand. I wanted to slap it away and push him off me, but I knew better in a place like this. We had an audience.
“Oh, that’s not the only thing about me that’s lethal,” I gritted quietly through a forced smile, feeling every last eye in the joint focused on the pair of us. “If your hand manages to venture any lower, my knee is going to find its way somewhere very specific below the front of your beltline.”
“You are positively exquisite,” he practically purred. His own smile didn’t falter as he turned me around, guiding me toward the opening of a dark hallway across the room. “Dare I ask what you’re doing here?”
Reveling in the fact I was out of sight from prying eyes with his back to the crowds, I finally slapped his hands away. “Ask your brother.”
That smug smile dissipated. “Come again?”
“That’s right.” I crossed my arms over my chest, hoping to wedge some much needed space between us. “He dropped by your place, and let’s just say he was rather…persuasive that I come with him.”
If Blaine came any closer, his entire body would’ve been fused to mine. “Did he threaten you?”
“Not exactly.”
This didn’t help the tension knitting into his brows. “There’s a killer angel on the loose, and I asked you to stay put at the one place you’d be safe. So, naturally, you…what? Got in the car with the first stranger who came to the front door?”
“It wasn’t like that,” I spat.
“Did you invite him inside?” The very way he struggled to even acknowledge Val by name told me everything I needed to know about their relationship. I rolled my eyes, but yelped as his hands seized my arms. “I’m serious, Kat. Did you invite him in my house?”
The edge in his voice set my spine stiff. “No.”
He sighed. “Then how did he get to you?”
“I was…outside,” I admitted, seeing his frustration. “And I had my reasons, so don’t even start. You can’t expect me to be held up in your house like some kind of prisoner. I didn’t even know if or when you’d be coming back.”
The slightest hint of his pirated grin returned to his lips. “You didn’t think I’d return to my own house, with you in it no less?”
I ignored the dalliance. “If you didn’t want your brother coming around, then why did you even tell him that you bought the house?”
“I didn’t.”
Oh…
“I’m gone for two minutes, and you start a bar brawl?” Val drawled, appearing over Blaine’s right shoulder. He extended a shot glass to me, which Blaine slapped away before I could even accept or decline it. “How uncouth of you, brother, when I come bearing a peace offering.”
Blaine grabbed hold of Val’s collar, throwing his body against the wall of the corridor. “Forgive me, but after your last ‘peace offering,’ my faith in you is a bit askew,” he said, pinning the silver edge of a pocketknife against the man’s throat.
Val flinched as a subtle cloud of steam rose from the scarce contact. He nevertheless laughed. “What? You gonna fight everyone in here tonight?”
“A fight implies the other party will actually be participating. I’m a hundred times stronger than you on my worst day. You’d be dead before you hit the floor.” Blaine dragged the tool across his windpipe. A small slit, the size of an elongated paper cut, bled from the tow of the knife. “Now, tell me, brother, why did you bring her here?”
Val threw his hands up in mock surrender. “Hey, don’t ask me. I was just following orders.”
“Whose?”
“Mine,” announced a lilted voice beside us.
We all looked to the far end of the hallway, finding a hale figure leaning contentedly against the wall. Scarce lights lined the corridor, and it only got darker the further along it went.
A subtle glow highlighted the individual’s mouth as the flame to a lighter lingered in front of his face. The cigarette resting between his lips burned as he took a drag, making his way towards us. “You know I don’t like roughhousing in any of my establishments,” he drawled, showcasing a conclusive English accent. “But I certainly appreciate the passion, especially concerning one’s mate.”
Blaine lowered the blade from Val’s throat and quickly stepped in front of me, obstructing my view of the stranger. It didn’t hide the sight of him for long, because he just as quickly emerged from the darkness. On the surface, he didn’t look particularly imposing. His hair was ash blonde, neatly slicked back at a medium cut, and his eyes were platinum gray, emphasized by alabaster skin. His clothes, too, were elegant yet simple; a short cotton trench coat, gray cashmere sweater, and black slacks. The cleft in his chin made his features appear softer, until he smiled. His teeth were startlingly white, and the natural tilt of his lips seemed to be pulled into an eternal leer.
“What a pleasure to see you again, Sitri. It’s been far too long.” His gaze drifted from Blaine down to me. “And this must be the illustrious Katrina I keep hearing about.”
What the hell?
Seriously, did everyone know who I was?
“My, my, my. Just look at you,” he purred, surveying me from head to toe. “Mr. Ryder here is a very lucky man, because you, my dear, are absolutely stunning.”
My befuddled expression must have said enough, because he chuckled.
“My apologies. I’ve let my manners escape me.” He extended his hand. “I have many names, but you may call me Raelynd.”
My skin crawled as I shook his hand, but I still managed an uneasy smile.
The stranger’s eyes gleamed with wicked delight, casting my insides cold as he released my hand back to me. “Why don’t you boys run along and fetch us some drinks? I’d like a moment alone with the lady.”
Blaine opened his mouth in evident protest, but the Englishman simply added, “I insist.” And just like that, Blaine regrettably retreated back to the bar as Val forced an arm around him and dragged him away. He shoved his brother off, his face as sickly white as snow blossoms. Definitely not a good sign.
“How can they buy drinks?” I asked, following Raelynd as he directed us to a nearby booth. “Blaine’s only eighteen, and his brother doesn’t look much older.”
The occupied table in front of us emptied out with a wave of the Englishman’s hand. Every member of the exiting party nodded to the man, silently affirming his authority over them as well. He didn’t have any runes covering his hand or wrist, so he couldn’t be a Mage, and Hellhounds were considered to be minions of the Underworld, leaving only one other alternative. Demon. And if he held dominion over a Crown Prince like Blaine, then he had to be frighteningly high up on the totem pole.
“Sit,” he ordered.
I didn’t argue.
“We don’t concern ourselves with technicalities such as age in these parts,” said Raelynd. “Some people in this joint are a lot older than they look, and the rest don’t let menial details get in the way of their fun.”
“I see.” I gave him another polite smile and returned my attention to the crowd, hoping he couldn’t sense my repulsion as he slid closer to me in the rounded booth. The back of his pointer finger teased down my arm, and it took everything in me to not flinch.
“I like what I see.”
I finally faced him again to observe a smile that was surprisingly softer than it had previously been. “And what do you see?”
“Darkness.” His touch traced its way back up my arm, but his eyes never left my face. “I’ve been watching you since you came in, and I’m quite pleased. You have his darkness inside you. Not only do you bear his mark, but you have kindred souls. Such passion and malice. It’s no wonder you’re his mate.”
Mate.
Every time I heard the word, it twisted my stomach up like a wet dishrag. I wasn’t Blaine’s mate. The old texts Dr. Madsen had lent me spoke of a true mating bond. “Equals in heart and mind.” Blaine’s bond, however, had been forged from black magic, a hex that infected its host like a merciless parasite, taking its time as it slowly warped the poor person’s mind until they became nothing but an unwitting servant to its evil. If Raelynd sensed darkness in me, Blaine had put it there.
“Together, the pair of you will be unstoppable,” he said, his hand suddenly dipping down to my stomach. “And your heirs…”
My body betrayed me, jolting far enough away to get out of his reach as I instinctively crossed my arms over my navel. My heirs? Our heirs?
Was he crazy?
His soft smile melted into a wicked grin once again. “Are we already expecting?”
“What? No!”
“Are you positive?”
“Yes,” I growled. With this stupid mating bond, Reese and I couldn’t so much as pass second base out of fear that my runes might alert Blaine, and I would sooner douse myself in boiling tar than share a bed with that bleached-blonde bastard.
Raelynd took another long drag from his cigarette, and I tried not to gag as the noxious cloud engulfed me. “Clearly, you don’t trust our kind. So, I have to ask, what could have possibly swayed you to commit to our dashing Prince of Lust?”
And there it was. The true motive for bringing me here. Everyone seemed to be under the impression that Blaine and I were hot-and-heavy, but there was clearly some skepticism from a few. This whole scene, it was a test. “Well, he’s not exactly what you’d call hard on the eyes,” I remarked, trying to regain my composure as I struggled not to choke on the building smoke. “Not to mention, he’s saved my life on a number of occasions.”
“Ah, yes, I heard about your encounter with a certain Angelorum blade. Admittedly, most of our kind would have fled from that scene faster than any poor soul trying to escape a Yoko Ono concert.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “You don’t seem to have much confidence in your workforce.”
“Oh, there isn’t a doubt in my mind of Mr. Ryder’s capabilities, but we Underworlders are beings of self-interest. The fact he would risk getting his very soul claimed is a true testament to his character.”
Claimed?
What did that even mean?
God, I was so far out of my depths with all this demonology stuff. It seemed even with all of Reese’s research, I still hadn’t scratched the surface of what I needed to know.
“Then why would he risk it?” I asked, hoping Raelynd would shed a little more light on the matter.
The Englishman slackened his arm on the top of the booth’s backrest behind my head as he once again proceeded to move closer. “I’m looking at her.”
“You give me too much credit.”
The tips of his fingers suddenly traced the top of my shoulder, and I couldn’t help but shudder ever so slightly under his touch. “Oh, I fear I still don’t give you enough.”
“Why?”
“Because, darling, as Charles Spurgeon so eloquently once said, ‘A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.’”
I didn’t have to feign my obvious look of confusion.
“You’re a magnificent actress. What I have yet to determine is, who are you really performing with?” His eyes suddenly sharpened, forcing a knot to form in the bottom of my throat. “Which is it? The Prince, or the magician?”
It was as if someone had sucker-punched me in the gut. I tried to maintain my composure, but the words still didn’t come out evenly. “I-I’m sorry?”
“You honestly think I haven’t done my research? I know of the boy-toy you’ve been stealing kisses with. Tell me, how does he fit into all this?” Raelynd queried, pulling out his cell. A quick search into its contents, and he slid the device over to me with a picture on display. It was a photo of Reese and me, on the back porch of my aunt’s house, in the middle of a lip lock! “Because you two seem genuinely chummy.”
Now I knew how celebrities felt. Violated. My heart throbbed in my chest, and I did everything I could to keep my breathing steady. “Uh…” Say something. Anything! “Um, well, it’s just that… ah… Every Reaper out there is looking for Blaine and me as a couple, so he and I just thought that having a red herring in my love life would be smart. Make them think that they just mistook me for…uh…me.”
God, it sounded even stupider out loud than it did in my head! And that was saying something. But what other excuse was there?
“Is this young man aware of you using him?”
“Do you honestly think he poses a threat to Blaine?” I tried to sound flippant in regard to Reese, but I wasn’t sure how the words came out. I casually extended my arms outward, hiding the trembling that had coursed its way into my hands. I needed to get out of here!
“Tell me, how do you feel about Mr. Ryder?”
That wasn’t exactly the question I had anticipated. “He’s a real pain in my ass. His wise remarks make me want to hit him where it hurts. And he can’t seem to convey affection without turning it into an innuendo,” I admitted. Raelynd still stared at me pointedly, proving that I needed to actually answer the question. “But…all that aside, I do care about him, and I believe he feels the same.”
“Not quite.” Raelynd spoke so matter-of-factly, and I could feel the contents in my stomach threatening to make their way back up.
Of course he wasn’t buying this. Saying that I cared about the man who had killed me and ruined my life was about as convincing as my Uncle Frank’s toupee.
The Englishman pointed over to the bar at Blaine. “You know, not too long ago, our dear boy there enjoyed the destruction he implemented on others. The world has not been kind to him, and he relished in returning the favor. He’d have a tornado rip right through the middle of a crowded church during Sunday mass if he could.” Raelynd sighed at the thought. “Now look at him. He’s domesticated. Mr. Ryder hasn’t taken his eyes off you since we sat, in the midst of some rather lovely ladies trying to earn his attention.”
I turned, and sure enough, he was right. Despite the small congregation of women flocking around Blaine with batting eyelashes, he didn’t pay mind to any of them.
“Question is, are you as committed?”
“Clearly, my saying so won’t satisfy your interest.” My words suddenly cut sharp, almost critically, earning a vicious grin from my counterpart. “But I still have to ask, why are my affections any concern to you?”
“I’m a businessman, Katrina. And you, my dear, as a Princess of Hell, are an invested asset.”
“What do you expect from me?”
“Right now?” Raelynd gave me a good, long look. “I’d like to see a little demonstration of your affection.”
My poker face vanished in an instant as I gawked back at him, blatantly appalled.
The Englishman threw his head back and laughed. “Not with me, sweetheart.” Raelynd motioned over to the bar.
My expression didn’t wane. “Blaine?”
He smiled a snake-like, tightlipped grin. “Your magician friend isn’t going to mind now, is he? Because I would hate to have to remove a handsome young man such as Mr. Blackburn from the equation.”
I…I didn’t have any other choice. He knew about Reese! One thing was for sure: I was going to murder Blaine, or at least come as close as I could without actually doing so.
“I’m not a particular fan of the PDA,” I choked out.
“With a stud like him? I find that hard to believe.” He blew a puff of smoke directly into my face this time, and I bit back a cough.
Oh, Blaine was a dead man…
“Will that be all?” I asked, preparing to slide out of the booth.
“Until next time.” His bloodcurdling grin somehow managed to tighten even further as he waved me away.
Don’t panic, Kat. Don’t panic.
I weaved between the crowds of people, heading over to the stools at the bar. Every step was too fast. Too fast. Too fast. But I couldn’t stop. If I so much as hesitated for a second, I’d find myself bolting for the doors, puking my guts out. Between Raelynd’s not-so-veiled threat towards Reese and what he was forcing me to do now, my stomach roiled, making me feel like I’d just ingested a softball. It was all the more unbearable seeing Blaine’s eyes on me out of his peripherals. I was going to Hell for sure.
As I approached, he started to turn, forcing me to grab him by the back of his hair before he could speak. There was no use in suspending the inevitable. Crushing my mouth against his, I drank up his intoxicating taste, along with the bitter sting of whiskey on his lips. The anger and terror brewing inside me provoked such aggression that it had my arm vibrating as a rune ignited.
Blaine suddenly jerked away from me, as if I’d burned him. “What are you—”
My hands remained in his hair, desperately pulling his face back down to mine. He tried speaking again, but I didn’t give him the chance. I bit his lower lip, silently commanding him to keep up. Raelynd was sure to be watching.
The bite wasn’t hard by any means, but the simple gesture had Blaine’s hands wrapping around my own forearms. The silent quiver on his left palm danced across my skin. His own rune had ignited, but it was a very, very different one.
It took Blaine not more than two seconds to respond to it with an equal ferocity. He rose up from his chair, embracing his hands now on each side of my hips. I moved between the stools, instinctively trying to find more room after blindly bumping into another patron. Blaine immediately drove my back into the bar counter, pressing me into the curve of his body. I barely had time to gasp before his mouth reclaimed mine, each kiss feverish, hungry, desperate.
His lips molded to mine, only to find their way to the side of my neck, to my throat, to my collarbone. And every inch of my skin could feel just how badly he craved it as he breathlessly moaned my name. Blaine wasn’t just kissing me. He was tasting me, devouring me, claiming me. To only make matters worse, the rune on top of my hand gently hummed, making my whole body go flush with what would best be described as a hot chemical rush. And I couldn’t quite determine if it was adrenaline caused by fear, or dopamine caused by…something else.
What was I doing? My hand wasn’t just in his hair. Both hands were, and they were raking my fingers through his mane, desperate to cling to him, to pull him closer. I wanted to murder him, and yet blood pounded in my ears from something I knew wasn’t rage.
A bright flash exploded overhead, followed by a loud crackle, startling us both enough that I managed to pull away. Of all things, the patrons around the bar gave us a round of applause, thoughtlessly wiping away flecks of what appeared to be broken glass. We looked up, seeing every last light bulb above the bar had burst! Managing to catch my breath, I took hold of Blaine’s hands, interlocking my fingers with his as his lips lingered intimately in front of mine. “I think it’s time we got out of here.”
He nodded, hovering over me for a moment, his eyes still ablaze as his breathing remained jagged.
“Please.”
Blaine finally retracted, keeping hold of one of my hands. I led him back to the front entrance, trying to keep calm as I headed up the steps to the main hallway. Our path was blocked just as we reached the top.
“Well, I stand corrected. It appears my brother here has found himself someone even more wayward than he is.” Such peculiarly wicked pleasantries caused my heated insides to turn cold again as Val peered down at me. “Just keep a good eye on her, brother. Mavericks like her rarely keep their heart open for just one man.”
I wasn’t sure if it was my emotions or Blaine’s that had ignited the Wrath rune on my arm, and I didn’t care. Pinning a hand to his chest, I threw Val back. He barely managed to keep his footing as I shoved past him, taking Blaine with me.
“Have a good one, you two,” Val called out behind us with a snicker.
As we approached the parked Cutlass outside, Blaine stepped ahead of me and opened the passenger door. Climbing in, I ignored the gesture and looked back at the entrance to the Hideaway, seeing Val leaning against the open doorway with his shit-eating grin still plastered in place. The weight of the car shifted as Blaine climbed into the driver’s seat, and I did everything I could to not pay mind to him. My body was shuddering with the dying effects of several ignited runes, making my nerves all the more heightened. It was the most horrifying high…
Blaine leaned in. “Kat—”
“Don’t,” I snapped.