Chapter 30 Chapter Fourteen Part One - Orenda
Walking up the stairs to my bedroom I still can’t wipe the smile off my face. It wasn’t until tonight that I realised that most – if not all – of my friendships are based around duty and necessity. Spending time with Invidia I see what a real friendship should be like; fun, relaxing and somewhere to turn when you’re at your lowest. Having a few drinks and dancing the night away was exactly what I needed to distract myself from everything going on in my life.
As I reach the top of the stairs I freeze in place, the mild spinning of my inebriated mind suddenly being hit with clarity as I feel a blanket of coldness covering the third floor. My eyes focus on my closed bedroom door as I try to envision what – or more accurately who – I will find on the other side. For a second, I consider turning around and trying to sneak out of the house, but I quickly dismiss the cowardly thought. Between the two of us, that’s his style, not mine.
I take a deep breath, steel myself, and walk towards my door. Having decided to take a few leaves out of Azadou’s book, I nonchalantly enter my room and train my eyes on anything but the source of enthralling frigidity. I casually stride over to the closet, opening the folding doors as I slip out of my heels. I can feel his eyes burning holes into the back of my skull and sense the distant echoes of anger and disbelief bubbling deep within me. A brief smirk tugs at the corner of my mouth, but I quickly school my face into a mask of insouciance. The air in my room is suffocatingly thick and growing thicker by the second. I swear I feel the electrons moving between us, filling the room with an electric charge so intense I fear for the well-being of my room.
I gather my heels off the floor and place them neatly on a shelf, then begin lazily perusing my closet for something to wear to bed, tapping my foot in exaggerated contemplation. Might this be considered petty and childish? Perhaps, but I’m done being the one who chases after someone only to be met with indifference. I’m tired of being the one to initiate communication only to be left with deafening silence.
Azadou may have kicked Jartre out of first place as the most stubborn being in the cosmos, but I’m about to give them both a run for their money.
I comb through hangers, clicking my tongue and smacking my lips together for added annoyance, sensing the rage and frustration growing in Azadou. If we were fully bonded, I’m sure the full weight of his emotions would crush me.
“Just how long do you think you can ignore me?” His deep voice fills the room, dripping with vexation.
The feeling of victory rushes through me as Azadou is the first to break the silence.
I look over my shoulder, blinking in feigned surprise. “Azadou. How long have you been sitting there?” I innocently ask.
Azadou’s intense purple eyes narrow at me, sparking as an electric storm brews within them while he remains seated on the edge of my bed like a shirtless bronze statue, the black of his hair almost disappearing into the shadows of my room. His hands form tight fists on his thighs, causing the veins in his arms to bulge, but I continue to act oblivious.
“We both know you were aware of my presence,” he remarks coldly.
I merely shrug and walk over to the chest of drawers opposite my bed and retrieve an oversized nightshirt, feeling his eyes following my every move. I turn to face him, refusing to look at his body or the potentially distracting black sweatpants he’s wearing.
“Can I help you with something?” I ask with disinterest.
His eyes slowly look me over, darkening with lust. “I’m surprised you’re so comfortable playing with the safety of those mortals you seem to love so much.”
My brows knit together as his words throw me off my performance. “What are you talking about?”
“Letting those mortals at that club lasciviously look at what is mine. Tell me, is it the attention you enjoy or were you hoping I would gouge their eyes from their skulls?” he taunts, smirking darkly at me.
An unsettling chill runs down my spine, but this is not the kind that brings me pleasure. Is he actually threatening to mutilate anyone who checks me out or who he perceives as checking me out? The same God who brought me to orgasm in that very club for anyone to see, is now playing the role of the jealous boyfriend? While I’d be stupid not to see even an ounce of truth in his words, something tells me he’s just trying to draw a reaction from me.
I fold my arms over my chest and stare at him defiantly. “It sounds to me like you were spying on me,” I point out, shifting the focus of the conversation.
Azadou’s smirk slackens, and I can see how thrown he is by my response, making this feel like a second victory.
“Spying would imply you were unaware of my presence, and we both know that isn’t true,” he counters, raising a knowing brow.
I scrunch my face in deep contemplation, “Hmm, do we? Because I don’t recall seeing you there and you’re very hard to miss.”
His jaw ticks in anger as he balls the fabric of his sweatpants in his hands. I can’t help feeling smug, knowing I’ve got him backed into a corner. He doesn’t get to spy on me while cloaking himself from my eyes, then try and act jealous as if me living my life is my way of teasing him.
“Are you sure you want to play this game?” he challenges, his jaw filled with tension.
“You may thrive on mind games Azadou, but I don’t and frankly, I’m sick of being at the mercy of them,” I declare in indignation, fed up with him seeing our bond as a game.
I turn on my heel to leave, only to feel fire shooting through my arm as Azadou takes a firm hold of my wrist. I look back, gulping when I see his eyes glowing and nostrils flaring. I sense his rage and a mix of other emotions too scrambled and dull for me to comprehend.
He yanks me with more force than he needs, pulling me down across his knees. A woosh of air leaves my lungs and an ache spreads through my torso as my body connects with his granite-like thighs. I drop my nightshirt in an attempt to brace myself and whip my head around to stare at him in shock.