Chapter One-Hundred-And-Twenty-Three

Chapter One-Hundred-And-Twenty-Three
Ryder

It hadn’t occurred to me until then that I’d even harbored any jealousy towards a man I hadn’t met, but a quick assessment proved that accusation true.

She examined my feelings, taking them out to explore them while I pushed them back.

When her muscles pulsed, I was back to distraction.

Each time my cock slid inside of her, the need to take her again and again became more distinct. A bond snapped into place as the spicy, erotic blood flooded my mouth, my mind embracing hers entirely as the last tumbler fell into place. It was one of the single most comforting moments I’d ever had.

It was nothing more than a thick thread to connect us, nothing demanding about it, about her. Something that was freely given and received with no expectations. Something we both had never before considered having with anyone else.

We’d been lost in the moment, but our saving grace was that our Curses wouldn’t ever allow us to bond with someone that wasn’t in our or its best interest. Our deeper instincts tried to protect us, even when we were otherwise occupied.

I licked her luscious breast to close the wound and felt the darkness recede. When I stood, she stayed formed around me like a glove.

“And here I thought cling-ons were supposed to come off in the shower.”

She giggled against my chest.

I grabbed a large fluffy towel to dry her off. There was a more straightforward way for my kind, but touching her was too much to resist.

I entered the bedroom and sat in my over-stuffed armchair in the corner. Pulling the ottoman before me, I leaned back with her in my arms.

“Let’s try for another nap, shall we? And stay asleep this time,” I chastised when she yawned delicately and cuddled into the oversized towel.

“Thank you for trusting me.”

I stayed silent, listening to Catalym’s soft breathing for a moment. I knew she was asleep when her body relaxed, melting into mine.

When she began to shiver, I concentrated on clothing her in pajamas. I grabbed the towel and rubbed it over her damp hair, then gave up and whispered a spell. There was just so much of it.

I conjured a pair of sweats, keeping my chest bare to allow her to cuddle the warmth. Her breathing tickled my skin, and she sighed.

I liked to feel her as close to me as possible. Knowing she was safe comforted me in some way. My protective streak was bad enough already, but now it rushed to the surface.

The CD player on the other side of the room flicked on with a thought, and the radio began to play softly. A familiar tune lulled my senses until I was no longer completely aware of the room.

I must’ve dozed off at some point because when Kev crashed into the room, I hadn’t been expecting it. The door rebounded off the wall when the tall man loped into the room and jumped on the bed.

“You guys awake yet?” he asked.

His happy-go-lucky attitude shone through the goofiness with a lopsided grin. He always presented an upbeat nature; most of the time, he just had to walk into a room to make people smile. It was just one of his talents, not a power, but a skill.

There was a violent flip-side to him through. If provoked, his deceptive happiness would dissolve until there was no more than an emotionless, deadly predator left in its wake. The person Kev was on a hunt for and who he was to all of us were not the same.

His cunning and ability to use his opponent’s best defense against his adversary were unparalleled in our Coven. Once he had his target’s scent, he would never stop until he had found and dealt with his goal, no matter how unlikely his chances were.

“We are now,” Catalym’s muffled voice floated beneath my shoulder. One of us had shifted during our nap, and we lay haphazardly on the chair with our limbs tangled together like we had that morning. 

“Good. Time to get ready for work there, girly. We have a strict taskmaster to appease,” Kev cheerily reprimanded. He bounced on the bed like an oversized child.

I knew the men must’ve discussed matters while we were asleep; it was inevitable. Who knew what they’d planned in the afternoon, which had bled away in my distraction, not that I minded. I wouldn’t have spent it any other way.

Catalym stretched on top of me like a contented cat. She opened her blurry eyes, looked around the room, and then turned to what she was dressed in. One delicate brow rose in amusement, the question plain on her face.

“Did it have to be pink?” she grimaced painfully.

“It’s your favorite color, even if you lie and tell people it’s blue.” I stretched the stiffness from my neck, wondering how long we’d been in this position without moving.

“’ Kay, don’t tell anybody that. My brother would ridicule me for being just another sissy girl for at least a century. As far as he knows, I have no girly tendencies except candles.” Her laughter encouraged a smile to tug at my mouth. But it was mostly because I’d noted the careful surprise in her mind at how at ease she felt.

“Why would he care?” Kev asked innocently. But I had no doubt he knew much more about Catalym’s previous situation than his face revealed.

Kevlar always had his ins and with Holly in the know…What could have possibly been said? Not everything, because it would’ve pissed me off. But he wasn’t above giving Kev enough to piece it together.

The three of us had a close relationship. Holly and I were the ones responsible for teaching Kevlar the ways of this life, the vast difference from his brutal upbringing that none of us could ever touch. And that said a great deal when it came to us.