Page 51 of Bleed the Shadows

He pressed his lips to the sensitive skin under my ear and I closed my eyes, determined not to release the sigh of pleasure that rose inside me.

My nipples were hard, my body screaming for him, and I gripped the counter behind me as he trailed kisses along my jaw. He lifted one big hand to cradle my neck and stroked my cheek with his thumb as his lips reached the corners of my mouth.

He touched his lips there, then did the same to the other side of my mouth before pressing his lips to mine.

And that was when I kneed him in the balls.

He reared back and doubled over. “What thefuck, Maeve?”

His face was red, either with pain or anger. Or both maybe.

I glared at him, willing my body to stand down, my breath to return to normal. “You had your chance.”

Which was right when Reva came around the corner. She took in Bram, still doubled-over, then clocked my position by the sink.

She smirked, like she knew exactly what had happened. “Looks like somebody got too big for his britches.”

He gasped, trying to catch his breath, then straightened with as much dignity as he could muster — which honestly wasn’t much — before heading for the hall. I didn’t think it was my imagination that there was a hitch in his step.

“I hope he’s okay,” I said, staring after him. “But a girl’s got to have some self-respect.”

Reva patted me on the shoulder and nodded. “You’re darn tootin’ she does.”

33

POE

I watchedthe Stop ’N Sip from inside the Hummer and waited for Bram to tell me what was on his mind. He was obviously brooding, but I wasn’t going to pull it out of him for fuck’s sake.

We were parked at the edge of the lot and I watched as a laughing couple emerged from the gas station carrying big plastic cups.

“I can’t believe this fucker,” Bram muttered.

“We don’t know for sure.”

We were casing the place because we’d heard Matty Sullivan, a small-time drug dealer at the edge of town, was buying drugs from an unapproved wholesaler.

“How long has it been since he’s bought from Tank?” Bram asked.

“Six months.”

“Exactly.”

Matty hadn’t bought from our suppliers in six months, but rumor had it he’d been seen selling at the Stop-n-Sip the week before.

We could do the math.

Keeping the approved dealers tight was a matter of both money and safety. Money because we owned Blackwell, and anything black market sold through us. Safety because we weren’t about being up in people’s business if they wanted to do a little blow, but we didn’t want that blow cut with fentanyl or something even more dangerous, which was always a possibility when it was brought in through an unapproved supplier.

“Have you heard from Neo?” I asked, changing the subject. There was no point getting our panties in a twist about Sullivan until we had proof he was still selling.

“He said we can come by later this week.”

“Good.” If anyone would know how Ethan Borkowski/Todd/whatever-the-fuck-his-name-was had ended up at Aventine, it would be the Kings. They were out of school now, but once upon a time, they’d ruled the roost, and they still kept an eye on things there.

Silence settled between us in the car. I tapped the wheel and watched the edges of the parking lot for Matty’s shitty green Honda.

“I think I really fucked up,” Bram finally said.