Page 33 of Cinder (MC Fables #2)

E lla

I feel foolish for my reaction.

But I don’t get a moment to think about it, because two minutes after Lars leaves, Bambi walks into the kitchen and cautiously approaches me like I’m an activated bomb.

“Can we talk?”

“Sure,” I say brightly.

She takes me by the hands and squeezes them gently. “I didn’t know you were interested in Lars.”

I’m caught off guard. “Oh, I’m not int?— ”

“Mya told me.”

I’m starting to think Mya is the town crier of this clubhouse.

“If I had known, I would never have spent the night in his room.” Her eyes widen. “Not that anything happened. I mean, I offered, because I didn’t know that you were interested in him.”

“I’m not inter?—”

“But he turned me down. He slept in a chair across the room from me. I’m so sorry. Tell me you’re not mad.”

“There is nothing to be mad about. Lars and I aren’t?—”

“I’ve told the other girls that he’s off limits from now on.”

Oh my God.

What is even happening right now?

“You didn’t need to do that. Lars and I aren’t a thing.”

“But you’re interested in him.”

I pause long enough for the silence to speak volumes.

Bambi grins. And then she squeals. “I knew it. Mya was right. She’s got such a good instinct for these things.”

“You guys are getting ahead of yourselves,” I say, laughing because I’m finding it hard not to get swept up in her effervescence.

“No point dilly-dallying when you know something is gonna happen,” she singsongs.

“Nothing is going to happen. ”

But as soon as I say the words, even I know it’s a lie.

It feels like something is happening between us.

The problem is, I don’t really know what it is.

No. The real problem is you aren’t who you say you are, and once this all comes to light, everything will blow up in your face.

If you’re still alive.

“You didn’t need to tell the others to stay away from Lars,” I reiterate.

“Don’t be silly. You’re one of us now. And that means we’ve got your back.”

She lets go of my hands and gives me a big, sunny grin.

And then she hugs me.

One of those tight, squeezy hugs.

And surprisingly, I find myself hugging her right back.

Because there is a lot of comfort in her hug. And right now, it’s exactly what I need.

At the end of my shift, I decide to find Lars and give him back the money. I pass Mya in the foyer, and she lets me know she saw Lars on his way to his room.

When I get there, the door is ajar. I knock, but there is no answer. I can see the nightstand by his bed .

I mean, would it be so bad if I snuck in and put the money on his nightstand?

I knock again, but there is no answer.

Fuck it.

I push the door open and make my way toward the nightstand, but something moves in the corner of my eye, and when I turn to see what it is, I see Lars, completely naked as he towels himself off after a shower.

I gasp, and our eyes connect.

And then mine drop to the massive cock swinging between his legs.

Sweet Mary and Joseph.

I spin around and try to make my escape. “I’m so sorry.”

“Ella…” He says my name, and it’s deep and velvety, and makes me stop before I reach the door.

He comes up behind me, and I’m surrounded in all that cock—I mean heat —and I squeeze my eyes closed, but the vision of a naked Lars dripping wet from the shower and his huge cock hanging between his legs is seared into my mind.

And now he’s right behind me, and my body is humming with a million different sensations shooting off like fireworks. Most of them between my legs.

Move.

Just place one foot in front of the other and leave the room .

But I’m rooted to the spot.

Because a naked Lars is like nothing I’ve ever seen, and it’s starved me of oxygen to the brain.

“I’m so sorry… I knocked… the door was ajar… I should’ve come back... oh God .”

He’s right behind me. I can feel the heat of him.

Jesus, Ella. Move your ass.

As if he can read my mind, his voice cuts into the roar of blood in my ears. “Don’t move.”

His tone is one that commands obedience, and my skin pebbles under the ferocity of it.

I’m suddenly breathless.

His fingers run down my arms. Soft, featherlike fingertips skim across my skin, and I shiver.

He pushes my hair over one shoulder, and his lips brush against the nape of my neck.

My lips part.

My eyes close.

And I soften beneath his touch, my body melting beneath the heat of his lips and tongue against my skin.

He slowly turns me around to face him, and I can’t help it, my gaze drops to below his waist, but he’s secured a towel around his hips, and I let out a relieved breath.

He cups my face, and I lean into his touch .

I know I should run from the room, but I can’t move. Because I want this. I want one moment for me. A moment when I can forget who I am and why I am here. I want to kiss him and fall into his bed and spend the night lost in so much pleasure I forget who I truly am.

He brings his face closer, and I breathe in the sweet warmth.

His lips hover over mine. “Kiss me…”

My lips part.

I want this.

The ringing of his phone makes me jump.

Ignore it, I beg silently.

He does, and his lips find mine in a teasing kiss.

My mouth parts for him without thought, without hesitation, and his tongue slides against mine, slow at first, then deeper, demanding, like he wants to taste every hidden part of me.

A low sound escapes my throat, swallowed by the kiss as his hand fists in my hair, tilting my head back so he can take more, devour more.

But a few seconds later, his phone starts to ring again.

“Fuck,” Lars mutters. “It’s Beast.”

He answers the phone.

“Okay, I’ll be there in twenty minutes,” he says.

When he hangs up, he looks apologetic.

I know what he is going to say before he says it .

Club business.

“Do you get the feeling the universe thinks this is a bad idea?” I say.

He runs his palms down my arms. “I think it’s the universe’s way of telling us it’s going to be worth it.”