Page 294 of Conquered

I’m nodding before he’s even finished, spying the bags of clothes that I hadn’t yet taken upstairs and run through my outfit choices.

“Yep, I’ll grab a black, taxicab. Gimmie, say, twenty, and I’ll meet you there?” I reply, jamming the phone between my ear and shoulder as I rifle through the bags, spotting a floral mini dress that’ll work for a club.

“Alone?”he questions, his tone guarded.

“I’ll see you there, Roman,” I respond, not answering his question then hanging up.

Grabbing the dress, I ignore the nausea floating around my stomach, the guilt trying to tighten my chest.I’ll leave a note, and I’ll be with Roman, maybe even Rowan so it’s not like I’m all alone,I reason to myself as I strip out of my PJs, grabbing a new bra out of the bag and getting ready.I’m a grown arse young woman, why the fuck shouldn’t I go out?

LOKI

Gone out with the twins, back later

Lilly

I read the note, my stomach dropping. Ash is going to lose his shit when he sees this. Letting out a deep breath, I run my hand through my hair trying to decide on the best course of action.

“Lilly’s fucking gone,” Ash rasps out, his voice tight and panicked as he comes clattering down the stairs, the circles under his eyes prominent in the dark.Aw, shit.

With a resigned sigh, I hand over the note, watching his forehead crease and the paper crumple in his hand. I wince at the punishment Lilly will receive for this.

“She just needs—” I start, stopping mid-sentence when he looks at me with flared nostrils and swirling eyes. Beneath the rage is a desperate worry, his hand coming up to twist and pull at his hair.

“We’re losing her, Loki,” he murmurs, his shoulders slumping as his arms fall down by his sides. “I don’t know how to bring her back and let her have her freedom.”

“I know,” I assure him, reaching out and clasping his shoulder. I have no words of comfort to offer, nothing that will fucking help us. We can’t make her talk about what she went through.

Jax and Kai stomp down the stairs, the sound loud in the quiet of our misery.

“Lilly’s at Depravity,” Kai states before he’s even reached us, and I notice that they’ve both hastily gotten dressed. “One of the Shadows’ clubs.”

“How do you know?” Ash interrogates, and even I grimace at his harsh tone.

“Roman sent a text to us all,” Jax interjects, holding up his phone for us to see. Ash snatches it out of his grip, his eyes tracing across the screen.

“Maybe we should…” I suggest, and three sets of eyes land on me. “You know, leave her tonight?”

“No,” Ash states, voice hard and jaw clenched so I know that I’ve already lost. “She can’t just disappear, not again.”

“Okay,” I say gently, catching his eye and begging him to calm the fuck down. “Just let me talk to her first.”

He doesn’t respond straight away, his ink-covered chest rising and falling with deep breaths. Then he gives me a single,sharp nod, a slight dip of his head, and the breath leaves me in a quiet whoosh.

Pretty Girl, I hope you’re ready for the wrath of your Knights.

LILLY

I let the haunting voice of Hannah Reid from London Grammar wash over me as I sway my body to the beat ofWasting My Young Years. The vibe is chilled tonight, indie pop being the music of choice currently by the very talented DJ up on stage.

I left the twins at the bar to weave my way through the crowd and lose myself to the music, to the press of hot, sweaty bodies, and the anonymity of being lost in a sea of people.

Suddenly, a hard, hot body presses to my back, strong hands grasping my hips and pulling me tightly against what is undoubtedly a man. I’m about to step away when aching familiarity washes over me with his vanilla and cocoa scent.

Not wanting to break the illusion of dancing with a stranger, I don’t say a word, bringing my hands up to tangle in his soft hair and pull him closer. If his feel and smell didn’t tell me who he is, the way his figure moulds to mine as we dance is enough to assure me that my trickster Knight is at my back, pressing his torso and pelvis flush with my back as we dance.

We move together, not saying a word, even when the song slows and we’re barely more than swaying side to side. Although with Loki, it’s never just a simple dance, his body is undulating like some kind of erotic dancer until I’m all kinds of flushed and panting from more than just the heat in the room.

The song changes intoSilenceby Marshmello & Khalid, and another body presses against my front, sweet lemon filling mysenses and forcing my closed lids open. I see my gorgeous, Viking Knight reaching out for me and pulling me closer to him.