Page 29 of Temptation Unleashed (Talaenian Fae #3)

“ T hose exams were brutal.” Brandon slung his bookbag over his shoulder and gathered Rori’s bag as she packed away pens in her purse. “Glad I’m planning to stay far away from psych. This class is my kryptonite.”

Rori snickered and shook her head, fixing the strap of her purse on her shoulder. She gathered her hair into a loose ponytail and tied it in place. “Why?”

“Too gray. The mind can be a frightening place.”

Her slight smile dropped as she lowered her head, taking her bag from Brandon.

The mind was frightening. It made certain people unpredictable and dangerous.

She compared psych to walking into a foggy room with little definition, not knowing what lurked in the corners of a room she couldn’t make out.

All she knew was danger might reside around one corner while pain and suffering hovered in another. Nothing was safe.

“Well, it comes with the field. Even if you don’t go into psych, you’ll have patients with underlying psychological problems that we have to understand in order to treat them as a whole.”

“Coming from the straight-A student.”

Brandon held the door open for her as they left the classroom, the last two out.

In the hallway, he kept close to her side, his presence inciting a mixture of emotions within herself.

Part of her wanted to lean into him, seek familiarity and comfort in his frame.

Part wanted to excuse herself from his company.

This ongoing turmoil she found herself battling since Thaddeus’s appearance in her life left her walking broken paths.

“Helps when you have a little personal experience with a psychologically disturbed man.” Times two.

One was a straight-up psychopathic narcissist while the other was probably teetering on the brink of being sociopathic with a hefty dash of God complex.

“You already decided to go into critical care anyhow.”

“You’ll be with me.”

Rori laughed and nodded. “We’ll see where the last semester takes us with preceptorship.”

Brandon draped an arm around her shoulders as they crossed from the air-conditioned hallway to the humid afternoon outdoors.

Rori’s fist tightened around her purse strap to keep herself from pushing him away.

The volatile desire to put as much distance between them as possible struck her hard, leaving her stunned.

The contact wasn’t something new with them.

Brandon often had an arm around her shoulders when they left together, yet today, his casual gesture struck an awkward chord in her chest. It made her scan her surroundings, searching for something or someone as the root cause of the discomfort.

“Any news of an arrest?”

“Not yet. I wouldn’t be surprised if he suspected I’d file a report and his freedom would be on the line.

If he’s not behind bars, he’s lying low until he comes up with some plan to evade capture.

Restraining orders are only as good as the person who follows them.

Otherwise, they become a means of contention with the ability to spark more violence. ”

“Well, he wouldn’t dare come near you. Between Steve and myself, you’re safe.”

“I’m just tired of living each day looking over my shoulder.” She patted his hand on said shoulder. “It drains a person of energy after a while.”

Brandon gave her a gentle squeeze, bringing her closer to his side.

“Let us be your refueling. Let’s skip the beachside scene this weekend and go somewhere local tonight.

You and I are closing, Cassy will hang around until we’re done, and Steve can meet us wherever we decide to go.

I’m sure everyone will be on board with the slight change of plans.

” He raised his hand with a bright smile.

One that highlighted his handsome dimples and added a spark to his deep brown eyes. “I’m driving, so you can let loose.”

Rori nudged him in the ribs with her elbow. “I can always count on you to encourage the worst behavior in me.”

“Only once in a while. When it’s needed.” He tapped her nose. “And it’s far past that point, hermosa .” He released her shoulder, digging his keys from his pocket. “Hungry?”

“Maybe for something light.”

“Want to grab something then?”

“Sure.”

The music pulsed at a deafening level, reverberating through the floors.

Fog from multiple machines hidden within alcoves and architecture added to the dark, throbbing ambience, cut through by multicolor strobe lights.

The dance floor was packed, patrons two to three deep around the bar.

Alcohol flowed freely, warming up muscles, loosening tensions, and creating a temporary reprieve from the stresses of everyday life.

Brandon clinked his tumbler to the group’s glasses. “Cheers to another week in the books!”

“You’ve got that right,” Cassy agreed, tipping back the shot she chose to cheers.

Rori snickered, following her friend’s lead with her own shot.

She’d forgotten how many she’d thrown back and had reached a point that she didn’t care.

She felt warm, good, carefree for the first time in weeks, fully “letting lose,” as Brandon strongly encouraged. “Our girl needs another shot!”

“I’ve got a drink,” Rori said slowly, enunciating each word. God, her tongue felt so heavy and her lips tingly. She took up her martini glass and winked at Cassy. “Let me make headway on this.”

“That frou-frou drink won’t do the job.” Cassy waved down a server as he wove through people making their way to the dance floor. He smiled as he sidled up to the table, tucking his tray beneath his arm. “Can we get a round of”—Cassy licked her lips—“killer pussy shots?”

“Cassy!” Rori shrieked, eyes wide. Cassy ticked her finger toward her. Beside her, Cael fell back against the chair and folded his hands on top of his head, his eyes smoldering as he drank in her best friend with a dark half-grin. “Naughty, naughty girl.”

“That’s one I’ll agree to. Not the blowjob shot.

” Brandon braced his forearms on the table, a shaded smile growing across his handsome mouth.

A mouth Rori caught herself looking at a bit too much tonight.

Especially when it earned her a cautionary assessment from Cael, and a knot formed in her gut.

Brandon’s gaze dropped briefly from Cassy to Rori, that smile turning predatory.

“Though watching you two do those is entertaining. Ah!” He clapped the tabletop. “And two blowjob shots for the ladies!”

“Definitely entertaining,” Cael agreed, lacking the amusement. His eyes narrowed on Rori when she looked at him. He wobbled in the chair. Or maybe that was the building. She laughed and rubbed her temple. I’m drunk. “You good?”

“’Course she is. Look at her, all flushed and twinkly-eyed! She’s looking the best she’s looked in months!” Cassy fell into Cael, her mouth brushing along his jaw. “Let’s dance.”

“I like that idea,” Brandon agreed. He stood up, grabbed Rori by the hand, and led her to the dancefloor ahead of Cael and Cassy.

Rori stumbled over her weak legs, fumbling to straighten out her skirt.

She clung to Brandon’s arm as he wove deftly through the crowd.

When he found a spot among the dense wall of bodies, he twisted around, adjusted his hold around her waist and pulled her flush to him.

“It’s been a few weeks since we last danced, mi hermosa . ”

Rori giggled, numerous shots and drinks casting aside any and all worries, numbing her to everything except for the sensual sway of their hips, the humid air that left her skin faintly damp, and the exhilarating ride of defiance. She simply didn’t care what happened tonight.

“Long overdue,” he whispered against her ear.

“We’re a natural dance pair.” Rori slipped a hand behind his neck, the tips of her fingers teasing the ends of his hair. “Have been for years.”

Rori closed her eyes, moving with the music, with Brandon, barely registering his hand on her lower back, or the one that slipped up her side.

She lost herself in the motion, the comfort she found with her friend, the ease of holding onto no worries.

She’d concern herself with the consequences of her actions when she woke up in the morning.

Tonight, she wanted to forget.

Everything.

I hope Thaddeus sees me now.

“I think we’re natural together in more ways than dancing.”

Rori lifted her head, heavy on her shoulders, and blinked slowly up into Brandon’s face.

The shadows and lights played over his features like a dream, hitting the cuts and angles perfectly.

They’d slowed, the music no longer guiding them.

Brandon reached up and traced her jaw, teasing the wavy lock of hair that caressed her cheek.

He leaned down, slowly, watching her as she watched him, helpless to stop him, wanting him to come closer. A faint throb pulsed in her chest, a strange sensation that didn’t fit with the situation, but a sensation she couldn’t understand.

His fingers combed into her hair, angling her head as her eyelids grew heavy. The heat of his mouth teased her lips?—

Her body tore away from Brandon. She nearly fell over her own feet as she was spun away, the sudden motion sending her stomach on a rollercoaster ride and her head into a dizzying tilt-a-whirl.

She whimpered as she knocked into something— someone —solid, smacking the heel of her palm to her forehead, trying to keep the world from shifting and tilting in a nauseating vertigo.

Then she realized the music had faded, leaving a muffled resonance in her ears.

She snapped her head up. Instantly regretted the sharp motion as her stomach revolted.

Standing in front of her, Thaddeus. Thaddeus, in all his sinful glory, a hand fisted at Brandon’s collar. He held her firmly by the forearm, though painlessly, shielding her from Brandon’s sight.