Page 22 of The Never List (Never List #1)

Axl

“I knew you were a feisty little kitten from the second I saw you dancing with Jax.” I laugh as I take her hand, eyeing Rylee’s emerald green tunic and white leggings. She’s a fucking knockout, for sure, but those are Pierce’s colors she’s wearing.

I lead her away from the main road, Kal following behind, after they’ve discarded their shoes in the carriage where Mirren waits. The Occuli linger not too far away.

We head down a set of stone steps that are as old as the kings. Their surface is cracked in some spots, the rock laid right into the solid earth and leading all the way down to the white-sand beach far below.

Rylee tips her chin, barely biting back a grin as we pause on the beach. Awareness ripples between us, a tightening tension I’ve felt every time I’ve been around her. My muscles flex at the challenge in her eyes, but there are smudges of purple beneath them, like she didn’t sleep at all last night.

I glance at Kal, a silent conversation passing between us that I understand well enough—this morning’s royal post account of last night’s execution had been brutal. No doubt witnessing the real thing kept Rylee up all night.

Fucking Baydel. His displays of power are getting out of hand, not to mention getting old. The bastard always comes up with new ways to fuck with the potentials, but this seemed…personal.

Neither she nor Kal wanted to talk about it when they first arrived, so we’re all playing the denial game like pros.

“I bet you love things with claws,” she says with an irresistible smirk.

Fuck me.

“Depends on whose claws they are,” I answer. She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes.

Kal shifts away, giving us some space as he admires the ocean at my back.

I reach down and swipe my thumb over Rylee’s cheek, studying those blue eyes of hers. There’s more happening in them than what occurred last night, and part of me wonders if that’s why Kal is here, too. Not that I mind. “You weren’t worrying about coming here, were you?”

Concern gnaws on my gut. In the past, some of the potentials have been outwardly scared of me—my size, for one. I can’t help it that I’m a six-foot-six giant with over two hundred pounds of pure muscle. Give that credit to my goddess of a mother, Tareena. Add to that my control over water, and more are sent running from me than to me.

“Not at all,” she says without a hint of hesitation, clearing some of the worry from my chest. She glances at where Kal has wandered closer to the water, his feet bare in the white sand. “Asking Kal to come with me wasn’t about you,” she continues. “It felt impossible to cut our time, despite the month being up.”

A slow grin stretches my lips. “He was that good to you, huh?”

Her eyes practically glitter. “ Very good to me.”

Heat slices through my veins, and the image of Kal fucking her senseless splays over my eyes. That quickly, I want her.

I lower my voice, gliding my hand down her arm. “I bet he made you scream in public, didn’t he, kitten?”

A shudder trembles her body. “Maybe,” she whispers. “Maybe I know how to be quiet when I need to be.”

I laugh, a pure shot of adrenaline bursting beneath my skin at her words. She’s not timid, this one, and I love it. Maybe we won’t break her.

“Does it bother you?” she asks more seriously. “That I asked him to come?”

I smirk. “There’s very little that bothers me, kitten,” I explain. I glance at Kal, then back to her. “And sharing you certainly isn’t one of them.” I take the smallest step away from her, needing the space. If not, I’ll throw her over my shoulder and take her on the closest available surface. “You choose,” I say, clearing my voice and doing my best to get the image of me and Kal taking her at the same time from my mind.

It’s impossible.

The instinct to mark her as mine is that strong. Fuck, it’s never been like this before. Maybe that’s because the kings are putting on all the pressure this time, but it feels…different.

“I just want you to be comfortable,” I tell her. “This is all new to you. I know it can be overwhelming.”

“You two aren’t,” she says, motioning to Kal, then me. “But there are elements that certainly are,” she continues, turning to look back toward where the two Occuli linger on the main road that winds through my coastal city. Mirren is standing outside the carriage, dutifully ignoring them and waiting on us with a practiced patience that’s come from years of taking care of our chaotic asses.

I smile and wave at her while she gently smooths her hand over one of the horses hitched to her carriage. She gives me a tight smile, but there is real love in her eyes. She’ll never admit it, but that woman is closer to a mother to us than our own.

A spike of sadness ripples through me. It’s an old kind of hurt that’s claimed a solid, raw spot on my soul. I barely remember my mother—only snippets from before she went to sleep.

“Kal told me what happened in the Ruby Aire with the Occuli,” I say. “That won’t happen here.” I make sure she sees the truth of that in my eyes, and Kal comes to stand at my side, gaze on Rylee, too. “Fuck those conjurers,” I continue. “They try to scare you again, they’ll find themselves in the deepest pits of the ocean.”

Her eyebrows rise, but that’s not fear churning in her eyes; it’s something else… Excitement?

Fuck me, maybe she’s Legend material after all.

“That’s only if I haven’t dropped them from a mountaintop first,” Kal adds, and I grin at my friend.

We’re almost always on the same page, despite my impulsive instincts and his calm, careful ones.

“What do you think?” I ask, motioning to the ocean behind us and then my city in front of us.

“It’s so different than the Ruby Aire,” she says, eyes on the clusters of colorful buildings. Narrow cobblestone roads split up the townhomes that seem to stack atop one another, all situated on a jutting cliff that overlooks the ocean. “It’s…cozier,” she says, returning her focus to the descent. “No offense, Kal,” she adds, smiling up at him.

“None taken.” He waves her off, eyes trailing the view. “I’ve always thought that, too.”

“I love your city,” I admit to Kal. “But I’m a sucker for the beach and the camaraderie you get from a small town that works together.”

“Small,” she says, laughing. “You think this is small?”

“Compared to the Ruby and Obsidian Cities? Yeah,” I say. She shakes her head, eyes marveling. “I guess Cedar and Silk is smaller by comparison.” I forget that she isn’t like the other potentials we’ve known—isn’t from a booming royal city that has flourished and thrived for generations. It must be an adjustment.

“Right,” she says as we walk farther onto the soft sandy beach, closer to the water as we turn to face it. “Wow.” She takes in the luscious sapphire ocean stretching out ahead of us. It touches the horizon, the sun high and bright above it. The cresting waves glisten like jewels.

My heart expands as I watch her take it in. The ocean is my home more than the villa I own on the highest peak of the cliff behind us. Her reaction to the water will tell me everything I need to know about her. The vastness of it can be overwhelming—consuming, even. But if you’re able to appreciate its infinite strength and respect it, then there is an endless well of power in it.

“Axl.” She says my name on an exhaled breath, and my senses heighten to the tone. Soft but sharp, awed but intrigued. She turns to face me, lifting her chin so she can meet my eyes. “This is unfair.”

“What is?” I tilt my head, my long black hair sweeping over my shoulders.

She waves an arm to the ocean. “You get to live here every single day? Get to see this, spend time with this every day? How is any other city supposed to compare?”

I laugh. “Every city in Lumathyst has its qualities.” I cock a brow at her, leaning down slightly. “But mine is the best.”

“A close second,” Kal argues.

She laughs then, a real, raw laugh that wafts along my bones and shakes away the darkness clinging to us from everything we’re not talking about—the execution; the secrets we know she’s hiding, thanks to Jax’s lie detection powers; the very real fact that she may not choose us in the end.

“Your highness,” someone calls to me from behind, and I turn toward the person. “I’m so sorry to bother you, but…” The young man hesitates as he looks from me to Kal and back again, bowing at the waist.

“It’s all right,” I assure him when he continues to hesitate. I hate that my people have been trained to react this way. Schooled by my father to bow, grovel, and fear my presence. I’ve tried to undo that damage for years. “What’s wrong?”

“I work on the Sapphire Six , your highness,” he says, breathless and still bowing.

“Has something happened to your ship?” I ask, instinct roaring.

Kal straightens at my side, as if he can sense the shift in me, too.

The Faders have been breaching more territory lately, and I’ve worried it was only a matter of time before they started attacking my ships. Our fishermen are vital to the survival of Lumathyst—their catches ensure we have food, not to mention the trade we do with allied kingdoms across the sea.

“Something caught hold of one of our largest nets,” he hurries to explain, and I release a tight breath. Not the Faders, thank the goddesses. “We lost it. A few of our best swimmers tried to retrieve it, but they couldn’t make it down far enough.” He wrings his hands, hesitance written all over his features.

Fuck me, the news of the execution last night must have this man on edge. I know my people respect me—something I’ve worked hard for—but they still fear the kings, and with good reason.

“I worry that if it’s left down there, an animal could get caught and—”

“I understand,” I say, cutting off his worried words. “I’ll take care of it. Give me the general location.”

Relief loosens his tight muscles so quickly, I worry he’ll topple over. He manages to stay upright but bows over and over again after giving me the details. “Thank you, your highness. Thank you so much.”

“Not a worry,” I say, waving off the young man. He hurries off the beach and up the stairs like he’s scared my generosity will wear off. Regret settles heavily inside me, but I wash it away with the hope I have for the future.

One day, my people will not cower in fear at the sight of authority.

“So, we’re going swimming?” Rylee asks, looking at Kal and then me.

“ I’m going swimming,” I answer. “You heard the kid. It’s deep—”

“You don’t think I can keep up?” she challenges, and fire licks through my veins.

“You think you can keep up with me?”

She bites her lip. “Only one way to find out.”

I flash Kal a questioning look.

He smirks, giving me a subtle nod. “You’d be surprised what Rylee can handle,” he says, and she beams up at him.

I smile, folding my arms over my chest. “You do know what I can do, right?” I ask, drawing her attention. Before she can answer, I call to the water behind me, shooting it up in pillars so high, they look like they scrape the sky.

Her eyes follow the pillars, widening with a sort of awe that makes my chest swell.

“That’s fairly impressive,” she teases.

I let the water pillars drop. “And yet you want to swim with me?” I can’t help but ask for clarification. Not one potential ever dared come into the water with me, no matter how many times I asked. They were too afraid of what lurks in the ocean, or too afraid of my control over it.

“I do,” she says. “If I can’t keep up, then I’ll just tread water and wait for you.” She turns to Kal. “Or I’ll just surface and call for you. You’ll come get me, right?”

“Always,” Kal says, his tone drenched in a trust and longing I can’t fully understand yet.

I really shouldn’t let her come out this far—it can be dangerous to anyone who isn’t me—but it’s hard to resist her when she’s looking up at me like that, all big blue eyes full of challenge and fire. Fuck, she’s going to get me into so much trouble.

But she’s right. If it’s too much for her, Kal can fly her out in seconds flat. Between the two of us, she’s more than safe.

“All right, kitten,” I say, nodding toward the stairs. “Go change into a suit. My boat is just down the beach.”

“Yay!” She claps, her words practically a squeal as she rushes toward the steps, bounding upward to where Mirren waits at the carriage with her effects.

“Oh, Rylee?” I call to her, and she halts, spinning around to look down at me. “Want to make this more interesting?” I climb the steps, stopping beneath her when we’re eye to eye.

“Always,” she immediately responds, and I swear the word goes straight to my cock. Who is this woman?

“I’ll make you a wager,” I say. “You beat me to the net, and I’ll give you anything you want.”

Her eyebrow arches in the sexiest little way. “Anything?”

“Anything.”

“What if what I want is illegal or could get you into trouble?”

Curiosity spikes through me. “Don’t care,” I say and mean it. “As long as it doesn’t hurt my people, I’ll do it.”

“And if you win?”

I smirk. “If I win, you’ll let me and Kal take you right here on this beach.” I cock a brow at Kal behind me before turning back to her. “And the last thing I want is you being quiet.”

A flush dusts her cheeks, but she grins. “So, basically I win either way.”

I blink at her, shock rolling through me at her casual, eager response. Normally, that would make a potential pause and sputter out an answer, but not Rylee.

“Deal,” she says, then spins on her toes and dashes up the stairs.

Goddess damn me, she’s got a brilliant ass. I can’t help but watch it the entire way up as I wait for her. She’s turning me to nothing but the baser instincts I can’t ignore—take, claim, possess, protect. It’s never happened this fast or hard before, but I can’t complain. Not when everything inside me is screaming for her, reaching for her in a way that gives me hope.

Maybe she really could be the one to finally accept us all.

Maybe she could be the one to change things forever.

“I get it,” I say as I head back toward Kal.

“Get what?” he asks.

“What you were saying at the last Legend meeting. She’s different.”

Kal sighs, something like contentment written all over his face. “You have no idea,” he says, eyes lighting up as he spots her returning. “I’ll hang here on the beach while you two go out,” he continues. “Don’t let anything happen to her.”

I tilt my head at the protective edge to his tone. “You know I won’t.”

He nods. “You’d be saying the same thing if I took to the skies with her.”

Shit. The thought of her in his arms, high above the water, does make a protective instinct surge inside me.

What is she doing to us?

Rylee makes her way down the stairs, her swimsuit made up of tight red shorts and a sleek ruby tank top that accentuates her delicious breasts. Kal groans next to me, and I’m right there with him.

Fuck me, how can she look that good bounding down the stairs, a smile on her face like there’s no place she’d rather be than with us?

“Ready,” she says, bouncing on her bare feet.

I swallow down the hope rising in my throat, the excitement sparking beneath my skin. I can’t look at her like she’s the one. Not this soon. No one has ever stuck around long enough to choose us at the end of this thing—partly because of who we are and partly because of what the kings constantly do, like the horrific stunt Baydel pulled last night. I have no reason to believe things will change now.

“I’ll sit this one out,” Kal says before giving her a quick kiss.

She smiles up at him before turning to face me.

“Let’s go win me a wager.” I turn on the beach and head toward a wooden dock lined with tiny rowboats. I spot mine and climb in, turning toward the dock to help Rylee—

“I’ll be the one winning,” she says, easily stepping into the boat, not thrown off for even a second by the dips from the weight change, and taking a seat on the opposite end, one leg crossed over the other as she stares longingly out to the ocean. “I’ve always wanted to go on a boat,” she says.

The wall of self-control I’m trying to build crumbles.

Fuck it.

If she tears me to shreds, at least we’ll have some fun first.

“Wait till I take you on my ship,” I say.

I propel the water to move the boat, easily guiding us toward the open ocean. The more water surrounds us, the more my power soars, dancing beneath my skin like raindrops on leaves. Rylee grins, chill bumps rising on her exposed arms and legs when she feels it.

I wait for her to cower, to flinch, to look at me in terror, but she doesn’t. In fact, she looks downright hungry when she casts her eyes over me, watching as I grab my tunic and haul it over my head. Her lack of fear makes me wonder if she’s been around power before or if she’s simply grown accustomed to it from her month with Kal.

“I like your ink,” she says, reaching across the space between us and gliding her fingers along one of the tattoos sprawled over my chest.

Her touch is like a brand, hot and aching. There isn’t enough space to properly claim her in this tiny boat, but I’m thinking about it. Especially when she continues her exploration, following the dips in my muscles, tracing every line of black she can reach.

“Do you have any?” I finally ask.

She blinks a few times, withdrawing her hand like I’ve burned her. “No.”

I tilt my head at her almost startled response, then smile as I lean closer. “If you want one, I know someone who would love to tattoo you.”

“I wouldn’t know what to get,” she admits.

“Think on it, kitten,” I say. “But in the meantime, you can keep admiring mine all you want.” Rylee laughs again before I nod toward the ocean. “There is a slight drop-off here,” I explain. “I’ve carved it out so larger ships can make it there.” I point toward the much larger dock where my fleet gathers. “Those ships ensure all of Lumathyst is fed and stocked with trade supplies.”

Rylee studies the fleet lining the shore. “Not all of Lumathyst,” she says. “Not the Ashlands.”

I wet my lips, my muscles tensing. The Ashlands have been a point of argument between me and my father for years. “Right,” I say, clearing my throat. “Except them.”

Something sharp colors Rylee’s features. “You said there’s a drop-off?”

“Yeah,” I answer, suddenly wondering what I’ve done to piss her off. “The net is likely snagged on a craggy collection of rocks on the bottom.”

“How deep?”

“Twenty or so feet,” I say, then soften as she studies the water. “Hey,” I say. “We don’t have to do the wager—”

“Oh, we’re doing it,” she says, her grin returning to wash away the previous sharpness.

I carefully stand as I discard my pants, leaving me in nothing but my underwear. “If you run out of air or get tired, just come back to the boat. I’ll happily collect my winnings when I’ve handled the net.”

She stands, too, shifting closer to me, placing her hands on my bare chest again. For fuck’s sake, she’s so close, the tips of her breasts graze against my body. She leans her head back, flashing me a look filled with promises of sin—delightful, devious sin.

I may be the Player through and through, but fuck the wager.

I slide my hand down her arm, settling it on her waist as I draw her against me. She sighs when my cock brushes against her. Her fingers dip to my chest. I lower my head, ready to suck that pretty pink tongue into my mouth—

She dives into the water.

It takes me a full ten seconds to register what she’s done—distracted me so thoroughly, I’m standing on the boat while she’s racing toward the net at the bottom.

“Clever kitten,” I say, then dive headfirst into the water.