Page 32 of The Never List (Never List #1)

Rylee

Pierce guides me out of the teashop, and I hold tight to him as he navigates the velomage back to his estate. By the time we make it into the safety of his bedroom, I feel like I can finally breathe. My heart no longer races, and I feel…relieved and content in my choice.

“Are you ready to talk to me?” Pierce asks as we linger in his bedroom.

“About?” I ask innocently.

Pierce steps closer to me. “About why I saw my father leaving the teashop.”

“Ah,” I say, nodding. “That.”

“Yes, that,” he says softly.

I reach for him, stepping close to slide my hands along his muscled arms, anticipation blooming in my chest. “Why don’t I just show you?”

Pierce tilts his head. “What do you mean?”

I arch a brow at him. “You know what I mean,” I say. “I could easily tell you what your father said to me, but won’t showing you satisfy your curiosity so much more?”

Pierce visibly swallows, his warm brown eyes severe. “Are you…quite sure of what you’re offering?”

“For you to go inside my mind and replay the conversation?” I nod. “Honestly, I know you trust me,” I continue. “But on this…I’d much rather you see it, so you can understand it and every reaction, too.”

I take a deep breath, settling in the certainty of my choice. If he bothers to look deep enough, what he finds could change the course of my future.

I’m done waiting, done agonizing. His father’s offer of freedom—whether it was genuine or some test set forth by him and the other kings—made everything crystal clear. I’m with the Legends, even if it kills me.

And if they are going to kill me because Pierce uncovers my hidden truths, then so be it.

“You’re willingly inviting me into your mind,” he says.

“You say that like you don’t do it all the time.”

“I don’t,” he quickly answers. “You know I don’t.”

“I know,” I say, fiddling with his tie. “But you could if you wanted to. You could enter anyone’s mind, and they’d never know.”

“Yes,” he admits. “That’s usually why people tend to stay away from me. It’s never bothered me before. I’m an introvert by nature.”

“Well,” I say, sliding the tie from his neck, “you’re free to look into mine on one condition.”

“Anything.” He breathes the word.

“Promise me you’ll let me explain if you find anything you don’t understand.”

“Agreed,” he says. “But of course, you know I won’t go traipsing through your personal thoughts. I’m not an amateur.”

I laugh. “Can there be amateurs if you’re the only one with the gift?”

“Darling, the universe is much too big to believe I’m the only one with these abilities.”

“Good point,” I say, nerves fluttering in my stomach. “So? Do I need to lie down or sit or something?”

Pierce smiles, the look melting me in a way that has me feeling like I’ve made the best decision in the world, regardless of how terrifying it is. He smooths his hands on either side of my face. “Close your eyes,” he whispers. “And let me in.”

I do as I’m told, my pulse skittering. Letting him in means there will truly be no more hiding. And I don’t want to hide anymore. I may not have the courage to openly share my secrets, but I don’t have to shut him out entirely, either.

A warm presence glides over my mind, almost like a caress. It has that same signature I felt from before on Axl’s ship—all heat and crackling energy. I breathe deeply, inhaling pure Pierce. He’s everywhere at once, not only standing before me, gently cradling my face, but inside me in a way no one has ever been before.

“I see it,” he says. “The memory.”

And I do, too. The conversation with his father plays out behind my closed lids. I watch the replay from a different angle, like looking at the scene from above, as the speed of the memory increases without my control. I can feel Pierce’s intrigue almost like a citrusy taste on the back of my tongue as the discussion progresses, but then it jerks to a halt and restarts when his father makes the offer and I adamantly decline it.

I feel his quick retreat like a string yanked from the center of my mind. My eyes flutter open, locking with Pierce’s.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, my stomach immediately plummeting at his severe expression.

His eyes are wide and calculating, and his intense power thrashes around the two of us, almost like he’s lost control of it.

“You didn’t leave.” He murmurs the words.

I blink up at him.

“When my father offered you an out…” He wets his lips. “It would’ve been so easy to leave .”

I scrunch my brow. “Nothing about leaving any of you would be easy.”

He blinks before something clicks in his eyes. Then his mouth is on mine, stealing my breath as he snakes his arms around my hips, bringing our bodies flush.

“You opened your mind to me,” he says against my mouth. I fist his shirt, heat from his kiss storming my blood. “I want you to do it again.”

I feel his presence there, that warmth with a little more bite, a little more hunger. “Yes,” I say, more than ready to let him in.

“If it’s too much—”

“It won’t be,” I cut him off, moaning as he slides his powerful hands over my ass.

“If it is, darling, I need you to say so. I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop once we’ve started.”

“I don’t want you to stop, Pierce. I’ve wanted you from the second you opened your mouth at the Choosing. Please,” I practically beg.

“Darling.” He tilts my head to kiss me at a deeper angle.

Every nerve in my body comes alive with his kiss, some piece of myself unlocked with the taste of him. And then his presence slides into my opened mind, his energy curling around every inch of me, inside and out.

Pleasure floods me in warm waves, and then Pierce breaks our kiss, taking a few steps back. I whimper at the loss of contact, but it turns into a moan as I feel his energy teasing every inch of my skin as if it were his fingers.

Goddess , I can’t even move beyond arching into the phantom touch.

I bring my eyes to his, my breaths shaky as he holds me there, suspending and aching with just the power of his mind.

And that’s when I realize: Pierce is puppeteering me to his liking.

And goddess save me, I love the way he pulls the strings.