Page 26 of The Tribrid Princess and the Taste of Chaos (The Rossi Legacies #7)

Jayce

H er breath hitches, her heart racing erratically. Her entire body is radiating heat. The scent of her arousal drowning me in a haze of desire. That sweet, intoxicating perfume of her arousal is fucking divine, wrapping around me like a spell of entrapment.

I want her.

Fuck, I want her bad.

I’ve wanted her for so damn long, but I buried it. I refused to acknowledge it because she is off-limits. Not only is she the sister of one of my closest friends, but she is also the cousin of my cousin. Knowing that I may have to see her in the arms of her mate one day soon...

But right now, I don’t give a fuck about all that. After tonight – after watching her fight while I stood there completely useless as she faced that witch alone, something inside of me snapped.

I could have lost her.

I release her thigh, sliding my hand up her waist and back, not caring that I’m leaving a trail of blood behind, before tangling my fingers into her thick, glossy curls, tilting her head back and forcing her to look at me.

She does, her wide, gorgeous doe eyes lock with mine, her plump lips parted, chest rising and falling too fast.

Big fucking mistake.

Her pupils are dark and hazy beneath her thick lashes, coated with something dangerously tempting.

Fuck…

I can’t look away. And then her gaze drops to my mouth, her eyes glimmering, almost as if she is begging me for something.

Don’t do that...

A soft sigh escapes her, and my control slips; it’s on the brink of shattering.

I drag my eyes away from her face, but that doesn’t help either, as my gaze roams over her in my hoodie.

She’s small compared to me, but her assets are anything but.

Her bare thighs are exposed: smooth, sexy and warm.

I clench my jaw, dragging my eyes to her inner thighs, not caring that she can see exactly how I’m checking her out.

I know I shouldn’t. I know I’m playing with fire, but right now I don’t care if I burn.

Her hand trails slowly down my waist, trembling ever so slightly until she presses it against my abdomen. Pleasure shoots through me like a live wire, tightening every muscle in my body.

Fuck.

I don’t move. I can’t. Every ounce of restraint I have is balancing on a knife’s edge. But she doesn’t move her hand. Instead, her fingers splay against my abs, feeling them as if testing how much further she can push me, and I swear to the fucking Goddess if she goes any lower…

Her hand moves a mere cm lower, and I grip her throat. Not too tight, but tight enough to make her breath catch. She gasps softly, her heart rate speeding up, her breasts rising and falling even more heavily, and a soft whimper escapes her, a sound that goes straight to my cock.

“Jayce…”

That fucking voice. That fragile yet seductive whisper.

My fingers tighten, tilting her head back further, exposing her throat, watching the way her lips part just a little more. A part of me wants to sink my teeth into her skin, to leave my mark there, to remind her exactly who she belongs to.

But she doesn’t belong to me.

That thought is the only thing keeping me sane, keeping me from ruining everything.

I inhale sharply, dragging my thumb along her jaw, feeling the heat of her skin and the way she shudders under my touch.

This woman is fucking divine, and she’s in my hold…

“You could have died,” I growl, my voice low, guttural and rough with everything I’m holding back.

She swallows, then exhales shakily. And for a second, I think she’s about to snap back to reality and pull away, but to my surprise, the faintest hint of a smile graces her lips.

Her fingers fist my shirt, but instead of giving me some relief from the temptation she offers, she tugs me closer, so close our lips almost touch. Her breath is warm and teasing, and her voice when she speaks is pure sin.

“But I didn’t, did I?” she murmurs, her lips ghosting over mine, almost touching but still too far away. “I’m right here, Jayce… alive, breathing… and so damn hot…”

Fuck.

Her hips shift, her body pressing against mine, and I feel everything. Every. Damn. Thing.

I let out a low, dangerous growl, my hands tightening on her.

I should step back. I should end this.

But she tilts her head just a little, her lips so fucking close I could steal them if I just-

A loud crash from outside, followed by the sky being illuminated in orange, fills the room.

I jerk back, my eyes snapping to the door, my control barely holding on by a thread.

We need to get out of here. Now.

I take a slow, deep breath, forcing myself to look at her. Her flushed cheeks, the hazy look in her eyes, and the way her lips are parted are going to fucking ruin me.

I should tell her to get up. I should put some fucking distance between us.

“Come on. We need to get you out of here.”

I move back slightly, freeing myself from her grip, but her body sways as she tries to stand, and I barely catch her before she collapses against my chest.

I frown, gripping her arms. “Sienna?”

She blinks up at me slowly, her body going slack.

“I feel… tired,” she breathes, her voice barely there.

She was using a lot of magic. I saw her butterflies glowing; they’re not just ordinary tattoos, and then I felt the chaotic energy of her power. She must have overdone it.

She tries to push herself upright, but the moment she puts weight on her legs, they give out.

Shit.

I catch her effortlessly, one arm around her waist, ready to lift her bridal style when she suddenly locks her arms around my neck. Without thinking, I lift her, freezing when her thighs part and she wraps her legs around my waist on instinct, clinging to me.

Fuck.

I freeze.

Every inch of her body is flush against mine, pressing into me in every worst fucking way possible.

Her breath is hot against my neck, her lips brushing my skin with every shaky exhale.

She shifts slightly, her arms weakly tightening a bit, her core pressing right against my stomach.

I clench my jaw, my grip on her stiffening.

“Jayce…” she breathes softly.

Her lips move, almost as if pressing the smallest, softest kiss against my throat.

I take a sharp breath, my entire body strung so tight I might snap.

“I… Maybe I should walk… You should put me down…” she whispers weakly, but there’s no will behind her words. She doesn’t mean it.

I smirk, digging my fingers into her thighs as I cup them firmly.

“Not happening.”

She exhales, her body shivering against mine, although she is anything but cold.

Fuck.

I need to get us out of here. I need to focus.

But every second I hold her, every shift of her against me is pure fucking torture.

I head to the door, carrying her through the wreckage of the room, my body on fire, my mind telling me to move away from her, to not hold her the way I am…

That I am fucking up things I shouldn’t.

But as she nuzzles closer, her scent wrapping around me, the heat of her body melting into mine, I don’t fucking want to let her go. Not anytime soon.

I try to assess what’s happening as I carry her down the hall and stairs, seeing some of the warriors pass us by.

Renji, any update?

They’re gone, but is Sienna ok?

He had mind-linked me earlier that Sienna was on her way moments before she burst through those doors. I hadn’t believed him. Why would she come after me?

She’s fine, I’m taking her to our dorm.

Alright, they’re going to brief everyone in the hall in a bit. You two should be there.

I frown. What were they even here for?

This time, I open the mind-link and ask all four of my brothers. One of the most ideal aspects of having four brothers at the school is that we are able to pass on knowledge and information more quickly than most. We have eyes everywhere.

They took no one; they were looking for something. And seems they found it as they left swiftly, Ares says, his voice seething with anger.

Whatever it was wasn’t in the library, Theo adds, sounding as if he’s telling me about the weather. Have any of you guys seen Sienna? Tatum’s going fucking ballistic.

There it is, the reminder of why I shouldn’t be holding her as if she’s mine.

Tell him I have her. She’s fine, she’ll see him at the meeting.

You have her? Carter’s sharp tone sends a sliver of irritation through me.

I am her division leader. It’s not that hard to believe that we may be in the same fucking spot at the same fucking time.

Renji chuckles, and I block them all off. Assholes.

Reaching our dorm, I stop in my tracks at the door that stands slightly open.

This door should have been shut. Stepping inside, I’m on alert as I scan the room in case someone is still here. I sniff the air. Someone was here.

I check every room, listening for any sound before I enter my room, about to place Sienna on the bed when I tense. The book Matherson gave me is gone.

Ten minutes later , I have looked everywhere, but it’s gone. I brought it in earlier with my laptop and papers. I remember placing it on the bed, beneath my laptop.

Why would they want that book?

Tatum is standing there leaning against the wall, observing me as I rip my room apart. The asshole didn’t wait until the briefing; instead, he rushed here as if his cousin was in danger, even though I am right fucking here.

“So, what exactly is it that’s missing?”

“A book, a tome of a kind that Alpha Matherson gave me,” I explain, feeling restless.

He frowns, his eyes flitting to Sienna, who is still fast asleep on my bed.

He had stepped in and instantly covered her legs after checking her cuts as if I hadn’t had my hands all over her.

The bloody print of my hand remains imprinted on her, but he didn’t question it.

I had filled him in on how she had faced the witch, things that we will have to explain to our superiors.

“So what exactly are her tattoos?” I ask.

He arches a brow. “What do you mean?”

I’m about to elaborate, but is there a chance he doesn’t know?

“Nothing,” I say instead. He’s about to push it when Sienna whimpers as she stirs. We both turn towards her, and it takes all my willpower not to move to the bed, allowing Tatum to instead, and he cups her face.

“Si?”

Her eyelids flutter open, and she looks at him, blinking slowly as if trying to comprehend what’s going on. She’s alright.

Her cheeks suddenly flush as she looks at Tatum, then at me, and then back at him.

She couldn’t be any more obvious. Her heart is hammering loudly as Tatum feels her forehead.

“You ok, Si?”

She nods as she jumps off the bed. “I-I’m going to go… change…” she mumbles, and then she’s out the door, leaving Tatum behind with his eyebrows raised.

“It isn’t my business, but why was she wearing your hoodie?” he asks as he stands tall.

I smirk coldly. “You’re right, it really is none of your business.

We were called out with no time to grab anything, and we both know your cousin’s choice of pyjamas leaves little to the imagination.

So if you really need to know, I offered her my hoodie to cover up.

” My eyes flash, and I let just a little of my aura out.

Ahren may have given him a little of his alpha power to run his pack, but he is not at my fucking level.

Our Schattensichts light up, and a message pops up. He scoffs and shakes his head before turning and leaving my room. I curse internally.

He has every right to be concerned. Whatever that shit was with Sienna and me could have gone way further, and I don’t think I would have been able to stop it.

As I step out of my bedroom, Sienna is stepping out of hers. She’s only switched out the hoodie for a long oversized cardigan that she is holding wrapped around her body, one that emphasises her tiny waist, curved hips and-

Stop.

I look away, remembering how she wasn’t wearing a bra either… and that cardigan reminds me of that fact.

“Shall we go?”

“Are you ok to?” Tatum asks her, placing a protective hand on her upper arm.

“Yeah, I feel ok enough. I just need to get a good night’s sleep,” she whispers, her heart rate picking up.

Fuck.

I stay a few steps behind them, trying not to enjoy the view of that sexy ass, especially now that I know what those thighs feel like wrapped around me.

“I heard Professor Magdalia say they used an old student who has defected to their side to help with the teleportation spell…” I hear a witch whisper as we step into the hall.

“I heard that after the spells were broken, they found a way in,” another whispers.

I glance at Sienna just as she looks at me, panic in her eyes.

I shake my head slowly, hoping she understands that it’s fine.

Sensing the magic in the air and the way our Schattensichts are glowing, I know someone is doing a count of everyone present.

No one needs to be told to settle down. The tension and the hushed whispers keep everyone occupied. I see Alessandra and Heaven rush over to Sienna, and Tatum and my own brothers approach me.

No one will admit it, but the fear that someone could have died tonight is real.

Sensing a few powerful auras, I turn just in time to see the Headmaster, Alpha Aaron, enter with Leo, Raihana and to my surprise, Ahren alongside him.

Silence falls across the entire hall at the sight of the Head of the Coven of England and the King himself. Leo’s sharp eyes sweep through the room. The only sound that breaks the silence is the flick of his lighter as he lights his cigarette, raising it to his lips and inhaling slowly.

“Evenin’.”