Page 7
Chapter 7
Riding Her, Piggyback Style
F orget that I’d spent the better part of weeks learning how to control my power, but I never thought that one day that hard work would pay off. I half-expected I’d always struggle to control it. It didn’t seem likely that something so unique and terrifying could be managed, and I prepared myself for my inevitable failure to do so.
My luck was shit these days. Sadly, I hadn’t expected anything less but for everything to go terribly wrong. So, I was the first person in the room brought to my knees in surprise when it actually worked for once.
My power moved through me and burst out my core, slowing the world around us. What flabbergasted me most was how I figured out a way to bring another person into the frozen fold with me. I’d never done that before. Not with Sloan, and not with Phillip.
It wasn’t clear for what reason I could, or if it was specific to Jo alone, but I was thankful she was there to see my power for herself. And the way the confused Fae’s mouth dropped open in surprise to take in the paused world around us put a happy feeling in my chest.
I guess I just wanted to impress her. I was desperate for Jo’s acceptance, and it was all there on her face. I couldn’t put it into words. It gave me such a high. Nothing would ever come close to describing the emotion that hit my chest when a proud smile touched her lips. It was euphoric. Her acknowledgement felt special. It even beat out Grams’s words of affirmation after I’d done something right.
Unfortunately, it made me ramble something fiercely ridiculous, and I internally berated how quick I was to babble in the beautiful vixen’s presence. Her answering laugh and demand to be included in all future pranks made the heat in my body find its way up to my face again.
Gah, I’m obsessed with her, and I don’t even know what to do about it anymore.
After the initial confusion, I remembered the job we were here to do. We’d come looking for that slimy bastard Four and his merry band of Blood Mages. I’d leave overanalyzing every detail about this night and what teenage boy fantasy occurred in that corridor until we were safely back at the hotel, planning where to go next.
Safe—I don’t think that word exists for me anymore.
Bringing down the Weasley Asshat Twins was as easy as it had been cutting through two wolves who betrayed me. Just with less hesitation and guilt.
Jo motioned for me to do the honors, and I pushed the immobile two into an area where their discovery wouldn’t lead to an all-out scream fest in the club.
People tended to respond pretty strongly when two dudes were suddenly dead and bleeding out right in front of them. It also didn’t bode well for us if we wanted to attack Fredrick unawares. If the general public was losing their fucking shit, it’d probably give us away, so getting the two douche-canoe beef-boys to a secluded area to bleed out in peace was a necessary first move.
I made sure neither one was visible to the outside world, silently thanking my super strength because the two were unnecessarily large and awkward to carry in their present state of frozen.
Jo deemed me pitiful enough trying to figure out logistically how I might do it all in one go—sort of like the overdetermined person who carried all their groceries inside no matter what the cost to their dignity to do it. She threw me a bone by taking one of the frozen beef-bros so I only had to hoist and lug the other one. Once we got behind a staff-only door, it was my explicit duty to get both douche-canoes posed and ready for their decapitation.
Channeling Jo’s prankster attitude, I worked quickly to pose each frozen bro for the occasion—their imminent demise. I heard the other woman stifle a laugh when I took a second to make them hug each other, bent ghoulishly with their butts out, mouths agape for dramatic flair. It was the cutest the two oversized trolls had looked since we first laid eyes on them.
If anything, I’d done them a favor.
Since meeting the terrifying but funny Fae, I’d really leaned into my dark humor. She brought it out in me the same way Kate dragged out my thirsty side. In the last few weeks, I found myself enjoying the revenge part of my fucked-up existence a little more. Some might call that a red flag, but I’d never felt so free to be a little bad. Not since Phillip encouraged me to embrace a different future, one where I got revenge on the people who made me.
Looking at the two cutely posed twins, I was suddenly not sure if decapitation was enough for a pair of Blood Mage assholes. “So like…cut their heads off and call it a day?”
Jo’s lips twitched, hinting at a smile, and she crossed her arms before leaning against the wall. “Blood Mages can call on the forces of darkness to mend their injuries, but decapitation is basically an end-all for most creatures, so I’d say you’re safe to assume so. They aren’t exactly in a position to call on the dark forces, are they?”
Trying not to smile at her pun, I shrugged my shoulders and eyed the two frozen bros with skepticism. “I don’t get the appeal to muscles like these. Is there an appeal? Like, for real? I mean, they’re even bigger than Phil, who I’d argue is a touch too big for my liking. But this size is seriously gross.”
Stealing a glance over my shoulder at the silent woman, I noticed her amber eyes were on me rather than the pair of assholes I was about to kill. “I wouldn’t know. I don’t find men attractive at all. My tastes run more to…”
The seductive onceover she gave my backside made my stomach flutter obnoxiously. Shit, I wasn’t ready to revisit the kiss, but her look was already making me want to. My eyes chased her tongue as it swiped across her bottom lip, and a very inappropriate pulse hit between my legs.
Am I seriously this thirsty right now? Here? When I’m about to cut the heads off some oversized beef-boys?
The sexual tension I’d nearly forgotten about returned with a vengeance befitting Pothos himself—the god of sexual longing, yearning, and desire. Another little informational treat thanks to Kate.
I turned my head so quickly it hit my neck weird, and I rued the fact that even as an all-powerful being, I could still suffer the sharp, debilitating pain of pulling a muscle. It wasn’t fair. I shouldn’t have to deal with normal-people pain. I got stabbed by something sharp on nearly an everyday basis. I’d even been the lucky survivor of both poison and a collapsed lung. That was enough.
Grumbling, I walked closer and took out my weapon. I didn’t want to try my luck and waste my power by spending too much time talking to Jo like we were on a midnight stroll and not in the middle of frozen time. Besides, I wasn’t ready to figure out whatever this weirdly sexual thing between us was. So, ignorant bliss and shameless distraction with violence it was.
Without further ado, because I was worried I’d say something stupid—well, stupider than I already had—I cut through one bro, then the other. Like it had been with Tiff and Topher, the moment felt too easy. Their heads didn’t go anywhere, so I punted both into a corner, unfortunately used to seeing all the gnarly decapitated flesh.
Still not a fan.
I turned around to find Jo directly behind me. “You did well, V. I’m sure I don’t need to say this, but you’ve impressed me. And you’ll only get stronger from here.”
Time moved again. A second later, a woozy sensation so strong it actually scared me hit my head. Something about it was different this time.
I floated between consciousness and unconsciousness but managed to blink it away. I held on, stubbornly refusing to pass out. Still, I was weak and my limbs were leaden. After fighting for several minutes to remain strongly upright, my legs gave out and I stumbled into the wall. Jo slung my arm around her shoulders and led—or some might even say dragged —me over to a door that was marked as an exit to the parking lot.
“Hey asshole,” she called out over the ear piece, leaving it to the rest of the group to figure out which asshole she meant, “V’s too weak to do the next little bit. Unless you need me to take out a rogue Blood Mage for you pansy-ass Hunters and useless Fae tagalong…” The ghoulish cry of Cash through the ear piece was worth every effort I made to stay awake. “Then I’m just going to sit this one out and make sure she gets back to the hotel before anyone takes advantage of her current state.”
I blinked and tried to shake off the lure of unconsciousness, but it was different from all the other times I’d used my power. Maybe something to do with bringing Jo into frozen time or how many things I’d done in one night? I couldn’t pinpoint it, but I’d used too much, and now I was a liability.
Fuck, and I wanted to be there to see the bastard squeal.
“We’ve got it here,” came Phillip’s brusque reply. “V, I’ll come to you later. Be waiting.” The low rumble of his voice was all bedroom.
The hair on my body stood on end, and the part of me that submitted to him was already crying out to do whatever he wanted, no matter how shameful.
“Got it,” I managed to say through a tight throat, exhaling nothing but sexual tension.
What a fucking night, am I right?
Jo stole a quick look at me, her clever eyes depicting my internal struggle. When her lips rose, I swallowed so hard she would have to be blind to miss it. “Seems like your night is just getting started…”
I thought today was already peak sexual tension, but now the promise of punishment by a sexy bad boy lingered in my body like an omen. To be fair, Phillip would be lucky if I was still conscious by the time he could make good on his promise.
I slow-blinked, barely moving my legs to keep upright. Jo noticed how much trouble I was having, and she went to a knee to offer me her back.
It was a point of pride for me that I hadn’t done something seriously embarrassing yet—like face-planting into asphalt or telling Jo that she was prettier than any knight in shining armor I could’ve imagined for myself. Sadly, I didn’t have the energy to argue with her about how she was the second person in my adult life to give me a piggyback ride. Instead, I got onto her back and collapsed like goo against her softness. She lifted me and started to head for the street where our inconspicuous getaway car was parked.
Our little gang of pretty boys will just have to Uber in their epic escape, I guess.
I spent the entire stroll fighting a cataclysm of contradicting thoughts, mostly about kissing a woman who could slit my throat as easily as she could make me smile. Whose past was a mystery and a half. Whose entire personality warranted caution.
Worse, I was somehow entangled with not two, not three, but a whopping four terrifying supernatural creatures. I’d gone from the girl with no romantic history to someone navigating several years’ worth of relationships. Not sure if that counted as good or bad luck. What would one call the holy fucks of relationship troubles when it came in four sexy packages?
I hadn’t forgotten about Cash’s stolen kiss while pleading for me to see past what I’d been told about him, to see him for the person he truly was. Fat chance, but it did make me hesitate when I shouldn’t.
It would be a lie to say that Cash didn’t intrigue me. Granted, a lot of that intrigue came from how absolutely ridiculous the man was. Karen memes had nothing on this bright and shiny diva star. But in a weird way, the Dark Fae had worked his way into my heart despite the promise I made myself to keep him at an arm’s length.
Nothing prepared me for Jo, though.
After landing two gorgeous men who weren’t afraid to share me, I thought that was all I’d need. But the blossoming thing with a dangerous woman with a mysterious past gave me pause. It was different, and I, no matter how many times I ignored it, wasn’t confident I could go back to how things were before we kissed.
Now as I piggybacked on a woman who scared me as much as she aroused me, I wondered if I could safely navigate this new mayhem of fuckery. You know, several male egos vying for my time, a bisexual awakening, terrifying powers, and a plot to overthrow the very people who made me.