Page 51 of These Deadly Dreams

Ellis exhales heavily and leans her head on Cade’s shoulder. He kisses the top of her head, and my heart warms at the sight. Knowing my beloved has someone else to keep her safe, knowing she is getting even more love and affection, is a blessing I never thought I’d enjoy. If you were to ask me a year ago if I’d ever share my girl with someone, even Cade and Sterling, I’d have called you crazy. Now, I can’t think of any better situation.

“I’m going to go crazy waiting,” she mumbles. “So much waiting.”

I slide my gaze to Cade, a wicked gleam shining in his violet eyes. “I’m sure we can keep you distracted.”

“Have I mentioned how much I hate the fucking sun?” I pull the baseball cap lower and adjust the sunglasses when they get knocked astray from the movement. It’s hotter than a demon’s ballsack, and I’m sweating to death in pants and a hoodie. I can’t wait for winter. Not only for the cooler weather, but the longer nights as well.

“Only a million times,” Cade drawls as he parks the car in a public downtown lot. I briefly worry about someone—Sam—doing something to my car, but it’s too late to worry about that now. We should have rented something they wouldn’t recognize. Something I’ll remember for later. Ellis’s anxiety has been rolling against my barriers the entire drive here, and I haven’t been able to keep my leg from bouncing as a result. Being an empath fucking sucks sometimes.

Ellis waits for me to get out before she climbs from the backseat. I immediately wrap my arm around her. There is no way someone is going to grab her from under my nose.

She looks sexy as hell today. It’s the first time she’s actually dressed in something other than leggings. I gave her my credit card and told her to shop to her heart's content when we first got to the cabin. The jean shorts and strappy white sandals were one of her purchases. So was the light pink shirt with fluttering sleeves that hang off her shoulders. The hem stops just above her belly button, teasing us with a sliver of tan skin..

I run my fingers along the exposed sliver of skin above her shorts and lean down to her ear. “You look amazing today, by the way.”

She smiles, the sight beautiful enough to make my heart thud heavily in my chest. “It’s nice wearing actual clothes for once. I don’t feel as frumpy.”

“Frumpy?” Cade asks as he walks on her other side. “You never look frumpy, love. Those leggings make your ass look edible.” His gaze travels the length of her body, and when he looks up, they’re swirling with his magic. “But you do look amazing today.”

A warm blush crawls up her chest and settles in her cheeks. Damn. I wish we had to time to find a shadowy spot behind a building for a quick fuck. It would probably help calm her nerves, too. But, we had to stop to make copies of the DNA results, so we’re short on time.

We come to the building where Cade will hang out. It's a bookstore with two stories that has floor to ceiling windows on the second level. The view of the cafe is unimpeded, so he’ll be able to keep watch.

Cade tugs Ellis from me, and wraps her in his arms. “We won’t let anything happen to you, love.” Her shoulders lose some of their tension, and he pulls away to frame her face in both of his hands. “Don’t worry about anything. Leave it to Kai and me. We’ll keep you safe.”

“I know you will,” she says quietly. Her faith in us is an unwavering force that briefly overpowers her anxiety. Standing on her toes, she kisses Cade before pulling away. “Let’s get this over with.”

Before we can walk away, Cade grabs the strings of my hoodie and tugs me close. I know what he’s going to do before he does it, and I’m stunned into immobility for a second. His lips press into mine, and I smile against his mouth. While the crowd around us isn’t huge, there is no doubt someone has noticed us and snapped a picture. I give it two minutes before this goes viral on social media. Two of Altair’s most eligible bachelors, two of the triad, kissing in public. We’ve just started a new rumor for the gossip mill.

“Be careful,” he whispers as he pulls away, making sure to keep his voice from traveling to Ellis.

I wink, and tuck Ellis under my arm again, and we watch Cade disappear inside the store. We wait for a text from him, letting us know he didn’t pick up any magical traces that could be harmful to Ellis, then make our way to the cafe. The place is a popular spot for locals to grab a bite to eat and have a fruity cocktail with the river as a backdrop. There is usually a wait to get a table, however, as one of the Triad, we get seated right away.

“Breathe, Ellis,” I murmur. Her heart rate has kicked up. Mine matches it, and I know if she doesn’t calm down, we’ll both end up spiraling. “We’ll celebrate after this. How does that sound? We can make our own challenges. Starting with finding a shadowy nook somewhere. Cade and I will do our best to make you scream. If you don’t, you’ll get a prize.”

Her heart races for a different reason now. Her anxiety faded to the background as her desire washes over me. That was exactly what I wanted to happen. “What kind of prize?” Her breathy question makes my cock harden in my pants and I shift to get more comfortable.

“Whatever you want it to be, baby girl.”

Her eyes dilate and she parts her lips, but before she can respond, a shadow falls across our table. I whip my head around, cursing myself for getting distracted, and find Kennedy pulling out the chair across the table. Ellis’s desire falls away, and her fear almost chokes me. The bite of pain from her fingers digging into my thigh through my jeans helps to center me, and I’m able to take a deep breath and focus on the man taking a seat across from us.

“Kennedy,” I growl.

He sneers at us and leans back in the chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “Ellis, you look well.” His brown eyes travel over Ellis’s face, and her fingers tighten on my thigh.

I have to bite my tongue. No shit she looks good, asshole. She’s out from under your fucking roof and being taken care of the way she should have always been cared for. “Let’s skip the pleasantries, shall we? We all know they’re fake.” I flash a bit of fang, the intimidation tactic failing on the idiot. I could be across this table in .2 seconds to rip his fucking throat out. The temptation is real. I turn to Ellis and give her an encouraging smile.

We discussed in length who should be the one to bring up stopping the contest, and in the end we settled on Ellis. It seemed more appropriate she be the one to break the news to him, since we’re trying to keep my involvement with her as secret as possible. Obviously, he will suspect there’s more going on than we let him know, but it’s better than confirmation.

Ellis swallows and squares her shoulders. “I want you to stop this ridiculous contest.”

Before she can say more, Kennedy snorts and shakes his head. “Not going to happen, girl. You should have thought about the consequences before you almost killed your fiancé.”

“Well, I’m so very sorry to inform you, you have no say over my life, dad.”

His eyes widen, but he says nothing. A slight thread of anger pulses around him, mixed with curiosity and disgust.

“I know the truth,” she continues. The more she talks, the less her anxiety controls her and the more her wrath grows. “You’re not my father. You have no control over me.”

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