Page 15 of These Wicked Desires

“This makes three bodies now,” Kai chimes in. His eyes are closed and he’s resting his head on his arms at the table. “All with syringe marks. All within a three mile radius of the warehouse. And all with the same brutal injuries.”

“People are going to start talking,” Cade says.

I shrug. “With the syringe marks and area of town, it will get written off as a drug overdose.”

“What about the injuries?” Kai asks.

“Drug deal gone wrong? A fight ring? With drugs involved, the possibilities are endless.” I return to my seat and take a sip of coffee. It’s gone cold already.

Cade shakes his head. “But the magic in his system? A human shouldn’t have even the faintest trace of magic.”

None of us have an answer for that, and we fall into silence, lost in our own thoughts. Either Sam has a damn good plan up his sleeve, or he’s getting careless. Disposing of bodies from his failed experiments in the river where they are sure to wash up is asking for discovery. It leads me to believe he wants people to find them. But I can’t figure out why that would be the case.

Finally, Kai sighs. “Whose turn is it to wake up Ellis?” His eyes are still closed, head still on the table.

“Sterling,” Cade replies, nursing a cup of tea across from him. He lifts his gaze to mine and the glimmer of mirth is clearly visible.

Kai stifles a yawn. “Good luck, man.”

I roll my eyes and quickly make a cup of coffee for my mate before climbing the stairs. Ellis has never been a morning person, but with all the practice we’ve been doing, she’s been extra tired and cranky in the mornings. When I push into the room, I can’t help but smile. She’s sprawled across the bed on her back taking up as much space as she can now that the three of us aren’t in it. Her hair has come out of the bun she sleeps in, and curls riot around her head like a lion’s mane. The covers have been kicked aside, and the shirt she’s wearing is tugged up around her waist, leaving her lower half completely exposed.

I set the coffee on the nightstand and sit on the edge of the bed. “Ellis, it’s time to get up.” I gently shake her shoulder and she groans. “Come on kitten, wake up.”

She mumbles something that sounds a lot like ‘fuck you’ and drags a pillow over her head. Grinning to myself, I get up and kneel between her legs. I can think of the perfect alarm clock. But I only get one lick in before she grumbles and thrashes her legs, kneeing me in the face.

Bone crunches and wet, warm liquid trickles out of my nose. “Fuck!” I sit up, pinching the bridge of my nose and tipping my head back.

My shout must have woken her, because Ellis sits up, wild eyed with her hair sticking up in all directions. I’m momentarily distracted by how adorable she looks, and I drop my hand until I feel the blood trickle from my nose.

“Sterling?” she asks groggily. When she sees the blood, she gasps. “What happened?” She crawls toward me and takes my face in her palms.

I raise my brow. “You kneed me.”

She gasps. “I did? When? Why?”

“I was trying to wake you up.”

“Why were you between my legs?”

I stare at her over my hand until her eyes widen and red creeps into her cheeks.

“Oh no,” she whispers.

I nod. “Oh, yes.”

“Cade!” She pulls my hand away, immediately more blood dribbles out of my nose. “I’m so sorry, Sterling.”

Cade pops into the room with Kai close behind him. “What’s wrong?” When his gaze lands on me, blood coating the lower half of my face and Ellis frantically trying to stop it, he laughs. “That went well, huh?”

“Shut up and get over here,” Ellis hisses.

He raises his hands in surrender and purple light sparks to life at his fingertips. I close my eyes as his magic squeezes my head like a grape. It only lasts a few seconds, but I absolutely hate that sensation. When I open my eyes again, Kai hands me a wet washcloth to clean my face.

“Well, now that we’re all awake,” Cade says with his hands on his hips and a grin in my direction. “Let’s get moving. We have a lot to do today.”

“Like what?” Ellis asks, climbing out of bed and pulling off the t-shirt.

Cade gets momentarily distracted as Ellis walks around the room naked, gathering her clothes and putting them on. I elbow him in the side and he starts.

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