Page 24 of Tainted Gifts
“Funny, Aria.”
“What the hell are they saying?” Jase barks to… I don’t know who.
“Just let her work. She can tell us everything when she’s done.”
Kellan’s brow dances menacingly as his smile grows, and I press my center tighter against him to end his playful glow and push him back into the pits of desire.
“I need to know where these people are,” I murmur cryptically, making my voice loud enough for the others to hear.
Jase exhales in relief when the barrier of silence is finally broken. I knew I had to appease his curiosity somewhat before he yanked me out.
"Then you'll have to work harder," Kellan says, keeping his voice a little louder too.
The menace in his eyes doesn't go unnoticed, and I bite back a girly grin in response. Then I decide to clue him in, and I keep my voice below a whisper, escaping the ears of the ones behind the glass once again.
"Don't say anything about the Scorpions or the destroying thing-"
"In front of your mother," he whispers to finish my sentence. "I know. No worries."
I almost visibly relax, and I lean into him, allowing my lips to caress his neck. My hands slide down his chest, stopping just above his pants, and then I lift his shirt to reveal the lower half of his abdomen.
He holds his breath, curious as to what I'll do next, and I drag my finger over one of those delicious hiplines I bled just days ago. This would be so much more fun if my head wasn't killing me.
"You're welcome to it... again," he says loud enough for the others to hear.
"Again?" Uncle Brazen muses.
Fuck.
"He's the one who saved her a few times, and once he gave her his blood," Simone says dully, treating it as though it's nothing spectacular.
Shit.
I hear Jase letting out a pained breath, and I'm glad I can't see his eyes on me right now.
"He's the one? The one who healed her? Fuck. No. I'm ending this now," he growls before something crashes in the other room.
"You can't," my mother interrupts. "This is an interrogation. If she has a way to bond with him personally, then she can get what we need."
"We don't need it that badly," he barks.
"Yes we do, Commander," another man says softly, trying not to sound disrespectful. "We need Kellan Maverick's Intel more than we ever have. Let's stop the Unaligned."
It's not the Unaligned Kellan has Intel on.
"Uh oh. I made the commander mad," Kellan teases, speaking in his whisper once again.
I raise up, dropping his shirt back down, and return to our whispers. "You need to stop poking at him and play along if you want me to get you out of here."
He smiles, leaning back and showing me his will to play puppet to my strings. "And how would you like me to play along with your mother in the next room. Everything I have to say will only intrigue her curiosity."
I smile, moving in closer as I let my lips strum his lightly.
"Kellan, if we give you guarded arrest, will you cooperate fully and help us find these people?"
"No," Jase says before Kellan can answer.
"That's brilliant actually," my mother counters.
