Page 35 of Spit

“When I explained my problems to Beelzebub, he offered your services. It made sense due to the pesky presence of the ward around Magicktec, but I am still trying to figure out why he sentyou.” Legion regarded me, and it felt like my skin had been peeled back, and he was looking to the very core of what made me a person—and I fell short.

The streets changed as we headed back to the city. The afternoon was upon us, and the sun was low, but it felt like nighttime. The warm kind of dusk—when you were on vacation, and the fun was only just beginning.

My shadow was having the time of his life, and I wished there was some way I could leave him at home like the excited puppy he was—but I’d tried, and he was stuck.

Hardly any time passed before the limo pulled up to the curb outside of a club. The wordimpulsewas written in neon pink, and the front window appeared to be a living wall of exotic plants.

I recognized some plant species only because Rosie used to ramble for hours about her greenhouse and expensive seeds.

There must have been over five thousand dollars of plant life taking up the entire front wall of the building. I couldn’t tell if it was a shop or a bar, but whatever it was, it was hidden behind the vibrancy of lilies out of season and monstera leaves.

The street lamps were pink—signaling that we were in the Seventh Sector.

“Seventh Circle, that’s lust, right?” I asked as we stepped out of the car.

“Gird your loins,” Legion mumbled. “I’m not sure your null magic is enough to make you immune to Sev’s charms.”

“Jealous?” I teased.

Legion gave me a look. “If I wanted you right at this moment, all I would have to do is ask you to get on your knees. I’d tell you what a good girl you are, right before you stuck my cock down your throat.”

I sputtered, swallowing my own saliva. “Sure of yourself, aren’t you?”

Legion placed his thumb on his chest. “I’m Pride and have full confidence that I live up to my reputation.”

“I'll keep that in mind,” I said, trying not to sound breathless as I affected a naughty tone. “Let’s get this over with.”

“Certainly.” Legion held his arm out, gesturing that I should go first.

My stomach twisted and let out a gurgle of hunger. Legion quirked a brow, and I matched his expression.

“Hungry?” He asked dryly.

I gave him a saccharine smile as I pulled open the door. “Always.” Let him make of that what he would. I sniffed and turned away, tilting my nose, so I didn’t need to look at Legion as we walked into the club.

“So, this isImpulse,” I said, holding back laughter. A single corridor greeted us, the walls, ceiling, and floor painted in the same patchy black paint. It did not match the outside of the building at all.

Legion bristled. “You’d think that standing in a warehouse full of bodies would have taught you that not everything is always as it seems.”

“This is an illusion?” I asked.

“Death and darkness, no.” Legion shuddered. “Sev just can’t paint for shit.”

I spluttered a laugh.

The floor was sticky, and the soles of my boots peeled away with every step, like removing a Band-Aid.

Once we reached the end of the single long corridor, which must have been a fire hazard, Legion opened the door for me.

I wasn’t used to old-school men. The kind that opened doors and pulled out seats for their partners.

Men quickly lost interest in being kind to me when they discovered I didn’t date. I didn’t kiss. I didn’t fuck. It was non-negotiable. Once they realized I was serious, they dropped me like a hot potato.

Which was better than the alternative, an obsession strong enough to kill us both.

I walked through the door, greeted by a wall of sound. The music pulsed with a low primal beat that sang through my blood, making every hair on my body stand on end. It should have been pleasant. It should have felt like a warm touch and a skilled tongue between the thighs.

My mind reacted, protecting me, unable to get the message that my body wasn’t in danger of being touched, kissed, licked, or sucked. My body remembered what happened when someone became too obsessed with me. When they tasted my saliva. My juices. Even my skin.

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