Page 65 of Wings of Destiny

Dammit.

“Okay, I suck at these. How do these go again?” I half smirked, embarrassed, at Seth.

“Oh, come on, Rin. It’s easy as hell, let me show you.” He popped the top off and brought it up to his mouth. His eyes burned a hole in me as he darted his tongue into the little plastic cup, slowly twisting it around, running his tongue along the inside, agonizingly slow. Heat pooled in my stomach as he pulled the cup away, licking his lips, hunger seemed to fill his eyes. Blood rushed to my cheeks and spread across my chest. The corners of his mouth lifted. “Need another demonstration?”

For the love of…

“Nuh…no. I think I got it,” I stuttered. I snatched another one, going for round two. And I in fact, didnothave it. The whole thing ended up all over my mouth and chin. To further push my embarrassment as Seth laughed at me, he reached out and wiped the red jell-o off my chin with his thumb before proceeding to stick said thumb into his mouth, sucking it off.

Holy hell.

Suck me, would ya?

Oh my God.

Erin. Calm yourself.

Oh dear lord.

What is going on with me?

I diverted my attention to the rest of his haul, grabbed a few green plastic cups, along with the bottle of vodka, and began pouring. I topped each cup off with a splash of lemonade and passed two to Libby and Derik then pounded my own back before handing one to Seth. They all sloshed theirs back. I poured a second round while Seth slipped into the guest room. He came out dragging all of our blankets, pillows, Derik’s sleeping bag, and tossed them in a pile on the hardwood.

“The hell man, we just started drinking.” Derik whined.

“You three have been drinking all night, asshole. We ain’t crashing yet. Thought we’d play some good ol’ fashioned drinking games before hitting the hay and sleeping out here.” Seth drawled.

“Are you from the country now, Seth?” I laughed.

“Nope, want me to be?” He waggled his eyebrows.

“Freaking weirdo.” I smacked his arm as I bent down to grab my blanket from the pile. I laid it out on the floor, closest to the front door on this side of his couch. Seth came up behind me, throwing his on the floor next to mine, leaving zero gaps between our makeshift sleeping spots. “Uh, personal space, much?”

Seth said, his voice low and rumbling, “Thought I’d help keep you warm with how cold it can get out here,” I spun around, my eyes wide. He chuckled. “I’m kidding, Rin. I know what you’re doing, putting yourself closest to the door. On the off chance somethingwereto happen, I’m not leaving you as our first line of defense.”

I stuck my tongue out at him. “Jerk.”

“Yeap, that’s me. Now how about we break out another round and get sloshed?” he said, his cheeky smile spread across his face.

I tried fighting it, but it was contagious. The corners of my lips lifted, matching his. “Let’s fucking do it.”

Chapter twenty-one

Erin

“Quite an evening. Did you enjoy yourself?” The familiar booming voice echoed through the air. Once again, the man from my dreams stood with me atop a clearing surrounded by mountains upon mountains. Not a cloud in the purple sky, on the cusp of a sunset. Stars twinkled in the distance.

“It was needed.” I replayed the groping mishap at the restaurant, arguing with Seth, and the overwhelming embarrassment. The kidnapping prowled the edges of my memory, waiting to pounce. I shook my head, chasing away the thoughts.

He pondered that for a moment. “I see you’ve discovered your flames. But have yet to control them through practice?”

I narrowed my eyes. “Not like I’ve had the opportunity to. Considering I was unconscious until this morning”—I threw my hands on my hips—“and thanks for leaving that little detail out by the way, could’ve been helpful to know beforehand that I could do that,” I shot him a glare. “There’s only so much oneperson can do in a twenty-four-hour period, you holier-than-thou prick.”

The wind caressed my shoulders, as if in agreement.

“And you chose to spend that time flirting, watching others attempt to solve the situation at hand without lifting a finger, and becoming intoxicated beyond common sense. You very well could have focused your time on more important tasks at hand.” He lectured.

I bristled. “Excuse the hell out of me for wanting to let loose. It’s not like I suddenly had all this bullshit unloaded on me recently that I had no say or choice in.”

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