Page 70 of Stone Cold Touch

Slipping Roth’s shirt on, I was immediately swallowed by the size of it and by his scent. I turned back to him, feeling flushed. I didn’t even know what to say as I sat on the edge of the bed. There was no way I could even prepare myself for Zayne’s arrival.

Not that I had to wait very long.

Didn’t take more than a minute before the heavy thump from the roof rattled the twisted paintings hanging on Roth’s walls. I stood as Roth turned to the narrow door that led up to the roof. Without ceremony, he opened it and Zayne stormed into the loft.

His blond hair was a wavy mess, and he was dressed all in black—black T-shirt, black tactical pants. It was as if he’d dressed to go hunting.

Zayne’s gaze found me first and he didn’t look away for a long moment. His eyes were startling cobalt, pupils stretched vertically, and his jaw was clamped shut. I didn’t need to read his mind to know what he thought of seeing me in a currently shirtless Roth’s apartment, byhisbed and wearinghisshirt.

I started to explain why, even though it seemed unnecessary, but before I could utter a word, Roth spoke.

His smile was wide, but didn’t reach his eyes. “Hey, bro...”

A muscle ticked along Zayne’s jaw and then he spun on Roth, cocked back his arm and punched him right in the face.

18

Roth staggered back a step and the transformation took hold. Skin darkened to a smooth, polished onyx and wings sprouted from his back, spanning ten feet and arcing high in the air. The arches were adorned with sharp, deadly horns, but unlike the Wardens, his skull was bare.

His lips peeled back, revealing fangs. “Do it again.”

Zayne hadn’t shifted, but he did look as if he was about to punch Roth in the face again. It wasn’t that I doubted Zayne’s ability to hold his own, but Roth was an Upper Level demon, a Crown Prince, and, more importantly, fighting over this was stupid.

I darted between them, staring up into Zayne’s furious blue eyes. “Stop it.”

“Don’t listen to her.” In his true form, Roth’s voice was guttural and rough. “You know you don’t want to stop, Stony.”

I shot him a death glare. “Knock it off, Roth!”

His eyes, still golden, fixed on me. A tense moment passed as his clawed hand opened and closed, and I honestly thought he was going to pick me up and toss me out of the way. When he took a step back, my heart rate slowed. “Stony started it.”

“Wow.” I turned back to Zayne, who was eyeballing Roth. I placed my hands on his chest and the heat of his body burned through his shirt. “You need to calm down.”

“You let her get hurt,” he snarled.

Roth growled as he dipped his chin, as if he was preparing to charge. “I took care of her.”

“Like that makes it better?”

I pushed Zayne back. “He didn’tletme do anything. I went down there freely and he told me to leave, but I stayed. You trained me, Zayne. I was more than up to the fight—I killed the Nightcrawler.” Something everyone seemed to forget. “You can’t blame him for my getting hurt—barelyhurt. As you can see, I’m fine.”

Zayne’s gaze finally dropped to mine. His nostrils flared as he breathed deeply. There was another tense stretch of silence and then he jerked his chin in an abrupt nod.

Watching him for a second longer to make sure he wasn’t going to change his mind, I dropped my hands and faced Roth. When I saw that he was back in his human form, I relaxed a fraction.

“Now that that’s settled, did Abbot and the clan head to the school?”

“They’re there, but not willing to do anything until school lets out.” Zayne’s tone was clipped. “We’re taking care of it. No need to worry.”

Roth snorted. “Not that I was worried.”

A flash of anger traveled across Zayne’s face, and I knew the longer these two were in the same vicinity, the more the likelihood of boy fight round two breaking out increased.

“We should go,” I said quietly.

Zayne nodded. “I couldn’t agree more.”

I turned to say something to Roth—something like thank you, because he had helped me, but Zayne’s fingers unexpectedly threaded through mine. Roth’s narrowed gaze dropped to our joined hands. His mouth tightened and his features appeared starker—more skin and bone than anything else—and then a shutter slammed down, sealing away any thought or feeling.

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