Page 6 of Nest Of Lies

“I haven’t seen you before.” His voice is so pretty, so full of personality. I resist the urge to sigh and lean into him.

His lips brush against mine. It’s sudden and unexpected, and I’m suddenly flying. His kiss gives me the wings I’ve longed for. I let out a moan when he moves away and clutch at his shoulders, not letting him go. He’s all hot and hard muscles. I want to stroke him everywhere.

“What’s your name?”

My brain explodes into action. “Lia.”

“Lee-ah,” he drawls and presses his lips against mine.

I’m frozen, unsure of what to do. This is my first kiss. My first anything. Hot hands slide up under my jacket and top, up my rib cage. I’m going to drown in him. It’s too much. As his thumbs graze my under boob, I panic, and I tear myself free. I don’t knowwhat I’m doing. It’s too fast. Tearing away from him is crashing face first into the Earth. I have that same feeling that something is broken again.

I’m breathing like I’ve run miles. My eyes feel too wide, but my lips tingle. I lick the taste of him off, savouring the indescribable flavour.

He reaches for me again, but I’m snatched out of his reach by a new pair of hands. Firmer, harder, but again, the sense of hands that I recognise, that are familiar. But they’ve never touched me before.

“No, Ranger.”

I glance up into the face of one of the most dangerous men I’ve ever seen. Where the light is hiding the man who kissed me, a slither hits the one holding me and illuminates his angelic features. He exudes authority and control. He didn’t even raise his voice, but Ranger is frozen.

“Come with me,” he says to me softly.

It holds more menace than anything I’ve ever felt. Even so, I know that for the rest of my life, if he asks me to go with him, I will blindly follow.

His hand bracelets my wrist, and I’m given no choice but to follow him into the darkness. He pushes open a door, revealing dull light. We pass through another door, and I find a room lowly lit with several men all talking in low, intense voices.

“Out!” my captor snaps.

Everyone stands, and seven men leave the room at once, but three stay.

My stomach kicks as I try to take them in. One is dark-haired, dark-eyed, and looks a little crazy. He’s got tattoos on every patch of exposed skin, including the sides of his face just near the hairline and cheekbones. Another one is leaning against the wall, arms folded over his chest, looking completely disinterested. His skin is a tawny colour, and his eyes are dark, fathomless wells. But the third sees me, and his eyes travel up and down my person like I’m a lollipop he wants to devour. His arms have the most colourful tattoos that I want to study intently.

My captor frees me, and I step away from him, turning so that I can look at him, but the guy who kissed me has followed us into the room, too.

There’s so much to take in.

“Who are you!” I bark out. Be strong, Lia, you are a Raines.

My kisser smirks at me and moves further into the room, sitting on the edge of the desk. He’s got auburn hair and laughing eyes. I can just see tattoos poking out from under his sleeves and on his hands. I’ve never seen anyone with hair that colour. My fingers itch to touch it.

“The question is, who are you, Lia?”

I wish I hadn’t told him my name.

“Lia?” the commanding guy asks. He’s tall with dark brown hair and green eyes. He even has stubble making him look dangerous.

I think I’m struck instantly in lust with them.

“Do you have a tattoo as well?” I ask before I can rethink it.

The air in the room lightens.

“You want to see my tattoo?” the guy asks.

“Show her Zaden.” The guy who kissed me says. I glance at my captor. His name is Zaden? It’s pretty. “Let's see if the little mouse can handle you.”

Zaden slowly pulls his top off and throws it away. He turns slowly, revealing the most beautiful skull I’ve ever seen. It’s hidden in roses, and where it opens its mouth, you can see a road stretching into forever. It takes up his entire back.

I stroke my fingers over a black rose and his left shoulder blade.

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