Page 45 of Last Ride of the Umbra Fae

There was a long pause before either of them spoke again. A chair grated against the floor. Someone sat down. I could only assume it was Ryder in the way he groaned when he leaned back.

“This is just a job, End’s Wrath. One where people die every day where I’m from.”

“Does she know this was just a job for you? Or is that what you keep telling yourself because you’re just that stupid?”

Ryder laughed as I heard his hand drag across the scruff of his face. “Heaven’s hell, you are bold, old man.”

“Ain’t nothing funny, boy. You’ll walk away, expecting her to chase you down. Let me tell you right now, Vessa doesn’t chase. She hunts. You leave this city tonight, and she won’t ever go looking for you.”

“I beg to differ,” Ryder drawled in challenge. “You’ll see.”

My pulse pounded in my ears. I’d known Ryder was arrogant, but I couldn’t help the stone dropping into the pit of my stomach at the thought of him just up and leaving.

This is his job, Vessa. Rein your shit in.

With bated breath, I waited to hear what they would say next.

Suddenly, I heard the chair grate across the floor again. I took that as my sign to leave as I spun on my heels and slipped back into my room just as the door opened. Ryder’s boots thudded against the ground, the sound of his spurs clanking until he stopped right outside my door. I held my breath, hearing him exhale faintly on the other side. The hesitation clung to the air as a simple piece of wood stood between us. I could somehow sense the strain of thoughts that brushed against his mind; they came in a blazing heat whenever he was near me. As I waited for a knock, seconds went by, and my pulse throbbed in my ears as heat flushed across my face and chest. But then I heard the sound of his door closing.

I exhaled as a swell of emotions bled through me. I didn’t know how to feel about that. My thoughts were reeling. I started to feel the confinement of the city’s walls as they barreled toward me, straining every muscle in my body until the thoughts consumed me. My heart pounded against my chest, drowning out all sounds until there was a knock at my door. I paused, allowing myself to take a deep breath before I opened it to find Ryder leaning against the frame, already scouring my face as the tension in his brows lifted.

“Are you surprised to find me here?” I asked, looking up at him as a ghost of a smile appeared.

He tossed his head from side to side, weighing the options, and shrugged.

“Hmm, maybe.”

Though my heart was fluttering, my mind was reeling. This place was so loud, and I didn’t mean to share inner thoughts, but it slipped out. “Are you just going to stare me in the face, or ask me for some company in your room?”

He bit out a laugh as he combed a hand through his hair. His gaze lowered to my lips briefly, calculatingly, before he leaned down, curling an arm around my waist. With one forceful tug, asif he were roping me into his body, he leaned into the shell of my ear. “Desert Storm, I thought you’d never ask.”

28

Ryder

Ihadn’t fully grasped what I’d been doing when I’d pushed away the last payment from End’s Wrath, but seeing how much he valued Vessa had broken me a little. I’d never seen End’s Wrath show any sign of desperation, but the amount of nara coins he’d been willing to pay was enough. For all I knew, maybe this was one of his tests, one I wasn’t sure if I’d failed, but as I strode toward Vessa’s door, I felt like I had won the biggest prize of all.

I saw what the city was doing to her. All the sounds, the people, the reality of how fast the world was changing around us; she was drowning in the center of it. Like her, I wanted to escape. It was strange that every time my mind drifted, all I wanted was to be in her arms and hold her in mine.

I hesitated for a moment as I stood outside her door. I should have just left and slipped out of sight, never to be seen again, but I was a stupid fucking bastard.

Finish the job.

My heart was trying to shred apart my plans, and I was still walking the finest line, knowing there were flames chasing at my heels.

If I did leave, I would always have someone on my trail. I would never really be at peace.

When she opened the door, I somehow found that in her. I deliberately yanked her against my body to hear that little yelp I’d hoped she’d make when her hips pressed against mine. She did just that. The sound sent my cock swelling, and it did more as she reacted to the sound of my voice.

We both wanted to forget, and we were both running out of time. Between passionate kisses, I wanted to learn as much about her as I could, because there was this never-ending, overshadowing awareness that this could all end at any moment.

Fuck this city and this life. I wanted to get lost in her enchanting lavender eyes and kiss each luminous freckle across her face. To taste the magic of her darkness and lick it off her body like honey until the two of us were one. Then I would consume every part of her and drive her to the brink of madness with my cock.

She took my hand in hers and led me to my room. Like the desperate dog I was, I followed. She strode in as if she owned it, tossing her hat and gloves onto a settee and noticing my balcony had doors.

“Nice.” She threw me a wink before disappearing into the washroom. I assumed she’d pieced together that I’d made sure her balcony had no doors or windows, just a stoned balustrade so herfeathered bodyguardcould perch. I might not have liked the pasty prick in his male form, but he was bound to her.

I heard her shuffling around, which made me raise a brow. I waited a few moments, assuming she might have to relieve herself, but my heart nearly melted out of my chest when she walked out with the top few buttons of her shirt undone, exposing a sliver of the pale-blue undergarments I had surprised her with. She draped her leather vest over the knob of a chair and noticed the bag of black licorice ropes on the table. Shesmirked, plucking one from the sack, and took a small bite. Her eyes closed in a soft flutter as she moaned, casting a hooded gaze my way with a smile, knowing I watched her every move. A soft chuckle hummed in her chest as she closed the distance.

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