Page 35 of Let Us Prey

He lifts his head and winks. “Baby Girl, you squeeze as hard as you want. If I die, I die, baby.”

Picking up a pillow with a limp hand, I smack him with it. “Don’t be a cheesy asshole.”

“Sorry. Just how I’m built.” He rolls to his feet and my eyes widen as I watch the evidence of his arousal bob in his sweats as he heads to the bathroom. When he comes back with a towel, he cleans me up and moves the discarded vibe to the nightstand. “Now, I believe you owe me cuddles.”

“What about…”

“Not tonight, baby girl. This one was for you. We’ll get to me next time.”

I’m a little stunned as I do what he says, slipping under my covers and waiting until he joins me.

Fitz just made himself the little spoon and I think I’m in serious trouble.

I wakeup a couple of hours later, and he’s gone. There’s a warm spot where he was when I fell asleep, but I guess I can’t expect him to leave Chess alone. He said he wanted to stay until I was sleeping and I can’t fault him for being honest.

What I can fault him on is hiding in my damn closet and scaring the piss out of me, but right now, I can’t bring myself to object more than I did earlier. My body is humming with satisfaction and I feel amazing.

Anyone who tells you there’s not a difference between a boy and a man is a filthy liar.

My basis for comparison is not extensive, but Todd couldn’t even find my goddamn clit and Fitz went for it like it had a neon sign flashing at him. Everything he did was geared to making me feel good, even though I’m woefully inexperienced compared to the other women he’s been with.

Rolling over, I wrap myself around the pillow his head rested on and inhale. I know it’s not illegal to be involved with professors at Apex, and shifters don’t have the same weird hang-ups about age gaps that humans do. I’m not underage and I definitely can make my own decisions, so I’m not about to worry what a bunch of bitches who already called me a whore all summer think.

Making an irritated face, I consider what will happen if Fitz is right and the others actually want more than just flirting with the pretty co-ed. That will paint an even bigger target on my back because that’s… a lot of guys and they’re all hot enough to burn down a freezer factory.

I might even have staff members after me.

Merciful Frigg, I might have Khans after me!

That thought has me burying my face in my pillow and letting out a frustrated growl into the stuffing.

Good going, Dolly. Take the hardest route possible every time.

I clutch the pillow and chew my lip before I mutter, “It’s not like you know for sure yet. Maybe they have no interest in you at all and this is all… sound and fury.”

The quote makes me think of Renard and I thump my head against the pillows again, cursing my brain as it races through all the possibilities. I can’t seem to stop thinking about this now that Fitz made it crystal clear what he wants to happen. It was surprising, but the tiger has taken care of me from the second he met me. I bet he was the same way when he found Chess and, if so, he looks at his family groupthe same way.

Odd that he’s younger than Felix; with that behavior, you’d think he was a Raj, not an enforcer.

Shaking my head, I blow out a breath. I’m going to need to walk off all these thoughts or I’m never getting back to sleep. I have dance in the morning and I can’t fall over, so I’m going to take a stroll around the second floor until I get sleepy.

That should help me get some fucking rest.

Detective

Delores

This place isdrafty as hell. I’m glad I pulled my giant bunny snuggie thing on before I explored in the middle of the night. There wasn’t much in the rooms at the other end of the hall near the back stairs—boxes, dusty furniture, paintings, and a bunch of stuff that looks like it’s being used as storage space.

So much for finding something to occupy my brain until I get tired again.

I turn around, marching down my hallway to the stone steps they have given me permission to use. Technically, I’m only supposed to go down, but I’m not leaving the safety of this place at three a.m. It’d be risking my life and I’m sure as hell not that bored.

Tapping my fingers against my lips, I look around for a second before I take one tentative step up toward the third floor. No alarms go off as far as I can tell, so I grin to myself and start the hike up the spiral staircase excitedly. I wondered what the hell else was in this place from the minute Fitz moved me in and the whole ‘don’t go anywhere outside of your room’ shit was way too Beauty & the Beast for me.

Telling me where I can’t go is like begging me to go there, for fuck’s sake!

When I reach the landing, I tiptoe up to the entry arch to the floor, scoping it out before I walk in. Nothing pops out at me or starts blaring a loud noise, so I pad into the hallway of the floor above mine. The layout is similar, though it appears to have fewer doors. I wonder if they have knocked walls out to make bigger areas for something… like a library.

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