Page 35 of Hot Blooded
“How’s your littlerelationshipwith Kai?” Alastair asks, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Reign growls in anger. “I don’t have relationships. I have possessions. And no one touches my shit.” Still fuming, he holds out one hand toward me. “Come, Tressa. It’s time to go.”
His words mix inside me. Does he consider Kai a possession? Or does he mean me? Do I even want him to think of me like that?
We haven’t been here long—I never even got to dance, but I don’t argue. I don’t feel much like celebrating anymore, anyway. I place my palm against his and he hauls me to my feet.
“Stay out of trouble, Alastair,” Reign barks out as we leave.
“Why in God’s name would I do that?” Alastair’s low chuckle is the last thing I hear before Reign is guiding me down the hallway as fast as my high-heeled feet will carry me.
Tonight has been a disaster… a complete and utter disaster.
Reign and I only make it a dozen steps before he stops and presses my back against the wall.
“What are you doing?” I gaze up at him.
“Something I should have done a long time ago.”
Then his mouth descends on mine, and I moan in pleasure as he takes my lips in a searing kiss.
I wrap my arms around his wide shoulders and grip him tight, lifting up on my toes to press closer.
When my lips part, his tongue sweeps inside and my entire body trembles with how good it feels to be claimed by him in this way. Hot, eager strokes of his tongue turn my body into a warm puddle of need. Desire surges through me and gives in to the pleasure of the moment.
He pulls back suddenly. “You’re mine now. Do you understand that?”
I nod, feebly.
Maybe I shouldn’t just blindly agree, but the idea of belonging somewhere, with someone—it nearly overwhelms me.I’ve been all alone for so long now. The idea of being with Reign is a very intoxicating one, even if a fairy-tale ending isn’t in the cards for us.
“Do you trust me?” His voice is a deep rasp, barely audible over the pounding of my heart.
“I think so.”
“Good. Then come with me.”
Chapter 18
Tressa
In the car, I try to mask my emotions by fixing a neutral expression on my face. Reign navigates the darkened road with an equally distant and stormy look.
“Will you tell me about her?” I say finally, unable to help myself.
“Who?” he says dryly, as if there is anyone else I might be curious about tonight.
I give him a pointed look. “Kai.”
He flinches at my use of her name. “If you like.” He sounds hesitant.
I swallow and wait for him to begin, but he doesn’t. “Alastair said you two have a history.”
He inhales. “I suppose we do.”
I wait while Reign works out in his head how best to tell me the story of his past. My stomach is still twisted into a painful knot.
“Kai is…” he starts, then stops himself and draws a slow breath. Even her name is exotic and unique. Reign starts again, slowly. “We met a long time ago. In Stockholm. She lived there at the time. I lived in Paris, but was on a weekend holiday. We had a…” he clears his throat, “…a physical connection of sorts.”
