Page 6 of Ensnared
“For my trip to Anchorage?”
I say it as a question because I don’t understand why he’s frowning. Ty was so hurt last night, he wouldn’t stand for me remaining here. And I’d nearly killed Jack. My stomach twists at the memory of his naked body lying on the beach, and I’m glad I hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday.
Aiden’s scowl doesn’t budge. “You’re not going anywhere.”
I blink. “What?”
“You have work to do, and you can’t do it remotely. So you’re staying.” With that, he sits on the couch and produces a folded sheaf of papers from inside his jacket. “This is what you’ll be working on next. And your new contract. The NDA you signed is still in force, of course.”
I walk over to him on unsteady feet. He’s not sending me away? I don’t know how I feel about that. I get to stay here, which is what I thought I wanted all along. But that means I’ll be living in the same village as Ty, who now hates me, and Jack, who might not wake up from whatever magical hell I’ve sent him to. I don’t know how I can face them after they’ve trusted me.
I lied to them about who I am and let them get close to me.
Shame floods me, threatening to pull me under. It’s a familiar emotion, but I still don’t know how to cope with it. Aiden is watching me closely. He puts the contract on the cushion next to him and waits for me to speak.
“I don’t know how…” My voice gets stuck in my throat, so I swallow and try again. “How is Jack? Has he woken up yet?”
His mouth twists to one side in a grimace. “Not yet. But he’s just sleeping at this point, I think. He’ll be fine.”
I gape at him. “How can you say that? I nearly killed him with my magic!”
“He’s stronger than you,” he retorts, “and your magic didn’t killyou.”
He doesn’t meet my gaze as he says it, so he’s probably embellishing the truth. Why? I sink onto the couch and put my hands between my knees, my silver bracelets digging into my skin.
“I still don’t know what happened. It’s never… I mean, I wasn’t wearing these, but I’ve had…”
I don’t want to say the words out loud. I have no idea why, but talking about my past sexual experiences with Aiden isweird.
“You’ve had sex without your bracelets on?” he supplies anyway.
My cheeks heat, but I force myself to look up at him. “Yeah. That.”
“With a human?” he asks.
I think back to the few boyfriends I’d had. Come to think of it, I’d never had sex with Cameron without wearing these, because he didn’t like me being without them. I cringe at the thought. He was a grade-A asshole, and I should have figured it out sooner. But other than him, all my boyfriends had been human. I’d dated them in college, at MIT, away from home and my family’s rules for the first time in my life.
I vividly remember one particular evening. My then-boyfriend took me on a picnic in the park and we got busy behind some bushes. It’s what you do when you’re twenty-one and a horny mess of hormones. But we’d been far away from all gadgets and devices that usually come with cities, so I’d taken off my bracelets.
Still, I did not create a fireball as we fucked, nor did the guy pass out from it.
I chew on this. “The guy was human, yeah. No flames, not even sparks went off that time.”
His expression goes carefully blank. “Did you climax?”
I glare at him in outrage, and he lifts his shoulders.
“It might be important,” he adds.
I think back on the event. It wasn’t memorable, but by then I’d become familiar enough with my body that I could bring myself to an orgasm most of the time, even if the guy was incompetent.
“Pretty sure I did,” I mumble. “Not that it’s any of your business.”
None of the sex I’d had prior to Amber Bay compares to what I’ve discovered here, though. Whether it was Ty, Jack, or both together, I’ve experienced more pleasure in the past month than I have in my life. Even the thought of what we did on the beach—before the eruption of my soul-sucking flames—has me growing hot under the collar. I still feel the phantom touch of Ty’s hands on my body, and the memory of Jack inside me is too fresh to ignore.
I cross my legs in an effort to control myself.
Aiden’s nostrils flare, and his gaze goes down to my lap. Iswearhis eyes glitter for a moment, almost like he sparkled last night. I blink, and his expression is neutral again, though he’s squeezing his fists so much, his veins pop up on the backs of his hands.
