Page 37 of Iris
I’m so stunned, I can’t move. I can’t breathe. Her lips are soft, warm, and she smells even better in my arms, which I wrap around her and pull her in even closer. I know she did this move to tick off Killian, but when her lips part, I see my chance and slide my tongue inside.
The kisses immediately transform into something primal. Something hot and wild. She tastes better than she smells, and I’m not even sure how that’s possible.
I take over the kiss, exploring her mouth, and her soft mewl of need is something I’ll definitely be jacking off to later.
When she finally pulls free, she stares up at me, eyes dilated and a bit off-kilter.
“I’ve got to go,” she says and blinks to regain herself. “I’m late.”
Then she rushes to the door and races off into the late afternoon.
Killian turns the lock again once she’s gone and leans against the wood. “Wipe the smug look off your face. She only did that to piss me off.”
“Good thing we won’t see her again,” he mutters.
No, he’s right. We probably won’t.
CHAPTER
TWELVE
Iris
Oh, my fucking god.
I kissed him.
Xavier.
That silent, intimidating man, the one who could have wiped out that entire group of stupid drunk Alphas. Probably? Definitely.
I kissed him.
I run and raise my hand, putting it to my burning, swollen lips. I’ve never kissed a man before. Not like that. I’ve kissed a few boys as a teen, but there’s no way in hell anyone would put Xavier down as a boy.
Thing is, I wanted to keep kissing him, and then…I wanted to kiss Killian. Even if he infuriates me with his arrogance.
And that only ticks me off more. I should be repulsed by him and his flirting, yet here I am wondering what it’d be like to taste him, too.
I race through the streets, the cool kiss of spring still in the air. People bump against me, but I keep my head down and head to the Council building.
I don’t really know sign language, but the first thing I’m going to do when I get home is watch some how-to videos and teach myself. It’ll come in handy when I go back?—
Wait, what am I thinking? I can’t go back to the bar. I’m lucky no one saw me in that part of town as it is. I shouldn’t be risking my reputation like this. Especially for two Alphas who seem to be involved in some not-so-clean things. They could be criminals for all I know. Murderers.
Visiting the Black Briar would be stupid and irresponsible.
So, I press on, legs burning and my lungs feeling like I’m breathing water. I’m not the sporty one. That’d be Rue with the endless bounds of energy. I barely passed all my physical education requirements at school.
That makes me think of Emmie. The Delta, Freya, definitely isn’t her mother. When I had tried to ask her questions about the Alphas, she just blew me off and told me she wasn’t going to get in trouble; she needs the job. So she’s just an employee, not blood related or mated to any of them.
The idea of Xavier and Killian being mates themselves is almost laughable now. Even though they did seem to bicker like a couple, it was more like brothers than lovers. But Emmie calling them both Daddy and Papa makes things much more interesting.
Part of me wondered—briefly—if she’d been adopted, but Emmie’s definitely biologically one of theirs. But whose is the big mystery. She not only shares their looks but their temperament. The dirty blond hair could be from Killian. But the shape of her face, the shape of her nose and eyes, is all Xavier. She’s quick to emotion, which is Killian all the way, but curious and spontaneous, which reminds me of Xavier.
Maybe that’s the point. Maybe they don’t want to know whose she truly is.
