Page 133 of Broken Souls
I hug him tight as I feel a large weight lift off my chest. The pain isn’t gone, but it’s finally starting to heal.
Weare finally starting to heal.
Forty-Six
HER
By the time we fix our clothes and make it outside, the party is in full swing and most of the nibbles are gone. Even though no one has started dancing yet, the music from the live band is loud, and the chatter is non-stop. Guests mull around in their four-figure dresses and suits. Red and white roses decorate the light-gray stone tiles around the pool. In the rays of the setting sun, white wisteria and red Chinese paper lamps hang from lines that have been stretched across the patio.
Eyes turn towards us as we step through the double glass doors of the living room. Maddox whistles from over by the pool, and the rest of his brothers soon join in, clapping and hollering and acting like a bunch of idiots bowing down to the king of the frat house the next morning. My cheeks heat as I glance at Varius, but he doesn’t seem embarrassed at all.
Then again, he is still wearing the pink collar despite it being heavily stained with the cum I squirted everywhere while I was riding his face. I tried to get him to take it off when he changed his shirt, but he refused. So there it sits around his neck, the bow crinkled and damp and smelling like me.
My blush spreads further as I duck my head. Reaching over to me, he lifts my chin. My lips part as I glance at him, but his attention is on my father, who has just come over to greet us.
“Congratulations,” Stefaan says, bowing his head. “I am honored to have you as part of my family.”
“We are honored to have you here. How was the trip through the mountains?”
His lips tighten. “We transported in.” Bio transportation magic is rare. Not only is it a hard skill to learn as a witch has to memorize every particle inside the circle before they can cast the spell, but the risk of things going wrong is too great. One small miscalculation on the caster’s part could have their client’s eyes left behind or their body morphed together with the rocks that accidentally got transported with them. It doesn’t matter that all transporters must now be trained and licensed by the SCU – one of the rare rules of theirs that we all follow, the fear of permanent pain and disfigurement trumps low statistics.
For Stefaan to have decided to use one, he must have calculated that there was little chance they’d survive if they drove through the Death Hunt territory, which includes most of the mountain ranges on the east coast of America.
“Have they started attacking you?” Varius demands, and I can feel his paranoia that he wasn’t informed. He must have spies in the werewolves’ territory. Have they all been killed? Or worse, turned?
Stefaan hesitates for a second. Then he straightens his spine. “No. They’ve been killing our competition.” A silent show of what an alliance with them could mean for the Blacks. Varius might’ve given them territory and the means to start dealing Ricks and Vs, luxury sex drugs, which will increase their income greatly, but turning on us now won’t make them lose either of those things.
I tense, my eyes darting across the crowd, wondering if the assassins he brought with him are actually here to kill us. I spot Andrea Turner in a long black dress, talking to Rudy. Her hands move freely as she signs, but the fact that she isn’t holding a weapon at the moment means nothing. Rudy is a cleaner, not a fighter, and Varius will sacrifice his life to save his brother. I know how much Rudy means to him – the same as Lou means to me. Andrea can have a knife to his throat before Rudy’s eyes can even signal to his brain that she’s moved.
And then there’s Jaclyn Hoscheid in a dark-blue gown with a slit down the side. She’s talking to Sharee Smith, who is wearing a green dress that flares out at her hips and stops at her knees. Jaclyn is an amplifier, able to increase the strength and magic of her allies. Sharee is a telekinetic. She isn’t as strong as Enoch or Ezriel, but she can bend light and sound waves to turn invisible and move without a sound.
I know Father brought six others with him, but I don’t see them. Are they innocently obscured from view given the density of the crowd, or are they lying in wait, planning an attack?
They’d have to take out Khalid before they can touch Varius, but now that he’s bonded to his girl, his attention might be divided. I don’t know if I trust his ability to protect my husband when she’s here.
My skin prickling, I wish I had my fucking magic. Or at least a knife, but I can’t hide one in this dress, and wearing one openly is a sign of mistrust of our allies. Varius has a few on his body though. I step closer to him, ready to grab the one he has under his jacket if shit turns crazy.
“We’ll send an escort back with you,” Varius says, as if he’s worried about my father rather than suspects him of betraying us.
Stefaan shakes his head. “Thank you, but I would rather you keep your men here to watch over my two daughters. Antonio has not neared our territory himself, and seeing the other guests here, I’m not the one he will go after.” His eyes find Aleric, who’s flirting with a woman I don’t know. She’s glaring at him though, which makes me instantly like her.
“Besides,” Father says with a bit of a smile. “Without Lou with us, I do not fear making it back without casualties.”
I smirk. She’s so useless in a fight. My eyes search for her as they continue to talk. Varius gets information on William Florsley, the man who’s supposedly after me for not having assassinated his kid like I said I would years ago.
My sister’s talking to Dayne near the pool. She glances over at me and smiles with a big wave. Excitement lights up her eyes. I take a step towards her, not having seen her in forever, but Varius’ hand on the back of my neck stops me from going further. He pulls me back to his side without looking at me at all.
My eyes narrow in annoyance. But I’m not dumb enough to fight with him here, where he’d be forced to punish me in front of all these people. They might be our allies but only because they believe we can win against Antonio. If they smell any hint of weakness from Varius, we will no longer be a worthy investment for them to support.
So I wait impatiently while he continues to talk with my father. Then, when Stefaan finally leaves, I wait some more as another guest takes his place. I spend the next hour with Varius’ hand collared around my neck. His thumb strokes my skin, sending delicious shivers down my spine every few minutes. My nipples start to harden against the fabric of my dress, and I shift on my feet to relieve some of the sudden restlessness coursing through my legs. None of the guests who have come up to us have addressed me, so I’ve not had anything to concentrate on other than his touch. The pink collar around his neck isn’t helping things either. It should look ridiculous, but he’s wearing it without shame, and that level of confidence is freaking hot.
Dropping his hand from my neck as he converses with three of his capos, Varius then cups my ass. He massages me without breaking conversation. My cheeks heat as I stay dead still, trying not to give anything away. Thankfully, we haven’t made it that far out of the house, and there’s no one behind us.
But his hand doesn’t just stay on my ass check. It starts to roam, two fingers dipping between my thighs from the back. I subtly bite my lip to stop a moan from escaping, but by the number of vampire heads turning towards me, it’s a useless gesture. If Varius can smell me when I’m aroused, then so can all of them.
Fuck.
His fingers rub between my pussy lips a few more times before he lifts his hand to my waist. I start to breathe a sigh of relief, but then I realize his hand hasn’t gone to my waist at all. It’s slipping through the side of my backless dress to come around and cup my naked breast. Not even trying to hide the fact that he’s groping me, he starts to play with my nipple. The conversation doesn’t break at all.
