Page 12 of Wretched Soul
When she doesn’t move, I smile. It’s a small victory. “You watched the barman pour the drinks. My hands are still on the bar. The glasses haven’t left your sight, and if you hadn’t been paying attention, I’ve been watching them for you. Watching is what I’m good at.”
“I bet you like lurking in shadows.”
“It’s my favorite place,” I admit. “Now, take the glass. Trust me, it’s safe.”
Lily still hesitates, but then her shoulders drop as she relaxes. “Fuck this, I need a drink,” she mutters, grabbing the nearest glass.
Ice cubes rattle as she tips the drink back. Her head falls against my shoulder. The smell of citrus grows stronger as she downs the Cointreau, leaving only melting ice and a stain of her red lipstick on the glass.
My fingers dig into the hard surface of the bar, but even though I refrain from wrapping my arms around her, she leans back as if I’d given into the urge to pull her closer. My hard length presses against her back. The sway of her hips tells me she’s noticed.
“What now, Shadowman?” she asks, a little breathlessly.
“Shadowman?”
“Hmm, maybe that is a bit of a mouthful,” she muses. “I’ll just call you Shade for short.”
I like that. But I still have the task of picking a pet name for her. Damn, this is getting way too intimate and I haven’t even kissed her yet. I let out a groan as her ass presses harder against me. “You’re going to be the death of me… Shadow Slayer.”
Lily giggles. “I think we’ve reached the point where you can just call me Slayer.”
“Noted,” I say, my lips hovering back over her ear. “And have we reached the point where I’m allowed to kiss your neck?”
I watch her reflection in the mirror. Lily bites her lower lip and sucks it into her mouth before releasing it. She wants to say yes, but I can understand why she’s still unsure. I should at the very least give her my name, but I like this game. I think she likes it too.
“OK,” I say when she doesn’t answer. “How about you just say no, if you don’t want me to do this…”
I nudge her hair away with my nose, exposing her neck as I press my mouth to the pulse point beneath her ear. I can feel the vibration of her groan against my lips. I move the kiss lower to her collarbone. I get a good view down the front of her dress, and Lily’s next groan echoes down my own throat.
“Shade,” she whispers softly.
It’s not a no, so I trail my tongue back up her neck. As I follow her jawline, her breath quickens. She tastes salty sweet, and it reminds me of the chocolate I’d tasted on her lips. My mouth finds her ear, and I suck on her lobe, flicking her tiny diamond stud and nipping at soft skin.
Slowly, the heat and music of the club filters back into my consciousness, reminding me of where we are. I pull away. I should walk away…
Lily rests against my chest as she lays a hand on my right forearm. Her fingers caress the sleeve of my suit jacket then trace the edges of my cuff. “Now that you’ve had your little exploration of my body, you have to give me something in return.”
“I hadn’t realized we were entering a deal,” I say, but my curiosity is piqued. I’m hypnotized by the way her fingers are playing with the cufflink on my shirt. “What do you want, Lily?”
Her shoulders shake with a low chuckle, making her tits jiggle. I have to bite down hard on my lip.
“Do you have tattoos under there?” she asks, tapping my cuff.
“Yes.”
“Can I see?”
I taste blood as I bite harder on my lip. Fuck. I try to loosen my jaw and relax. “I suppose it’s only fair.”
In slow, careful moves, Lily undoes the cufflink and sets it on the bar. She slides her hand beneath my cuff so we’re skin onskin. She uses both hands to tug up my jacket and shirt sleeve, managing to expose half of my forearm before she concentrates her attention on my inked skin. The pad of her finger follows the point of a sword protruding from beneath the shield design that remains half-hidden by my clothes. It might just be the most erotic experience of my life. Plenty of women have explored my body, but only Lily’s fingers touch my soul.
“You’re a protector,” she says simply.
I try to shake my head. I don’t want her to get the wrong impression of me. She can’t go falling for some false image I know she’s already constructing in her mind. “I’m no knight in shining armor, Lily.”
Unperturbed, her finger continues to trace the coat of arms on the lower part of the shield. She can only see the feet and tail of what she will assume is a lion. She doesn’t know it’s a griffin. She doesn’t know I’m a Griffin.
She doesn’t need to know, I tell myself as I tip my head back and look upwards. The people in the upper floors are mostly silhouetted, but I’m good at seeing in the dark. I spot Calder watching me with a wide fucking grin on his face.
