Page 23 of Puck my Prey
CHAPTER EIGHT
CORA
Footsteps followed me up the stairwell, leaving me in a fizz of anticipation.
I’d been a mess walking home from the club—fine, wobbling my way home—after what we’d done together in the parking lot. And I knew Valentine would rip me a new one because I was lost in my head the entire time, not in the least security conscious, but thinking back over the entire evening, from wishing he was there, to seeing him again. Flirting with him shamelessly until the moment when I told him I was going to dance and read the raw hunger in his eyes and then…
That was it. That was the moment that everything came back to. Probably a whole lot before, tension building between us all week, but tonight, it wasthat moment. When he took my hand and led me through the crowd, his hands landing on my waist as I moved just for him, his eyes drinking me in.
I’d never felt so worshipped in my entire life.
That I’d fallen for the new Chimera’s defender was an absolute, unequivocalyes.Resounding, and completely unethical, at least from where I stood on my wobbling,exhausted, slicked legs as I pushed my building door open and hauled my trembling body upstairs, praying he wouldn't make me wait too long.
When the footsteps—slow, deliberate and absolutely meant to be heard—echoed mine in the same, slow rhythm, I knew the person making them followed me for a reason.
Valentine hid the sounds of his approach well. I hadn't heard his bike this time at all, hadn’t seen his shadow lurking in any of the alleys near my apartment building. Not that my attention had been on such things since I’d been concentrating on…well him. Just the version of him from about an hour ago.
Yes, he could tell me off about that later too, though I didn't think he’d yell. Valentine had his own way of hauling my ass back to reality with a quiet word, or even no words at all.
He certainly hadn’t used a lot of those tonight, and the ones he had used were…
Well placed.
Thatgood girlstill reverberated through me. My face heated for the millionth time as I pushed my key into the lock, blessedly turned it on the fourth try, and managed to open my door. I left the lock off, the door ajar as requested and headed for my room, shedding clothing as I went.
The beaded dress was discarded first, my bag with my other things in it left in the kitchen. My phone vibrated in my bag and I extracted it to find a one word message from my Chimera of choice.
Valentine: RUN, Cora.
I smiled, staring at the screen as I listened for his entry into my apartment, but the hallway remained silent. Anticipation built in my belly. I tapped out a reply.
Cora: The door is open for you. xx
When he didn’t reply, I shoved my phone back into my bag that matched my discarded dress and tugged remnants of tape from my boobs. Shaking my head, I fluffed my hair out, deciding to leave my heels on. Valentine seemed like the kind of man who would appreciate a little playacting and drama after all.
A glance over my shoulder told me that I was still the sole occupant of the apartment, though I didn’t put it past him to sneak in and watch me undress. It seemed to be the sort of thing he would be into. Maybe we could make a game of it later on, another night.
The stickiness between my thighs reminded me of tonight's game. I headed straight for my bedroom, and climbed onto my bed. My toys were in my top drawer. I left the curtains hanging open; at the height of my top floor building, even though it was older and not in the best of areas, no one was around to look in. Still, I liked being able to see the world in the evenings and I rarely closed the place up.
Lying back on my bed, I scrounged in the drawer with one hand, seeking…yes. I came up with hard, cold metal, and snapped one end up the handcuffs around my wrist. The other end I attached to the bed frame, and the key I pressed to the middle of the decorative pillow beside me.
A present for Valentine whenever he decided to release me.
On impulse, I grabbed the next thing I found in the drawer: a silky blindfold that came with a toy pack once that I’d never used. What was the point with no one to watch me, no one to hide myself from? But tonight I had a watcher.
The front door creaked, and snicked softly as it shut. I fumbled the satin black mask over my eyes one handed and lay back, attempting to breathe gently and not hyperventilate. Mylegs spread a little, then wider.Why not? It was his mess on display, and mine, after all. Maybe he’d do us both a favor and clean me up? The thought left me hot and gushing. I moaned softly, tilting my hips restlessly as the footsteps found my room and stopped.
Within seconds I had a love/hate relationship with the blindfold.
I loved that I had to rely on my other senses to form a picture of what was going on in my bedroom around me, but also I hated that I couldn't read Valentine's expression. Was he happy with how I’d presented myself? Did he want something different?
A frustrated noise built in my chest. I slapped the pillow, intent on freeing myself with the key I’d left there and…
Came up empty.
“Oh, Cora. No. That’s not going to happen.”
I froze at the high pitched, thin voice that most definitely wasn't Valentine’s deeper, smoother version.
