Page 72 of Wild Fury (Fallen Royals 6)

I go easily, more surprised than anything. My fingers snag the camera’s strap, drawing it toward me, but then I go completely still. Theo winds his hand into my hair, pulling my head back just a bit.

I’m level with his groin.

Oh god.

“Do the rumors kill you on the inside?” he asks. “Do they make your cheeks turn a pretty shade of red?”

He tugs me even farther away, until I tip my head back and meet his gaze.

“Does this turn you on?” I can’t help the question. “Does me on my knees do it for you like nothing else?”

He grimaces and releases me.

I latch on to his legs, winding my hands around the backs of his thighs. I don’t know why. I have the inexplicable urge to follow my instincts: to drag his pants down and suck him off, even when we’re just around the corner from a thousand people. His muscles twitch under my palms.

“I’m not afraid of public humiliation.” I lean forward and bite the waistband of his tight black pants. He probably has a cup on to protect himself, but I need to see how far he’ll go.

“Stop,” he growls.

He yanks me up, and my teeth release the fabric with a snap.

“You don’t turn me on,” he says.

Lies.

“You on your knees doesn’t do it for me. Every time I see you, I want to smash your skull in.” He guides me back to the wall.

My head hits the painted brick. He’s transfixed. His gaze travels over my face, my parted lips, my hair, my eyes.

“Like that. Harder. Over and over until your blood runs free.” His hand on the base of my throat isn’t hard. He barely touches me at this point.

I can see it. The wild look in his eyes. The way he believes what he says. I reach out and grab his jaw, just because he’s close enough. Because I don’t think he’ll murder me tonight.

It’s always a limit with him, to see how far I can shove before he breaks.

Or before he breaks me.

“Trust me, Theo, you’ll fall in love with me long before you can commit murder.”

My words startle him. Maybe that’s why he jerks away like my grip burns, why he turns away.

He pauses, though, just on the edge of returning to the field.

“The rumors will end now,” he tells me. “But you and I…”

I know. I’ve only showed him the demons that run through my mind in small pieces. They’re kept well at bay, but sometimes I just want to scream. To release my anger in a way that inflicts the most damage.

I lift my chin, even though his back is still to me. The motion gives me the illusion of being strong. “I want your darkness,” I call. “All of it. I’ll dive through it until I find something more.”

His laugh drifts back toward me. “There is nothing more.”

22

Lux

I put on my new LBU hoodie and double-check my camera. The battery, the lenses. Ruby busies herself with makeup, a dark swipe of eyeliner, mascara. She seems bolder tonight, her movements bigger.

Perhaps she and Sebastian have settled on their lies.

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