Page 129 of Sugar Rush

"Three … two … one! Okay, get your cocks out and fuck me senseless!"

Ark laughed. X didn't; he reached for his zip and dragged it down, staring at me like he wanted to devour me.

"Not so fast," a low, rumbly voice cut in, and I spun towards the door with a sound of whining complaint when Dev entered with Taj and Joseph. "I've got plans, babygirl."

"We'vegot plans," Arkan corrected, standing in a rush of elegant movement that made me want to ride him right here, right now.

"What's with the suitcase?" I asked, frowning at the bright pink case in Dev's hand.

"Jezebel's in charge for the next three days," he replied, as if that meant anything to me. "And we've taken care of everything that demands urgent attention."

"So…"

"So," Dev said with a grin, "I believe I owe you a private island and a holiday, babygirl."

It took a moment for his words to compute, and then I threw myself at him boobs-first with a squeal.

* * *

It was paradise.It wasn't even a shitty island like the Isle of Deysi; it was a hot, beautiful, lush island somewhere near Barbados. Ish. I didn't ask for specifics; I saw a big, white house and raced towards it. The time difference between here and Hell was big enough that the sun shone bright, warm on my back.

We dumped our suitcases in the house and ran onto the sandy beach with shrieks of delight. Okay, it was just me and X shrieking, but still.

I raced right into the ocean with a laugh of pure happiness, my heart buoyant and light.

"Don't go too far out!" Dev yelled.

"Don't worry," Joseph shouted. "If you drown, I'll save you."

That wasn't as comforting as he intended. But it didn't stop me splashing into the shallows, throwing water at Ark when he followed us into the water. The flash of challenge in his pale eyes made my stomach squirm, and I ducked on instinct as he used his shadows to send a tidal wave over my head.

"Hey! Magic is cheating."

He smirked, utterly at ease. My heart went all soft to see it. "It's not cheating if you match me."

"Oh, you're on, wraith daddy!"

He snorted at the name, but stopped laughing when I made a bucket from my magic and dumped water overhishead. X floated on his back, laughing at us, and the others settled onto sun loungers to watch. Damn, this was the life. I could get used to this.

* * *

"A little higher,"I murmured, letting my eyes fall shut when Taj glowered hard enough that anyone else would have pissed themselves. To his credit, he fanned the giant palm leaf higher, sending blessedly cool air over my chest and face. "Perfect."

There was no hiding how pleased he was with the praise; it filled his soul and rushed into mine, trailing love, and devotion.

I cracked an eye open when cool hands lifted my legs, and watched Joseph caress my left calf before beginning a massage that bled all the tension from me. I groaned.

"This massage better be foreplay," I muttered, letting my eyes fall shut again. "I'm so needy I could die from horniness."

"You can't die from that," Taj scoffed.

"It’s possible," X disagreed.

Warm fingers tip-tapped a path up my other leg, and I knew it was X by the satisfaction that swelled in his soul—and probably in other, harder areas too.

"I got you another cocktail, princess," Ark told me, his voice as cold as ever but softer around the edges when he spoke to me.

It probably helped that I'd murdered his dad; it had certainly helped my mental health to do the same. It helped even more that we'd all been there, we shared equal blame and credit, and X made the killing blow with me. It stopped those niggling guilty thoughts in their tracks, and reminded me what Eidolon did to X and why he deserved to be dead.

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