Page 111 of Kings & Chaos

I had to resist the urge to stroke his face, and if that didn’t spell trouble, I don’t know what did. Letting Neo take possession of my body was one thing, but having feelings for him? That was bound to be a disaster.

Too late.

Shut up, I ordered the voice my head.

Dumb voice.

I don’t know how to be gentle.

He hadn’t been kidding. I was already sore between my legs, not that I was complaining, because who would complain after having five orgasms — or was it six? — between the shower and the bed, then falling asleep against a perfect male specimen while he held on to you like he didn’t intend to ever let you go?

All that said, I was thirsty, the kind of thirsty you got after sweating in the sun or having marathon sex with a guy who couldn’t stop fucking you.

I slipped out from under his arm as carefully as I could, not wanting to wake him, then scanned the room for something I could wear to get water from the kitchen. I found my savior in a black hoodie tossed over the back of the sofa in Neo’s sitting area, a beautifully furnished mini-room that looked like it had never been used.

I pulled it on and inhaled his scent, then shook my head.

I was turning into a cock-struck idiot.

I let myself out of his room and used the back staircase to get to the kitchen. The house was quiet other than the almost soundless hum of the expensive refrigerator, and the time on the double ovens read 3:42 a.m.

I opened the fridge and removed three glass water bottles, then guzzled one like an animal while I stood at the counter.

By the time it was empty, I felt almost human, and I grabbed the other two to take back with me to Neo’s room. I wasn’t looking forward to hearingI told you sofrom Rock and Oscar, but the sex had been more than worth it, not to mention whatever was happening between Neo and me, which I didn’t dare analyze.

I was on my way back to the stairs when the power cut out. I might not have noticed it if not for the soft beep of the refrigerator and the now-dark display on the wall ovens.

I froze, and a soft rattle sounded from the door leading to the pool area at the back of the house. Someone was trying to break in, and the alarm was disabled because the power was out.

Adrenaline flooded my body as my mind rushed to calculate my options: make a run for the stairs and hope I had time to warn the Kings, or find something to defend myself and hope they heard the break-in.

The door clicked open, and a shadow of a figure appeared in the short hall leading to the back doors — right between me and the staircase.

I dropped the water bottles and ran for the entry. I’d expected the glass to shatter, alert the Kings, but the bottles were full of water and hit the floor with a dull thud instead.

“Fucking bitch.”

The voice was behind me, but not far enough behind me.

I was lucky to be barefoot. If I’d been wearing socks, I would have slid all over the wood floors, but I rounded the corner of the kitchen with ease, passing the living room and racing for the foyer.

I had the console table in sight when a gun fired from upstairs, and my heart leapt into my throat. The Kings were up there, and obviously not alone if someone was shooting.

I couldn’t think about that now. I had to stay alive.

I reached the console table and yanked open the drawer. Everything inside it slid around, and I fumbled frantically, feeling for the gun. I had a moment of panic when I thought they might have moved it, then my hand closed around the smooth cool grip of the handgun.

I only had a second to feel relief before a hand came down on my shoulder from behind.

I spun, pulling away from the iron grip as I raised the gun, and caught a glimpse of a masked face, cold blue eyes staring out at me from the eyeholes.

“Should have listened, bitch.” He knocked the gun out of my hand and I leapt after it, hitting the floor hard, scrambling forward in the dark, feeling for the gun as his hand closed around my ankle.

Another gunshot from upstairs.

I was on my stomach, kicking and screaming, my fingers grazing the gun as the man tried to pull me backwards while I fought to move forward. It was like one of those dreams where you’re running down a hallway but the hall just keeps getting longer and longer so you can never reach the end.

Except this time, I reached the end.

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