Stone Cold Touch

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  As he continued to stare, heat curled low in my belly, especially when his tongue slipped out and glided over his upper lip. Light reflected off the bolt and I felt my skin flush. I didn’t like what was starting to go on inside my body. And I didn’t like that he was staring at me, that he even felt as though he was allowed to at this point.

  And I sure as Hell didn’t like the breathlessness invading my chest either.

  “Stop staring at me,” I ordered.

  He shocked the demon out of me by dragging his gaze up, the concentrated power behind his irises searing my skin as he rose. A moment passed and then he spoke. “Lie back.”

  I wanted to resist his brisk tone, but the sooner I got this over with, the better. Easing back, I stared at the ceiling as I felt him come closer.

  Roth hovered over me, and I fisted my hands in the soft blanket to keep myself still. “This might sting a bit.”

  I gritted my teeth. “Can’t be worse than being stitched up, right?”

  His gaze flicked to mine and he murmured, “Right.”

  Holding my breath, I prepared myself for whatever brain-cell destroying pain was about to be unleashed as he unscrewed the bottle and lowered it to my stomach. The first drop fizzled on my skin and then the liquid sloshed out, covering the claw marks and running down my belly, spilling onto the bed beneath me.

  Bambi jerked back, her head disappearing under the band of my jeans, avoiding the steady stream of holy water. My skin burned at the contact, turning a ruddy pink, and I bit down on my lip. It wasn’t as bad as the stitches, but it wasn’t exactly pleasant either.

  “Sorry,” he muttered, tipping the bottle once more. He did so carefully, avoiding direct contact with it himself. I imagined his reaction, given that he was full-blooded, would be worse than mine.

  The cuts frothed white as the sting brought a glaze of tears to my eyes. Finally, the water was all gone, and Roth was backing away. “Stay still for a little while.”

  Breathing in and out slowly, I remained where I was until Roth returned with a towel. He was silent as he swiped up the excess liquid along the sides of my stomach. It was then I noticed the tips of his fingers were a deep pink.

  I cleared my throat. “You burned your fingers.”

  He shrugged. “It happens.” He didn’t touch the claw marks, but as he pulled away, his free hand brushed along the fading scar on my arm, the one left by the Warden. “Keep still.”

  I didn’t have to wait long. Roth returned to my side with a black blanket. Like the one he’d wrapped around me the night of Petr’s attack, it was made of some kind of thick, luxurious material. He draped it over my chest, leaving my stomach bare, and then retreated.

  “You’re going to need to stay still until the fizzing stops.” He sat on the bench by the piano and bowed his head. Locks of dark hair fell forward, shielding his face. He didn’t say anything else.

  I drew in a stunted breath. A quiet, morose Roth was a worrisome Roth, because it was a rarity, and I wasn’t sure how to deal with him when he was like that. Part of me wondered at the mood shift and wanted to ask, but I didn’t want to come off as being interested.

  Because I was.

  And I sort of wanted to punch myself in the face for that.

  As crazy as it was, while I waited for the holy water to do its thing I must have dozed off, because when I blinked my eyes open again, the claw marks were no longer fizzing. I didn’t feel nauseous or dizzy, just a slight soreness around the slices.

  And Roth was sitting beside me on the bed.

  Well, when I turned my head toward his body heat, he was more reclining on the bed beside me.

  Resting his weight on one arm, his head was propped up by his hand. An odd smile marked his eerily beautiful face, a contrast to the sullen expression he was wearing before. His lips parted just slightly. “You still murmur in your sleep.”

  My brows knitted.

  “You make these little sounds sometimes. Like a kitten. It’s cute.”

  “What are you doing?” Heat swamped my cheeks as I sat up quickly. Forgetting about the blanket, it slipped to my waist.

  His gaze followed and he grinned as I yanked the blanket back up. “I was watching you sleep.”

  “Creepy,” I said, holding the blanket to my chin.

  He shrugged one shoulder. “How are you feeling?”

  “Fine.” Drawing from somewhere deep inside me, I forced out, “Thank you.”

  “I’ll add it to your tab.”

  I scowled at him.

  Rolling to his feet gracefully, he stood and stretched. “Perfect timing for you to wake up. You don’t want Stony coming in here and finding you all content and happy on my bed.”

  “What?”

  “Stony. He’s on his way.” He folded his arms, eyeing me. “To get you.”

  I blinked once and then twice as tiny knots formed in my stomach.

  “I used your phone,” he explained. “It was in your front pocket. You were out cold when I pulled it out. Well, you did make this moaning sound that made me think you liked where my fingers—”

  “You got my phone out of my pocket and called Zayne?” I shot to my feet. “Are you insane?”

  “The last time I checked, I wasn’t. You should be thrilled to know that Stony answered on, like, the first ring.” His lips pursed as a thoughtful expression flickered across his face. “But he wasn’t exactly happy to hear my voice. Or that you were with me. Or that you were currently asleep on my bed. Or that you got hurt. Or that—”

  “I get the point!” I screeched, holding the blanket to my chest. “Why did you call him?”

  He tilted his head to the side and the look of innocence on his face made me want to spit fire like a dragon of doom. “How else were you supposed to get home?”

  “Oh, I don’t know, Roth, maybe a freaking taxi?” My heart pounded in my chest. Oh God, Zayne was going to flip. He was going to flip so epically that it would break the sound barrier. “What were you thinking?”

  “I was thinking that we needed to let the Wardens know about the Nightcrawlers in the school,” he replied reasonably. I wanted to smack him. “Because that was your idea and you were right. I can’t possibly take all of them out all by myself.”

  My fingers dug into the blanket. I wasn’t falling for what he was saying. The real reason behind calling Zayne wasn’t to alert them to the creatures in the school. Like Roth actually cared about that. He’d done it to piss Zayne off.

  The little curve of his lips gave that away.

  “I bet you’re so proud of yourself, aren’t you?”

  He stared at me and then rolled his eyes. “It’s not like Stony is going to run and tell Daddy that you’re with me.”

  That part didn’t matter. Not that Abbot would be anything like okay with me being in Roth’s apartment, but I was more concerned about what this would do to Zayne.

  Somehow I resisted the urge to go psychotic tree monkey on him. “I need my sweater. Where is it?”

  “In the garbage.”

  Closing my eyes, I counted to ten. “I need a shirt to wear.” I started toward his closet, but he appeared in front of me, blocking my path. “Come on.”

  His grin grew. “Sorry. I’m all out of girls’ clothing at the moment.”

  “I need a shirt,” I insisted. “Don’t be a jerk, Roth.”

  Considering me for a moment, a spark lit up his eyes and warning bells went off. With a sly smile, he reached down and whipped off the long-sleeve shirt he was wearing.

  My eyes widened.

  Whoa.

  I’d...I’d forgotten what Roth looked like shirtless.

  Okay. Maybe not completely forgotten, but my memory didn’t do him justice. At all. Roth was all lean muscle. From his chest to those indents on either side of his hips, he was hard, cut muscle.

  The dragon tattoo was where it always was, curled up along the side of his abs, with its tail disappearing under his jeans. My question about the kittens’ presence was an
swered. One was under his right pec, appearing more like a tiger crouching, and another one looked as if it was snuggling into his side.

  “Where’s the third kitten?” I asked before I could stop myself.

  His thick lashes lowered. “I’d have to take off my pants to show you that.”

  I squeezed my eyes shut.

  There was a deep chuckle. “Clock is ticking. And, more importantly, the longer you’re standing there in just your bra, the more I’m tempted to be a very, very bad boy.”

  My eyes snapped open. His stare snared mine, and I took a step back from the intensity in his gaze. There was no doubt in my mind he was telling the truth there. He may not want to be with me, but he wanted me.

  “Give me the shirt,” I said between clenched teeth.

  He tossed it at me, but I was a little slow on the uptake. The material that smelled like him, like something wild and sinful, smacked me in the chest and landed on the floor. “You better hurry. He’ll be here any second.”

  “You’re an ass,” I spat, picking up the shirt.

  He chuckled. “And it’s a fine ass, I’m told.”

  I ignored that as I turned around, giving him my back as I dropped the blanket. Maybe it was my imagination, but my spine burned under his consuming stare. “Why did you even have him come here, to a building full of demons? Isn’t that dangerous?”

  “He’ll park down the street and come in via the roof,” Roth replied, voice suddenly tight. “Don’t worry. Stony is completely safe.”

  Slipping Roth’s shirt on, I was immediately swallowed by the size of it and by his scent. I turned back to him, feeling flushed. I didn’t even know what to say as I sat on the edge of the bed. There was no way I could even prepare myself for Zayne’s arrival.

  Not that I had to wait very long.

  Didn’t take more than a minute before the heavy thump from the roof rattled the twisted paintings hanging on Roth’s walls. I stood as Roth turned to the narrow door that led up to the roof. Without ceremony, he opened it and Zayne stormed into the loft.

  His blond hair was a wavy mess, and he was dressed all in black—black T-shirt, black tactical pants. It was as if he’d dressed to go hunting.

  Zayne’s gaze found me first and he didn’t look away for a long moment. His eyes were startling cobalt, pupils stretched vertically, and his jaw was clamped shut. I didn’t need to read his mind to know what he thought of seeing me in a currently shirtless Roth’s apartment, by his bed and wearing his shirt.

  I started to explain why, even though it seemed unnecessary, but before I could utter a word, Roth spoke.

  His smile was wide, but didn’t reach his eyes. “Hey, bro...”

  A muscle ticked along Zayne’s jaw and then he spun on Roth, cocked back his arm and punched him right in the face.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Roth staggered back a step and the transformation took hold. Skin darkened to a smooth, polished onyx and wings sprouted from his back, spanning ten feet and arcing high in the air. The arches were adorned with sharp, deadly horns, but unlike the Wardens, his skull was bare.

  His lips peeled back, revealing fangs. “Do it again.”

  Zayne hadn’t shifted, but he did look as if he was about to punch Roth in the face again. It wasn’t that I doubted Zayne’s ability to hold his own, but Roth was an Upper Level demon, a Crown Prince, and, more importantly, fighting over this was stupid.

  I darted between them, staring up into Zayne’s furious blue eyes. “Stop it.”

  “Don’t listen to her.” In his true form, Roth’s voice was guttural and rough. “You know you don’t want to stop, Stony.”

  I shot him a death glare. “Knock it off, Roth!”

  His eyes, still golden, fixed on me. A tense moment passed as his clawed hand opened and closed, and I honestly thought he was going to pick me up and toss me out of the way. When he took a step back, my heart rate slowed. “Stony started it.”

  “Wow.” I turned back to Zayne, who was eyeballing Roth. I placed my hands on his chest and the heat of his body burned through his shirt. “You need to calm down.”

  “You let her get hurt,” he snarled.

  Roth growled as he dipped his chin, as if he was preparing to charge. “I took care of her.”

  “Like that makes it better?”

  I pushed Zayne back. “He didn’t let me do anything. I went down there freely and he told me to leave, but I stayed. You trained me, Zayne. I was more than up to the fight—I killed the Nightcrawler.” Something everyone seemed to forget. “You can’t blame him for my getting hurt—barely hurt. As you can see, I’m fine.”

  Zayne’s gaze finally dropped to mine. His nostrils flared as he breathed deeply. There was another tense stretch of silence and then he jerked his chin in an abrupt nod.

  Watching him for a second longer to make sure he wasn’t going to change his mind, I dropped my hands and faced Roth. When I saw that he was back in his human form, I relaxed a fraction.

  “Now that that’s settled, did Abbot and the clan head to the school?”

  “They’re there, but not willing to do anything until school lets out.” Zayne’s tone was clipped. “We’re taking care of it. No need to worry.”

  Roth snorted. “Not that I was worried.”

  A flash of anger traveled across Zayne’s face, and I knew the longer these two were in the same vicinity, the more the likelihood of boy fight round two breaking out increased.

  “We should go,” I said quietly.

  Zayne nodded. “I couldn’t agree more.”

  I turned to say something to Roth—something like thank you, because he had helped me, but Zayne’s fingers unexpectedly threaded through mine. Roth’s narrowed gaze dropped to our joined hands. His mouth tightened and his features appeared starker—more skin and bone than anything else—and then a shutter slammed down, sealing away any thought or feeling.

  “By the way, Zayne...” The coldness in Roth’s voice sent a chill down my spine. “That is the only time you’ll get to lay a hand on me and then walk away from it.”

  * * *

  Zayne and I didn’t speak most of the ride back to the house. Anytime I glanced at him, he appeared to be wearing down his molars. I knew he was angry, so angry that he was beyond the point of speech.

  Guilt soured in my stomach like curdled milk, which led to a hefty dose of confusion. Zayne had asked me not to run off with Roth, and I hadn’t—not really. My stomach turned over heavily, because my rationale sucked, and I knew it was more than that.

  The anger Zayne was throwing off in waves was coming from a different place—the place that had been created in my bed late Saturday night. I couldn’t fool myself into believing something different. As I’d known the moment he’d touched me, everything had changed between us and his current mood was a product of that change.

  But I hadn’t done anything wrong. In reality, I’d done something pretty awesome. I’d killed a Nightcrawler, proving that I was useful for more than just my now-nonexistent ability.

  As we pulled onto the private road, I couldn’t take the silence any longer. “I was going to tell you about going down to the old gymnasium with Roth.”

  The muscle in his jaw spasmed. “Were you?”

  His question stung hotly. “Yes. I was planning on calling you as soon as I got out of the gym, but I got sick from the stupid scratch.”

  “That stupid scratch could’ve seriously injured you or worse, Layla.”

  “But it didn’t,” I pointed out gently. “Roth beat me to calling you, but I was going to.”

  “Roth.” He hissed the name.

  A heartbeat passed. “And there’s more I need to tell you. I think we got a lead on the Lilin, but it’s from...a very unconventional source.”

  His fingers tapped the steering wheel. “I’m half-afraid to ask.”

  “It’s something you can’t tell the others. I know that doesn’t sound good, but I trust you. You’re not crazy judgmental and you won’t�
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