Octavian's Undoing (Sons of Judgment)

by Airicka Phoenix

  It was purely the hard surface at her back that kept her from sliding in a puddle at his feet. Her body thrummed. Her knees quivered. She was so hot it was a wonder she hadn’t exploded.

  “Do it, Octavian” She ghosted the tips of her fingers along the hem of his shirt. “Touch me.”

  He growled low in his throat, his forehead dropping another inch toward her shoulder, his hair tickling the side of her face. “Be my angel, Riley, not my siren. Don’t tempt me.”

  Moistening her lips with a sweep of her tongue, Riley glided her fingers over his belt, tracing the strip of leather to the silver buckle in the center. She felt rather than heard his deep inhalation and the tremor that raked his powerful body. Driven by his surrender, she used two fingers to walk over the square carvings etched into his abdomen, biting her lip to stop the grin that pulled when he groaned.

  “I want to be both for you, Octavian,” she whispered, letting her lips brush the curve of his shoulder.

  “Jesus, Riley…” The clipboard slipped from his fingers, falling with a clatter to the ground. His hands slapped flat against the wall behind her. “Stop…”

  Rather than listen, she glided her hands up, flattening them against the hard plates of his chest muscles. His heart drummed wildly beneath her palms.

  “You can touch me back,” she coaxed into his ear.

  He growled something in a language she couldn’t understand, but it was followed by the dislodging of his right hand off the wall. It came down towards her waist.

  “Octavian?” Kyaerin barged through the kitchen doors, heels clacking loudly. “There you are! Your father needs those…” She came to an abrupt halt. Her hand flew up to her mouth. “Oh my.”

  Without missing a beat, Octavian swooped down, snatched up the clipboard from where it had fallen and held it in front of him. “Mom!” He cleared his throat. “What do you need?”

  “The forms,” she stated sharply. “Your father needs them.”

  Cheeks carrying just a tint of pink, Octavian glanced down at the clipboard he held near his lap. “Why don’t I bring it to him in a little bit?”

  His mother’s eyes narrowed. “What did I tell you two about maintaining distance? This,” she gestured up and down at them. “Is the opposite of distance. In fact, I see no distance at all! Octavian!”

  Octavian took a safe step away from Riley. “I didn’t touch her, as much as she begged me.”

  “Hey!” Her outraged protest was met with a grin from him.

  Kyaerin rolled her eyes heavenward, quietly seeking patience before confronting them once more with steely disapproval. “Like I’m supposed to believe that?”

  Octavian jerked one hand up in surrender. “She cornered me, using her womanly wiles. I barely got away with my… ow!” He rubbed the spot beneath his ribs where Riley had elbowed him.

  Kyaerin tried, but the twitch of her lips gave her away even as she huffed and speared her hips with her fists. “That’s no excuse. Keep apart or I’ll get those electric dog collars for both of you so every time you’re within an unacceptable distance, it zaps the horny out of you.”

  Mortified, Riley gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.

  Octavian, on the other hand, looked contemplating. “That may not be a bad idea.” He jerked a thumb towards Riley. “She can’t keep her hands off me. My virtue’s in jeopardy.”

  Kyaerin raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Sure.” Her grin overtook her, claiming her pretty face as she laughed. She shook her head. “Get those forms to your father immediately.”

  Octavian gave an obedient nod. “Yes ma’am.”

  She stabbed an accusing finger at them. “No touching.”

  Octavian gave her a two finger salute. “Scouts honor.”

  “You were never a scout.”

  Octavian blinked, feigning innocence. “Ah well that sucks. Don’t know what I’m going to do now.”

  Eyes still twinkling, Kyaerin turned on her heels and hurried out as quickly as she’d come.

  “Your virtue?” Riley rounded on Octavian.

  Tongue rolling over his teeth, Octavian pivoted around her, nudging her away from the door as he reached for the knob. “Sorry, babe. She’s my mom. I can’t lie to her.”

  “So you throw me to the wolves? Metaphorically speaking.”

  He swung the door open and ducked into the corridor. “Trust me, you owed me one.”

  Riley blinked. “For what?”

  “For making me use my father’s forms to hide a very obvious problem. For forcing me take a cold shower in the middle of the day.”

  With a deep, belly rumbling laugh at her horrified expression, he slipped through the door leading into the back of the house, leaving her staring after him. Riley waited until the door was closed between them before letting the smile slip over her face. The man had an impossibly beautiful laugh. It struck every shiver nerve in her body as it glided rich and husky over her. If she could, she’d bathe in the stuff, in him.

  She was still standing there, staring at the closed door like an idiot when Kyaerin returned in her teetering heels. The woman looked like something from a seventies sitcom with her blonde curls in a halo around her head and her coral pink dress suit.

  She smiled cheerfully at Riley. “Everything okay?”

  Oh which part? Riley wanted to ask. The part where there’s a chance I might die if I don’t imprint or the part where a pack of Angel Assassins want to kill me before the imprint has a chance to? But she kept that all to herself and gave the woman a small smile.

  “Fine.”

  Kyaerin eyed her suspiciously. “The boys treating you okay?”

  The boys were fine, even Magnus. In the short few months she’d been working at Final Judgment, she’d come to love every one of them. She even had a soft spot for Gorje. They were like her family, which, in her mind, meant a great deal considering she’d never had one. She had her father, but since their fight, he’d kept himself locked in his bedroom and the only way she knew he was even still alive was the noises at night as he moved around the apartment and the dishes she’d find in the sink in the morning. Otherwise, he may as well not exist. Sadly enough, the loss didn’t affect her. Maybe it was because he’d never been there to begin with, but she felt no change in the new arrangement. Since her mother had left them, never to look back, her father had become a ghost. What kind of ghost, she wasn’t sure, because she’d never known him before her mother had walked out. She’d been a baby and the only father she knew was the one that was only there in the background, part of the furniture.

  But since meeting the Maxwells, she’d begun to understand the meaning of family. They weren’t perfect and, God help her, they were the weirdest bunch she’d ever met, but they were amazing. They loved each other unconditionally and sacrificed everything to keep each other safe. They argued and fought, but she knew they did. Just one glance at them and it was obvious. Watching them, she couldn’t help feeling a stab of envy. She wanted that. She wanted to be a part of it.

  “Riley?” Kyaerin hurried over and lightly touched her arm. “What’s the matter, sweetie? Did one of the boys say something? You just tell me and I’ll beat their hides.”

  Riley laughed. “No, they… you’re all so great.”

  Kyaerin’s head cocked to the side as she surveyed Riley with a look of quiet contemplation. It was such a shrewd observation that Riley fidgeted, dropping her gaze.

  “I should get to work.” She made it three steps before Kyaerin called her back.

  The woman crossed the room and slipped her arm through Riley’s. “You know I’m not deliberately trying to keep you away from Octavian, don’t you?”

  Embarrassed at being caught groping Octavian in the dark corner of the kitchen, Riley dropped her gaze to her feet rather than face his mother. “Yes, ma’am.”

  Kyaerin laughed. “Please don’t call me that. I already feel as old as dirt. Kyaerin is fine. Besides, you’re family now.”

  Riley didn’t know how to acc
ept that. Part of her wanted to scream her delight while another part stayed cowering in the back corner, too scared to move forward. “Thank you,” was all she said.

  “We’ll figure this out, okay? I know my boys, they won’t stop until this is sorted out.”

  “What if they can’t?” She hated the way her voice came out small and uncertain. The fear was one she couldn’t shake.

  Kyaerin squeezed her arm. “Trust me, if anyone can, it’s them. They’re very resourceful when they want to be. Besides, Octavian was never one to give up on anything. He’s determined to the bone. When I went into labor with him, he was even too stubborn to wait the half hour to get to a healer. He wanted to come out right then and there.”

  It may have been rude to ask, but the question was now etched into her head, refusing to be shaken. “Where was he born?”

  Kyaerin laughed. “That is a long, funny story. One I think we need food for.” She hooked her arm through Riley’s once more. “But we won’t tell Octavian or he’ll never let us talk about it.”

  “Talk about what?” The door to the corridor opened and Octavian stepped through, looking very dry for a person who supposedly went for a cold shower.

  “Nothing,” Riley and Kyaerin said simultaneously.

  Octavian’s eyebrows lifted. “Yeah that’s not suspicious.”

  “Don’t be so nosy,” Kyaerin grumbled. “This is girl talk. Go out there with your brothers and make sure they don’t kill each other.”

  Eyeing them warily, Octavian moved for the kitchen doors.

  Kyaerin exhaled, rolling her eyes heavenward. “That was close!” Giggling, she turned to Riley. “We’ve never had the chance to get to know each other. Why is that?” She propelled them through the kitchen doors into the dining area.

  Magnus and Gideon sat at a nearby table, murmuring quietly to each other while Octavian — Riley’s gaze sought and locked on him almost immediately — stood behind the bar, getting things set up for the evening crowd. His head lifted in her direction as though sensing her attention. His eyes darkened, sending fingers of heat crawling into her cheeks. She quickly averted her gaze, turning back to the woman at her side.

  “I’m not sure,” she said to Kyaerin’s question.

  Kyaerin drew up short behind the counter. “I think this weekend, we should go get lunch and… talk.” She added the last part with a wink.

  Not sure what the protocol was for having lunch with your… boyfriend’s — is that what Octavian even was? — mother. She still had no idea what he was to her, which made classifying Kyaerin even harder. But turning the woman down wasn’t an option either.

  “Yeah, that would be great.”

  Kyaerin smiled. She gave Riley’s arm a light pat before detaching herself and moving to where Gideon and Magnus sat.

  “What are you boys doing here?”

  “Debating an issue,” Gideon said. “Magnus here seems to think the world is flat. I, on the other hand, think it’s—”

  Reaching across the round table, Magnus punched his brother in the arm with a force that made Riley wince. “Stop being a tool.”

  “Mom! He hit me!” Gideon whined, rubbing his shoulder.

  The sigh that escaped Kyaerin dripped with impatience and mild amusement. “Can you two please keep your hands to yourselves? Good Lord! You may be too old for timeouts, but you’re not too old to be put over my knee.”

  Magnus snorted, slumping back in his seat. His long legs unfurled beneath the table, folded at the ankles. He picked idly at his nails as he spoke. “Not much of a threat considering your son willingly gets spanked by women.”

  “An outright lie!” Gideon protested, smacking the table with an open palm. “I do the spanking, thank you very much!”

  Magnus rolled his eyes. “I don’t understand some of the stuff you get up to. Seems like a lot of work, all those whips and chains and… things.”

  Gideon’s outrage melted into a wicked smirk. “You’re not doing it right if you’re not using handcuffs, dear brother. Whips, chains, handcuffs, leather… mmm, lots of leather. There’s nothing sexier than a woman in sky-high boots, a leather corset and passion in her eyes as you tie her to a bed and—”

  Kyaerin grimaced. “I don’t want to hear this!”

  “But, Mom, I haven’t even gotten to the really good parts.”

  “And please don’t.” She pressed a hand to her stomach and expelled a sharp exhalation of breath that lifted her bangs off her brow. “I feel so old.”

  Riley laughed, unable to contain it any longer.

  Gideon’s gray eyes turned on her, glinting with their usual impish amusement while narrowing in that way that made Riley wish for an exit sign. Her laughter died on her lips as he rose and sauntered over to her.

  “You know exactly what I’m talking about, don’t you?” His arm was around her shoulders before Riley could think to protest and she was dragged helplessly into his side. “You act all sweet and innocent on the outside, but on the inside…” His grin became wicked. “On the inside you’re a very bad girl aren’t you, Riley Masters?”

  Mortified, Riley could only sputter incoherently as she fought to untangle herself from his embrace, her face inflamed.

  Gideon burst out laughing, still holding fast to her. “Oh Octavian is going to have fun corrupting you.”

  At the mention of his name, Riley’s attention darted to where Octavian stood systematically wiping glasses and watching her with half lidded eyes. There was a slight tilt in his lips that was both quietly laughing at her predicament and predatory. That latter seized her ability to breathe properly. She felt the familiar ripple of heat washing up her body like the ocean rolling over warm sand. He smirked, fully aware of his power over her. Damn it! How did he do that?

  “That,” Gideon murmured straight into her ear, “is the look of a man who would move heaven and earth for the woman he loves.”

  The truth of those words reflected in the velvety depths of Octavian’s eyes, in the intensity of his posture, like he’d leap over the counter at a moment’s notice to protect her. Men like him didn’t exist outside of fairytales and never in her world. She still couldn’t fathom how she went from having nothing and being no one to having someone like him and being part of his world, as dangerous as it may be. She half expected to wake up at any moment and… no! She shuddered at the thought of waking up to find all of it a dream and Octavian nothing more than a figment of her imagination.

  Her gaze shot back to him, taking him in and reassuring herself he was still there.

  “All right?” Gideon asked.

  Fighting to control the chills, Riley nodded. “Yes, I was just—”

  The front door flew open with the brute force of a hurricane. It slammed into the wall behind it with a resounding bang that made everyone in the room flinch.

  “You lazy son of a bitch!” The girl charged into the restaurant, a gorgeous tornado clad in sleek, soft leather and hair the most delicious shade of chocolate. She marched to the counter and slapped both hands on the surface as she leaned in to snarl at Gideon. “Where the hell were you last night? I waited for over an hour for you.”

  Next to her, Gideon had gone rigid all over as he stared at the girl. “I got held up here,” he replied, making Riley frown; she’d helped close the night before and Gideon had not been there. It had just been her, Octavian and Reggie.

  “You’re full of shit!” The girl spat, flicking a wisp of hair over her shoulder.

  She wore a midriff baring halter in blinding red under a leather duster that strained over her generous chest and left a whole lot of skin bare between her low riding leather pants and the hem. On her feet were heels that made Riley feel a rush of vertigo just looking at them. The boots went up to her knees, making her pants appear to be painted on. Altogether, she reminded Riley of a hot spread in one of those biker magazines that mechanics and teenage boys kept on their walls, and she couldn’t have been very much older than Riley. It was a serious kick in the ego
standing in the same room as her.

  “Where were you, Maxwell?” There was warning in those words, a pure threat not to bullshit her or suffer the consequences.

  Determination crept into his eyes and edged his words. His spine stiffened and his shoulders squared as he stared back at the fierce Amazon glowering at him. “I had things I needed to do.”

  Mentally, Riley winced. Those were dangerous words to say to a woman that looked like she could smash you under her heels.