by A. K. Koonce
“Goodnight.” I repeat the polite phrase. It feels tense against my tongue.
Everything I do and say around her is a tense form of who I really want to be. I want to say all the dirty thoughts that she pushes into my mind at all hours of the day. I want to make her smile the way she did that very first night I met her. I want to push her back against the wall and feel our bond on the deepest level possible.
But our bond grows weaker every day.
A tangle of guilt and fear sinks through my stomach.
Eventually, the connection that brought us together will dissolve away with time. What will it leave behind? Will she still look at me the way she’s looking at me right now if there isn’t that connection of magic?
The fear that’s ripping through my chest pushes my body into action without thought. My boots skim slowly over the boards on stalking steps. Amber eyes watch my every move as she stands with her hands pressed behind her back.
A crackling feeling snaps through my body as our bond licks through me from our closeness. My fingers reach for her, barely skimming her hip when she speaks.
“I want you to leave.”
A weighted feeling has my hand dropping to my side in an instant. My gaze flicks back and forth between her serious eyes. She looks small standing before me.
But the energy within her feels monumental.
I know she wouldn’t have said what she just said if she didn’t mean it.
“You don’t want me here?” My jaw locks in place to keep my emotions inside.
“I want you safe. I want you to be where you’re supposed to be. You’re not supposed to be in the Underworld, Cam.” A shriek trails after her words, and I feel like she’s barely containing herself.
For several seconds, I just blink down at her as anger starts to build inside me.
Finally, I take a single step back from her.
“Neither are you.” My teeth grind together before I fully walk away, putting distance between myself and her rejecting words.
“Cam,” she whispers. But that’s all she says. That’s all she seems to have as an argument.
The mattress dips beneath my weight. On slow steps, she comes to me. Every step she takes is watched with energy building in my chest. There’s a sadness in her eyes that makes me regret the anger within me. I swallow down the tension, and I can’t help but grip her hips the moment she’s close enough.
She’s here. Just in front of me. Held between my hands. The smooth skin of her stomach meets my fingertips, and she’s so close I could lean forward and kiss the soft skin there.
I hate this confusing fucking energy that’s always between us. I hate not knowing where I stand. I hate that the only reason she keeps me around is because of this bond.
The tension in her spine seems to relax beneath my touch, and the simple feel of her body in my hands makes my dick hard. I swallow as I stare up at her, waiting for her to either reject me or accept me.
Just end me now.
Slowly, her palms push over my knuckles, her fingers exploring down my arms, skimming slowly over my skin in a hypnotic way. I pull her closer until her thighs are firmly between mine. My heart soars within the silence, pounding so hard it’s all I hear. The restraint that’s tightening the muscles of my forearms, forcing me not to pull her down against my hips, is painful.
“I’d never forgive myself if you got hurt because of me.” Her voice is a quiet sound that consumes me entirely.
Her palms brush slowly along the muscles of my biceps, my shoulders, my neck and jaw before pushing through my hair. She pulls at the locks before delving her fingers back in. Over and over again.
“I’d never forgive myself …” I pause, wondering just how thin these walls between us and Nollix really are. Fuck it. “I’d never forgive myself for walking away from you.”
I’m supposed to be here. I can feel it. I’ve never fit anywhere the way I fit with Violence.
Heat flares in her eyes. Her hands become still, holding firmly against the roots of my hair as she studies everything about me. She isn’t pushing me away. She isn’t avoiding me. She’s here. Right now.
And I’m not going to waste it.
Slowly, I lean into her. My thumbs push against her soft shirt until a small sliver of golden skin can be seen between her jeans and shirt. I hold her gaze as I take my time closing the small distance between us. My lips part, my tongue slipping against her lower stomach before my lips press there. A shaking breath leaves her lips, and I give a testing pause, waiting for her to tell me to stop, for her to step back, or for her to even slap the hell out of me.
When she doesn’t, I do it again. The sweet taste of her skin meets my lips as I rake my teeth over her stomach and kiss there slowly. I want to taste every part of her. With that thought, my fingers dig into her hips as I hold her in place. She pulls at my hair but pushes at the back of my head, urging me closer.
The delicious scent of her soaks right into me, and all I can think about is how she trembles in my hands every time my tongue strokes along her skin. Her thighs shift against me, skimming against my cock, and I can’t help but groan against her as I kiss lower.
“Cameron…”
My name breathy against her lips burns through my mind on repeat. My chest heaves as I pull back from her to meet the lust in her eyes.
Fuck.
Gentle fingers skim down the side of my neck before she steadies herself against my shoulders. I mesmerize her every move as she leans into me. The soft curve of her cheek brushes mine as her lips hum against the shell of my ear. My fingers are digging so tightly into her hips I know I’m leaving marks, but all I can focus on is her warm breath against my skin.
“Goodnight, Cameron.”
She lingers there, her head resting against my shoulder before she finally pulls away. The small amount of space between us grows, taking away all the needy energy within me with it. She steps back, taking the ache in my chest with her. Her gaze shifts against mine as she releases her claiming hold on me.
And I let her go.
Chapter Ten
A Drinking Game
Violence
My heart’s still pounding when I close the door behind me. A smile spreads across my face as I stare down at the two men at my feet. Nollix’s back is against the wall, his sword laying neatly across his lap. There’s also a sweet, blonde man laying neatly against his shoulder. I bite my cheek as Link nuzzles his head into the side of Nollix’s arm. The half Demon cocks a brow at me as he tilts his head.
“Don’t come out here just to mock our slumber party, Huntress.”
The smile on my lips grows wider as I look at the two of them. I stagger slightly as I try to step over Link’s long legs that are spread out and it takes me a second to come to Nollix’s side. Slowly, I lower myself, resting my head against his thigh as I meld against Link’s chest. They’re seated in an L sort of position, and I like being at the center, pressed near them both.
Nollix’s long fingers push back my hair, and he watches me closely with an odd look in his dark eyes. His whispering touch skims down my jaw and along my neck before settling on my arm.
Pelting sounds strike against the house and the wind picks up to a howling tone that shivers all through me.
“A storm’s coming.” Nollix peers out at the window at the end of the long hall. The dark walls, the shadows, and the total blackness outside gives me no visuals to our world outside.
For a moment, the demandingly pushing wind against the old house is all that can be heard.
Until he speaks.
“You like him?” It’s a curious question spoken so quietly it tingles all through my body.
I swallow, thinking through his statement before finally nodding a slow nod.
“You trust him?” This question seems to interest him more than the first. But it doesn’t take me as long to answer.
‘Of course, I do.”
His fingers drift back and forth against my arm. The warm f
ire of the lantern highlights his face as he stares out at the darkness. He looks like he’s thinking deeply.
Or plotting.
“What are you thinking?”
A smirk tilts his lips as he looks down on me.
“You’ll find out tomorrow.” The taunting look in his eyes should worry me.
His beautiful but manic smile reminds me that he’s very much part Demon. And he almost looks like he belongs here.
***
Sand covers every crack, every divot, and every imperfection in this house. I sit on the couch between Link and Nollix staring out at the sand that pelts against the glass in stinging sounds that fill the silence. It blows in through the shattered window pane, allowing small particles of it into the house. It falls to the floor, blowing just slightly over the dark board. It’s all around us, sneaking in beneath the door and windows. And we can do nothing but watch it until the storm passes.
“So, you guys like cards?”
Nollix turns his head slowly, pinning Cameron with a stare that makes me wince. I’d like to say it’s me that sets these two men apart. I wish I could say that Nollix simply dislikes Cameron because of me. But I know that’s not true. They’re just … opposites.
“I like cards.” My shoulder bumps with Link’s.
He catches my fingers with his as his attention trails down my body. There’s this quiet sweetness to Link. He’s always been nice to me. But he’s never looked at me sweetly. There’s no niceness to the way his heated gaze is trailing across my body.
“I don’t mind cards,” Link says slowly before finally pulling his gaze away from me.
The hushed and rumbling words of the Demons in the next room hum across the walls, catching my attention for a moment.
“I said, do not touch them.” Tantra’s angry words are the only ones I can make out before her voice dips down to a whisper once more.
Nollix’s arm brushes against my hair as he wraps himself closer around me in a casual way, his legs spread wide as if he’s not aware, or doesn’t he care, about the world around us.
“I saw some cards upstairs in my room.” Cameron’s gaze shifts from the kitchen to me. “I’ll run up and get them.” He stands from the chair, leaving an imprint in the gray cushion from where he disturbed the thick dust.
I watch him as he leaves, my nerves tingling through me as I listen intently to the plotting whispers in the other room.
“I won’t let anything happen,” Nollix promises in a low voice, his lips skimming my ear before he presses a kiss against my hair.
Cameron strides casually down the stairs. He seems … carefree. Happy, almost, to be in this terrible place in the Underworld; in this rundown house full of Demons who want to fuck him and then eat him.
But I don’t mention any of that.
He kneels at the coffee table, taking a seat on the floor, and I slowly slide down to sit on the floor opposite of him. His gaze locks on mine for only an instant, warm and shining as he stares at me, making me remember the way his lips seared across my skin. I shift in my spot, making the old boards protest beneath me. Bright red cardboard covers the small box of playing cards. He opens them and slides out cards of the same color, without any patterns on the back. Nollix remains seated, but Link shifts behind me, moving until his legs are on either side of me while his palms skim over my shoulders.
“Is it okay if I just watch?” Gentle fingers brush along my neck before kneading firmly against my muscles. His touch always strummed through my body, but now it seems intensified. It’s as if he knows how his hands affect me, and he strives to touch me here and there just to set me on fire.
“Mmm,” a breathy sound escapes my mouth before I can stop it and the watchful, heated attention Cameron gives me makes me realize how pent up I feel right now. “Yeah. That’s fine. Whatever.” I try my best not to meld into Linkin’s touch. I try so damn hard to focus on the cards that Cameron is loosely shuffling.
“Are we playing poker?” I secretly hope we are. I never really learned many card games growing up. I didn’t have a lot of free time. Between foreign langue classes, extensive history lessons, and world politics I was kept pretty busy. And all of those lessons were a waste. I didn’t need any of those things after my father threw me into the Wild Hunt.
Cards would be such an easy thing to immerse my thoughts into.
My thoughts slip away for a moment as I realize that might have been his intent. To distract me. At least for a little while.
“No, I don’t think a game of wagering is what we should be playing right now.”
Wagering?
My brow arches and Nollix makes a low noise similar to a laugh. I peer back at him and he passes me a knowing look.
For some reason, I get the feeling there’s some sort of hidden sexual thoughts circling the room, but I’m just going to ignore it.
“Have you ever played High Card, Low Card, Red and Black?”
I blink a few times at how long that name was.
“… No.”
“It’s a drinking game, Vi.” Link whispers in a sweet tone as if he’s trying to explain something really complicated to my innocent little mind.
“Okay, how do you play?”
“It’s fun.” Cameron’s smile is genuine and carefree. “It takes a lot of focus, but I’m going to lay out five cards in a row, and you have to make it through the line of them by guessing what the next card will be by either saying, higher, lower, red or black.”
I nod, watching as he lays down one card. It’s a king of hearts. Simple start to the game I guess.
“Do I have to say if it’ll be lower and the color?”
“Nope, you can just pick one.”
“Okay, lower.”
He nods with a small smile and flips over a card, placing it neatly next to the king. The five of spades looks up at me. I try to make a decision.
“Choose quickly. Wisely, but quickly.” He winks at me, and I roll my eyes at him as my thoughts pick up the pace and try to rapidly guess what card may come next.
“Higher.”
The card flips. Two of hearts is laid down.
“Dammit.”
A happy smirk tilts his lips. A rumbling laugh shakes through Link, and the sound of it hums along my shoulder blades. He pushes slow circles into my muscles, and the strong feel of his hands almost takes away some of the frustration I have at simply choosing the wrong card.
“You didn’t even make it through three cards. If we had alcohol, you’d be drunk before noon.”
My eyes narrow on the Warlock. “What happens now?”
“Well, normally you’d take a drink.”
“And then?”
“Then, you start all over again.”
My brows rise. I get the feeling even if I was a winner in this game, I’d still end up drunk before noon.
A board creeks behind us, and Sev’s dark eyes pass between the four of us before drifting back into the kitchen. My gaze lingers on the door for a moment before coming back to Cameron. His amber gaze shines as he shuffles the deck loosely in his hands.
He’s just about to flip over the first card—again—when a dark bottle shakes against the coffee table. The scent of hard liquor meets my nose as some of the contents slip down the side of the large bottle.
“Care if I join?” Sev doesn’t look to me as he stares hard at Cameron.
Cameron stares up at the Demon, his features blank as he starts to leisurely push the cards against one another, slowly mixing up the crimson playing cards.
“I’ve never seen a Demon drunk before.” Cameron looks to Nollix for only a moment before raising his attention back to the man before us. “What’s the worst that could happen, right?” The smirk on his lips sets me on edge.
He’s usually an idiot or a genius. Right now, he’s one hundred percent an idiot.
Chapter Eleven
A Dare
Nollix
To be honest, I’ve never seen a Demon drunk either. It�
�s going better than I expected. It’s taken a lot, and Cameron’s lucky he has a game that he’s apparently very good at, or he’d be in real trouble right now.
Once again, Sev curses, his fist striking hard against the weak coffee table when Cameron lays down a red card instead of a black. It’s either the tenth or eleventh time the Demon’s gotten the card wrong. We’ve been here for hours. They went around the table once. Cameron guessed the cards with ease, probably basing his answers off of the cards that were laid down before his, but he didn’t fuck up once. Vi was hesitant, she gave her answers with Link mumbling guesses under his breath the hole time to help her.
And now we’re watching Sev drink himself into oblivion because he can’t seem to guess five high cards, low cards, red and black cards in a row.
It’s amusing, but also miserable to watch.
Cameron flips the card and looks up expectantly only to find the Demon with his forehead against the table. Quiet snores drift from his lips. He has drunk half of whatever the hell’s in that bottle. This is apparently his breaking point.
“I guess it’s your turn.” The Warlock looks to Vi.
She peers down at the seven of clubs. The whole deck has already been gone through once. Based on what’s been played recently, she could have a good guess.
“Um, higher.”
“Red,” I say, trying to force her to choose right. My head tilts at the Warlock in front of me as he passes me a challenging look.
“Are you playing, or are you trying to coach? Because there’s no coaching in High Card, Low Card, Red and Black.” Cameron rattles off these facts like he’s the Head Founder and leading expert of High Card, Lower Card, Red and Black.
My brow arches. Slowly, I lean forward. It suddenly feels like a dare. It’s like there’s something to be won here, but I’m not sure what it is.
“Then I guess I’m playing.”
He turns the card slowly. A three of diamonds is set down neatly next to my first card. Two down. Three to go. And some sort of victory is about to be won.
“Higher.” I try to force the words out quickly with little thought.
