I swallow hard. “You know I don’t know what that means.”
I don’t expect him to tell me either, since he never does.
But then he says, “It means: relax, little thief. Like I promised, we’ll take care of you.” Then he presses his lips against mine while East continues to suck on my neck and cup my breast.
Yep, I’m definitely not ready for this.
But I also don’t want to stop it. It feels really good.
I gasp as Asher kisses me deeply, his hand finding my leg. Then he slips his fingers underneath the hem of my dress, grips my thigh, and hitches my leg over his waist.
I clutch his side as a storm of emotions chaotically course through me. I can barely think, barely breath. The sensations are too much.
“I can’t …” I gasp between Ash’s kisses. “It’s … It’s too much.”
“You can,” he whispers, kissing me again then pulling back a sliver of an inch. “If you want us to stop, we will.” He struggles to breathe evenly. “But I promise you’re doing perfectly.”
Do I really want him to stop, or am I just afraid?
I don’t know.
Anything anymore.
And in that confusion, I end up fucking kissing him.
Yep, I’m getting really good at taking this whole lead thing.
He kisses me back, grinding his hips against mine and pushing me against East, who grips onto me tightly and bites my neck. My eyes roll back, and my head bobs back, as well, breaking the kiss from Asher. That doesn’t stop him from kissing me, though. He just moves his lips downward to the exposed arch of my neck while East’s lips come down on mine. He kisses me then, our tongues tangling, and eventually, we all start to find a rhythm, our bodies moving, lips syncing. And with every touch and kiss, I forget about everything. Forget about Harlynn, the weak human girl who stole to survive. Harlynn, the cursed creature. Harlynn, the freak of nature.
I honestly have no clue who I am anymore.
East’s lips leave mine, and then he kisses my bare shoulder, while Asher moves his hand upward and cups my face.
“Good gods,” Asher murmurs as he returns his lips to mine and kisses me for the … Well, I’m not sure how many times he’s kissed me. And who knows how many times he would’ve kissed me if a deep, throaty laugh didn’t slice through the moment.
East is the first to startle, his lips leaving my shoulder. Asher breaks the kiss next, but neither of them release me. In fact, they both inch closer to me, East holding my waist while Asher positions himself in front of me.
I peer over his shoulder to see what has them freaked out and find the female creature East was staring at earlier standing on the other side of him.
That is … was my master.
As East words from earlier replay in my mind, I slide my finger up and down his arm in an attempt to ease the tension pouring from his body. He holds on to me in return, lowering his forehead against the back of my head then breathes in deeply.
“Hello, Asher,” she says, clearly knowing him. But I wonder if it’s because of the band or because she actually knows him.
“Penelope,” Asher mutters, reaching back and finding my hand. Then he pulls me behind him, a move I find odd.
Is he trying to keep her from seeing me? Because after what happened on the dance floor, I’m pretty sure everyone has seen me.
Reality douses over me. I just made out with Ash and East in front of an entire room full of creatures. What the hell came over me? Why did I do that? And why did I like it so much?
“What are you doing here?” Asher asks her while pulling me closer to him until my cheek is pressed against his scarred back.
As East loops an arm around my waist, I notice a slight tremble quivering through his body. He’s scared and, weirdly, I can feel his fear.
“I had a meeting in this world, and one of my servants received an invite to your party,” she says amusedly. But it’s not the same amusement that constantly fills East’s tone. No, her amusement sounds like a taunt. “Once I saw it, I knew I had to stop by, not that I have any interest in being at this ridiculous party. I just thought I’d stop by and see how my old pet is doing.”
East clings to me tighter, terrified out of his damn mind, and that terror is pulsating through me, but it doesn’t belong to me.
Something weird is going on …
Not just with me, but with East.
Unsure what else to do but wanting to do something to comfort him like he did for me the day Yellow tried to attack me, I reach up, twine my arm around his neck and brush my fingers across the nape. A different shiver rolls through his body. Then he kisses the back of my neck.
“Well, unfortunately, you’re not going to see him,” Asher tells her in a firm tone. “Since he’s no longer your pet.”
“Maybe he should be the one to decide that.” Irritation bites her tone.
“Oh, he decided that the moment his decisions became his own again,” he assures her. “You know, right after he broke away from your control over him.”
“Yeah, I remember that clearly,” she nearly snaps. “I also remember how you helped steal my favorite pet away.”
“Yes, I did,” Asher says in a cold tone that sends a chill up my spine.
Not that I’m afraid of him.
I’m not.
Wow, I’m not afraid of him.
“And you should remember that before you try to start whatever it is you came here to start,” Asher continues, almost seeming to taunt her. “You should also remember what I am and what I can do if want to.”
“Such violent threats,” she muses, but I can tell she’s a bit unnerved. “You should be careful, Asher. You never know who might be watching you.”
I hear a poof, and when I peer over Asher’s shoulder, a cloud of smoke has replaced Penelope.
“Did you do that or her?” I ask Asher as he turns around.
“I did. She touched me and, therefore, broke her magical signature agreement.” His gaze travels over my shoulder to East. “Are you okay?”
East hugs me against him and rests his chin on my shoulder, an uneven exhale slipping from his lips. “I am now that she’s gone.”
“Don’t bullshit me,” Asher warns. “I know it has to be hard for you to see her.”
“I’m fine,” he insists. “And we probably shouldn’t discuss this any further. At least not right now.”
Asher takes a glimpse around and frowns at how many sets of eyes are watching us, like he somehow forgot we were in a crowd of his fans.
“You’re right.” He returns his gaze back to East. “But we’re going to double back to this conversation later.”
And in that moment, I’m oddly touched at how much Asher seems concerned about East. I mean, I knew they were friends, but Jason and I were never like this. He never checked in on me.
East grimaces. “Fine.”
Asher nods then his gaze collides with mine. “Are you okay?”
I nod confusedly. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s not like I even really know who Penelope is. I mean, I know a little of what she did, but I’m not even sure what she is.”
“She’s high royalty fey.” Asher’s gaze never wavers from mine. “And I wasn’t referring to Penelope.”
My brows pull together. “Then what were you referring to?”
He gives me a look, waiting for me to catch on.
It takes me a few song beats, but his meaning eventually clicks.
He’s talking about the whole kissing and touching thing. With him and East.
East and him.
Him and East both kissed me and touched me.
I can feel my cheeks starting to warm, but with the low lighting that the starlight gives off, there’s no way he can notice.
Right?
Wrong.
“You’re blushing,” Asher remarks, his gaze traveling across my face.
East remains strangely quiet behind me, making me question if he isn’t okay at all.
“I am not,” I lie, lifting my chin.
“You are fucking, too,” he argues.
“Am not—”
He silences me with a kiss. It’s a quick kiss, and before I can even register the feel of his lips against mine, he pulls back.
“Come on; let’s get our performance started,” he says to no one in particular. Then he spins on his heels and pushes his way through the crowd, heading off in the direction of a set of curtains covering the far back corner of the wall.
East sighs softly then moves up beside me and laces his fingers through mine. He pulls me with him as he weaves past the mob of creatures grinding up on each other on the dance floor. He says nothing, even when the crowd dwindles as we near the curtain. It’s completely unlike him, and I find myself wanting to comfort him again.
Once we step behind the curtain, which turns out is blocking the stage, I ask, “Are you okay?”
A handful of creatures are setting up the instruments and, weirdly, Asher is nowhere to be seen. Neither is Arrow.
East gives a dismissive shake of his head as he stops beside the stairway that leads to the stage framed with dark columns wrapped by silk and stars.
“I’m always fine.” He gives me the fakest smile.
“I know that’s not true,” I tell him. “I can tell … and feel it.”
His gaze snaps to me, his forehead furrowing. “You can feel what I’m feeling?”
I nod then blow out a sigh. “Do you think it’s my powers doing it?”
He shakes his head while carrying my gaze. “No, I think it’s mine.”
“You can do that?” I ask with wide eyes.
He gives a hesitant nod. “It’s a faerie thing. But we only use that power in rare circumstances.”
“Like what?”
“Hmm … I don’t think I should tell you right now.”
“Why not?”
He shrugs, directing his attention back to the stage, the tension returning to his body. And to mine.
I can’t stand this, feeling so much pain flowing off him. When I first met him, I thought he was nothing but a shallow faerie. He’s not, though. He’s full of anguish and pain, and he cares about the creatures close to him so much. I think he might even care about me, even though it freaks the pixies out of me. And I care about him, too. Just care, though. That’s all. Because, for now, that’s all it can be.
Unsure of what else to do, I reach up and brush my fingers along his cheek. His skin is so soft. I didn’t realize that until now.
His gaze skates to me, and a trace of that amusement that so often drives me crazy, but right now makes me feel at ease, returns to his face.
“What’re you doing, little thief?”
I lift a shoulder. “I don’t know.” And it’s the truth. I really don’t know. All I know is that I want to stop that pain I can feel tearing through him.
“You sure about that?” he questions with an arch of his brow.
I nod, tracing his jawline.
He tenses, but strangely, the pain in his body subsides.
“I just don’t like that you’re in pain,” I admit when he stares at me with question marks filling his eyes.
“Hmm …” He rubs his lips together. “Sounds like you might care about me.”
“A teeny, tiny bit,” I stress.
His pain has dwindled a bit, so I’ve done what I wanted to do.
I move to lower my hand from his face, but he captures my fingers and holds my hand in his. Then he lifts my hands to his lips and places a gentle kiss on my fingertips.
“That faerie you met—Penelope—I haven’t seen since I escaped her,” he admits quietly. “And seeing her … it just made me a bit unsettled.”
He’s sugarcoating the truth. He’s more than a bit unsettled. I know that since I can feel the pain and anxiety lashing through him.
“How long ago was that?” I ask.
“Decades ago,” he says with a quiet sigh. “I thought I’d be past it by now, but apparently, she still has a little bit of a hold on me. Luckily, Asher pissed her off enough that she touched him and broke the agreement of this party.”
So, that’s why it felt like Asher was taunting her.
“And, how long were you …? How long was she your master?” I don’t know if I’m crossing a line or not by asking him this.
I just … I just want to know where the pain in him and me are stemming from.
“For longer than decades,” is all he says then looks away from me and stares at the stage.
The pain is swelling through him and, since my touch seemed to soothe it a little, I stand up on my tiptoes and kiss his cheek. His hand twitches in mine as I lean back, and he turns to look at me, clearly startled.
“What was that for?” he questions.
“I just …” I realize then that maybe the whole kissing thing on the dance floor was all for show. Maybe he doesn’t want to kiss me. Maybe all his joking about kissing me was just that—jokes.
And when I really think about it, he’s never kissed me just to kiss me. It’s always been to either put magic in me or because we were pretending. However, I’ve kissed him.
As reality douses over me, I start to step back when he suddenly leans in with his eyes shut and brushes his lips against mine. It’s a soft kiss, way more softer than all the ones that happened between us while we were dancing. I expect him to pull back and leave it at that, but then he tangles his fingers through my hair and draws me closer until his lips collide with mine again. This kiss is a lot less gentler and more branding as he sweeps his tongue into my mouth and lightly tugs on my hair. It’s a quick kiss, though. Deep, but quick. And then he’s pulling away and looking at me.
“I think we might be opening Pandora’s box,” he says, sounding a bit breathless.
I literally have no idea what he means, and instead of explaining further, he just kisses me again.
“Do you know how much I’ve wanted to do this to you since the first time I met you?” he asks, the playfulness returning to his tone.
“I actually do, since you’ve told me like every two seconds,” I tease back, glad it seems like he’s returning to his normal, relaxed self again.
“Did I?” He plays dumb. “Huh? That doesn’t seem like something I’d say.”
I give him an unimpressed look. “That sounds exactly like something you’d say.”
“Really?” He continues to play dumb, but then a sly look spreads across his face. “I also think I may have mentioned playing a game of cat and mouse with you. Looks like I won.” Before I can ream into him for that, he places a quick kiss on my cheek then twirls me around and pushes me into someone.
Metal woven arms loop around me and stop me from falling face-first onto the floor. My cheek presses against a metal chest, and when I hear the soft thud of a heartbeat reverberating from inside, I know Arrow is the one holding me.
But that still doesn’t explain why East pushed me into him.
And apparently, Arrow thinks the same thing.
“Why the hell did you do that?” he asks East.
Well, I think he’s talking to East.
“Because you were walking around like a grumpy ogre, and I thought it might cheer you up,” East replies with hilarity in his tone.
Well, at least he’s feeling better.
“I’m just a little uneasy with all these creatures around,” he stresses, wrapping his fingers around my upper arms, like he’s about to push me away from him, which wouldn’t be the first time.
“Aren’t we all,” East says. “But I think we both know that’s not the only reason … Keep an eye on our little thief. I’m going to go check in on soundcheck.”
I feel him walk away, his emotions morphing into a soft murmur.
Arrow moves me back then but doesn’t push me away like I expected.
“Hey,” I say stupidly, unsure of what else to say. This is the first time we’ve spoken one-on-one after that whole shower incident, and I can tell we’re both a b
it uncomfortable.
“Hi.” He cracks a smile then hastily bites it back. “Har, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry.”
“For what?” I ask, totally perplexed.
“For …” He lowers his voice, tension creasing his features. “For kissing you in the shower.”
“You already apologized for that,” I remind him. “In that note.”
“Yeah, but I wanted to apologize again.”
“Well, you don’t have to. You don’t even need to be sorry for it.”
“No, I do,” he assures me.
“Why?” I ask, wondering why he seems so persistent about this.
“But I am … Because of what I am,” he says, his jaw set tight.
And I guess, considering how creatures treat cyborgs, I can understand why he’d think that. That doesn’t mean I think that way, and he needs to understand that.
“That shouldn’t bother anyone, and it definitely doesn’t bother me.” I smile so he knows I mean what I say.
A crease forms between his brows. “I don’t … I don’t understand you.”
“Hardly anyone does.”
“Maybe. But they’d be lucky if they got to.”
My smile widens as I wrap my arms around him, planning on giving him a hug, but he ends up pressing his bronzed lips against mine. Then, just like the first time he kissed me, he starts to panic and pull back. Before he can get very far, I pull him closer and slip my tongue into his mouth, unsure what the hell I’m doing, just knowing that I don’t want him to be afraid of me.
After giving him a soft kiss, I move back and smile up at him. “There. Now we’re even.”
While it’s hard to tell, I’m fairly certain he might be blushing.
Then he looks away and stares at … well, a wall.
“Was that okay to do?” I ask, worried maybe I crossed a line and ruined our friendship.
Nodding, he returns his eyes to mine. Then, sucking in an unsteady breath, he dips his lips and kisses me back. It’s a gentle kiss, no tongue or anything, but I feel it all the way to my toes. Then he pulls back and looks at me, nervousness creeping through his features.
“I like you, Harlynn, I really do,” he admits without looking me in the eye. “I just … I just have no idea what the fuck I’m doing.”
Chasing Steel: Capturing Magic Books 1-3 Page 37