Wicked

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  guy like me before."

  That was so true, in a lot of ways. The stake felt light, but it was sturdy. He slowly slid his fingers off mine, leaving behind a wake of shivers. "Are you sure you want to give this to me?"

  "It's my extra. I'm not using it, and I want you to have it on you, especially going forward." He leaned over, grabbing his beer, then settled back against the couch beside me. His thigh rested against mine; the nearness was comfortable to him, and I imagined if I stopped thinking about it, it would be to me too. "You have to hit them in the chest. As if they were vampires."

  I turned the stake over, respecting the craftsmanship it took to whittle this baby into such a sharp, destructive end. "Thank you."

  He nodded and tipped the bottle to his lips.

  "I mean it." Gingerly placing the stake on the coffee table, I grabbed my soda and sat back. Around midnight we received a mass text from David advising us of an emergency meeting Tuesday afternoon. We knew it was about the gate. "How do you think the other Order members will respond to what David's going to talk about?"'

  "I don't know." He grabbed the remote off the cushion next to him and flipped on the TV. "Let's not talk about any of that, okay? I know that's probably not the smartest decision, but babe, there isn't anything we can do at this point that's going to change things."

  I hesitated as I studied his profile. "But what about the other halfling? If that gate opens, it becomes even more imperative that we find out who that is."

  "We?" He grinned as he took a drink. "I like that. We. Sounds good."

  My cheeks heated as I glanced at the TV. He'd turned it on to some movie channel.

  "We know there's at least one more member that fits the bill, but I haven't been given the details just yet. They won't say the name until they have something on them," he said, and for some reason, unease blossomed in my stomach.

  I didn't have any reason to think he wasn't telling me everything. He'd been pretty upfront. "I'm sorry for not warning you ahead of time about talking to David and putting you in the position of having to tell him about the Elite."

  "It's okay."

  I shook my head and avoided his gaze. "Actually, it's not. Val . . . she already knew because I told her the weekend after you told me. I had to talk to someone so I could wrap my head around it. I know that doesn't justify doing it, but I wanted to be upfront."

  When I dared a quick look at him, he didn't look too pissed. His expression was virtually blank. "Did you tell her why I was here?"

  "To hunt the halfling? No. You heard her. She didn't know about the halflings until now."

  A moment passed and then he nodded. "Have you've told anyone else?"

  I shook my head.

  He seemed to mull that over. "Well, honestly, it doesn't really matter now. Even if you didn't tell her, she would've heard about it when she was in that room."

  No real measure of relief was felt even though he handled it a lot better than I probably would have. "I should've called you this morning and gave you a heads up or something."

  "Hey," he said, curving his free hand around my chin, turning my gaze to his. "A heads up would've been nice, and I would've preferred for that conversation to go down when there wasn't anyone else in the room, but it's over and done with. David knew about the Elite, so it wasn't like I was dropping some big bomb or breaking the rules."

  "You already broke the rules with me."

  "I did." He dragged his thumb along my lower lip, and if I were a braver girl, I would've caught that wicked finger with my mouth. "For tonight, let's just . . . be normal."

  I pulled back, eyes wide. "What?"

  "Normal. Like those people we saw at the diner the night you almost slit my throat with your stake," he explained, and I remembered the girls and guys we'd seen in there. "Let's just not talk about any of that shit. Okay?"

  I bit down on my lip and nodded as I returned my attention to the screen. A knot formed at the back of my throat, and I downed half my soda to get rid of it. He had no idea how wanting the same thing I did, even in the littlest way, affected me.

  As he ended up settling on a Vince Vaughn movie, I relaxed, one muscle at a time, sinking into the couch beside him, his shoulder pressed against mine. We laughed at the same jokes, shook our heads at the same scenes, and it didn't take long for me to realize just how badly I needed this—both of us did.

  After the movie was over, we ended up chatting through the credits, and another older eighties flick came on. It was late, well past three in the morning when Ren flicked his tired gaze to mine and sat forward, dropping his bare feet to the polished, cement floor.

  "Ready for bed?"

  My eyes opened wide.

  "It's really late. I don't feel like going back out there, and I'm not cool with you doing it alone. I'm not suggesting anything. Just stay with me."

  "Just stay with you?" I repeated. "In your bed?"

  "It's a big bed. Like three people could sleep comfortably in there, even if you add a large dog at the foot of the bed." Smiling slightly, he patted my leg while I stared at him. "Come on."

  Ren stood, picking up our empty drinks and taking them into the kitchen. Then he headed into the bedroom, holding the door for me.

  One would think I didn't face cold-blooded killers all the time by how weak my knees felt when I stood. What was I doing? I decided I didn't know as I walked across his cool floor, my shoes and socks tucked against his couch.

  Letting the door drift shut behind us, he crossed in front of me. Next to the bed, he flipped the lamp on. "I have a shirt if you want to change into it. Should work for you." He went to a dresser, pulling open the second drawer, and took out a dark shirt. He walked it over to where I hovered just inside the bedroom.

  Amusement danced over his face as he placed the shirt in one hand and took the other, guiding me toward the bathroom. "You can get changed in there. Or out here. I would totally prefer it to be out here."

  Snapping out of my frozen stupor, I pulled my hand free. "I'll get changed in there."

  "Sad face," he murmured, and then louder, "I'll be waiting."

  I shivered as I closed the door behind me and turned the light on. For a moment, I froze in the bathroom, my heart racing with . . . excitement. I hadn't slept with a guy since Shaun, with or without sex. I honestly had no idea what I was doing, but I stripped down to my bra and panties, and then quickly rinsed my face with a splash of cool water.

  The last thing I wanted to do was sleep in a bra. Heck, I hated wearing a bra ninety percent of the time. I didn't have small breasts and they weren't huge, but they did like to jiggle when they had a taste of freedom. As I debated whether I should leave the bra on or not, I caught a glimpse of my ultra-bright blue eyes and flushed cheeks in the mirror. I closed my eyes, my fingers trembling as I reached behind me and unhooked the bra. The straps slipped down my arms, and I quickly grabbed the borrowed shirt, slipping it on over my head. It reached just below my thighs, and I'd definitely not be doing any jumping jacks anytime soon.

  Before I left the bathroom, I snagged the bobby pins holding my hair up in a twist, and sighed the moment my hair was loose. Curls fell in every direction, and my scalp tingled with happiness. Gathering up my clothes, I opened the bathroom door and came to a complete stop.

  Holy fae on fire, Ren was shirtless, standing with his back to me, and I got to see the rest of the tattoo.

  He'd changed into loose cotton sleep pants that hung indecently low on his hips, and that was all. His muscled back was on display, and those vines from the front of his chest and arm crept over his shoulder, tangled down the right side of his back. In vivid detail, peering out from the vines was a black panther, its eyes the color of amber, and its mouth open, tongue a crimson red, sharp teeth a brilliant white

  All I wanted to do was run over and touch it.

  "I was starting to get worried about you in there." Putting the pillow in place, he turned around. "Thought I might . . ." He trailed off, lips parting.r />
  Both of us were staring at each other, and I didn't know what he saw in my expression, but he was gazing back at me like he'd never seen me before. There was such concentrated intensity in his stare that it felt like a physical caress. The tips of my breasts hardened, straining against the shirt.

  "God. Damn," he said, voice husky. "Wearing my shirt might not have been one of my brightest ideas."

  "I'm . . . sorry?"

  He ran his hand through his hair, the muscles in his arm and stomach doing amazing things as he clasped the back of his neck. "You were in a serious relationship before, right? The guy you lost?"

  Not knowing how that had anything to do with his shirt, I nodded.

  "You were really young," he said quietly. Ren moved toward me, much like I imagined the panther on his back would've if it was stalking prey. Stopping in front of me, he plucked up a curl that brushed my cheek. He tugged it straight as his gaze swept over my face. "It's a good thing—a powerful thing to see a female you like wearing your clothes. I'd forgotten that until now."

  Heat traveled down my neck. "Oh."

  "Yeah." Letting go of my hair, the curl bounced back into place. "I'm guessing you've never worn a guy's clothes before?"

  I shook my head as my gaze dipped to his throat. The leather string of the necklace was entirely too tempting against his golden skin. "Shaun and I . . . we didn't get a chance to get to that point, I guess."

  His head tilted to the side as he curved his hand around my cheek. "So that's his name. You've never said it before."

  "I haven't?"

  With a shake of his head, he trailed his thumb along my cheek. "You really haven't been with anyone since him?"

  "No." Why would I lie about that?

  He smiled faintly then lowered his head, dropping a kiss against my forehead, eliciting a shaky breath from me. "Make yourself comfortable. I'll be right out."

  He left me standing there as he disappeared into the bathroom, and I tried to make sense of what just happened. All I knew was that the punch-in-the-chest sadness that came whenever I thought of Shaun wasn't there. And I didn't know what to make of that.

  Or anything.

  Taking a deep breath, I put my clothes on his dresser and all but dashed into the bed, and good Lord, the mattress was comfy! I scooted to the middle and froze, having no idea what side he slept on or if he had a side. I totally had a side—always the furthest away from closet doors because I was a dork. Straightening the shirt out so my undies weren't saying hi to the world, I tugged the blanket up to my hips and lay flat on my back.

  I so needed an adult to explain to me what the hell I was supposed to do from this point on.

  There wasn't much time to stress over it because Ren returned from the bathroom. His ever-present half grin spread as he saw me. I clutched the blanket, my breath caught in my throat. My heart pounded so fast that I wondered if I was going to have a heart attack, and God, wouldn't that be embarrassing. I swallowed nervously and willed my heart to slow.

  Turning off the lamp, shadows fell around Ren, but when he faced me, I could tell that he'd frozen. I couldn't make out his expression as he bent, taking a hold of the covers on his side.

  "Ivy?"

  "Hmm?"

  He slowly edged the covers back from his side and climbed in, and although I couldn't make out his eyes, I knew he was watching me. "I'm happy that you're here."

  My fingers eased off the blanket.

  As he stretched out beside me, my eyes adjusted to the lack of light, and I could see that he was smiling. "Are you?"

  "Yeah," I whispered.

  "Good. That's all I wanted to hear."

  Wow, the warmth that flooded my chest could've turned me into a puddle of goo in that bed. I waited for him to make a move on me, but seconds ticked by. He seriously was behaving himself. I dared a quick peek at him, and found I could not look away.

  Ren lifted his arm closest to me, and a heartbeat passed. I hesitated for a moment, and then, my heart pounding even more, I slid over until my leg brushed his. He curved his arm around my waist and drew me up against his side, guiding me down until I was nestled against his warm, bare chest. Another moment passed and then I lowered my cheek, and the simple pleasure of lying like this nearly broke me right open.

  Neither of us spoke after that, and I thought I'd never fall asleep as I felt every deep, slow breath of his. In the darkness and the quiet, I closed my eyes against the tears that rushed me. I never thought I'd feel this or that I would ever lay in another boy's arms and be thinking only of him.

  ~

  I wasn't sure what dragged me awake, but I woke up with a ball of molten lava simmering low in my stomach and the blankets pulled aside. Lips brushed the curve of my cheek, my chin, and then down my throat as the hand at my breast mercilessly teased the hardened tip.

  Slowly, my eyes opened as my hand fluttered to the back of Ren's head, my fingers slipping through the soft strands. "What . . . what are you doing?" My voice was raspy, strange to my own ears.

  "Waking you up." Ren kissed me, nibbling on my lower lip, and, still half asleep, I gasped. He took advantage, deepening the kiss, replacing the cobwebs of sleep with those of hazy desire.

  His hand was under my shirt, his fingers against my bare breast, kneading my flesh, and then his hand slid down below my belly, between my thighs. "You were all tangled up with me when I woke up," he said in the space between our mouths. Rubbing his fingers against my center, he drew a low moan out of me. "Your arms around my waist. Your leg in-between mine."

  "Yeah?" I said, barely knowing what in the world he was talking about. Sleep fogged my brain. All I could concentrate on was how he was dragging his fingers. My hips moved of their own accord, rolling up to meet the slow glide.

  He inched down my body as he pushed the shirt I wore up. Cool air washed over my heated skin. "I like it," he continued, pressing a kiss between my breasts. "You're a cuddler."

  "Nuh-uh," I murmured, and then my back bowed off the bed when his mouth latched on to my breast, sucking hard and deep. Curling my fingers through his hair, I cried out.

  "Oh yeah. You're like a little monkey when you sleep." His kisses went lower, and I opened my eyes, watching him in a daze as he kissed just above my navel then circled it with his tongue before plunging in.

  My toes curled as an unexpected blast of pleasure rolled through me. "Oh my . . ."

  Ren chuckled against my stomach. "You know what that did to me?"

  Swallowing hard, I had to catch my breath. "No."

  He was below my belly button, trailing a new path of kisses, and my fingers slipped from his hair. He gripped the sides of my panties as his gaze flicked up to mine, his green eyes deepening to a forest green and full of wicked fire. "It made me so fucking hot for you. I couldn't help myself. I had to kiss you—touch you." His voice sharpened. "Lift up."

  With my brain somewhere in la-la land, my body was on autopilot. My hips lifted, and Ren cursed swiftly as he tugged my panties off. "God, you're fucking beautiful." He placed his hand between my thighs. "Everywhere."

  Ren lowered his head, dropping his mouth to the tattoo on the inside of my hip. He traced the lines with his tongue, and I felt every stroke all the way to my core. Then he kissed the insides of each of my thighs, moving closer and closer. Self-conscious and unnerved by the intensity of the feelings growing inside me, I tried to close my legs, to scoot back, but his hands clamped down on my hips. He lifted them, and my pulse skyrocketed.

  His eyes met mine for a second and he said, "You have no idea how long I've wanted to taste you."

  Then he kissed me in a way I've never been kissed before. My chest heaved as he parted me, and he drew every moan, every whimper, and every cry with each lap of his tongue. I didn't know if I could take it. The tension built to a point that was almost painful.

  I reached for him, to either push him away or pull him closer, I wasn't sure, but I didn't get the chance. He let go of my hips, catching my wrists and holding
them against my belly with just one hand. I could barely breathe as he grinned and slipped one finger inside me.

  Body jerking, my fingers curled helplessly. "Ren."

  "You like that, don't you?" His breath brushed the damp curls between my legs. "More?"

  I nodded.

  "Say it, Ivy."

  God, seriously? His hand stilled. He was totally being serious. "More," I gasped out.

  That smile was pure sin as he worked another finger in. "How about that?"

  The pressure increased, but then he hooked his fingers