“Why are you doing that?” he asked.
“I don’t know when I’ll be back,” I said. “It’s fun to leave a little something of myself behind.”
“Whatever you say,” he shrugged, as we approached the statues.
“Can I have a moment alone with them?” I asked Dragon.
He looked at me suspiciously for a moment, then released my hand.
“Sure, I’ll wait on that bench,” he said, pointing to a nearby park bench.
“I’ll just be a minute,” I said.
They were surrounded by a large black iron fence with tall decorative spires and once again, I looked at those little girls' faces. While I’d felt fear and surprise yesterday, today I felt sadness. I saw the pain written there. I remembered why it was there. What they’d gone through.
I remembered all the cameras popping off the day we were returned to the castle, all the people milling around outside, pushing each other trying to catch a glimpse of the little princesses, as if given the chance, they could see a glimpse of what we’d gone through.
It was the last time we’d been seen in public.
After that, my father went crazy, never letting us near anyone outside of the staff ever again. There were no more photographs. No new moments of happiness captured to erase the images of that day.
In a way, the artist had captured the last moment we were ever free.
I drew my little horse on the railing, this time adding a tiny little lighthouse next to it. Then, I took off my medallion and hung it from one of the spires of the railing near the drawing.
Dragon looked at me curiously from his spot on the bench and I left it there, walking over to him.
“You’re going to leave that there?”
“Yeah,” I replied. “I don’t need it anymore. I’m not that little girl anymore.”
“No, you aren’t,” he said, leering at me, his eyes raking over me.
“No, I’m not,” I whispered, meaning something completely different than he did. I lifted my chin as we walked out of the park.
I wasn’t that little girl anymore. I wasn’t weak or fearful.
And I wasn’t about to let anyone keep me prisoner again.
Chapter 36
EVA
“It’s important you don’t wander off,” Riot said.
“I won’t,” I replied.
“You can travel around with us and see if you feel anything while we check out the rest of these addresses.”
“That’ll work,” I said.
“A few of the addresses are near each other. So, we’ll be on foot. Keep an eye out for anything unusual, any sign of her. And, if anything gets weird, stay close to Slade, okay? He’ll protect you.”
“Hell, yeah, I will,” Slade said, flashing me a smile. He was missing a tooth and his bald head was tattooed with a scary skull but in some weird way, he was both charming and handsome.
“Will do,” I said. We tumbled out of the SUV and onto the sidewalk and I was suddenly overwhelmed. We were in the city center, and it was bustling with people streaming around us on the sidewalks. It felt insane and wrong to be around this many people, but my disguise was working because nobody was looking at me twice. They were looking at the Gods, though, and I imagined that happened everywhere they went. They were big and scary and intimidating. The crowds naturally parted as they walked down the street and I couldn’t help but smile as I walked with them.
The first address we went to had a white van parked in front and the guys surrounded it, inspecting it quickly.
“No dent,” Wreck said.
“Not it,” Slade said. “What’s next?”
“A few blocks away,” Riot said. “Follow me.”
My eyes searched every face we passed. I tried to tap into the part of my brain that was connected with Willa, attempting some sort of communication. I kept coming up empty.
We went to the next address and inspected the next van, but again, there was no dent, so we moved on.
“Hey, man, I gotta take a piss,” Slade said. “I mean, um…I have to urinate.”
He flashed me an apologetic look and I laughed.
“Sorry for being crude,” he said.
“It’s fine,” I replied, shaking my head.
“There’s a supermarket near the park,” Wreck said. “I saw it yesterday.”
“Let’s go there,” I said. “I’ve never been to a supermarket before.”
“What?” Slade asked. “Fucking crazy, man.”
He threw a hand over his mouth. “Whoops, sorry again, Princess. It’s a bad habit.”
“I like the word fucking,” I said, letting it roll around my tongue.
“Oh, don’t say that,” Riot said. “I’m pretty sure your dad thinks we’re going to be a bad influence on you already.”
“He says it all the time. I’ll tell him I got it from him,” I said.
“Fuck yeah,” Slade laughed. Riot elbowed him. “Ouch! Fuck, dude!”
“Shut up, man!” Riot insisted, growing angry. “Stop it!”
“Sorry, sorry,” Slade said, throwing up his hands. “It’s not as easy as you might think.”
“Really, it’s fine,” I said, as we approached the entrance of the market.
“I’m gonna find the john, be right back,” Slade said, walking away.
My eyes widened in awe as I looked inside. There were so many people and the shelves were full of all kinds of things.
“Can I go in?” I asked Riot.
“Sure,” he shrugged and the three of us walked in. I was immediately overwhelmed. I spun around, taking it all in. The energy was electric, similar to the busy streets outside, but here it was all contained under one roof and it made me dizzy.
And that’s when I felt it.
Willa.
I froze, closing my eyes and allowing the feeling to wash over me. I could feel her in there, feel a warmth in my gut that spread up into my chest.
“Willa was here,” I whispered. Riot and Wreck stopped walking and looked at me with surprise
“Are you sure?” Riot asked.
“I think so,” I said, in awe of it myself. “I can feel her.”
He flashed a look over at Wreck. “Search the other side of the store and meet me outside in ten minutes.”
Wreck nodded and walked away quickly, his eyes searching the aisles. Riot and I kept walking, but he stayed silent beside me, matching my pace.
“I don’t think she’s here now,” I said. “But she was.”
He nodded, searching the faces of the other customers. We walked through the entire store, finding Wreck near the produce section.
“I didn’t see anything,” he said, shrugging as we approached.
“Eva doesn’t think she’s here now,” Riot said. We walked outside to find Slade was already out there waiting for us.
“Any luck?” he asked, leaning against a signpost by the front door.
“Eva thinks she was here, but she’s not here now,” Riot replied.
“Damn, that’s too bad. She could be any—.”
“—There!” I shouted, surprising us all with the forcefulness of it as I pointed behind Slade. My eyes widened as I ran over to the signpost.
“What?” Slade shouted back, looking behind him suddenly. The three of them started frantically looking around, thinking I’d seen Willa.
But I hadn’t seen Willa, unfortunately.
But I’d spotted the next best thing.
“This! Look!” I said, pointing to the sketch of the pony.
“What’s that? A horse?” Slade asked, squinting his eyes as we gathered around.
“Not just any horse, that’s Willa’s horse!” I announced excitedly.
“She has a horse?” Riot said.
“No, our father wouldn’t let us have one. He was afraid we’d fall off and break a leg or something.”
“Your father was afraid of you having a horse, but he allowed you to have a fucking pet lion?” Slade asked, incredulously.
I looked at him curiously. “You met Sandy?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” he said, shaking his head quickly.
“Forget the lion,” Riot said, flashing Slade a look. “Eva, are you saying Willa drew this?”
“Yes!” I said. “Willa sketches all the time. She has sketchbooks full of her drawings, but there’s nothing she draws more than this pony! It’s her signature swoosh, right there where the tail is, see?”
“This is promising,” Riot said. “Are you absolutely sure?”
“Yes! I’m sure!” I said, looking around, trying to find any other signs. That’s when I spotted the others. “Oh, look! There’s another one!” I pointed near the door and rushed over to another sketch. “And another!” She’d drawn another one ten feet away on the wall. And one on the bike rack.
“It’s like she drew a trail of them!” Excitement coursed through my veins and I felt so close to her. “She’s trying to tell us something, I’m sure of it.”
“I believe you,” Riot said. “But what?”
“I don’t know,” I said, shaking my head, trying to listen. “Maybe there’s more?”
“Let’s follow them,” Wreck suggested.
We kept walking, seeing the little ponies here and there along the way as we walked down the block.
“What else is around here?” I asked.
“Just some clothing stores. A restaurant. A park,” Slade said.
“Let’s keep going in this direction,” I said. They were following me now, letting me stop every now and then to see if anything revealed itself to me. So far, I’d gotten nothing else but the ponies kept popping up every few feet until we’d reached a beautiful park laid out in the middle of the shopping district.
“Do you think she might be in the park?” Wreck asked me.
“I don’t know,” I said, as we entered and headed towards the middle. I was dizzy, trying to look at every person’s face, and every possible surface at the same time while I looked for more sketches.
I froze when I spotted the statues.
“Is that? No way, it can’t be.”
“What?” Riot asked.
“It’s us,” I said, my heart sinking as I realized what I was looking at. “Why would someone make a statue of us? And one like this? Of this moment?”
Willa and I were holding hands, a look of terror on our faces. It didn’t make sense. The urge to destroy it overwhelmed me. If I’d had something to use besides my bare hands, I would have jumped over the fencing and taken care of it myself.
The sun caught something hanging from the fence, the glint of it catching my eye. When I saw what it was, I cried out and ran towards it.
“What is that?” Riot said.
I reached into the front of my dress and pulled out my medallion.
“Proof!” I shouted gleefully. “It’s Willa’s necklace! We have matching ones.” I put them next to each other, showing them. “Look!”
“Jackpot,” Slade said, smiling back at me.
“And look! Another drawing!” I said, pointing where the necklace had been hanging.
“What’s that next to it?” Wreck said.
“Is that a penis?” Slade said. Riot hit him and he took a step back.
“I think it’s a rocket,” Wreck said.
“Maybe,” I said, wrinkling my brow. “I’ve never seen her draw that before. But this is definitely her necklace. I can’t believe we found it!”
Riot pulled out his phone and took a photo of the drawing.
“Fucking amazing!” Slade said, immediately throwing his hand over his mouth again sheepishly. “Damn, sorry.”
“Don’t apologize!” I cried. “It is fucking amazing!”
Chapter 37
CLARA
Like a white-hot flame, there was nothing gentle about Stryker’s kiss.
He kissed me like he owned me, like he was taking something that had belonged to him all along. I parted my lips, welcoming his tongue with mine, searching, tangling, tasting.
I inhaled him. He consumed me.
Wrapping my hair around his fingers, he pulled my head back, my mouth welcoming him deeper as his other hand palmed my ass fully, pressing my body into the throbbing heat between his legs.
We’d gone from zero to ten in a fraction of a second. I didn’t have time to ask myself if I was ready. I didn’t need to determine if I wanted it. I’d thought of him every night I’d spent tossing in bed since he’d arrived, fraught with worry and begging for the relief and distraction those thoughts of him brought. I knew full well what I wanted.
My body ached for him.
I barely knew him. But what did I have to lose? What did it matter, here, at this moment? Alone with him in my apartment, a stolen moment, giving in to a growing need that I couldn’t deny? I couldn’t think of a reason not to do it.
I could have pushed him away. I could have pulled myself together and insisted we leave.
But we both knew why I brought him here.
Why pretend? Why go through the trouble of pushing him away when the feelings would still be there, would continue to grow until they clouded every second of my day?
If I didn’t give in now, I’d never forgive myself.
Moaning into his mouth, I pressed my body into him.
To my dismay, he was the one that pulled away, his burning gaze smoldering with desire as he searched my eyes.
“Clara, there’s something you need to know.”
Confused, I cocked my head. Of course, I thought, this was too good to be true.
He’s going to tell me he’s married.
He has a disease.
He’s dying.
He’s got a tail.
I braced myself, waiting to hear the reason he was pulling away. Just when I thought I was going to get something I so desperately needed, it was all going to be snatched away.
“What?” I asked, my body refusing to shut down. He was still touching me. His fingers still wrapped in my hair and gripping my ass.
“I don’t fuck around.”
“What?” I repeated in confusion. Surely, this man wasn’t trying to tell me he was a virgin? No. That would have been absurd.
“What I’m saying is that you need to be warned. Make up your mind now. Once I get started, I can’t stop. I mean, hell, of course, I can — but it’s not easy. I won’t want to. So, I’m stopping ahead of time, before we get to that part, because if I keep kissing you, touching you…” He paused, his gaze darting down to my lips, then raking down to my breasts, swelling under my dress.
“Yes?”
“If I keep kissing you, if I keep touching you, I won’t stop, Clara,” he growled, bending his head and raking his scorching lips against mine, before continuing. “I won’t stop at kissing your lips.” He leaned closer, his hand pulling my head back further, pressing his lips to my neck, ripping a gasp from my throat. His lips trailed fiery kisses down my neck, landing on my collarbone, his tongue darting out and sending shocks of electricity shooting through my body.
His hand squeezed my ass, pushing me closer into the hard heat throbbing between us. He pressed his hips forward, his cock pressing directly against my sex.
His lips found my ear, whispering as they caressed my skin, his words raking over my ear in short, hot bursts of pleasure.
“I won’t stop at squeezing your ass. I won’t stop, Clara,” he paused, pressing harder into me, “I won’t stop with just rubbing against you. It won’t be enough. I won’t be satisfied, not until I’ve sunk every,” he pressed closer, “single,” he pressed harder, “inch of me,” he pressed up, his hardness pressing up now towards me, straining against the fabric keeping us apart, “inside of you.”
I gasped, his words like tiny little bombs bursting in my brain.
“So,” he said, his tongue licking my ear, pulling the lobe into his mouth and biting slightly, “if you want me to stop, it’s probably best if you say that right now.”
He lifted his head
, taking away his tongue, the heat of his mouth, the very source of pleasure that I was so immensely enjoying. He peered at me — waiting, unsmiling, deadly serious.
I shook my head slowly, dazed by pure lust and yet clear as a bell. I’d never wanted a man more in my life. I wasn’t sure I’d ever wanted anything more in my life, in fact.
His fingers tightened, still tangled in my hair. I gasped, my lips open, my body aching with hunger.
“Take me,” I whispered. “Please.”
He growled, his eyes dilating as he paused, his gaze drinking me in for a hot, split second before he dove in, his mouth devouring mine, his hands sliding over my hips, his heat pouring over me in a lustful embrace.
Chapter 38
STRYKER
My hands pushed and pulled at the fabric between us in frustration, the need to feel her bare skin pulsing against mine was indescribable. I found the hem of her dress, gathering it in my fist and pulling it over her head. Once I received my first glimpse of her body, standing proudly in her bra and panties, I shuddered with pleasure.
I unhooked her bra, her creamy breasts falling into my palms like a blessing from the universe. My lips found her nipples, licking and teasing until she was gasping in pleasure. Bending my knees, I planted hungry kisses along her skin, my fingers impatiently pulling at the edges of her panties. Black satin slid across my fingers as I pulled them over her thighs, revealing the gift I’d been desperately seeking. She stepped out of them, standing in front of me, the most beautiful offering I’d ever seen.
“You’re incredible,” I whispered, my words thick with desire, as I knelt in front of her. She stared down at me, her lips swollen from my kisses, her eyes matching the desire coursing through me. My cock twitched between my legs, aching to get inside of her.
With a slow smile, I placed my palms on her thighs, opening them. Her moan of anticipation was enough to make me explode, but I managed to hold it together. I wanted to take her so badly, slam myself inside of her and never stop, but first I needed to taste her, I needed to make her feel amazing, I wanted to hear my name dripping from her lips in ecstasy.
BLOOD PRINCESS: GODS OF CHAOS MC (BOOK 17) Page 12