“He’s quiet,” I stated easily, my gaze scanning his features and attire, shaking my head softly. “You are not.”
“You have much to learn if you’ll take him over me.” His angelic features only appeared even more innocent as he sat forward, placing both hands on the table, and to my eternal frustration, my gaze snagged on his silver watch, it gleaming brilliantly under the light, a diamond set into the face of it above the noon mark. Blinking quickly, I jerked my gaze away from it and up to his eyes. They crinkled the barest bit around the edges, even as he adjusted his suit jacket to cover the sparkling watch. Chuckling softly, he added, “You also must be young if that distracted you, Valkyrie.”
“I’m eighteen,” I grumbled, lifting the glass when King Jerome scooted it back to me. I waved an absent hand in agitation. “I mean, really. Does every damn Valan have to wear badass jewelry?”
King Jerome lifted a finger, his lips curving. “I don’t.”
“It’s much appreciated.” I sighed heavily, downing the last of the glass before refilling it. “All it does is flash and any young Valkyrie goes all,” I waved my hands in front of my face, “zoned the hell out. It’s annoying.” When he didn’t move to leave my table, I cracked my neck, tilted to the side, and extracted my new cellphone, my fingers flying over it.
King Jerome grunted softly. “Kids these days.”
King Balar’s hand shot out, and I froze when his index finger curved over the top of my screen. Still careful not to touch my hands, he pulled it down, away from my face. His brow once more lifting, he stated coolly, “I wasn’t done talking.”
“Your point?” I asked, eyeing him, trying seriously hard not to find this man attractive. I tipped my head at the screen. “I’m playing a game here.”
He smiled gently. A sweet smile. Right before my cell phone went flying over the balcony, ripped out of my hand so quickly I didn’t even see it. My mouth gaping, I watched as it smashed against the far stone wall, cracking to clatter on the floor. Only a few people glanced at it as he calmly placed his hands back on the table and steepled them to rest his chin on the tips, merely watching me with that easy innocence. Fully in command. “I said we weren’t through talking.”
I pointed a sharp finger where my cellphone lay broken and battered across the room. “You are going to pay for that!”
His lips twitched. “What are you going to do to me?”
My brows puckered, and then I shook my head. “No, I mean you’re literally going to pay for that. It cost me three hundred bucks! I had to work double shifts to pay for it.”
He stared. For a full minute. “I think I can afford it.” He shrugged a shoulder, his gaze scanning my face. “Do you have any clue who your biological parents are?”
Foregoing the glass, I merely lifted the bottle, taking a decent swig from it. “No, I don’t.” Still glaring where my phone lay, I sighed heavily, turning my scowl on him. “It was pink. Took me forever to find that color.”
His lips trembled. “You’ll get another phone. A pink one. I give you my Vow on this. Now, just hush for a moment and try to focus while I talk to you.”
I flipped him off.
His brows rose, his tone intimately quiet. “Is that an offer?”
My lips parted slightly. I just stared. I wasn’t a virgin. Not an innocent by a long shot, but there was vibrating carnality to his tone that froze me solid for a full beat, slow warmth resonating deep inside my gut. Swiftly, I cleared my throat, casually glancing to King Jerome as I took another swig from my bottle, grumbling dryly, “Is he for real?”
King Jerome’s shoulders were shaking ever so softly, elbows on the table, a fist in front of his mouth he leaned on. He glanced between us before his twinkling eyes landed on mine. He nodded once. Winking at me, his words were deeply amused. “I told you he was no choirboy.”
“You did mention that,” I mumbled, taking one more swig before I set the bottle in the middle of the table. I pushed it away from myself, beginning to feel the effects of the liquor. My gaze slid back to ice blue eyes, where the Demon merely waited for my response. “And no, that was not an offer.”
His nose crinkled, glancing once more at my attire. “I can’t say I’m too upset.”
“And I also mentioned he was an ass,” King Jerome purred, lifting the bottle to his own lips, grinning around it at me. “He doesn’t get any better the more you get to know him.”
I merely scowled at King Balar. “The way I dress is better than a stuffy jackass suit.”
His red plush lips curved. “This suit cost me twenty grand.”
“You overpaid,” I grumbled, but a thought occurred. “You know, there’s this newer version of my phone. Since I’m so scarred from the act of seeing My Precious tossed through the air like that, I believe I deserve the newer model.” My smile was as pure as his initial appearance.
He rubbed his chin with his steepled fingers, watching me, his eyes lingering on my curved lips. “Manipulation in the form of innocence. Not bad. Queen Clover’s teaching you well.” His gaze slid up from my lips, holding my gaze. “But I hold the true domain for manipulation. If you want to try to work that on a Demon, don’t start with me. You’ll only get hurt in the long run.” Ice blue eyes stared pointedly, unrelenting in his questioning. “I understand your adoptive parents are deceased. What were their names? There’s bound to be record—”
“There’s not.” I waved a sharp hand in aggravation, followed by an accidental crash of lightening shaking the windows closest to us. “I was left at a hospital when I was only two weeks old.” I shook my head. “Stop with the questions. You won’t find what you’re looking for. I don’t know anything, and neither did my adoptive parents. They were good people, just happy to have been gifted a child.”
Ice blue flicked between mine. “How did they take what you are?”
“They hid it mainly,” I mumbled, grabbing the bottle back, taking another swig. “We lived on a farm with lots of land not far from here. No one ever said anything about the occasional lightning if they drove by.”
He hummed quietly. “You’re utterly no help.”
“That would be an affirmative.” I shrugged a shoulder, smirking quietly. “Believe me, if I knew who they were, I would find them myself.”
His gaze flicked to my mouth again, his gaze lingering. “What would you do with them?”
Hesitating for all of a second, not entirely sure if he was talking about my parents or my lips, I went with the former guess. Clearing my throat, I stated, “I’d ask them why they gave me up.” I shrugged a shoulder, watching his gaze hover over my mouth. “Closure, and all that.” Pushing the attraction back for this stuffy jackass wasn’t doing a ton of good, his mere gaze making my skin tingle, resulting in another crash of thunder shaking the window. I ignored the vibration, lifting my brows when his eyes slid back to mine, and I detailed coolly, “Simply, I would ask what any other orphan would.”
Deliciously, his lips curved ever so slowly, a purely sinful expression on his angelic features. Humming quietly, it rumbled deep in his chest, quiet descending over us as my eyes held steadfast on iced blues not shying away, staring back into my own.
King Jerome whistled quietly after a moment, glancing between us. “King Balar, she’s merely eighteen. Definitely not ready for your games.”
“Or yours.” King Balar’s tone was quiet, deeply timbered, ice blue eyes hooding as they ran over my features slowly. “Though this may surprise you, King Jerome, but I do know how to be gentle.”
He snorted softly, his warning gaze sliding to me. “Ms. Claire, you are playing with fire.”
I shook my head softly. “No, I’m playing with a Demon.”
King Balar leaned forward instantly, but doing so deliberately, placing his face directly in front of mine, his lips curved the barest bit, his tone a quiet whisper. “One and the same.” His grin was devilish, his brows bouncing once. “So…you do want to play?”
Dangerously, I tipped my face closer, just a breath aw
ay from the tips of our noses touching. I whispered, “I’ll think about it.” Innocent, I was not, and he was scrumptious…but so was the other man at my table. “I don’t do anything serious.” No relationships for me.
He chuckled quietly. “Neither do I.”
King Jerome rumbled under his breath, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Not moving my face, I flicked my eyes to him. “That bad?”
King Jerome waved one of his hands. “Definite man-whore.” His brows rose, taking a large swig directly from the bottle. “Don’t get too attached. He’s been known to break a few hearts. I prefer a somber drinking partner to a blubbering one.”
I snorted softly. “You have to have a heart before it can be broken. And I’m no fainting fangirl.” My eyes swung back to ice blue watching me under his hooded lids doing nothing to distract from the sensual calculation I saw running through them. “I’ll let you know.”
He growled softly in his throat, the sound purely intimate, only loud enough for my ears as he tipped his head. He placed his lips against my hair covering my ears, it the only barrier between our flesh touching. With his heated breath warming my skin, he whispered softly, “You might not be a fangirl, but you’ll faint with pleasure by the time I’m through with you.” His mouth pressed harder against my hair, rubbing across my ear...and I froze when I felt the tops of my ears magically point from their natural curve as my gut trembled with the promise in his voice. He chuckled softly, feeling my obvious show of attraction. “I’ll even let you keep those garish boots on.”
I cleared my throat harshly, shoving back on my chair to twist out of it and away from him—the stuffy jackass...definitely not so stuffy, but still a jackass to make my ears grow in public. The only consoling point, my hair covered them. Breathing just a smidge too heavy for normal, I gripped the back of my chair to steady myself past the alcohol. My gaze trained on the crowd, nowhere near him, especially when the freaking thunder damn near shattered the windows near us.
King Jerome hissed, “Oh...yeah. Gentle, my spell book. Look at her face.” A beat. “That is not gentle.”
My gaze snapped to him, scowling into dark eyes, even if I was turned on. “Gentle is for the weak and I’ve never been as such.” Holding his gaze a moment longer, steeling myself, I peered from dark eyes to ice blues, not glancing away, my tone quiet. “Don’t do that again.” Not in public, I left unsaid, but I knew he heard it even if he didn’t appear a bit repentant. My attention caught over his head, down in the masses where Queen Clover was shooting me a pointed expression. I instantly cracked my neck, barely glancing between the two men. “You’ll have to excuse me. I’m being beckoned. Feel free to finish off the bottle.” Not waiting for them to answer, I swiftly pivoted, grabbing onto the railing. I swung myself over it, keeping one hand on the back of my skirt so there was no flashing occurring as I dropped to the ground, landing easily to move through the crowd to Callie.
Chapter Four
“For the love of God, just stop!” I shouted over the blaring hypnotic beat at the most recent man to jerk me from my fun, testing me with their power. I was drunk. Like normal. But these men were driving me crazy. It was still the first day they were here, all of them damn sneaky in their ways of testing for their mate. I shoved him hard in the chest and continued slipping through the pulsing crowd inside the dimly lit ballroom. I held my drink high above my head so it wasn’t spilt until I came to a section of the swanky couches situated all around the outer edges of the ballroom. I sat furiously, and grumpily, next to Callie, and growled in complete aggravation, “Do you know how many Valan have tested me today?”
King Sephove didn’t even bother to stop his laughter. All the Kings and Queens, and their closest friends, sat inside this group, his dark gaze twinkling on mine. He stated loudly over the music, “I haven’t yet.” His brows waggled, wiggling his fingers at me. “Shall I add myself to the list?”
“Grab a harp, find the pearly gates, and play until your fingers bleed,” I hissed, and then turned my attention back to Callie, who was snickering herself. “This is ridiculous! One Shifter followed me into the bathroom, passed toilet paper under the stall, and tested me then!” The Royals thought that was really freaking funny. I waggled a finger at all of them while they hooted. “You can all rot!”
Callie tossed an arm over my shoulder, murmuring quietly against my ear, “Perhaps you should quit drinking and pay a bit more attention to your surroundings?”
In reply, I merely downed my drink and then grinned sloppily right in her face. “Never going to happen.” I wiggled my shoulders when she scowled, bopping my head to the beat. “Dance with me.”
Her stare was pointed. “The last time I danced with you, I somehow ended up in another county and still drunk when I woke in bed—with you and three other men.”
My lips trembled when the others eyes widened marginally, glancing between us. I shook my head at them, waving a hand, my words a bit more than slurred. “Nothing happened. Sounds worse than it actually was.”
“From what we can remember,” Callie muttered in exasperation, tilting her head to the packed dance floor. “There are plenty of eligible bachelors waiting for a party girl like you.” She shook me inside her hold. “Go have fun. That’s what this night is about, bringing everyone together.” Her gaze appeared triumphant, peering at the masses of pulsating dancers. “It’s working out splendidly, too.”
I scowled at the crowd. “I barely know any of them.”
“And whose fault is that?”
Wrinkling my nose, I grumbled, “You’re a pain.”
“And you’re just drunk enough to quit being anti-social.” She grinned wickedly. “I saw you talking to that Angel.” Her brows waggled. “He didn’t test you, did he?”
“No.”
She nodded once. “The real interesting ones normally don’t. Not at first.” She tipped her head to the dance floor again. “Go find him. I saw that look you gave him.”
King Jerome laughed loudly. “I’m not sure anyone missed it.”
King Sephove sighed heavily. “I thought he was going to faint.” His stare was a warning, a man looking after his people. “Be nice to him. I think he has a crush.”
I groaned heavily. “I don’t do crushes.”
“Then find someone else,” Callie muttered, shoving me a little. “Get out there.”
My stare was incredulous. “Are you ordering me to have fun?” I jiggled my empty glass. “I am having fun.”
“With Valan, Lana.” Her tone was patient. “I’m ordering you to have fun with Valan.”
“Liquor is a much better friend,” I grumbled but stood to my feet slowly, only swaying once, eyeing the dancers. I handed over my empty glass to her. “I don’t like you very much right now.”
She kicked me on the butt, shoving me forward a step. “Go. You like to dance.”
She was right on that point...but my head casually swung to the man I had been ignoring fairly decently today, my question casual. “You want to dance?”
Ice blue eyes merely eyed me, running down my body, his nose crinkling once more, his tone bored. “Perhaps when you’ve had a little less to drink.”
I peered to King Jerome. “And you?”
His curved gently. “Same answer.”
“Ouch.” I scrunched up my face comically. “Shot down by a sure thing. Twice.” I flicked my finger at both Kings. “I’m never sober. You two should probably learn to push past that wee bitty fact.” I waved my hand in farewell, my gaze sliding to Callie. “Now, in the morning, I want you to remember you told me to have fun.” My lips curved evilly, winking at her before I tapped a wobbling, drunk-enough Shifter on his shoulder and whispered against his ear. His expression said it all, but he grabbed me around the waste—yes, testing me with it—when he saw that I was serious.
He chucked me with his power through the air.
Screaming in utter exhilaration, wind whipping through my hair, I threw my arms out at the last s
econd. I grabbed onto the chandelier fiercely, allowing the trajectory to carry my body around, and let my legs swing until I landed on top of the steady bar. I shouted once in victory, pumping a fist into the air, holding onto the core section of the chandelier, and then peered far down where Callie sat on the couch, shaking her head at me. Sliding my hand into the inside of my coat pocket, I pulled the whiskey flask I always had in there, and lifted a cheers to her. My eyes flew over the crowd until I found my prey.
Chuckling softly, I pointed a finger directly at him, then let a small touch of my power out through my finger, white lightning shooting...zapping him right on his butt. I watched him jump in surprise, jerking around, his gaze flying everywhere below. I pointed once more and let my power fly, shooting it directly over his head harmlessly. His attention slammed up in the darkness. I waved my hand at him and then crooked a lone finger. Angel boy might have a crush so I would go easy on him tonight, I decided as his wings instantly appeared. He, plus a few of his friends, took flight into the air, landing on the chandelier. My prey now stood directly in front of me, and I cocked a brow as the chandelier swung the barest bit with their landing. “Want to have some fun?”
He nodded once. “I do.”
“Then try to keep up.”
***
With my heavy eyeliner and mascara streaked to hell over my face, I absently used a sleeve to wipe at it as I did the walk of shame. Slipping out of the Angel’s room the next morning, I saw I wasn’t alone as more than a few individuals passed me by on their own walks. No one spoke, just uncannily moving silently to their own rooms. I even passed Renner at one point, each of us merely nodding to one another, no speaking as we moved along.
I paused outside one door when two women slipped outside it in my path, patiently waiting, only for a tanned bare arm to hold a purse absently outside the door. I froze when the head attached to the arm tilted outside the door, his lips parted to speak. But he froze, his gaze snapping on mine. Face carefully blank, I merely lifted a brow at King Balar, not glancing at his rumpled curls or the two women standing outside his door, still halfway getting dressed.
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