“Have you ever…been with a girl?”
“No, but I’ve definitely been attracted to girls before. I don’t discriminate against hotness based on gender.”
Open. Close. Open. Close. Dax was clearly having a rough time with this situation as a question slowly formed in his eyes.
Ria interrupted before he could speak. “Let me guess. If I ever am with a girl, you want to watch. Right?”
He bit the edge of his lip again before looking at the ground with a miserable expression on his face. “Oh my god, I’m a total perv.”
Behind him, Tallen shrugged. “I dunno. I was kinda wondering the same thing. I don’t consider myself a perv.”
Dax fixed him with an exasperated look. “That does not in any way, shape, or form make me feel the least bit better. You are a perv.”
“Just because I happen to like using handcuffs or ropes every now and then—“
“WHOA. This conversation is getting super-duper personal and I think it’s a bit late in the day for me to experience this version of closeness with you guys.” Ria threw her hand up, halting Tallen before he could divulge any more information and refusing to dwell on the fact that she was awfully curious to know exactly what ropes and Tallen together might entail.
Tallen’s eyebrow quirked up in amusement. “You’re such an adorable little prude.”
Now that was a bit offensive. “I am not a prude!”
Laughing, Tallen looked her up and down. “Well, I never would have guessed it, but you really are. A bit.”
Jumping to her feet, Ria threw a finger in Tallen’s face as she all but screamed at him. “I am not a prude and you will take that back!”
“You’re seriously going to deny that you’re a total prude?”
Fuming, Ria reached down, grabbed the bottom of her shirt and ripped it over her head, leaving her in nothing but her leggings and bra. “How’s that for a fucking prude?!”
To Tallen’s credit, his gaze remained on Ria’s face, his smirk growing into a wicked grin. Dax, on the other hand, couldn’t rip his gaze away from her chest, staring like he was trying to decipher an equation with no real solution. Finally, after a few moments of staring, his gaze slowly rose to the ceiling as he swore softly. “Red Hot, you’re going to be the death of us.”
“But what a way to go.” Tallen muttered softly, stepping closer to Ria, that wicked grin still painted on his face. His eyes were glued to Ria’s, and her heart skipped a beat as he drew close enough for her to feel his breath on her cheeks and lips. “What a damn beautiful way to go.”
Ria gulped. “Uh…I think I’m gonna go to bed now. Yeah, bed. Bed sounds appropriate.” Moving to go around Tallen, she squeaked when his strong hands grabbed a hold of her arms, twisting until she was sandwiched between him and Dax. It was just like in the bathroom the other day, but their roles were reversed—this time, Dax’s heat warmed her back as Tallen’s eyes bore into her, the heat held within them unmistakable. His breath continued to fan over her lips as he watched her, challenging her with his eyes and his demeanor. Behind her, one of Dax’s hands reached forward to skim across her waist, slowly sliding up her side as he pushed her hair over one shoulder with the other hand. She felt his breath a second before she felt his lips graze against her skin where her shoulder and neck became one. The sensation forced a sharp inhale as her eyes widened in surprise. That part of her that warned of weakness and vulnerability was startling silent. All her brain was aware of was Dax’s soft lips leaving a trail of heat as he slowly kissed his way up neck. All her mind could comprehend was Tallen’s wicked, heated gaze watching her reaction to Dax’s mouth on her neck. He wasn’t even touching her and yet she felt as though her entire body was aware of him in the most intimate ways.
Dax’s breath hit her ear for just a moment before his tongue reached out and licked the outer rim of her ear. Beneath her, Ria’s knees nearly gave out, and her arms instantly shot out and grabbed a hold of Tallen’s shirt. He grabbed a hold of her arms just above her elbows, holding her up as Dax continued to nibble on her ear from behind her.
“I thought we made a rule about this.” The rough, deep voice came from behind Ria and Dax, and Ria nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound. Instead, she jumped out from between Dax and Tallen, landing just to the side, her breath coming out in heavy pants. Her wild eyes turned to see Jace and Cade standing in the door. Jace looked a little ticked, and Cade, in true Cade fashion, looked appropriately disappointed in the entire situation.
“Were you taking advantage of her?” Jace glowered at the offending angel and demon.
Dax gaped. “Excuse me? Seriously?”
An angry growl came from Tallen’s direction, and she managed to muster enough courage to glance his way. He was staring daggers into Jace, who was glaring back with just as much heated anger.
She could sense yet another brawl brewing between the two, knowing that between Jace’s protectiveness and Tallen’s natural inclination towards rage they were a time bomb waiting to go.
“I’M NOT A PRUDE.”
All four sets of eyes turned to stare at her in surprise. Cade’s mouth had actually fallen open and Jace was looking at her like she’d grown a second head. Dax and Tallen seemed more surprised by the ferocity with which she had yelled rather than by what she’d actually said.
Jace took a step towards her. “Are…are you saying that this—all of this—was to prove you’re not a prude?”
She nodded vehemently. “Yup.”
Both Jace and Cade turned to look at Dax and Tallen questioningly.
“I did call her that.” Tallen confessed with a shrug.
Sighing heavily, Cade walked further into the room, grabbed Ria’s shirt from the floor where she dropped it (When did that happen?) and moved towards Ria. “She’s not a prude.” He said sharply as he gently lifted her arms and pulled the shirt over her head, his fingers brushing her sides as he pulled it down, sending tingles shooting across Ria’s skin. “She’s a lady.”
“Whoa now.” She threw her hand up to stop him, giving him a look of admonition. “Let’s not go throwing bad names around.”
He blinked at her hand before glancing up at her. “Being a lady isn’t a bad thing.”
“Pfft. It is to me. I’m a badass. What lady was ever a badass?”
“Joan of Arc. Florence Nightingale. Rosa Parks.”
“I’m pretty sure Rosa Parks wasn’t a lady.”
“Did you know her?”
“Of course not. I wasn’t even born yet. Why, did you?”
“Yes.”
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Of course, you fuckin’ did.”
Rolling her shoulders, she stretched her arms over her head and yawned. “Look, are we good here? Cuz I really—for reals—need to go to bed right now.”
Eyeing Jace, she tilted her head to the side. “No training tomorrow?” She asked hopefully.
He just looked at her. “Is that really what all this was about? You trying to prove something?”
Swallowing subtly, she nodded. “Yup.”
Jace stared at her for a few more moments before turning away to leave Dax’s room. “Training at 5:30 tomorrow morning.”
She heaved a great, tormented sigh as Cade followed Jace out of the room, shaking his head softly and giving Dax and Tallen a harsh stare. Risking a peak at the two guys, she could see the amusement all over Dax’s face as Tallen shot her a knowing smile. She chewed on her bottom lip as she left Dax’s room and made her way down the hall back to her own room.
It may have started off with her trying to prove something…but it sure as hell didn’t end that way.
Chapter 6
“You’ve been doing a lot better.” Jace commented as Ria attempted to heave herself up off the floor for the umpteenth time that morning, wiping sweat from her brow in the process.
“Yeah, right. Sure.”
“Seriously, Ria. You actually got a few punches and jabs in there. You not only saw t
he openings, but you successfully took them. You’re improving.”
“I guess.” She winced as she tried for a second time to get up, favoring her right ankle as she put more weight on her left.
“What’s wrong?” Jace’s keen eye instantly caught on to what she was doing.
She finally managed to pull herself up, hobbling a little on her left ankle as she gently tried to put more weight on the right one. “Nothing. I think my ankle just went a little weird or something in that last take down. I knew this shit was gonna be the death of me.” She responded pointedly as she eyed him sideways.
Ignoring her attempt at making him feel guilty, he moved closer to her, helping her hobble over to one of the benches along the wall. He sat her down and, instead of moving away, knelt in front of her and began to roll up the bottom of legging.
“Ew, don’t! I haven’t shaved for, like, three days!”
He rolled his eyes and continued to roll up her pant leg. “Stop acting like such a girl.”
“Excuse you, I am a girl, and even I don’t want to touch my legs when I haven’t shaved.”
“I can’t even feel any hair, if that makes you feel any better.”
“It really doesn’t. I know it’s there…waiting…”
“Too bad.” Satisfied with how high he’d rolled her pant leg, he began gently poking and prodding at her ankle and foot, listening for when she said it hurt or, more accurately, for when she hissed in pain. He gently set her ankle on the ground and went over to grab a first aid kit from under one of the other benches. Coming back, he set the kit on the ground, opened it and pulled out an ace bandage. He picked up her ankle again and rested her calf on his thigh as he began to wrap the bandage around her foot. “It doesn’t seem to be broken, but it’s definitely sprained. You’ll need to stay off it for a few days.”
“I’m supposed to get my tattoo with Tallen today.”
“Tell him to carry you.”
She eyed him dubiously. “You want me to be carried into a tattoo shop? Like some sort of snobby princess?”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“I am a strong, independent woman who walks her own path with head held high.”
“Aren’t strong, independent women able to have a guy do all the annoying stuff for them?”
“That is literally the complete antithesis of what a strong, independent woman is all about. I need to give you the strong, independent woman guidebook for men.”
“I’m guessing that’s not a real thing.”
“I dunno, man, Amazon’s got a lot of crazy shit these days.”
“Well, I suppose you could always wait.”
“No way! I’m totally psyched about this.”
That gained his full attention. “You are?”
“Hell’s yes. I love tattoos.”
“…you mean you already have some?”
“Sure do. Or, at least, I’ve got one.”
His head tilted to the side. “And I haven’t seen it because…?”
“Cuz you haven’t ever seen me with my pants off.”
His gaze flew down to her pants, then back to her.
“I’m not taking my pants off, FYI. I mean, you haven’t even bought me dinner yet.”
“Technically, I bought you brunch.”
“Still ain’t dinner.”
Rolling his eyes, he stood and helped her to her feet. “I wasn’t going to ask you to take your pants off anyway. If you ever do, it’ll be because you want to, not because someone told you to.”
She didn’t have time to really think on his statement. In the next second, she found herself swooped up into his arms and heading for the open barn door. “Eep!” Was the only sound she could manage.
He strode out of the barn, holding her close to his chest, his hand gentle under her knees as he made his way across the open field back to the cabin. It was interesting being up that high, and Ria peaked over his shoulder to see what the barn looked like. It seemed so much smaller with the extra height.
“It really is colder up here.”
He glanced down at her. “Excuse me?”
“Don’t you have people ask you that, like, all the time?”
“Ask me what?”
“You know. ‘How’s the weather up there?’”
“The weather’s fine, thank you.”
“Nah, it’s definitely chilly up here. And I think I’m getting vertigo. Feels harder to breathe. What’s the altitude up here?”
Shaking his head, he chuckled softly, the sound reverberating through Ria as she snuggled up to his warm body. The cold morning air had already chilled her sweat-dampened skin, and his warmth was like cozying up to a roaring fire on a frozen winter’s night. Warm and comforting. She liked it.
“I think I’ll just take a quick nap here.” She rested her head on his shoulder, burying her face in his neck and inhaling his woodsy cologne. Or maybe it was just him.
“Wait until we’re inside.”
“Nope. Not gonna.”
“Arianne…”
“Why do you do that?” She opened a single eye and peered up at his handsome profile.
He glanced at her sideways. “Do what?”
“Call me by my full name.”
“I like your full name.”
“Well I don’t.”
“Do you know what it means?”
“Not really.”
“It means ‘very holy one’.”
“Well isn’t that ironic.”
He hummed. “Not really. It’s derived from the name of King Minos’ daughter in the Greek story of Theseus. His daughter, Ariadne, gave Theseus a ball of thread after she fell in love with him in order to help him kill the Minotaur and find his way out of the labyrinth. Without it, he would have surely died.”
Lulled into a sort of half-asleep state by the side-to-side motion of his long strides, Ria murmured softly. “Doesn’t she end up dying?”
“That’s not the point, though.”
Ria was nearly asleep at this point, her head tucked into the safety of Jace’s neck. “What’s the point?” She barely managed to get out.
“You’re our thread leading us home.”
********************************
The smell of frying bacon woke Ria from her slumber. Glancing around, she found herself lying on the sofa with a heavy blanket over her. She couldn’t recall exactly how she got there. The last thing she remembered was walking with Jace (or, rather, being carried by Jace) across the field. She couldn’t remember being laid down or who put the rather comfy blanket on her, but she suspected it was Jace. In the kitchen, she could hear the sound of Dax humming softly as he cooked their morning breakfast.
The guys really loved to eat, and thanks to Dax’s unparalleled cooking skills and the guys’ outrageous hoard of money, they ate like kings every meal. Well…kings and a queen. Eggs and bacon and sometimes waffles every single morning, the finest beef and seafood around for lunch and dinner. If it weren’t for the torture training Jace put her through every morning, she was pretty sure she would have put on quite a few pounds. Actually, judging by the fit of her clothes, she had put on a couple pounds. Not so many that she’d be concerned, but just enough to make her feel like a young Sofia Vergara or Beyonce. Yeah, she’d had the occasional jackass or bitch that called her fat, but she never let it bother her. She liked her curves, and dammit if she didn’t wear them like a $700 pair of Prada shoes.
Not that she’d ever actually owned a pair of Prada shoes…
The smell of bacon drew her out of her internal reverie and she pulled herself out from under the blanket as she glanced at the clock on the wall.
9:30? And Dax is just now making breakfast? He’s usually got that going at 7:30 when I’m done with training.
She moved to stand and head into the kitchen, but her movements must have been audible to Dax because, in an instant, he was standing before her smelling of bacony goodness as he gently pushed her back onto the couch.
&n
bsp; “Nuh-uh, Red Hot. Jace told me what happened during training today. You stay right there. I’ll bring you your food in a minute.” He placed a soft kiss on the top of her head, surprising her, then moved back across the room and into the large kitchen.
“I’m not an invalid, you know. I just twisted my ankle. Not like I shattered both my legs.”
“And thank god for that, cuz if you had, we’d all have to kill Jace, and that would be very, very difficult. But I think we could pull it off, just for you.”
“Y’all are way to overprotective, you know that?”
He said nothing, resuming his humming as he moved around the kitchen gathering plates and utensils.
Up above her, she heard the sound of someone descending the stairs. She glanced up and spotted Cade, his pale, platinum blonde hair perfectly coiffed as usual and his slacks and button-up shirt looking spotlessly sleek. He was so well groomed she was sure he was metro, but seeing him smile down at her, dammit if she found herself not caring. He looked good. Hell—he looked like sin on a silver platter.
“Good morning, firecracker.” He glanced at the blanket next to her on the couch. “Didn’t you have training this morning?”
Dax spoke up from the kitchen. “Sure did. And she sprained her ankle. So, FYI, don’t let her sweet-talk you into helping her get off the couch. She needs to stay off it for a few days.”
Cade glanced down at her, eyeing her feet with suspicion. “How did that happen?”
“Oh, you know. Just a particularly bad take-down.”
His eyes narrowed. “In what way?”
“Well, I mean…it was really no different than any other time he dropped me to the floor, but I guess I just fell wrong this time. I didn’t even realize it happened what with being physically exhausted to the point of passing out.”
Watching him as she spoke, she was acutely aware of the darkening of his face as anger replaced the smile he had originally greeted her with. She wasn’t sure what part of her explanation was setting him off but she felt obliged to rectify it. Somehow.
Reaching out, she grabbed a hold of his hand that was closest to her as he stood over her with his stormy face. She tugged on it, pulling his attention to her eyes.
Demon Bones: The Soul Series Book 2 Page 6