Dark Fae (Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac Book 1)

by Caroline Peckham

  I shifted a little and Dante growled against my ear in a way that sent fire coursing right through my body.

  He inhaled deeply, running his nose up the back of my neck to the base of my ear before grazing his teeth along the shell of it.

  I almost moaned in response, my back arching so that my ass ground against every hard inch of him.

  Dante took that as all the encouragement he needed, his hand around my waist slipping down until he found the hem of my skirt. His fingers landed on my bare thigh and he started sliding them up beneath the material. I wriggled back against him again, meaning to stop him and yet somehow staying there as my breathing grew heavier and my ass rode the ridge of his dick.

  A breath of laughter slid from the back of Dante’s throat and he shifted his hand as it continued to climb my leg so that his fingers were between my thighs.

  My heart was pattering wildly and I could only wait, hoping he’d touch me, hoping he wouldn’t. Not knowing what I should crave at all.

  Dante’s thumb scraped a line right up the centre of me over the barrier of my panties and a breathy moan managed to escape my lips.

  Dante groaned in response, his arm tightening around me as he planned his next move.

  He shifted his fingers, curling them around the edge of my panties, meaning to drag them aside.

  Despite the desperate ache I felt for him in that moment, I managed to catch his hand and stop his advance.

  “Still playing hard to get, carina?” he asked in a deep tone which practically had me undone already.

  I could feel just how hard he was for me and a twisted, wanton part of me ached for the feeling of every inch of him inside me. But despite the desires of my flesh, I knew giving my body to him would mean so much more than sex. It would mean I’d chosen a side. I’d picked him over Ryder. Oscura over the Brotherhood. And I couldn’t do that.

  I still needed too much information from them. I still needed to figure out how they factored into my brother’s death. Or if either one of them was the man responsible.

  The beast holding me in his arms might just be the man who had killed the one truest love of my life. I couldn’t let this go any further. I couldn’t pay the price it might cost.

  Dante flexed his fingers despite the fact that I was holding his hand still and he managed to run them up the centre of me again, drawing another soft moan from my lips.

  “Stop,” I whispered. “We need to stop.”

  Dante grunted, letting me shift his hand back out from under my skirt and my heart thundered with disappointment as I clenched my thighs together in an attempt to cease the throbbing between them.

  I rolled over which was made somewhat difficult by the huge Dragon Shifter boxing me in against the wall.

  When I was finally facing him I found a second trap waiting for me in the pull of his dark eyes.

  “When you finally give in to this waiting storm between us and agree to be mine, I’m gonna make you scream my name until you lose your voice,” he breathed in my ear and I could only bite my lip in response.

  “Why do I have to be yours for you to do that?” I murmured. “Why does it comes with so many strings attached?”

  Dante frowned at me like I was insane and I used the moment to push myself to sit up beside him.

  “Why don’t you want to be bound?” he asked me, keeping his voice low so as not to disturb our roommates.

  “Why do you want to cage me?” I asked in response.

  Dante smirked at me in the dim light and I couldn’t help but stare at him for a second. He really was gorgeous; strong features, piercing eyes, dark hair which matched the perfect shadow of stubble on his jaw. My gaze hooked on his lips and his smile widened a little. He knew I was tempted. But I still wasn’t going to let him trap me. I’d never choose to be in one of the gangs.

  “Maybe I just like to collect beautiful things,” he said slowly, his hand brushing over my knee and starting a flood of molten lava which ran straight to my core. “Or maybe I want to see if you can be tamed.”

  “What if I can’t?”

  “Then maybe I wanna know what it’s like to run free with you.”

  I smiled in response to that. If he really meant it then I’d take him up on that offer in a heartbeat. But I didn’t think he did. He was too tightly embroiled with the Oscura Clan. I doubted he even knew what real freedom was.

  I shifted a leg over his, meaning to climb out of his bed but he caught my waist and dragged me down onto his lap instead.

  My breath hitched as I felt the impressive length of him between my thighs and it was all I could do not to turn to liquid right in front of him.

  “I’ve refilled all of my power,” Dante said, shifting his fingers to draw attention to his gold rings. I guessed that sleeping with that much gold pressed against his flesh was enough to replenish his reserves. “But you look like you’re running low, bella.”

  I raised an eyebrow at him in surprise and his eyes twinkled with knowledge as he tipped his head to the side, a clear offering.

  My fangs snapped out instantly and his dick twitched between my thighs.

  Fuck he’s putting up a good fight.

  I leaned down slowly, giving him every chance to change his mind before my fangs were pressed against his neck.

  I waited for several heartbeats, my short hair swinging forward to brush against his jaw.

  A growl escaped him, sending a shiver racing down my spine and I moaned with need, no longer able to hold back as I drove my fangs into his neck.

  Dante hissed in pain, his fingers gripping my hips as he drove me down onto him, grinding himself against me.

  His blood washed over my tongue, electricity dancing through it and lighting me up from the inside in a way which was like nothing I’d ever experienced before from anyone else. His blood was like my own brand of temptation, made for me and me alone. I drank deeply, one of my hands cupping the back of his neck, pushing up into his hair while the other shamelessly trailed down the hard planes of his chest.

  My head was spinning with the force of his power, my whole body lighting up with the electric energy of him in a way that made me moan with desire.

  Dante’s hand fisted in my hair as he pulled me closer and I could feel how much he was enjoying this as he shifted beneath me, aching for more.

  I finally pulled back, running my tongue up the length of his neck to catch a stray drop of blood which spilled from the bite.

  Dante groaned hungrily, his hips rocking beneath me in a demanding plea. But I couldn’t let it go further. No matter how desperately my body ached for more of him.

  I pressed my fingers to the wound on his neck and healed it, looking into his dark eyes for a long moment as I adjusted to the feeling of his magic inside me.

  “Thanks,” I breathed, hooking half a smile at him before tugging the sheet aside and stepping out of his bed.

  My heart fell right out through the bottom of my stomach as I came face to face with Gabriel who had just climbed in through the window. Or at least I hoped he’d just climbed in. Because he was just standing there. Staring. And a part of me shrivelled up and died rather than face him and the possibility that he’d been listening in to...whatever we’d just done.

  My lips parted like a goldfish gasping for air as Gabriel’s gaze dropped to the bunk I’d just vacated, his jaw ticking angrily.

  “Wait, Elise,” Dante demanded, catching my hand as I lingered beside his bed, frozen by shock and mortification. “Can’t we just- oh.” He swivelled to perch on the edge of his bed and scowled up at Gabriel as he spotted him. “What do you want, asshole?”

  “Please tell me you didn’t just screw the dragon?” Gabriel asked in disgust.

  “No!” I gasped as Dante sniggered.

  “Well we basically did,” he contradicted me. “You had your mouth all over me.”

  “Why do you give a shit what we do anyway?” I demanded.

  “I don’t,” Gabriel countered angrily. “It’s ju
st going to be fucking awkward for me and Laini if you two start fucking every night.”

  “They could just cast a silencing bubble,” Laini’s voice came from within her sheet. “Then we won’t have to know anything about it.”

  “You’ll probably notice the bed slamming into the wall hard enough to shatter the brickwork though,” Dante said casually, tugging on my hand a little and reminding me he’d taken it.

  “Fuck, Dante! Why are you trying to make this worse?” I snapped.

  “They might as well know what’s coming,” he teased and I pulled my hand out of his grip.

  Gabriel looked like he might just burst a blood vessel as he glared between me and Dante and I could feel heat crawling along my skin. But I wasn’t going to apologise for the fact that I might be interested in other guys. He’d made it perfectly clear he didn’t want anything to do with me since our run in on the roof and I was more than happy to forget about it too. But even if we had continued to see each other after that, I wasn’t going to commit to one guy. Why should I? I could do whatever the hell I wanted and whatever felt right to me.

  “Maybe we could work out a schedule then?” Laini suggested from beneath her sheet like a floating voice. “You let us know when the two of you are boinking and we’ll make sure to be elsewhere.”

  “Boinking?” I barked a laugh but I was also done with this conversation. I wasn’t screwing Dante and I didn’t want a rumour to that effect getting out either. “I just bit him,” I explained though that didn’t really justify the dry humping.

  “You overpowered him?” Gabriel asked, the tension slipping out of his posture a little.

  “No,” Dante snapped and I should have known he’d never let anyone believe that. “We have a little arrangement. Elise gets to bite me and I get...other things.”

  “Are you offering to be my Source now?” I asked in surprise.

  Dante smirked, climbing to his feet. “Maybe,” he said with a shrug. “I can’t say I hate the way it feels.”

  Gabriel scowled at the two of us for a long moment then turned and leapt out of the window again before soaring away into the sky.

  “Good riddance,” Dante said. “I’m going to jerk off in the shower...unless you’ve changed your mind about finishing what we started?”

  I shook my head mutely, still not recovered from the look in Gabriel’s eyes. It wasn’t that I felt guilty. I could do whatever the hell I liked with whoever the hell I liked. It was more that I was worried that doing so might mean I’d pissed him off. But that was insane. He was the one who’d told me to stay away so why should he care who I screwed or didn’t? But if he was pissed at me again then I had no doubt he’d be after me with another plan of humiliation and bullying and I really didn’t wanna have to deal with the drama of that.

  Dante strolled from the room, whistling like this day just couldn’t get any better and kicking the door shut behind him.

  “Thank fuck for that,” Laini’s voice came from within her sheet fortress. “For a minute there I thought I really was going to have to listen to you screwing him!”

  A laugh spilled from my lips as I quickly grabbed my wash stuff from the foot of my bed and a change of clothes for good measure. I didn’t reply to her accusation though. Because for a minute there, I almost thought about it too.

  My Atlas pinged before I could head out of the door and I grabbed it, glancing down at my daily horoscope.

  Good morning Libra.

  The stars have spoken about your day!

  Today will be filled with challenges as Saturn moves into your chart. But take heart. Perseverance will pay off for you today and you will find yourself privy to some information you have been seeking. But take note, answers will only lead to more questions and it will take hard work and patience for many more moons before you truly get the answer you seek.

  I sighed, it didn’t sound like I was in for a great day but at least I could try and be prepared for the worst.

  ***

  I left my Cardinal Magic class with my mind fixed on what I wanted to achieve with my evening. My investigations were going so slowly it was painful and I was determined to figure out something concrete tonight no matter what.

  As I reached the top of the stairs, the sound of my name made me pull up short and I glanced back to find Cindy Lou and her two cronies making a beeline for me. The rest of the class headed away quickly with dinner on their minds and I was tempted to follow them without bothering to speak with her. But it was quickly becoming apparent that Cindy Lou was the Queen Bee of our class and I had most certainly not been paying the proper respect to her in her position of royalty. Not that I gave two shits about it, but she clearly did.

  “Do you need something?” I asked innocently as she came to stand before me at the top of the stairs.

  “It’s come to our attention that you’re not really a girls’ girl, are you?” she asked, tipping her head a little as she looked me up and down. The assessment was coupled with pursed lips and a look that said she’d just smelled something bad so I was guessing she found me lacking.

  I shrugged. Was I the kind of girl to go in for hair braiding parties and pillow fights? Not a bit. But I wasn’t sure why that was a bad thing.

  “You’re one of those girls who acts like she’s one of the boys,” her friend, Amira, added, twisting a lock of bushy hair around her finger. “Apart from the bit where you wear skirts that are too short and spend all of your time alone with them on your knees with your mouth wide open.”

  I rolled my eyes. When your mom was a stripper, slut shaming was kinda like calling me a sissy. It didn’t hit the mark. Sex was sex. Everyone did it. If you were good at it then you enjoyed it. If you were great at it, even better. And though I was hardly doing the things they were accusing me of, I wouldn’t be the least bit embarrassed if I was.

  “Well you know what they say about blowjobs right?” I asked. “Give three a week and you won’t get wrinkles.” I pushed my tongue into my cheek a few times to add to my point and Cindy Lou’s gaze darkened.

  Her friends stared at me and the other one’s lips parted. “If that really true?” she asked, her eyes lighting with interest.

  “Of course it isn’t, Helga,” Cindy snapped irritably.

  “It is,” I disagreed. “And because I’m a Vampire, I can suck magic out of them right through their dicks too.”

  “Really?” Helga breathed in astonishment.

  “Oh yeah. In fact, they say any Fae can do that. You just have to suck real hard and believe.”

  Helga looked so intrigued by that idea that I was fairly sure she’d be on her knees for someone within the hour to try it out. I snorted a soft laugh and Cindy planted her hands on her hips.

  “I think you may need a lesson in the way things are done around here. For a start; the Kings are out of bounds to the likes of you. They may be interested in fucking the new girl this week, but you’ll be old news, tossed aside and forgotten before the month’s out so you should probably back off of them now, sugar. Especially Dante. He’s mine.”

  “I didn’t know you were Oscura,” I said lightly, ignoring the rest of her bullshit.

  “I’m not,” she snapped. “I won’t join up officially until we’re…”

  I raised an eyebrow at her. “I’m fairly sure you were about to say married there, Cindy,” I said with amusement. “Does the groom know he’s engaged? Because it kinda seems like he hardly notices your existence half the time.”

  Cindy shrieked, throwing a fireball at me so fast that I barely got a shield up in time to deflect it.

  I stumbled back a step and cursed as I fell down the stairs. I almost managed to catch myself on the bannister but the second fireball hit my shield even harder and I tripped again, falling down the stairs and hitting every damn one on the way down.

  I cursed as pain seared through my ribs where I hit the stone floor at the bottom and dropped my shield so that I could heal myself.

  Cindy and her friends de
scended on me and I tossed another shield up as they formed a close circle around me where I still sat on the floor, glaring up at them as I worked on fixing my busted rib.

  “Call this a warning,” Cindy Lou said lightly. “Learn your place or I’ll put you in it, sugar.”

  I bit my tongue against the retort I wanted to give as she strolled away from me. I so wanted to throw my magic at her and call her every name under the sun, but I didn’t have time to get caught up in a feud with a mean girl.

  My focus needed to be on Gareth and the Kings. She was irrelevant and not worth my time. But as she strode away with a spring in her step, I couldn’t help but imagine up ways to wipe the smile off of her smug face. Maybe once I was done with my mission I’d find a little time for her too. But I had to keep my priorities in order. And Cindy Lou just wasn’t one of them.

  ***

  I walked down the corridor after dinner with my Atlas out and my mind full of questions. Every time I thought I was getting close to something, it ended up being useless, but I refused to give up hope.

  I was armed with the list of Killblaze dealers the Kipling brothers had given me and I was currently stalking the FaeBook pages of my suspects to see if there was any link between them and Gareth on their profiles. It wasn’t like I could just go around asking who he’d been friends with and I imagined drug dealers wouldn’t be too keen on doling out answers even if I could. No. I needed to figure out which of them had known him then try to form connections to them myself. Worm my way in.

  This whole undercover investigation was taking a long time to get anywhere and I still had no real idea about what had happened in the lead up to my brother’s death but I was determined to figure out what had happened.

  It was cold and rainy outside and I didn’t feel like sitting out on Devil’s Hill even with the aid of my magic to keep me dry. It was stupid that we were expected to hang out in the socially divided outdoor space at all times just because the gangs had carved this school up like butchers.