“Kiss me!” I whispered. His you’re insane look quickly morphed in one of disgust.
I smooshed my body against his and pressed my lips to the corner of his mouth. The footsteps stomped closer and with a faked gasp I pulled back from Jayden, feigning a caught expression and covering my chest.
It was a bit of a relief to see that it wasn’t a vampire, but Jose, the ash who had given me my first Hive tour. Another ash was close behind him. Jose looked at me, shocked. His eyes went from my shirt on the ground, to Jayden and then back to me.
“I … what…?” Jose started. The other ash looked just as confused. “I thought you were…”
Jayden smirked. “Sometimes I like to bat for both teams. Plus, it’s Charlie. Everyone wants a piece of unicorn ass once in their life.”
Luckily no one mentioned the fact that we were roommates, and could have just made out in our living area if we wanted to. I think the shock had fried their brains. I grabbed my shirt, throwing it on, already making plans to beat on Jayden later for calling me a piece of ass.
Jose recovered first, and started flapping his hands in an agitated manner. “Get out of here, you’re not supposed to be in here,” he said. Jayden grabbed my hand and we booked it out of there. The second we were far enough away, we broke into laughter.
Jayden shook his head back and forth. “I’m totally telling Oliver I kissed a girl. He will get a kick out of that.”
I chuckled, but then my face darkened at the memory of what we found. How deep did the Hive’s control go? We had spent five minutes looking through those files. What would we have found if we had more time? Was there a file on me in there? Shit, I should have looked for that first.
Each new piece of knowledge only cemented my feelings that I needed to do something to change the Hive world, to shake up the evil little vampire leaders. Not yet, but very soon. For now I would bide my time and suppress all that shit I’d just read.
Jayden and I wordlessly went back to my apartment. I decided that next time we were up on the roof together I would tell the boys what we’d discovered. I wondered if it would surprise them how deep the corruption ran. Probably not. They were already suspicious by nature.
The next day passed slowly, and by the afternoon I still hadn’t seen Ryder and was feeling bummed. We hadn’t really hung out since our kind of intense and emotional conversation and I was feeling insecure.
After visiting Jayden at the feeding center, I made it back to my apartment with Oliver and Kyle at my side. As my door came into view I couldn’t help the broad smile which broke across my face. Ryder was leaning against my door, one hand in his pocket, looking all kinds of sexy.
Ryder nodded to the boys. “I’ll take over watch now.”
The pair exchanged a glance, all smirks and raised eyebrows. Kyle gave me a wink as they walked away. I swallowed hard, and my belly heated at the thought of alone time with Ryder.
Dear God, please let this very hot ash badass finally take advantage of me. Love, Charlie.
After letting us inside, I realized there was no one else waiting for us. No other enforcers. Jayden wouldn’t be back for hours. He was working the late shift at the feeding center. I wondered why Ryder had relaxed the two guards at all times rule. It was the first time in days we’d been alone in my apartment.
“Wanna watch a movie?” I set the keys on the counter and turned around to find Ryder a few inches from my face, silver-black eyes scanning my body.
“Not really,” he said, his eyes falling to my lips.
Oh my gawd.
Ryder reached out and brushed my cheek. “Since becoming an ash I’ve barely slept more than a few hours straight. Until that night I slept next to you.” He paused, his expression turning playful. “Could have been the drugs, but I know in my gut that it was you. You have bewitched me, and now I can’t stay away from you.”
I grinned. “I thought I snored.”
He palmed the back of my neck. “You do, like a little kitten.”
I laughed and met his gaze as something intense built between us. We stayed locked in that stare for what seemed like forever.
“Charlie…” He stepped closer, and my hands found their way to his hips and the tight muscles there.
“Yes?” I panted in anticipation.
His lips brushed close to me. “You drive me crazy. I’ve never wanted anyone as much as I want you.”