“If you wouldn’t have done it, I would have even without the Law,” Elder Jacobs mumbled.
Elder Farrar and Elder Zeller both grunted.
A beat, then King Collins murmured, “Moving right along,” a pause, “since it doesn’t appear we have any current answers to the “tiger issue”, I’ll do some research on it until Caro gives us some indication she has an answer.” He clapped his hands a few times. “And until then, I’d like to talk with Elder Merrick and my Prodigy alone, so this meeting is adjourned.”
Oh, for the love of God.
“I have something I need,” I started to murmur, turning to face my King, just as Elder Merrick muttered, “Queen Ruckler and I need to,”
He cut us both off. “It wasn’t a request.” A snapping of his fingers, pointing. “Please sit down.”
The damn room seemed to clear out fast as I inhaled heavily with defeat, seeing that look in my King’s brown eyes, so I trudged to a red chair, flopping onto it, even as Elder Merrick moved to sit in the farthest seat from me. Both of us stared at each other with barely banked loathing, hardly hearing when King Collins closed and locked the door behind everyone, and Elder Merrick without removing his gaze from mine, instantly stated, “I do not appreciate being ordered to a private meeting like a scolded child, King Collins.”
“Then don’t act like one,” King Collins immediately retorted, coming to stand to the side of us between our two chairs, his gaze darting back and forth as we continued to silently eye one another with retribution in our gazes. “Now, tell me what really happened in the past, because you are both hiding the truth, and this type of hostility is not healthy when we need everyone working together.”
My nostrils flared. “He befriended me, gained my trust, all for information he wanted to obtain because he viewed me as a threat.” My teeth bared at him. “And now, I am a fucking threat.”
His wolf growled quietly. “A dart gun and a little dirt do not constitute a threat.”
“Yeah?” I smiled sweetly. “How are your balls feeling, Elder Merrick?” His nostrils flared, an angered flush rising on his cheeks, and I beamed. “Any worms crawl into your mouth?”
Lush, red pouty lips curved the barest bit. “I am going to make you fucking scream, spirit bitch.”
My mind blanked. Remembering him saying that to me before, but in a different variation, a more intimate one…one where I had thought we connected on a much deeper level. But, instead, he had been fucking me, someone he detested, all for intel. My voice was a mere whisper as I stared at him. “You are such a bastard.”
His smile was feral. “Yes, I am.”
Memories rushed in a torrent. Us, together. Our bodies’ hot and sweaty bodies rubbing. Sweet, sensual words whispered breathlessly. Dirty, torrid shouts of sexual demands. Our bodies connecting, becoming one, the most intimate of acts I had ever lived.
And it had all been a lie, a ruse.
I swallowed hard, my throat burning fiercely, constricting as excruciating tears filled my eyes, and I choked, “I hate you to the bottom pits of hell.”
His gaze flicked over my face before returning to my eyes, unflinching and cold, but his own tone was guttural. “The feeling is completely mutual.” We glared at one another, both of our chests heaving a bit in our conviction as I prayed no tears fell, wanting nothing more than to rip his damn heart out…or maybe even mine…until his wolf growled quietly in his chest, and his gaze flicked up…to King Collins who stood still as a statue off to the side where I had completely forgotten about him. Elder Merrick ran a hand over his face, then shoved out of his chair, his shoulder ramming into King Collins as he swiftly moved past him, muttering, “I’m done here.”
I didn’t flinch when the door opened and slammed shut behind him, only continued to stare at his chair, counting to thirty in my head, then standing, and moving with a grace I wasn’t feeling past King Collins’s quiet form, muttering, “We aren’t going to stop hating each other, so don’t try that again.” And I closed the door calmly behind me.
Over the next three weeks…I went on a bit of a bender. To the point Sin could barely keep up, and that was saying…enough. It was also safe to say I now had no longer only had sex with one man. Really, I lost count somewhere in my drunken state. One particular high point…or low point…I vaguely remembered King Collins walking into one of the formal living rooms inside the Elemental section—the time of day was undetermined—and ordered/yelled at the group, I believe the rodeo was in town, to get the fuck out before he carried my ass up to my bedroom, dropped me in my bathtub and turned freezing cold water on me, telling Sin’s half staggering self to straighten my ass out before he did so. That…really hadn’t helped much…since that was all in the first week.
What did wake my ass up was waking up in fucking Japan.
All without Sin this time.
Yeah.
I had managed to outdo Sin somehow.
I wasn’t even sure how the hell I had gotten there, lying naked in bed with four naked Elemental men, drugs and alcohol surrounding us.
That was a bit of a wakeup call.
Or…it was, when I’d had to call King Collins when I had realized I didn’t have any identification on me to get home. He had shouted so many curses he had become hoarse over the phone, and Elder Farrar had yanked the phone from him, asking calmly where I was. After answering, that had produced silence. Then, I swear I had heard King Zeller in the background start yelling, “There had better be no damn videos”. Elder Farrar had cleared his throat, and asked me to ask one of the gentlemen I was with their name, since he couldn’t find me with my protection. I had tried, but none of them spoke English. More cursing had occurred in the background, but after handing over the phone, Elder Farrar had spoken with them, and then told me he would be there in a few minutes.
Elder Farrar had arrived, took one look around at the self-destruction I had gotten myself into, grabbed me, and taken me back home. We had ended up in the kitchen, where he had apparently left from, and I had held my hand up in front of my eyes from the bright light, still wearing only the button-down man’s shirt I had found on the floor. Everyone was there, including Sin, who sat back, wiping his mouth off and chewing calmly, but staring at me with an expression that didn’t bode well.
Elder Farrar held up his free hand to King Collins, who started to open his mouth, cutting him off, murmuring quietly, “You really don’t want to know.”
“How long have I been gone?” I asked Sin after a moment of silence, my voice incredibly hoarse who-knew-what-the-hell-from, running a hand through my tangled hair, pulling something out of it…seeing it was a joint, and placing it with a shaky hand on the table.
“Depends on what you mean, love,” Sin murmured quietly. “Mentally, around three weeks. Physically, two days.”
“Ah.” I nodded once, hoarse voice quiet. “It’s probably time to stop.”
“Probably.” He tilted his head toward the far door. “Why don’t you go shower and I’ll bring up some breakfast.”
“Alright.” I took my arm out of Elder Farrar’s strangle hold, turning to King Collins, murmuring, “I’m sorry. And I’m done.”
He only growled…but he still reached out a hand to mine, squeezing it the barest bit as I started to move past him on my walk of shame.
“You’re not going to say anything?” Elder Merrick growled loudly at King Collins, my ears instantly ringing as I stumbled at his vehemence. “She has been out of commission from alcohol and drugs and whoring for the past,”