“It’s a TV show about these law students that—” I stopped at the first hint of a smirk on his lips. He leaned forward and whispered, “Gotcha.”
I groaned under my breath and opened the driver’s side door. That dickwad. He knew exactly what I was talking about. I slammed the door and started the engine, taking my foot off the brake right as the passenger side door opened and Rysten got in beside me.
“Don’t be mad, love. You said you were tired. I thought you could use a laugh,” he coaxed me, batting his eyelashes.
“Uh huh,” I grumbled under my breath. The words were sweet as sugar, but I didn’t believe the sincerity I heard there.
“I’ll have you know that Viola Davis is one of my favorite actresses,” he continued. I rolled my eyes as I pulled out onto the main street.
“How do you even know who she is? I thought you spent all your time in Hell until Lucifer”— I searched for an adequate word that didn’t sound dickish, given that they thought he was my father. They’d guarded him for thousands of years, and I had no idea how their relationship had been with the King of Hell—“uh…died. I mean, isn’t that your entire job?”
Rysten went quiet for a moment, and I thought he wasn’t going to answer. “While we did serve in guarding him, he was not who we were created for. When you came along, it was like we finally saw the purpose for our existence. We were supposed to stay in Hell so that no one knew Lola smuggled you out, but instead, we ended up taking turns coming to earth. We didn’t know where you were, and we weren’t supposed to look until the time came. Being here on earth, though, we were closer to you than in Hell—” He stopped abruptly, like he’d said more than he intended.
My knuckles turned white against the red fur that lined the steering wheel.
Bit by bit, the pieces were falling into place about the Horsemen, and while I didn’t know where attraction played into all of this, I was pretty sure I just figured out the possessiveness. If they were created for Lucifer’s daughter, whoever she is, it made sense for them to feel so attached.
“So, you spent your time here watching TV, and that’s how you discovered Viola?” I turned the subject right back to what we were supposed to be making small talk about. I didn’t want to think about the real heir of Hell, or ruin Rysten’s mood by pointing out for the hundredth time that I’m not her.
“Yeah, sometimes. I spent a lot of time going to concerts around the world, meeting people, learning about humans. I knew that you’d be raised like one, and the others were too daft to think that when this happened, it might be scary for you. I wanted to be the one you got close to.” He smiled a little, not quite his brazen confidence I was getting used to, but something more genuine. We didn’t say anything else for the rest of the drive home.
As I killed the engine, I couldn’t help the words from popping out of my mouth. “You want to come inside and watch TV with me?”
Rysten grinned. “You sure the green one will be okay with that?”
“Moira will live. She’s already staked her claim on Friday night. We’re going out and she said none of you are invited,” I replied, throwing my door open. I was pleasantly surprised that Josh wasn’t waiting on my driveway when I got home. Maybe Laran really did scare the shit out of him. The thought brought me an obscene amount of glee.
“I can’t say I’m terribly surprised. She heard me on the phone with Laran before she went back to get you. He wanted us to take you out for your birthday,” Rysten sighed. I thought back to Moira’s adamant insistence. Yeah, she was sneaky enough to pull that. Not that I was shocked or upset about it. For the most part, I only saw one or two Horsemen at a time. The four of them together were overwhelming, and I was more than happy to avoid that a bit longer.
I trudged up to the front door and Bandit peeked his head through the blinds. I smiled as I swung the door open and got mauled with his hugs. He jumped from the corner of the couch onto my chest, wrapping his arms around my neck.
“I missed you, too,” I murmured, flicking the light on. I tossed my bag on one of the couches and carried him into the kitchen. Pulling out a Tupperware of cooked chicken, I proceeded to heat it in the microwave and feed Bandit his dinner.
While he was eating, I excused myself back to my room and changed into yoga pants. As I pulled the dark red sweater over my head, I noticed something strange in the mirror. Between my breasts were two little black dots. I moved closer, running my fingers over them. They weren’t large or bumpy, but they were placed in a straight line. I frowned.
What the hell is it?
A sharp knock on my bedroom door startled me. “You okay, Ruby?”
I rolled my eyes, already somewhat regretting inviting him inside. I dropped my sweater and turned away from the mirror. I’d deal with it later when I didn’t have prying eyes watching my every move. I slipped into the hallway and closed my bedroom door behind me, not realizing how close Rysten was until a breath of warm air brushed the back of my neck. My skin broke out in goosebumps. I spun around, trying to keep a modicum of distance between us, but it was hopeless in the narrow hallway.
Rysten’s dark green eyes stared down at me. Intense and mischievous. My mouth went dry and I swallowed hard.
“See something you like?” he rumbled. There was a challenge in his voice that had me imagining how soft his hair would feel tousled in my fingers, his head... I blinked, pushing the thoughts aside.
“Yep”— my eyes slid right past him just as he began to grin—“my couch.”
Rysten clutched his chest. “You wound me.”
I snorted and squeezed by him, holding my breath so I didn’t inhale his scent. It was unlikely he’d smell like post-gym body odor, because that would be way too convenient, wouldn’t it? I settled in the corner of my oversized sectional couch, the grey microsuede upholstery welcoming me to lean back. I stretched across the couch for the remote, and Rysten sat cozy, flush against me. Of course. Out of all the spaces he could sit, he would pick the only one that is literally right next to me.
I didn’t say anything as I pulled up the TV guide and turned on the fifth episode of season one, but just as I leaned back, Rysten put his arm across the back of the couch. I glanced sideways out of the corner of my eye, and the devilish grin I found on his face made me bite my cheek.
I crossed my arms over my chest as the show started. My thick sweater made it so we weren’t touching, but a pleasant warmth radiated from him. Unlike Allistair’s presence, that caused a scorching heat and spurned a need in me, Rysten’s was a comfortable steadiness that made me ache. It was delicious and frustrating at the same time.
After forty-five minutes of sitting still as a rock, I shifted to try to get more comfortable—and farther away. Rysten chose that moment to scoot even closer, pinning me between him and the couch as I sat crisscrossed beside him.
I bit my lip hard and gasped when I tasted blood. The tangy scent of ichor and something else caught me off guard.
“You alright?” Rysten asked. I turned my head a fraction of the way towards him and nodded, not trusting my mouth to work.
“You’re bleeding.” His eyes dropped to my lower lip as I freed it from my teeth. He raised his other hand and ran the pad of his thumb across my lower lip. A burning started in my chest, hot and scorching, as it spread throughout my limbs. Adrenaline spiked my system as he drew his hand away, a single drop of dark blue blood staining it. He brought his thumb to his lips, and his tongue flicked out, licking the single drop away.
I don’t know why the hell that turned me on so much. Maybe it wasn’t the act. Maybe it was the look in his eyes; the way he watched me while he did it.
Frozen in my spot, I could do little more than watch as he reached out again and ran his thumb across my lower lip. I found myself leaning into him as he slid his cool fingers along my jaw.