AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Their second real kiss.
He spread her lips with his tongue, his piercing rubbing against the roof of her mouth in a way that promised ecstasy elsewhere. A groan rose in his throat, and his hand came around to the back of her head as he deepened the kiss. Gods, he was good at this—even better than she imagined. That night in the motel room, when he’d covered her mouth with his? That wasn’t a real kiss. This, though?
This was real. Real, and all hers. She might not be able to have him forever, but she had him right now.
They explored each other’s mouths, right there in the dark, tight space, where they’d both whispered secrets they trusted few to hear. Shay was well aware that she was giving more than just a single piece of herself to Roman, and even more aware that she would never get those pieces back.
But in that moment, she didn’t care. She forgot that she was afraid of small spaces. Forgot that she was Shayla Athene Cousens and he was Roman Donovan Devlin, and they could be killed for doing this.
For the first time in her life, she felt alive and free. And from the way Roman held her, kissing her as if he had never desired anything or anyone more than he desired her, she knew he felt the same way.
Roman got out first.
He moved slowly, a sound barrier still wrapped around their little hiding spot. Moving more carefully than ever before, he lifted himself to his feet.
Behind him, Shay waited on her stomach in the dark, invisible aside from the occasional gleam of her eyes whenever she tilted her head.
Roman sensed that the monster wasn’t here. But they shouldn’t linger—not at night like this. They’d come back in the morning and continue their search under the protection of daylight.
He motioned that the coast was clear. Shay shimmied out, and he helped her up, lacing his fingers with hers.
Neither of them said anything as they left the building. Part of Roman’s reason for keeping silent was the demon who couldn’t have gone far. The other part was because Shayla Cousens had kissed him.
Usually, shit like that didn’t affect him. But tonight had taken him by surprise. He was starting to realize that Shay Cousens was the farthest thing from predictable.
If he was ever lucky enough to have a woman like her, he’d never be bored.
When they made it back to the motel, Shay took a shower while Roman had a smoke. She scrubbed her body until not a trace of dust and blood was left, and then she moved onto her hair, using Roman’s shampoo again.
Would it be weird of her to go looking for this brand on the shelves once all this was over?
Probably.
As she rinsed the suds out of her thick hair, she mulled over what they’d learned at the Facility.
It was a magic facility—a place where they honed the abilities of the subjects who were, for the most part, unwilling. A place that had been destroyed when some of those subjects had staged a breakout.
But the man hadn’t listed Anna. Had claimed that a woman by that name had never been in the Facility. Shay’s hellseher senses had allowed her to read him, and she hadn’t picked up on anything that told her he was lying. No flicker or change in shade.
But a part of her felt like Anna was still connected to the Facility in some way. Anna, like Shayla, had very powerful magic, though Anna had only one type, and that was storm. Lightning, wind, rain.
Had they abducted her and tried taking her to the Facility? To use her storm magic to their advantage? Whatever it was. Perhaps she’d fought them, and…
She didn’t finish the thought. She shut off the water and got out of the shower. After drying herself off, she wrapped her body in the towel and blow-dried her hair. She didn’t like sleeping when it was all wet; it took forever to dry.
When she was done, she opened the door and found the motel room still empty. Nugget was lying on a pillow on Shay’s bed, watching a cartoon on the television.
“Have you seen Roman?” Shay asked.
Nugs shook his head.
She put on clean clothes—the outfit she’d wear tomorrow too, since she was running out of options—and went looking for Roman.
She found him sitting out back by the empty pool, his feet draped over the side. Staring up at the cloudless sky of stars, his hair gleaming under the string lights like volcanic glass. He looked like he was having a conversation with the night, and Shay had a strange feeling that she was interrupting.
“This is the night my mom died.” His quiet, gravelly voice brought her to a stop. She stood just by the pool steps, unsure how to respond.
“How did she die?” she whispered.
