“We need to get to the Rosewood,” she whispered. “You can fuck me there, and then again at home, if you still want to.”
If I still wanted to. I laughed, a rough noise I was unused to making. “You don’t have to worry about that. I’m in no danger of tiring of you.”
The relief in her eyes pained me. I’d meant it as a joke, but I hadn’t lied. There was no way I would fuck her once and then ignore her. Why would she think that? My long history of one-night stands surfaced in my memory. So she had been paying attention to me, as I had to her. But surely she knew that she was different. That the way I wanted her was about more than my physical needs being met.
“We should go,” she said again.
I caught her hand. “You understand the way I want you, don’t you?”
She looked back at me, suddenly vulnerable and small. “Sure.” Her teeth sank into her lip and she averted her eyes. “Now.”
“No,” I said, voice insistent. “Not just now. Before now. For a long, long time. And for more than just sex, Ember.”
She blinked a few times, as though she might be welling up, but her head was turned far enough away from me that I couldn’t see clearly. I pulled her back against me, stroking the back of her hair. “I don’t just want to fuck you. Despite the games we play, I do actually like you.”
It was more than that—more than like. But I couldn’t say that without scaring her, that much I knew. If she could hardly believe I wanted to fuck her, she would shy away from hearingjust how hard I’d fallen. That the way I needed her wasn’t just bone deep. It went through to my soul.
These were declarations for another time—when she’d had more time to think through what she wanted. We were different in thousands of ways, but the way we saw the world, the way we processed things? That was the same. I’d just gotten a head start on loving her.
Loving. Her.
The words sputtered in my mind. Did I actually love Ember Verona?
Her arms went around me, and she buried her face in my chest. Could she hear the way my heart pounded? Could she feel the emotions coursing through me as I clung to her?
I could feel the shuddering breath go through her as she tried not to cry. “I like you too,” she said into my chest. When she looked up at me, her eyes were bright. “Now, take me to the Rosewood and have your way with me.”
Her voice was light, but I saw the seriousness in her eyes. She needed to keep going. The fear that nearly struck us both down in Cromvale’s apartment chased us both. We needed this. Needed to feel something we could trust tonight.
So I didn’t say anything else about how I felt about her. No matter what I said, she wouldn’t believe it right now any more than I would. So I just nodded. She slipped out of my arms and I followed her as she hurried down the alley.
We made it the next few blocks unseen and slipped through the unlocked back door of the club. There, in the storeroom, Lux Medios sat waiting. So this was a full-on Trinity operation now. Something in me shifted, past the fear I’d felt earlier and straight through to hope. Lux, Eli, Lourdes… the Maere. Me. We were all in this together, and whatever came next, this was progress. This was us changing things.
When we entered, Lux locked the door securely behind us, using an enormous deadbolt. Tonight she wore a silver sequined jumpsuit that contrasted beautifully with her rich brown skin.Her hair was bright pink, and her makeup was relatively subdued, despite the fact that it sparkled like a disco-ball.
“Took you long enough,” she whispered, handing us each a garment bag. “Right now, the two of you are in the bathroom. Presumably fucking each other’s brains out. Make sure to come out looking… well-used.”
Ember frowned slightly, but took the garment bag.
“Eli?” I asked. He was the only Thaumas I knew that had such mastery over illusion.
Lux nodded as I took my bag, and turned to walk away, but Ember interrupted her. “Was my hair up?”
Lux smiled, stroking Ember’s face with her long fingers. “Yes, but I doubt it will be when you come out.Well. Used.” Lux brushed a kiss to Ember’s cheek and whispered. “Be the dirty little slut I know you are, love. Or at least look like one.”
Ember laughed, a soft, sexy noise, then saluted Lux, an irreverent expression on her flushed face. “Will do.”
“Leave your clothes in the garment bags,” Lux replied. “Just stick them in the closet and I’ll send them to the incinerator. Lourdes will take care of the rest.”
“Thank you,” I said, catching hold of Lux’s arm as she made to leave. “Really.”
She nodded, her mouth tightening with emotion. I knew when Lux Medios might cry, and this was one of those moments. “I’m sorry you had to see all that, Ares. But I’m glad Amanita is at peace now.”
She’d seen it all. Whether before or after I’d found out was of no consequence. Lux never held anything back that she didn’t have to. We had enough history for me to trust that. We’d grown up in the same neighborhood and she was only a little older than I was. She’d known Amanita and my parents. Everyone knew each other in those days. I swallowed the pain that threatened to lodge itself in my throat and choke me.
Lux squeezed my arm, and said. “You be a dirty slut too,Ares. Don’t let this chance to fuck Verona’s brains out pass you by.”
Ember snorted as Lux left me wide-eyed and slightly shocked. When the Seer was gone, Ember stripped naked, and I nearly followed Lux’s command on the spot. But Ember shook her head, her honey-colored hair damp from the rain.
