“You know, it’s funny,” I say.
“What's that?” he asks.
“You do realize how ridiculous all this sounds? A few months ago, I wouldn’t have believed any of this. I’d have thought you were all off your rocker, but now here we are, dealing with a crazy prick who apparently thinks he can take ownership of whatever he touches.”
Zayne stays quiet, but he shifts in his seat, his knuckles turning white from the grip on his steering wheel.
“Are you ok?” I ask.
“Yeah, I just don’t like the fact that he has had his hands on you,” he confesses softly.
“Well, in that world, anyway.” I laugh nervously.
“In any world,” he snaps.
I try to stifle my smile from his protectiveness and turn to look out the window as we drive down Lake Shore Drive, heading back to the club. I watch as we pass the parks, and I’m lured in by the hypnotizing waves of Lake Michigan. It’s so peaceful on the surface, but the undercurrent is ravenous—sort a like my life right now.
Chapter 21
Zayne
Driving down LSD, the thoughts of Jasper laying hands on Myssa plays on repeat in my head. I need to get word to Jess and Steph. My patience is thin from this waiting game, so hopefully they have something. He cannot touch her again. If Knox and I have to trade off at my place, that works for me, but she is under twenty-four-hour protection wherever she is from now on.
“How did you end up in Aetheriem?” She asks breaks the silence.
“I mean, how did you find out you can go there?”
How do I even answer that? How do I explain what has happened to me, or what I have done? It’s such a loaded question, and we’ve only just finally gotten her on board for us to protect her, so I don’t think it’s a good idea to unravel that history just yet.
“It’s complicated, but basically, I stumbled upon it, kind of like you did. When I lost my uncle, I was devastated. It just happened one day.”
“Have you ever had an encounter with Jasper before?” she asks innocently.
My chest tightens, and I rub it to ease the discomfort.
Clearly taking my silence as my answer, she changes the subject. “How does it work? The frequency and shifting, I mean.”
Tabling my thoughts of Jasper, and the avoidance of her question, my stomach growls. I try to give her a smile.
“We are almost at the club, so how about we continue this conversation over dinner, ok, beautiful?” The last words slip out as if we’re in old, familiar territory. I know this isn’t the first time I’ve called her that. And who am I to lie now, anyway? She is beautiful. I want her, I want to know all of her, what makes her tick, what are her fears, her insecurities, what interests her, what revolts her, what her lips taste like, what it feels like to be consumed by her…
I can feel her stare on me contemplating my last words, and I keep my eyes on the road. As my thoughts race, I suddenly need to adjust myself in my jeans. Lucky for me,she’s already staring back out at the lake to notice.
We finally pull into the lot of the club, and Myssa steps out at the same time I do.I walk around pulling out her suitcase and backpack out of the trunk before rolling it towards the door.
“I can do that,” she says.
“Uh, yeah no.” I fumble with my keys.
Myssa
I’ve never seen the “behind the scenes” of a club before.
“This is really nice.” I beam.
“Yeah, it was important to us to make this comfortable for everyone,” he says, looking proud.
“Us?” I question.
