Sterling picks up the sheet, looking down at the curves and swells of my body. “Well, sure enough, Angel, you are!” He feigns surprise, a smirk slowly curving against his lips.
I roll my eyes, pushing playfully at him as I lean back against the headboard. “I mean, where are my clothes? I lost them last night . . .” I shriek as the realization hits me. “Did Aamon carry me out of Bloodlustnaked?”
Sterling’s smirk turns into a full-blown smile as he pops up on his elbow and watches me melt in mortification. “Come on now, Evangeline. We aren’tmonsters. He wrapped a blanket around you.”
I peek out from my hands that are now covering my face. “Yes, because that makes it better.”
Sterling walks his fingers up my middle, through the valley of my breasts, until his hand is at my chin, guiding my wrists down and away from my face. “Next time, I’ll be sure to tell Aamon to skip the extra step then.” He smiles up at me and the silver in his eyes gleams.No matter how embarrassed I feel at the moment, I cannot look away from him. From the way he’s looking at me. As if I am his entire world.
He leans in, pushing himself up as he tucks my hair behind my ear. He runs his thumb down the shell of my lobe before wrapping his hand around the back of my neck and pulling me to his lips. The kiss is slow at first, delicate and intimate in a way I rarely have gotten to experience with any of them. I drink it in like a fine wine, like the richest blood, savoring every last drop.
Then I feel him smile against my lips and it’s the only warning I get before he pulls me down and shifts his weight on top of me. I squeal, the sound turning into laughter as his lips tickle my skin. His joy is infectious and I can’t contain myself, joining him in this bubble of absolute bliss.
The door bursts open, throwing us both out of the moment we were making for ourselves. My head whips to the door as Aamon stalks in. I smile when I see him, but it’s short-lived as I notice the look in his eyes. Something’s wrong. His face is hardened, his eyes dark. Gone is any hint of the male who took care of me last night.
“Aamon,” I breathe out, brows furrowed as I try to understand what could have possibly made him so angry.
“Up,” he orders, stomping through the room. “Now.” He grabs me by the arm, ripping back the sheets and exposing my body to the chilled air.
“Aamon, what is this?” Sterling asks, hackles raised. He jumps out of the bed, slipping on his jeans that must have been discarded on the floor.
Aamon doesn’t answer, just pulls me till I’m on my feet, then drags me over to the dresser. He starts digging through drawers, throwing clothes at me. “Get dressed.” Then he turns to the closet on the other side of the bedroom, reaching up into the top shelf and pulling out a duffel bag.
“Are we going somewhere?” I ask, pulling the tank top he gave me over my head. He seems rushed, frazzled. And his entire demeanor has set my teeth on edge.
“Not we.” He drops the duffel bag on the bed before finally making eye contact with me. “You.”
My heart bottoms out, my skin going ice cold. “What?”
“Your time with the Blood Order has come to an end. Pack your things and get out.” His tone is as even as glass. There’s no emotion in his words. No hint of sarcasm or regret. Nothing but hollow, empty orders.
“You can’t be serious.” Sterling laughs, a halfhearted sound because he and I both know by the way Aamon is standing there, waiting for me to obey, that he definitely is. “Aamon, she just got here. What happened to everything you said last night? To this!” Sterling gestures between us. He can say whatever he wants, fight as hard as he wants. But I can see in Aamon’s eyes that his words are true. Because it’s the same look my father had in his eyes when he drove me out of the city and dumped me for the ghouls to consume.
Aamon steps forward, pushing past me to the dresser, and starts throwing my things in the duffel on the bed, not even waiting for me to obey.
“Why?” I whisper, tears pricking the back of my eyes.
Aamon finishes ransacking my drawers and turns to the bed, shoving everything hastily inside the bag. The sudden sound of the zipper grates my ears, making me flinch. He stoops to the floor beside the bed, snagging the pair of boots he gave me and holding them out for me to take.
“Because I’ve seen and tasted my fill. I don’t need anything more from you.”
His words break me, shatter me into a million pieces. I want to scream, to yell at him that I know he’s lying—that what we have together can’t be fake. That I feel the call of his blood in my bones. But before I can form words, he’s grabbing hold of my arm again and dragging me out the door.
“Aamon!” Sterling shouts, coming after us.
But Aamon doesn’t stop, not till we're in the common area and he’s shoving me towards the door. I stumble forward, falling gracelessly onto the old weathered floor. I’m crying now, fat angry tears running down my cheeks. And when I lift my head, I find Zeke standing before me, arms crossed over his chest.
Sterling stops to help me up, but is spinning on Zeke fast, throwing accusations his way. “What did you do?” Sterling calls out, charging towards him. But I’m not naive. Aamonis the leader here. There’s nothing Zeke could say or do to persuade Aamon to get rid of me. Not unless he already wanted to.
Sterling turns on Aamon when Zeke refuses to answer him. I tense, worried that Aamon may fight back, may not let Sterling push him. “You can't do this. She's one of us!”
“You will not tell me what I am allowed to do, Sterling. You forget your place, the debt you owe me.” The corner of his lips tip up, revealing his fangs. “If I want her gone, then she’s gone.”
Sterling’s tawny skin turns red as he faces off with Aamon, anger practically seeping from his pores. “If she goes, then I go,” he says at last, the words roiling with a quiet fury.
Aamon steps up, dropping the duffel bag on the floor, pulling my attention down. More bags are already beside Zeke. He’d known this. Planned it, even.
“So be it.” Aamon's gaze cuts over to Zeke, still standing by the door. “And you?” he asks, already knowing the answer.
