AllFreeNovel
Share Us
RHYS
The movie is torture. Both because of Ezra’s horrible taste and because I’ve been hard for the last ninety minutes. Zara is next to me, but we aren’t even touching. After her taunting ended with us both panting and me two seconds away from tearing her clothes off and fucking her in front of everyone, we’d kept our mouths shut. I’m not a voyeur and I have no fucking desire for any of these asses to see me placing a single kiss on Zara’s skin, but it almost happened.
Plus, Ruby.
I’m this close to locking her in her house the next time we all go somewhere. She didn’t stay on the ground between me and Zara, but she was there long enough to cool shit down.
I’m tempted to tell Ruby I’ll take Zara home, but I’m not sure that’s a good idea. Despite Zara’s claim that she’s not as innocent as she appears, I still don’t buy that she’s down for a quick fuck. And that’s not what I want from her either. I’ve spent years avoiding relationships, never wanting anyone to stick around longer than one night. Relationships mean opening yourself up to another person, revealing your secrets and darkest thoughts. No one deserves to be subject to that part of me. Zara doesn’t either, but any fleeting ideas I might have had about leaving her alone went up in smoke the second they appeared.
It might be the right thing to do, but I can’t. I want all of her. More than she’s ever given to anyone else. Every piece of her is mine. Her past, her desires, her fears, her joy, I want to gather them up and hoard them like a dragon protecting its treasure. Because that’s what she is. A treasure.
I’m aware that it’s absurd to feel this way about someone after such a short amount of time. It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I’m not someone who falls easily in and out of love. I avoid attachments like a plate full of poisonous snakes. But Zara’s turned me inside out and has changed everything.
“I’ll see you soon?” Zara asks as we say goodnight, some of that hesitance back.
“Guaranteed.”
Everyone heads off to their respective corners of the island after Ezra waves off all the offers for clean-up. Aspen Street is quiet tonight. Not a surprise. Wednesday nights in May aren’t normally busy. By the time we get to June, vacationers will have flocked to our little island and it’ll always be busy, but the season hasn’t hit yet.
My ATV is parked in a small garage behind my building, but instead of going up to my apartment, I wander down the street, feeling aimless. For a calm evening, a lot of stuff happened tonight. I’ve officially found out what my magic is supposed to do, even if I have no idea how to do any of the things Lena rambled off that list. Zara all but taunted me to fuck her, and we were once again reminded of Ezra’s shit taste in movies.
A man is leaning against the brick exterior of my bar, one leg bent, foot pressed against the building. He looks like he’s posing in a photo artistically titled blasé dickhead.
“Corbin Zima. Why are you defiling my building with your presence?” I inject as much lightness into my voice as possible, when really, I want to rip out his spine, Mortal Kombat style.
“Come now, things don’t have to be like that, Rhys. We barely know each other. We could be best friends if you gave us a chance.” Colton tosses his overly long, light brown bangs back. They immediately fall back into his eyes.
He’s tall and fit, but his face is perfectly smooth. I doubt he’s ever had to use a razor in his entire life. I rub my palm over my jaw, my stubble rasping against my calloused palm while I smile indulgently at him. This fuckface probably couldn’t grow a beard, even if it was the key to opening the veil to Fairy.
“That friend shit sailed when you stabbed my actual best friend.”
Colton’s head cocks to the side as if he’s trying to make sure he heard me correctly.
“Let’s be honest. I was doing you a favor. I know what Archer’s been doing to your sister. You should be thanking me.”
Anger surges, heat growing beneath my skin. My hands form fists and I have to work to unclench my fingers. What is pleasantly surprising, though, is that I’m not actually mad at Archer at all. Am I used to him being Lena’s boyfriend yet? No. I haven’t wrapped my head around that, yet. Do I still want to punch him for lying to me and sneaking around with my sister? Well, yeah, a little. But honestly, I’ve never seen Lena so happy. How can I argue against that?
No, what’s pissing me off is that Colton thinks I should be grateful for his psychotic behavior.
“I’ll thank you, on the day you the day you fuck off and eat shit.”
The smug grin that Colton’s sporting falls off his face with dramatic speed. “And here I came to offer you a favor.”
I laugh. What else can I do with such a ridiculous statement? “I don’t want a fucking thing from you.”
“Well, that’s just rude.” Colton is talking to me as if I’m a disobedient child. I silently count to ten to keep from slamming my fist in his face.
“Still, I’m a forgiving creature. Some would even say magnanimous.”
“I don’t deal with psychopath Fae who think they can brutalize others into doing what they want.”
“That’s right. You have a lot of experience with those who smash their fists into things to get their way.”
“What the fuck are you still doing here?” Some of the anger, revulsion, and frustration slips in and colors my words. You know what would be nice right about now? Some persuasive magic so that I could shut this fucker up. Actually, why am I even bothering to talk to him. There’s no need. I start to walk away, heading for the back of my building, when Colton calls out.
“I can take care of Papa Marsten for you.”
His words are enough to give me pause. For a second, I actually consider it. That man has left me with too many scars to count, internal and external. Many that even Lena never found out about.
Growing up, Scott Marsten was a sadistic piece of shit. Lena still thinks that we protected each other from his beatings. She didn’t escape his rage either, but there were so many times when I let him catch me so Lena could get away. The cigarette burns on my ribs, the scars on my back, they’re reminders of what I endured so that Lena could be safe. I’d do it all over again to protect her. Except we don’t have to cower under Scott’s raised hand any longer. And I’m not Lena’s only protector. We have an entire family, one that we built for ourselves, to watch out for us.
“I’m not hiring you to kill my father. As far as I’m concerned, that man doesn’t exist.”
Colton hums, his chuckle sounding like broken glass in the night. “That’s funny, because he’s pretty pissed off about you burning his house down. I don’t think he’s as forgiving as you.”
“And why would you do something like this?” I ask, curiosity getting the better of me. Colton smiles, pushing off of the wall with his foot.
He starts to walk away without answering me, but then he turns around, continuing to walk backward. “Oh, by the way, I know how your little imolán ended up in Fairy. Get in touch if you want to know more.”
