AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Rhys groans, taking a step back. “Fuck. That is not what I meant, and now I have to go inside with a massive boner.”
“What?” I choke out, my eyes jerking down to his pants to see the hard bulge of his dick in his jeans. “What were you talking about?”
“Your tattoo.” Rhys blows out a long, pained sounding breath. “Go inside. I’ll be in as soon as I calm the fuck down.”
“Oops. Sorry.” I bite on my bottom lip to keep from laughing.
“Get inside, you instigator.” Rhys swats at my butt and I hop a step and hurry inside with laughter following me.
“Only monsters bite ice cream. Are your teeth made of plastic?”
Ezra is glaring at Ruby. They’re having another bizarre argument. I swear they just think of strange things to fight about because they like to rile each other up. He’s wearing a plain white t-shirt today and a pair of jeans with the cuffs rolled up. His shoes are plaid sneakers. I think Ruby might have the same pair. I shake my head at the two of them.
“No. I simply have nice, well-tended teeth. I’m not a dog. I don’t need to lick my ice cream.”
“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Most people lick their ice cream.” Ezra’s normally brown skin looks a little flushed. His light brown eyes flash with an emotion I can’t name as he glares at Ruby.
“You don’t lick pudding, do you? That’s even less solid than ice cream.”
Ezra’s mouth opens and closes, and Ruby lets out an undignified sound of triumph.
“I can’t even argue this one with you anymore, Cube. It’s just dumb.”
“You just can’t stand losing.”
“I didn’t lose. I’m choosing not to engage.”
Ruby opens her mouth to say something. If she gets him going again, it will take forever to get them to focus.
“Hey, I’m ready for my tattoo.”
Ruby and Ezra’s heads swivel around toward me.
“Where’s Rhys?” Ezra looks over my shoulder and Ruby rolls her eyes.
“Uh, he’s coming.” A blush warms my cheeks when both Ruby and Ezra snort.
The door opens behind me and the warmth of Rhys’s body stepping in close to me blankets my back. There’s a moment when Ruby and Ezra are united in their smirks aimed at me and Rhys, then they appear to realize they’re being friendly, and they break apart with twin sneers.
“Alright, little Laurens, follow me.” It takes me a second to realize Ezra is talking to me. I’ve only ever been Zara Summer, a drudge who belongs to the Summer Court and whose name reflects that. Laurens is Ruby’s last name and, ostensibly, mine as well. I’m not used to it yet, but I love the idea of it. As Ruby would say, fuck the Summer Court.
A little disoriented, I follow Ezra and Ruby, with Rhys right behind me. The interior of the clinic is sterile and uncluttered. There’s the scent of lemon and cleaning products but also a lingering animal smell that I doubt any amount of cleaner can get rid of. The tile floors are pristine, and the gray walls are calming.
Ezra heads up a set of narrow stairs at the end of the hallway and we follow him single file. I wonder if there’s any furniture upstairs. If there’s anything bigger than a skinny chair, it would have had to come in through the window or be fully disassembled before it was moved up the cramped staircase.
“Just through here.” Ezra’s standing in front of an open door, waiting to usher us inside. This floor smells a lot less like animals and not as antiseptic either. It’s obvious this space isn’t used with the same frequency as the rooms down below.
The area is well lit and a decent size. There’s a black leather chair in the middle of the room that looks like it could double as a torture device. The only saving grace is that I don’t see any straps to hold you down.
There’s a stool on wheels next to it, which I assume is for Ezra to be able to move around as needed. On one wall is a comfortable set of chairs that I honestly do not know how they got upstairs. It had to have been through the window.
Ruby immediately sets up camp in one of the chairs, pulling out her phone and ignoring the rest of us. Rhys hovers behind me and I look over my shoulder at him. His brows are drawn, and his jaw is set. His arms are crossed as if he’s ready to protect me from all the monsters, even though I’m just here with his friends. That doesn’t seem to matter, though. Ezra sits down on his moving chair. He turns his attention to me and pats the torture chair.
“Let’s see what we’re working with. Did you have anything in particular in mind for a cover-up?”
I move to tug off my shirt, only to stop when Rhys makes a choking noise. I glance at him to see what’s wrong, only to find his mouth pressed in a tight line. Not understanding the problem, I resume removing my shirt and then hear a breathy exhale behind me. Looking at Rhys again, I see him staring at the camisole Ruby gave me to wear. Knowing my aversion to bras, she found one that I could keep on but allow Ezra access to my tattoo without getting in the way. Did he think I was going to strip naked and let Ezra get a view of my breasts? Even if I didn’t care if Ezra saw them, Ruby would probably punch me.
Ezra does something with the chair that angles the top back. “Hop on. Put your legs here.”
