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Knox lets out an exaggerated sigh, and Rook has to yank the Keystone from his grasp, his claws lingering to stroke the rough surface.
“You did real good, Jules.” Knox winks as he passes by, following after Stiel.
“Any moment, Maximus is going to realize the bag is empty, if he hasn’t already figured it out. They may be trying to regroup as we speak. I want to get Julianna to safety and the Keystone to our vault at the penthouse.”
“We’ll flank you for the flight.” Rook can’t keep his eyes off the stone, can’t stop touching it and running his claws over the carvings.
“We’ll get you to the penthouse and the Keystone in the vault, then we’ll leave,” Dredd says swiftly.
I give him a nod of appreciation for understanding what I need most with Julianna now: time alone.
She lets out a small, surprised squeak as I lift her in my arms again.
“I’m going to fly you home, baby girl.”
She frowns in confusion.
“The penthouse.”
“Oh… okay.” A multitude of competing expressions cross her face, and I can’t read any of them, but suddenly, she seems to settle on one. She looks up at me with a smirk on her face. “I threw my shoes off somewhere in the street a couple blocks back—”
I cut her off as I leap into the air, Dredd and Rook on either side of me. She tucks her face into my chest, and I hold her tighter.
As we get above the clouds, to the clear night sky, I lean down and whisper in her ear, “I will buy you a hundred more pairs, baby girl.”
ChapterNineteen
JULES
“You can put me down.”
The moment Titan lands on the penthouse balcony, I’m fidgeting in his arms. Each movement hurts, but I can’t think when I’m held tight to his stone skin, and I really need to think right now.
“No.” The word is firm, leaving no room to question him.
I want to be angry, but my stomach does this odd fluttery thing as I realize I’m happy to be held. With everything that just happened, I still feel safest in Titan’s arms.
Dredd and Rook land on either side of us, following Titan’s lead into the penthouse. They were our sentinels for the flight across town. There was no sign of Maximus or the gargoyle who’d pinned me to the asphalt, but they were already making plans for what they would do when he showed up next.
They talked the entire flight. I’d spent it with my nose buried in Titan’s chest, having every joyful, orgasmic, hateful memory involuntarily brought to the forefront of my mind as I inhaled the scent of sunbaked stone on his skin. They were preparing to question the one gargoyle they captured, and I was forced to come to the conclusion that I have no idea what I’m doing. When it comes to Titan, I’ve never known what I’m doing.
Making Titan a long-term sugar daddy failed.
Then I tried for a short-term sexual relationship with no emotional ties. That failed the first time Titan made me cry while squirting on his monster tongue.
And tonight I went to the unveiling to complete my part of the deal, officially ending our arrangement. Instead, I stole the Keystone to punish him.
What am I doing?
Searching for the answer makes my brain and chest ache, and everything already hurts. I just don’t want to hurt anymore. The only thing I know that will make me feel better is Titan touching me.
“Where are you taking me?”
I finally look up from his chest and realize that Dredd and Rook are gone. The Keystone too. They must’ve locked it away in the vault already, but I was too distracted.
“I’m cleaning you up. Then I’m putting you to bed.” Titan’s natural rumble is restrained. He sounds rigid and tense.
The brief moment of ease we’d had in the parking lot is gone. I feel it in the way he holds me. It’s changed from the joyous hug in the lot to something much more desperate and clinging.
