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She rolled her eyes, not believing me for a second.
“You pirate too?” She flicked her chin at my companion, but wasn’t searching for an answer. “You cause any damage, you pay,” she declared.
“Of course.”
She heaved a substantial exhale, wholly put out, opening the door wider for us. “You stay quiet. I will bring up healing herbs.” She nodded at Croygen’s wound as we stepped into the rundown entry. The room led to the shop and to her private flats above. The raw scent of meat twined with fish soaked into the wood, making my stomach growl. I would always choose a nice filet of fish, but eating meat was in my DNA, craving to sink my teeth into it.
“Go.” She batted her hands, wanting us to get out of her way as fast as possible.
“Making friends everywhere you go, Kitty-Kat?” Croygen’s cheeky grin could be felt through his words, but I ignored him, going up the stairs, annoyed at how easily he could get under my skin.
Opening the door to the room, my chest clenched. I’d forgotten how minuscule the place was. A sink outside a toilet closet, a few shelves on one wall filled with books, trinkets, and useless items like an old pre-Fae War microwave and hot plate, which no longer worked because of the magic in the air. On the other side, next to the windows overlooking the street below, the rain pelting against the glass, was a small double bed.
The time Killian and I had to use this place to hide, I didn’t even think about the size or the one bed. Killian and I had shared beds all the time growing up, but now my skin tingled with awareness as Croygen shut the door behind us, two firebulbs the only light in the room.
“Cozy.” Croygen’s voice snaked up my spine. I tried to control my breathing, adrenaline still pumping in my veins, creating a frenzy in my blood. Normally, I would find someone to take my excess energy out on, a wealthy victim to seduce and rob, fucking him until I could think clearly again.
Needing to distract myself, I checked the room like I’d find some hidden ninja in the tiny place. I could sense Croygen’s gaze on me, but I ignored the feel of him as he moved to the bed. He sat with a hiss, and my head jerked back to him, noticing the blood still oozing from him.
“You okay?” I went to him. Leaning over, I rolled up his drenched shirt, trying to see his wound. “Shit, he got you good.” My fingers grazed his side. Touching his skin was like striking a match, rushing heat through my body. His abs flexed under my touch, the air around us crackling while thunder boomed outside the room.
“I’m fine,” he gritted, drawing my eyes to his, catching them like a trap. “It will heal,” he muttered. The hoarseness of his voice pounded my heart. I couldn’t remove my gaze from his. The air in the room curled around me with a thrilling hold. Our wet clothes clung to our skin, our adrenaline pumping, filling the room with tense energy. Need.
I bolted away from him when a knock rattled the door. Mrs. Yang stomped in, a tray in her hands.
“If you get blood on anything. You buy.” She dropped the tray on the side table next to the bed. She looked between us. “And no hanky-panky,” she barked, marching out the same way she came in, leaving the room in silence.
“Guess no hanky-panky, then.” Croygen smirked, his humor trying to cut the odd strain in the room, but it only seemed to add more. Mrs. Yang had said it out loud and gave the unspoken topic life, drawing attention to the way my drenched shirt clung to my breasts. The way drops dripped down his heated skin. The way his erection was heavily outlined in his cargo pants.
Not wanting him to catch me staring, I jerked my head away, turning my attention to the packed tray. There were fae healing herbs, which were becoming more standard across the world, since humans realized how much better they worked than western medicine. Baijiu, a clear, potent liquor, swabs, rubbing alcohol, and a basket of dumplings.
My stomach gurgled with hunger, the scent of pigeon and other “unspecific” meat inside the cooked dumplings. Food was getting harder to find, and in places like this, you ate what you could get.
“Fuck, give me that.” Croygen motioned for me to hand him the baijiu, downing a gulp when he unscrewed the cap.
“Strip,” I ordered, grabbing the swabs and dosing them in disinfectant.
“Pants too?” He lifted an eyebrow, getting out of his shirt. “Want me naked,Katze? You just have to ask.”
A seductive smile curled my mouth. Lowering to my knees, I moved in front of him, getting in a better position. He watched me intently, his nose flaring.
I swiped the cotton over his wound.
“Fuck!” he howled when the alcohol touched his open wound, his teeth diving into his lower lip.
My grin widened with mischief.
“Payback?” he gritted.
“You deserved it.”
“You didn’t have to join in the fight. I had it all handled.”
“Yeah, I saw how you handled it. Getting tossed across the room was part of the plan?”
“Yep.” He sucked in again as I continued to pat around his injury. “Get them cocky, thinking they have this won, and then come back and take them all down.”
“Mm-hmm,” I snorted. “I have a crazy idea… maybe stop sleeping with everyone’s wives and girlfriends?”
