Page 66 of Of Flame and Fury
The sadness Emme and Bren left me with isn’t an emotion I want to feel. It’s draining, and I need all the bite remaining within me. I turn on the water to the shower and strip out of my clothes. Gemini is already erect when he pulls me into the shower.
We play, lathering our bodies in slow seductive strokes. My breasts remain covered with suds as he thrusts into me from behind. My nipples slide against the glass enclosure as he pounds, the tips straining, and my body begging for more of him. We don’t bother being quiet, neither do any of theweresand witches and vampires in the surrounding rooms. We need to feel good, if only for a small section of time.
Gemini leads me back to the bedroom where Celia and Aric wait. A twin mattress was placed inside the confines of a walk-in closet. Aric curls against Celia where she lays with her back pressed against his chest, still wearing that torn black dress she had appeared so elegant in.
I’m wearing a long T-shirt Gemini found for me. Celia stirs awake and tries to lift her head. “You all right?” she asks, struggling to open her eyelids.
“Yes,” I assure her. “Go back to sleep.”
Celia’s head bops up and down. She’s trying to tell me more. Aric murmurs a sound closer to an animal than man. It soothes her, allowing her to return to sleep. Aric nods in my direction. He’s wide awake. The intensity behind his demeanor is telling, he’ll guard Celia and what remains of his allies. Others will sleep; he won’t be one of them.
Koda sits up at our approach. He and Shayna share a larger mattress. He motions to the opposite side. “Found you a bed,” he says.
“Thanks,” we tell him.
I look to the mattress beneath the window Shayna likely set up for us. It’s a queen, which is nice, but it could have been a pile of straw, and I would have welcomed it. Gemini smirks when Shayna snores softly.
Koda grins, too, gathering her close and kissing her shoulder. Emme lies in the corner of the room wide awake, staring at the ceiling. Bren is nowhere to be found. Maybe it’s better.
“How long do we have?” Koda says, losing his smile.
“An hour to sleep,” Gemini tells him. “Then we continue the hunt.”
An hour, I repeat in my head. An hour to rest. An hour to heal. An hour before the nightmare continues and blood spills once more.
Chapter Twenty-One
One of the many screwed-up things about the manor is the lack of sense these damn halls make. You don’t know what you’ll encounter or where you’ll end up. The she-vamps were headed to Genevieve’s office to clear it and ended up in the kitchen with mutant Ewoks wielding knives.
“The fucking brown furball bit my tit,” Edith Anne gripes. She holds out her hand. “Don’t get me wrong, it felt kinda good. It’s the stab to my throat I took offense to.”
“I take offense to all of it,” I admit, watching them strut their way back to their bedroom. Seriously, I’m ready to beg Shayna to make me the chastity belt equivalent for boobs. These stupid Nytes don’t stop at anything.
My eyes are on fire from lack of sleep. I glance at the window and glare at the moon. It remains in the same position despite that it’s daytime and close to noon by now. Time is not on our side, and it’s become another enemy to fight.
I roll my neck and shift my attention to the door. Our wolves and Misha, along with Misha’s bodyguards, left to start the hunt what feels like hours ago. It probably wasn’t, though, based on this screwed-up time warp we’re in.
My sisters and I were instructed to rest, recoup, and protect. The witches from various covens and different packs within the confines of Genevieve’s quarters are also taking shifts to clean the rooms and scrounge for food. They’re having an effect. We’re not. We’re doing something else.
Shayna dubbed our time as #CeliaDuty, and yes, Celia hates the reference almost as much as she hates “The Mate” title bequeathed to her.
“Do you think they’ll find Johnny?” Emme asks. She’s sitting beside Celia, trying to teach her to knit. It’s not going well, and I think Celia would be more inclined to play with the yarn than make a sweater.
“I don’t know,” I admit. “Bren has the best nose and can usually find anything. But none of the boys can track here as well as they can outside this mess.”
Emme glances down. Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned Bren, but he’s a part of our lives. I take another look at Emme. At least, he is for the time being. He was our furry big brother we never had. But Emme’s our sister. I’m not sure what he’ll be if he continues to hurt her.
I cross my arms over another long T-shirt Gemini found for me. Emme did her best to wash our clothes in the sink, and I did my best to dry them without setting them on fire. They were still crunchy when we tried them on, and at best, we looked ready to grace the cover ofSurvivorAfghanistan, if there was such a thing. So, yeah, here I am in a T-shirt and shorts that hang past my knees.
“You all right, T?” Shayna asks. She looks up from where she’s manipulating utensils into killer sharp knives with her gift. A group ofweresfrom Liberia watch her, examining her work and nodding their approval.
I shrug. “They’re supposed to be back by now.”
“Unless they actually found Johnny,” Celia says. The room quiets. Celia hasn’t spoken much. Aric wants to find Johnny and finish him. I guess if any wolf can, it’s Aric. He’s become so much more. But Johnny has, too, and it scares the hell out of me.
Something falls against the door. The Liberianwerespocket the knives Shayna made them and hurry to investigate.
My sisters and I rise. “Stay with Celia,” I tell Shayna. She nods, and I hurry after Emme.