Page 85 of His To Claim
Surprised by his confession, I lift my head slightly, turning to look him in the eye. His cocky smirk from earlier is gone, and in its place is a solemn frown.
“You call me angel. You worship me like I’m some innocent deity. We’re more alike than you think. I fell into temptation, and look where it has brought me, straight into your arms.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” he says, a solemn look in his eyes.
“It’s the worst. With you I lose sight of who I am, something I swore I’d never do. I watched my mother become someone I didn’t recognize when she met Chaz, Jade’s father. And when he left, she lost it. I mean she was always psychotic, but it’s as if the last string that was holding together her sanity, snapped.”
“But I’d never leave you,” he says, and I laugh uncontrollably. His brows crease, and his frown deepens.
“You’ve done so, time and time again. Every time he calls, you drop everything and follow his orders. You always will. As long as he’s around, there is nothing we can do.” I lift myself up slightly, resting my hands on his chest, my fingers tracing over the eagle on his heart. “Why an eagle?” I ask, quietly.
“Eagles are powerful and fierce predators. They represent leadership, authority, and the divine. They are creatures who soar through wind, walk on land, and swim in waters. They’re unstoppable.”
“Why not a horse? You seem to be quite fond of those,” I say, chuckling softly, and it gets me a smile. A full ear to ear, toothy grin, that shows off those adorable dimples.
“That one’s on my back,” he says shifting slightly, showing methe stallion that covers half of his back. It is beautiful and majestic, every detail perfectly inked on his skin making it look real.
“I can’t believe I hadn’t noticed it before.”
“Well, you’re the one who is usually on your back while I thrust into you or riding me while I’m on my back,” he says, and I shove him almost knocking him off the bed. “Hey what was that for?” he says, laughing softly.
“It has wings?” I ask, getting a view of the entirety of his back.
“It’s a God-like horse, hence the wings.”
“You mean a Pegasus?”
“What?” he asks, confused.
“A horse with wings is called a Pegasus. Hercules, Greek mythology. He is pure, and majestic, but he was also a servant of Zeus. How fitting,” I say, and instantly his frown is back.
Shaking his head, he leans over me, caging me on the bed. “I am a servant to you.” He lowers his lips to my neck, kissing, and licking me softly. “I will worship only you, serve only you and this irresistible body of yours.”
Without stopping, he licks his way down my chest, leaving soft kisses across my abdomen. My back curves off the bed, bringing me closer to his mouth and moves in closer, taking my lips in a tantalizing kiss, before flipping us so we're laying side by side, his forehead resting against mine.
We lay here together, naked, in this intimate position, for what feels like hours until he finally speaks.
“We’ll make it official tomorrow night at the party Bass is having at his parents’ house. It’s Beck’s birthday. I’ll pick you up at eight,” he adds, as if explaining the reasoning behind yet another party. I feel like I’ve gone to a party every weekend since arriving here, it’s exhausting.
I simply nod against his chest, a small tear threatening to come out. Only I don’t know why it sheds.
Is it happiness, lying here with this boy who makes me feel things I didn’t think I was capable of? Sadness, for the boy I hurt, who will surelyhate me when he finds out I not only left him, but I found a replacement just as quick? Or fear for what’s coming?
I promised Jade I’d use Ace to get to the bottom of her father’s and my mother’s vanishing. I promised to help her find Roman, and it looks like using Ace to do so is the only plausible answer. It’s my only option, and it’s what I’m determined to do. I only hope I don’t lose myself in the process.
Twenty-Nine
SCARLETT
After Ace left last night, I took a long, steaming shower hoping to wash away all the shame and disgust I felt for my sins. I’ve lost count of them now, feeling like every move I make is one of betrayal, or evil.
Ace and I were civil in class today, but we still haven’t shown “his followers” that we’re officially an item. That will happen later tonight at Beckett’s birthday bash at the Silver’s estate. I can imagine the buzz that revelation will bring.
“So, you going tonight?” Jade asks me as she steps into my room, of course without knocking. She’s wearing black jeans and a white tube top, with a black faux leather jacket, and her hair pulled up into a high pony, looking every inch like a sexy biker vixen. She walks over to the end of my bed plopping down on the comforter.
“Ace wants us to make things official tonight,” I say with a fake smile. I turn back around to the mirror and apply a thick coat of my favorite deep red lip color, two shades darker than Jade’s. I run my fingers through my hair softly combing out the loose waves ofmy towel dried hair. I’m wearing one of my nicest pairs of black jeans that are purposefully torn at the knees and an iconic Rolling Stones cropped T-shirt I found at a thrift shop years ago. You can see the clear wear and tear, but it remains one of my favorite finds.
“So, you did it?” she asks, sounding slightly baffled.