Page 26 of Created in Chaos
I use my tongue to circle Lucian’s thumb, then shift it to the left so I can sink my molars into his flesh. He hisses but makes no move to remove it. When he smiles at me like I just pleased him, I release my bite and suck him deeper into my mouth just long enough for him to make a rumbling sound of satisfaction in the back of his throat, then I pull my head back, leaving only my teeth marks on his skin.
He shifts as if he might lunge for me, but the sound of Gertrude’s soft-soled boots warns us of her approach. “Later,” he promises darkly as the older woman enters the room with her nose in the air, as if she can snort out if we’re up to no good.
I make myself busy eating more crackers and cheese to hopefully go unnoticed. Lucian doesn’t have the same compunction. “What do you want, old woman?”
“To die peacefully, but I bet you’ll find some way to ruin that.” She huffs, but there doesn’t seem to be any real heat behind her words.
“Don’t talk like that,” Lucian snaps, casting a quick glance at his brother, who seems to be pretending everything is normal. A strange feeling of foreboding twists in my stomach that I don’t understand and like even less.
“Oh, leave me alone, I’m teasing,” she grumbles. “I plan to haunt your children.”
“Children?” I mouth in outrage to Nox, including him because it feels important. He rolls his eyes and shrugs.
“Our children won’t be frightened of you any more than we were,” Lucian crows.
“Uh-huh,” she replies placatingly, as if she disagrees with his claim. “Your men are lumbering around in the anterior room. Deal with them before I put them to work,” Gertrude rebukes, then leaves the room as abruptly as she arrived.
Lucian places his phone on the table and examines the screen. “See what you do? You drive me to distraction. I missed these texts.” He waves his hand at his phone as if I’m really to blame.
“I can’t help that you’re obsessed with me. That sounds like a you problem.”
“Well, that’s where you’re wrong. It is most definitely a we problem.” He rises from the table, taking his phone with him. “Let’s go see what they want.”
I glance over at Nox, wondering why I let myself get distracted by Lucian. We should have been talking about the secret meeting instead of mucking about, and now they are both leaving.
When my chair gets yanked back, my arms flail around as my balance shifts. “What the heck?”
“You didn’t think I would leave you here all alone to miss us, did you?”
I look up to see Lucian looming over me with a smirk.
He grabs my throat, pulling my head back even farther. “I can’t let you out of my sight. Obsessed isn’t a big enough word to describe the way I need to possess you.” He presses his lips against mine, the kiss hard and punishing, and I wonder if it’s because of what he just admitted.
I feel slightly off-kilter as we make our way to the front foyer. The floors are marbled with red, black, and white, creating a macabre scene, but it’s beautiful nonetheless. There are four men filling the vast space dressed in black pants and shirts, but that’s where the mundane ends.
They are older than us by ten years at least and grizzled in a way that makes me think they are soldiers of some sort, but that could just be their rigid stance and features making me think that. I instantly feel out of my depth. Are these the same men I’ve seen patrolling the grounds? I don’t know if that makes me feel safer or not.
“You have something to report?” Lucian asks, seeming completely comfortable in front of the men.
“The Umbras have sent a steward to the gate, requesting to speak with Miss Devlin.”
“Have they now?” Lucian questions softly.
“He said he’s been authorized to negotiate for her release,” the same man continues. Nox drapes his arm around my shoulders, tucking me into his side.
“Who did they grant such authority?” Lucian seems more than mildly interested.
“The traitor.”
I glance up at Nox, not really needing the confirmation of who I think it is but wanting it anyway. He gives me a tiny nod, as if he assumed my unasked question about Alden.
“Go tell him that I might come out when I tire of fucking his charge.”
I shove Lucian’s side, but he doesn’t budge. “Do not tell him that,” I implore, though I have no reason to believe this guy will listen to anything I say.
“You don’t have to worry, lamb. It would never happen.”
I turn my furious gaze on Lucian, unable to even form words, but he must see something in my eyes, because he lifts his hands in a small move of surrender and says, “There will be no negotiations. They couldn’t take care of her, but we will.”