If Jeanie and Nelson hadn’t asked us to stay in school, I would have dropped out immediately, no questions asked. Instead, I behaved like a good girl and decided I would trudge through it, at least for now. In a way, I was glad to have some level of distraction in my life now that I wasn’t high as hell all of the time. Leaning against the windshield, I closed my eyes wondering how long it would take for one of my men to get all uppity and ‘where is Lorcan’-ish.
I exhaled, cigarette smoke clouding the air around me, as I smiled to myself. What? I still had to give them a bit of shit. Specifically Adriel. We’d been way too serious and intense lately. I shivered at the thought of last night’s nightmare and tried to not let myself fall into the endless rabbit hole of overthinking. I would end up having a fucking panic attack before 10 a.m. if I wasn’t careful.
“Princess!” Adriel’s sharp voice sounded from my bedroom balcony that looked down on the driveway. I grinned, looking up at my King of Nightmares. Lord. He should not be allowed shirtless. It was just wholly unfair.
The modern concrete and glass facade of Jeanie and Nelson’s estate only highlighted how inhuman and gorgeous the man was. He looked every inch the massive elven warrior he was, with his impressive build, swimmer-like shoulders, and lickable abs. I let my eyes crawl over his skin as I sent up a quick thanks for my sunglasses. What? We wouldn’t want to give him too much of a complex now would we?
At the moment, he was wearing dress pants that appeared to have been pulled on quickly, and his rich moss-colored eyes filled with heat as he looked over my body. My brows shot up as he braced himself on the railing and jumped down, landing on the driveway and straightening to full height. His long, light hair was loose from the braid he’d slept with it in, and somehow, someway, it didn’t detract from his manliness at all but rather enhanced it. The man literally looked like every hot fantasy book cover had come to life, and I was one hundred percent here for it.
It was probably because, well, he was supposed to be only found in fantasy. He was an elven warrior king. Ugh! Why did I find that so damn sexy? I didn’t bother sitting up as he leaned over me, his sexy lips pressed together in frustration. I loved our dynamic most days, because it was so natural for us. He naturally pushed me out of my comfort zone, and I naturally wanted to hit him over the head. Also, I had the irresistible urge to do the exact opposite of what he wanted, which in this case had been staying in bed.
“What have I said about leaving bed,” he growled, sliding off my sunglasses as I offered a small smile at how worked up he was about me not staying longer to cuddle. His eyes softened on my expression.
“You said, ‘Lorcan, because you are a capable person, feel free to leave bed whenever you see fit.’” I answered smartly as his full lips twitched. He inhaled, looking over me before muttering under his breath. Then he turned on his heel and walked back towards the front door, my eyes tracing his muscular, cut body and his perfect ass. What? The man had a great butt. I couldn’t not notice it. I appreciated all the perfect things about him, including his butt.
I watched in amusement as Desmond stepped to the side, allowing the grumpy elf bastard to storm inside. I offered a small flirty smile to the King of Smoke and Master of Illusion. Such a freakin’ impressive title. Why didn’t I have one like that? I bet I could be creative and come up with one.
I shivered as his magic crawled up my skin before he even reached me, heating a part of me that had everything from my chest down to my center turning molten.
“What did you do to make him so worked up?” Desmond asked while pushing up the sleeves of his dark shirt.
Honestly, I was a lucky bitch, having two stunning bodyguards like them following me around. I mean, it was very much a hands-on job, so it was a good thing I found them so sexy. Plus, not many women could say they were the center of attention for three kings and three powerful shifters. Shit was a total ego boost… just saying.
“Me?” I pointed a finger at my chest. “I didn’t do anything.”
Desmond let out a soft laugh while leaning against the car, cupping my jaw. Sometimes I felt like I was dealing with the Desmond I knew growing up. Glasses. Quiet. A soft smile.
Then there was the other one.
The one that was fully djinn and acted very much like the demon king that he was. It didn’t matter if he had his crown on or not, the man embodied wealth and power. His dark, styled hair only drew attention to his sculpted olive-toned skin and thickly lashed eyes. Desmond had probably the most stunning eyes ever. I wasn’t even being dramatic. They were a rich, spring green that faded into sky blue at the edges, standing out against his dark clothes and hair.
“Is that so?” He asked with amusement and heat, eyes darting down to my covered chest. As much as I would love to assume he was looking at my fantastic boobs, I knew he was looking at his mark.
I’d sold my soul to Desmond.
Okay, maybe not ‘sold,’ but served it on a fucking platter. I didn’t regret it though. The thin yet detailed black flame in the middle of my chest was a constant reminder of him. Plus, whenever he saw it, a possessive light flashed in his gaze that I was only used to seeing from the Reid brothers. Sometimes Adriel, but he was more likely to just toss me over his shoulder and leave the situation if he wanted to prove his ‘ownership’ of me.
I know. Mature.
“Would I lie to you?” I offered him a coy smile as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to my lips. Letting out a soft sound, I dropped my cigarette onto the driveway and met his lips fully.
The warmth of his magic seeped into me as I turned on the hood of the car so he could step between my legs, his rough, large hands running down my thighs so that he was wedged against me. Fuck. I could feel my magic wrapping around us, making it far too easy to just fall into bliss as the man devoured my mouth in a slow, demanding pace. When he pulled back, I may have made a small frustrated noise. What?! The man smelled like tobacco and burnt wood, it was fucking intoxicating.
“Sorry, love,” he smirked, “but if we keep doing that, I won’t even get a cup of fucking coffee in today.”
“Caffeine addictions aren’t healthy,” I responded in an amused, knowing voice as he offered me a dry look, helping me off the car as we walked towards the large front doors.
Ones that I was sort of growing tired of seeing. Don’t get me wrong, I loved this house, but it was very Nelson and Jeanie—cold and modern. I needed more art and colors.
Don’t get me wrong, my parents had art for sure. Fucking expensive pieces they had bought no doubt to flex their wealth. But there was no life to it. No real meaning. They were just showing it off and trying to match it to the rest of their decor. So no, I needed something more. Something that felt more like home.
Plus, I think there was something to the concept of us getting a larger house, anyway. I think I had officially decided to keep them. My siren rolled her eyes at that mental declaration.
Yes, you just decided that, Lorcan. Right.
“Bunny!” Rhett offered with a sleepy smile, “You look beautiful.”
God damn it. I blushed very slightly as Cash chuckled, watching me with amusement. Bastard. I hated him. I rounded the counter and Rhett wrapped his arms around me, my nose buried against his chest. The man smelled like lemons. It was amazing, and his school shirt did absolutely nothing to hide how muscular and cut he was. My fingers found their way to his muscles, and I wondered how much convincing it would take to get him to go shirtless to school.