Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 40057 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 200(@200wpm)___ 160(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40057 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 200(@200wpm)___ 160(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
I didn’t sleep.
Didn’t even want to.
I just lay there, one hand sliding slowly down her back, the other wrapped tight around her waist, and let myself feel it all. All the emotions I’d been ignoring until now. I hadn’t been ready to let myself feel them, didn’t want to open myself up to the pain if this all went sideways.
But that wasn’t possible anymore.
There was no denying it.
I was so fucking in love with Elena.
11
ONYX
The room was warm and dim, morning light just beginning to filter through the blinds. Elena was still sprawled over my chest, her breath soft against my neck, skin damp and flushed from everything I’d done to her just hours before. Her thighs bracketed my hips, her leg hooked over mine, and her hair trailed across my shoulder.
I still hadn’t slept, but that was okay because I had everything I needed right here.
The scent of her still clung to my skin—sweet and heady, laced with sweat, sex, and something softer beneath it, anchoring me more than the weight of her body ever could.
My phone buzzed on the nightstand, but I didn’t move. Not at first.
I was too busy breathing her in, my hand sliding idly up and down her bare back, feeling the subtle twitch of her muscles every time my thumb grazed her spine. I’d worked her hard last night and again in the early hours of the morning. She needed the rest. Deserved it.
The phone buzzed again. Dammit.
I exhaled slowly, then eased my hand down her back to her hip and held her steady while I shifted to reach for the phone without waking her. She made a soft sound in her throat, then stilled again, her breathing slow and even. Out cold.
The screen lit up with two texts.
Wizard
King’s office. ASAP.
King
Get your ass down here, Onyx.
I grunted under my breath. No “good morning.” No room to breathe. Just orders.
I slid my phone onto the nightstand and carefully untangled Elena’s limbs from mine. Her legs tightened instinctively, her face burrowing into my chest like her body refused to let go. I had to still for a moment—had to fight the urge to give in and stay wrapped around her until the world stopped spinning.
But that wasn’t an option. Not when her safety was on the line. Not when we were this close to pulling the thread that would unravel the entire fucked-up situation Marks had dragged her into unknowingly.
I kissed her temple, then eased out of bed, careful not to let the mattress shift too much. She didn’t stir again beyond a sleepy sigh and a little twitch of her fingers. I tucked the blanket around her hips and bent to grab my jeans, tugging them on. My shirt followed. My cut was the last thing I grabbed, slinging it over my shoulders and smoothing it down over my chest as I gave her one last look.
Even exhausted and worn out, she looked beautiful.
Hair mussed, skin flushed, mouth parted like she was still chasing the high I’d dragged out of her hours ago. All I could think was how fucking amazing she’d been. How pliant. Hungry. Perfectly mine.
I wouldn’t be gone long. Just a meeting. So I kissed her temple once more and left the room, intending to return shortly.
The compound was quiet as I made my way downstairs. Most of the guys were still in their rooms or just starting to stir. When I reached King’s office, the door was ajar, but I still knocked once before pushing it open.
Blaze stood at the corner of King’s desk, speaking quietly with the prez. Ace was lounging on one of the couches with his arms crossed, head tipped back, and eyes closed. Tomcat leaned against the wall near the bar, sipping a black coffee. And it was no surprise that Wizard was at the conference table with his laptop open, fingers flying over the keys, glaring as if the machine had personally insulted him.
King sat behind his desk, calm as ever. His big leather chair creaked when he leaned back and pinned me with an intense stare, his face wearing its ever-present scowl.
Tomcat glanced at the clock on the wall and gave me a slow smirk. “Damn, brother. Sun’s been up for a minute. You forget how to read a clock?”
Blaze snorted. “More like someone finally got laid and his legs were too weak to walk.”
I flipped him the bird as I pulled out a chair at the conference table and took a seat.
Ace didn’t even open his eyes. “Took you long enough. Thought we’d have to send a search party to pry you off her.”
“Would’ve lost volunteers real fucking fast,” Tomcat muttered. “No one’s interested in eating a bullet for seein’ something that doesn't belong to them.”
I lifted my chin at Tomcat in acknowledgment. He wasn’t wrong. Anyone who so much as glimpsed something that belonged only to me would find themselves shaking hands with the devil the next time they blinked. Then I muttered, “You done gossiping?”