Coda (Alexa O'Brien Huntress Book 13) Page 23

  “I wanted to try the chocolate mousse.” Falon reached for the phone beside the bed, giving me the side eye. “You know I’ve memorized every inch of your body. Covering up does nothing to change that.”

  Nudity in general wasn’t much of an issue. Being a werewolf changed that fast. Being nude with Falon, lying around together, talking, naked… It felt weird. I wasn’t sure it was something I wanted to get used to.

  “Who says we have to stop?” I countered. “It’s not like you need the time to recharge.”

  “Like I said. Chocolate mousse. Don’t worry, Alexa. I plan to make you scream my name before I go.” He made the call down to room service, assessing my fading bruises. After hanging up, he asked, “Jez kick your ass?”

  “She did.” I nodded, unable to keep from laughing. “I let some of it happen. She seemed to need the release. Most of it is pure Jez though.”

  Falon’s silver wings settled around him as he rolled onto his back and folded his hands beneath his head. “At least it wasn’t your other half, who by the way, apologized to your sister before he left. She told him to fuck off and die, of course, but he didn’t rip her head off in response. So I’d say that’s growth.”

  “It’s not growth.” The edge of a wing brushed against my leg. I eyed it, itching to feel more of those feathers against my skin. “It was Shaz. He keeps Arys from going too far.”

  Falon raised an inquisitive brow. “Oh? Funny. I thought his keystone link to you two had been dissolved.”

  “It was. Shaz and Arys have their own way of dealing with one another. Shaz knows how to talk to him.” I reached for the feathers resting against my leg, touching the tips with a finger. “Whatever you and me are to each other, that’s what Shaz and Arys are. In a way.”

  In a big way. They’d started by throwing fists and grown to develop a strange affection for each other. Now they went to each other for pleasure, to feed their addiction for one another.

  Hearing myself say it to someone else felt weird but not wrong. I was cool with their relationship. It didn’t take much for one of them to throw a punch at the other, usually Shaz, but it didn’t change the fierce loyalty and understanding that had developed between them.

  Thinking of it that way, perhaps the two of them weren’t much like Falon and me after all.

  “Makes sense,” Falon mused. “You’re both suffering the same breakdown, seeking the same kind of outlets for it. I assume you’re breaking down hard and fast now.”

  A scowl stole over my face. The single finger I stroked over his feathers became two. I wanted to roll around on that big wing and feel those feathers all over my body. “You’re supposed to keep me from thinking about that shit. Not remind me how bleak things are.”

  Falon tipped his head to look at me and stretched that wing out further, inviting more of my touch. “You really have no idea who you are, do you?”

  A knock at the door interrupted. Falon rolled off the bed, wings disappearing from sight as he strode toward the door unashamedly naked.

  “Wait, what do you mean by that?” I called after him.

  He reached for the door handle and paused to glance back at me. “We’ve been over this, Alexa. You’re the Queen of Light and Dark.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Falon opened the door, managing to keep his lower half concealed behind it. He told the room service guy to tip himself on my credit card. That right there should’ve infuriated me. But I was too hung up on what he’d just said.

  Queen of Light and Dark. He’d called me that the night I took on Willow, making him human. I hadn’t thought much of it since. Now I gaped at the fallen angel. He swung the door shut and dipped a finger into the whipped cream atop his chocolate mousse.

  “What the hell does that mean?” I demanded, finding my voice. Clutching the pillow to my chest, I pinned him with a piercing stare.

  Falon slid onto the bed beside me, leaning against the headboard. “Why do you look so scared? You’d think I just told you that the grim reaper died and you’re his replacement.”

  “Shut up.” I flicked his chest, annoyed when he dabbed whipped cream on the end of my nose. I wiped it off with the back of my hand and scowled. “Why did you call me that? You’re the only one who has. People call me a lot of things, but that’s a new one.”

  He let me suffer, spooning chocolate mousse into his mouth instead of answering. He had to make a big deal out of it, slowly sliding the spoon from between his lips before capturing a stray dollop of whipped cream with the tip of his tongue. Watching him eat that damn dessert messed with my head, among other parts.

  I nudged him with a foot.

  He dragged his tongue along the edge of the spoon. “I told you, Alexa. It’s my job to know things.”

  Suspicious now, I sat up straighter, angled to face him. “Stop fucking with me and tell me what you think you know.”

  He chuckled, swirling the spoon in the chocolatey dessert. I didn’t miss food much, but watching him eat that dessert like it was a woman, I started to miss chocolate like crazy.

  “What I think is that you’re too tightly wound for a woman who was just fucked up against the bathroom wall.” Falon stuck the spoon in the dessert cup to free up a hand so he could tug the pillow from my grasp. “What I know is that you’re no mere vampire queen. You’re more than that.”

  Without the pillow I felt exposed. Stupid, really, I knew that. I wrapped my arms around my raised knees, hugging them to me. “Go on.”

  He tossed the pillow off the bed though his gaze never left me. “You are where light meets dark, the force that joins them. A rarity. Some might even say an abomination, while others would believe a holy godsend. It’s a rare few who command the power of both light and dark, life and death.”

  Puzzled, I studied him. Falon had a different way about him when calm and serious. He seemed softer somehow. Not so many hard edges. And there was something in his eyes, a flash of light, there and then gone.

  He wasn’t saying anything I didn’t already know. Yet there was something in the way he said it that tripped me up.

  “Alright, I know that part.” I shivered when he touched my ankle, encircling it with his hand. “Why are you making it so weird? Like you know something I don’t.”

  “I know many things you don’t.” He set the dessert on the bedside table and grasped my other ankle. “What you’re capable of, you can’t even fathom. But I know. As do others.” Firm but gentle, he pulled my legs apart. Falon slid his hands up the inside of each calf.

  I sucked in a breath. “Care to enlighten me?” I asked, breathy with the steady rise of his hands.

  “If anyone can figure out how to mend the rift between twin flames, it’s you, Hound.” Falon pressed his face to my thigh, a hand delving into the warmth between my legs.

  My lower lip trembled as he stoked the embers of my fire. Leaning back on one arm, I slid my other hand through his hair. The heat of his mouth on my skin ignited my arousal. He slid a finger inside me, and I sighed.

  Falling back against the bed, I forced my brain to work. I got the feeling he wanted to shut me up, but I wasn’t finished asking questions. “Is that even possible? Why would you say something like that? Are you fucking with me?”

  “You talk too fucking much, you know that?” Falon pushed himself up so he knelt over me on the bed. Gazing down at me, a lazy grin graced his face. “What’s possible is limited only by what you’re capable of. If the tie that binds can be severed, then might we presume that it can also be rejoined?” He coaxed a moan from me as his skilled fingers found the sweet spot. Meanwhile he buried his face in my breasts.

  I gripped his broad shoulders. “But the force that divides us,” I murmured, quickly losing my ability to converse.

  Falon raised his head to meet my gaze. “Is not as strong as you are,” he finished. “It’s merely a matter of discovering how to defeat it. Now then, that’s enough out of you.”

  Withdrawing his fingers he grabbed me b
y the waist and flipped me over, jerking me up onto my hands and knees. Gripping a handful of my ass, Falon guided himself to my entrance and filled me with one smooth thrust.

  Although I was perfectly aware that he’d somehow just shared something profound with me, I couldn’t focus on it. Not with him behind me, holding my hips, each thrust more powerful than the last.

  I could feel him watching as he slid in and out of me. His desire soaked the atmosphere, and I drank it in. Without warning he pulled out and flopped down against the headboard before dragging me onto his lap facing him. I slid down the inviting length of him, watching his face as I did.

  His silver eyes were heavy lidded, like he was drugged by every touch. Every stroke. His upper lip curled slightly, brows knit together as he watched me move atop him. Letting his head fall back against the headboard, Falon wrapped a lock of my hair around his pinky finger.

  Opening my eyes after orgasm to see a self-satisfied smirk painted on his perfect face pissed me off. “You’ve become far too complacent when we fuck,” I muttered. “I’m not here to feed your ego.” I went to climb off him.

  Falon caught hold of me. “Pretty sure I decide what I get out of this. Where are you going?”

  “I’m getting dressed.” I tried to jerk free, but he held tight.

  “What’s the rush?” Falon pushed his still hard dick against me.

  I glanced toward the curtain-covered window. “You know sunrise is coming. It’s going to chase your ass away in a few minutes. I’ll probably be stuck here for the day.”

  Falon shrugged, refusing to be threatened by the sun. “Make you come again before the sun rises? Challenge accepted.” The cocky grin he wore almost convinced me.

  Then it ticked me off. “See, that’s what I mean. I’m not sure your ego can handle this relationship anymore.”

  “I’d like to see you survive what’s coming without me.” Tracing a finger over my jaw, Falon raised a mischievous brow. “You need to unleash the crazy all over my cock. I think that’s how you put it.”

  Yes, I had. Because there was no better way to sum it up. His finger drifted too close to my mouth, and I bit it before sucking the tip between my lips. He groaned softly.

  “That’s a two-way street, you know,” I purred. “You pretend like you can give me up any time, but that’s bullshit, and we both know it. And what do you mean survive what’s coming?”

  He watched me drag my tongue around the tip of his finger. “Something is always coming down the line for people like us. The night you died, I watched you slip away, and I knew you’d come back to grab the underworld by the balls.”

  I froze. A flashback to that night came unbidden. As I died in Arys’s arms, Falon had watched us, his expression distant and hard to read. But I’d been fading fast, unable to focus on anything but the approach of death.

  “You did?” Confused I sat up straighter. I suspected another layer of Falon was peeling back.

  His hand slipped around the nape of my neck, and he pulled me closer to brush his lips over mine. “You never should’ve been able to tap my power. It confirmed what a lot of us already know. You’re a force to be reckoned with. That’s why The Circle wants you. It’s why many people want you. Have you ever considered that you’re addiction in its purest form?”

  My eyes widened, and I pulled back to search him. I still hovered over him, straddling his lap. “Have you lost your mind? Like, completely? Looks like you’ve been fucked senseless too.”

  “I’m serious.” Hands on my waist, Falon flipped me onto my back and nudged my legs open with a knee. “You lure the vampires with blood, but what about your wolf? What about me? Have you ever had a lover who was not in some way addicted to you?”

  Gazing down at me with both wonder and suspicion, he grabbed each of my legs in turn and wrapped them around his waist. I tried to argue but found myself with nothing. Because he wasn’t wrong.

  Shaz craved my bite. When he sought the same rush in a random vampire, he learned that what he wanted could only be found in me because of our bond, Arys as well. Even Raoul had kept coming back to me for more, long after we’d stopped sleeping together. He’d had a steady harem of women, but he always tried to get me back into his bed.

  And Falon, that one didn’t need much consideration. We both knew how things stood between us.

  “I don’t know. I don’t think so.” I gasped when Falon entered me, inch by precious inch. As if we had all the time in the world when in fact we raced against the sun.

  “You know,” Falon sighed, nestled deep within me, “some might see you as pretty damn dangerous if you can tap the power of every person linked with you.”

  Yeah, I could see how that might be a problem. Unfortunately, I couldn’t give a shit with him inside me.

  “Do you?” I asked in a moan. Holding tight to his lower back, I eagerly met his thrusts.

  He chuckled, a low, sexy sound near my ear. “Fuck yes. But it doesn’t matter now. I’m in too deep. Literally.”

  “So not funny,” I whispered before my voice dissolved into gasps.

  Falon had me pleading, screaming his name, by the time sunrise rolled around. With minutes to spare we rolled apart.

  He fetched his clothing from the bathroom floor and emerged fully dressed, dangling my underwear from a finger. When I reached for them, he jerked them away and tucked them into a pocket. “I’m sure you don’t mind if I add these to my collection.”

  I frowned. “Hey, did you swipe the cute black-and-white checkered pair? I can’t find them anywhere.”

  Falon chuckled. “I guess you’ll never know.”

  Then he was gone, leaving me with a lot to think about.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  I started with the massive soaker tub. Seeing as I was confined to the hotel for the day, I decided to make the most of it.

  After hanging the ‘do not disturb’ sign on the door, I filled the tub with hot water and bubbles, then submerged myself. I made an effort to reach out to my sister with a phone call. She promptly sent me to voicemail. So I set the phone on the counter and pondered what Falon had said.

  And I pondered it until I couldn’t possibly think about it for another second. My lovers, all addicted to me in some manner? So I could tap their power and use it as my own.

  It explained why Falon had been so worked up to first discover I’d somehow marked him as mine. It also explained why the evil entity had wanted me to. Why it wanted me to be its queen. Unfortunately, it also explained why people like Shya wanted to exploit me for their own gain and why many others viewed me as a threat, someone who could never be trusted.

  What stood out greater than anything else Falon had said though was his suggestion that perhaps I could somehow fix the damage done to Arys and I. Would the asshole angel lie about such a thing? Surely even Falon wouldn’t be that cruel.

  Again I sent out a silent plea to Salem. I needed to see him.

  After a hot bath that left me feeling sleepy and relaxed, I crawled into the big hotel bed and passed out on a small mountain of pillows. Slumber was fitful. Every time I rolled over or heard a noise in the hall, it roused me. Maybe I’d never enjoy a peaceful sleep again, but I slept the day away to the best of my ability.

  At sundown I rose to face another night. If it could be half as eventful as the previous few, that’d be swell.

  A change of clothes and a few toiletries kept me from having to make a trip home. I’d put the room on my credit card full time. Seeing how often I came by, I’d started leaving a bag of things for such occasions.

  Another call to my sister went unanswered. I didn’t bother leaving a message.

  I followed up with a call to Jez who was tired after the inevitable power crash but otherwise feeling better about finally knowing what she’d inherited from her father. Gabriel had soothed much of her anxiety, and she’d already reached out to Spike, Crimson Sin’s guitarist and a badass nephilim in her own right. Naturally, Smudge had come to Jez as soon as s
he’d called. I had a good feeling about those two. Between the three of them, she was in good hands. I felt confident that she’d master her abilities in no time. Jez was a fighter that way.

  When I left the hotel, The Wicked Kiss was my first stop. I needed to see Willow.

  In my core I felt the hollow pit bloom a little bigger. I needed to see Arys too. But he wasn’t there. It was early yet. He was probably still at home. Maybe with Shaz.

  Everything Falon said lurked in the back of my mind. I wanted to tell Shaz and Arys so they could help me make some sense of it. It was too soon to hope too hard, but if Falon was right, if there was a way to mend the rift between Arys and me, we couldn’t give up until we found it.

  “I want out of here, O’Brien,” Briggs called as I passed his room. The door stood open, and he lounged on the bed, a woman I’d never seen before beside him.

  I paused in the hallway. “Have a nice visit with Juliet?”

  Briggs glowered, his face morphing into a mask of vehemence. “After your fucking vampire got a taste of her? Not particularly. I don’t want her in here anymore, and if Arys touches so much as one hair on her head—”

  I snapped. Maybe it was his tone. Or possibly the self-righteous conceit in his eyes. But more than likely it was the threat he was about to deliver. Against Arys.

  With a hand on Briggs’s throat, I dragged him from the bed and pasted him against the wall. His lady friend squealed and clutched the blankets.

  “You threaten Arys and you threaten me. That shit is not gonna fly. I don’t need any more reasons to kill you, Briggs.” An aggressive power pulse had him struggling and straining. I let him drop.

  He slid down the wall, eyes burning with hatred. “Kill me or let me go, O’Brien. You have no reason to keep me here.”

  He was right. I didn’t. If I killed him my sister would despise me more than she already did. Getting him out of that building and away from the entity had been my goal. Once Briggs had escaped its manipulative whispers, he’d come back to himself and shown substantial restraint.