[THIS STORY WILL BE TAKEN DOWN ON SEPTEMBER 30, 2024]
He had hunted me, captured me, and locked me in a tower.
Season 3 'Of Crows and Thorns'
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While in RISING, Tabitha discovers something peculiar that may assist Nelle in her plan to escape the...
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Before I could open the door, Graysen got there first, turning the handle and standing aside to allow Sage and me to enter first before following me inside and ducking into the bathroom. I went straight for the kitchen, switching off the flashlight and tossing it onto the couch as I strode past. I carefully placed the canvas bags on the granite counter, making sure the one that wriggled wasn't going to fall off, and then I quickly got to work while Graysen was in the shower.
It only took a few minutes. I'd done the same thing yesterday morning and the effects of the residue should appear within 24 hours. I was just giving it a helping hand by reapplying a second coating. I discarded the crushed and bruised leaves and the gardening gloves in the trash bin neatly concealed within a pullout drawer in the kitchen before beginning my second just-as-spiteful-as-the-first plan. Pulling out the silver kettle, I filled it with water and pressed down the switch to start it boiling.
Sage cocked his head to the side in curiosity as he sat on the kitchen tiles, watching as I rose up to claim a coffee mug and the salt shaker from a shelf. I unscrewed the shaker's lid and dipped a teaspoon inside to carefully collect a teaspoon of the white grains, sprinkling it into the mug. I heard the tell-tale sound of the shower being turned off. Hurrying to the bookshelf of numerous car magazines, in date order no less, I snatched one out and swiped my finger along the edge of a single glossy page. Heat and pain flared outward from the paper cut on my forefinger and a fat bead of blood burst from the ruptured skin. Sliding the magazine back in place, I moved back to the kitchen and let three droplets of blood splash into the coffee mug that bled through the salt collected at the bottom and turned it pink.
The shrill sound of the kettle boiling pierced the air as Graysen swaggered out of the bathroom with a towel loosely wrapped around his hips and hung so low that delicious masculine V was on show along with the smattering of dark hair. As he strode to his make-shift wardrobe his gaze sliced to me before dropping to my mouth and lingered. Dark sensuality lowered his eyelids in hunger.
A look he didn't even bother trying to hide.
His craving had surrounded us both the last few days, thickening the air like a bonfire catching and smoke spilling out with rolling heat. It would be so easy to step inside the raging flames and let myself burn. And for a moment a mindless hum crept up my throat as I briefly closed my eyes, that sensual stare whispering over my lips and evoking memories of steam-damp skin sliding against one another when our two bodies were entwined. Ever since the bathroom escapade he'd been thinking about our kiss and I'd been thinking about it too. The way his demanding lips had moved over mine while his brutal hands roamed as much as mine had done too. Both of us at war, wanting to dominate the other with slashes of red poetry, biting teeth, and clashing tongues that spoke more of our truth than we were willing to say aloud.
I'd dealt with my body's traitorous reaction to our kiss by once more becoming snarky the past few days, while he simply disregarded my blatant rudeness at every single turn.
