“Infamously no.” He smiles, nudging his sliding specs back into place. “Same time next week. You have my emergency line if the meeting proves challenging.”
The door clicks shut behind me when I escape with a final nod. Rather than my usual deflating routine after escaping one of Richards’s sessions, I stand still. Breathing. Blinking. Adjusting to the new, strange lightness inside my chest.
“Did you finally snap and kill him?”
My head turns, finding Blaine lingering nearby on my immediate right. We haven’t been alone together since he returned in the dead of night, but I was relieved by his arrival.
“Not quite,” I hedge.
“Pity.” He lazily eyes me up. “Want me to do it for you?”
“Pretty sure that would get you permanently booted off the team.”
“Perhaps.” His usual smirk is especially shark-like today. “But it would appear I’m more vital than your team leader previously thought.”
Looking over his battered face, the discoloured skin stark against his short, jet-black locks and obsidian stare, I can’t help but wince. I’ve watched him fight before, but he took no prisoners. Seeing Blaine injured is wholly unfamiliar.
“That looks painful.”
“I’ve had worse.” Blaine pushes off from the wall to inch closer. “Worth it too.”
“Blaine–”
“Whatever speech you have lined up, don’t bother.”
“Who said I have a speech prepared?” I snipe at him.
“You’ve had enough time to think and doubt,” he responds like it’s obvious. “But it will hold no bearing on my intentions. I’m here because you want me to be, and little else matters now.”
“I wasn’t sure if you’d come back.”
“Here I am. Satisfied?”
He halts in front of me, chin tucked to peer down at my expression. His tongue flicks out to roll over the silver lip piercing that takes the brunt of his frustration while thinking. It’s a tic that I often find myself observing.
The scent of bergamot mingles with his leather jacket, forming an addictive concoction that hooks me in. I find myself edging closer. Blaine’s dark, understated aura of raw power never fails to intrigue.
“What do you want from me?” I whisper thickly.
“Your soul, if it’s available.”
“That’s a little bit complicated right now. But… I don’t regret our kiss.”
He preens like a deadly jungle cat eyeing up its next meal. The glimmering, midnight-blue flecks that pepper his irises seem to glow, deepening the velvety depths.
“Then I’ll take whatever you’re willing to give, sweetheart.” Blaine’s lip curls in a cocky grin.
“You understand what that means? There are others involved here.”
“Believe me, I’m aware of exactly who else is involved.” He captures the end of my braid, fingertips stroking the dyed-blonde tip. “It doesn’t scare me in the slightest.”
“Because you trust them, or because you intend to eliminate them?”
“Ah, Ember.” Blaine tuts. “Still so impatient. No more spoilers.”
Tugging on my braid, he guides me forward to ever so lightly brush his mouth on mine. Not a kiss. Not even a tease. It’s a mere whisper that absolves the insecurity his disappearance built inside me.
Surging desire and unmet need make me dizzy. Despite everything, I want something from each of them. Blaine included. The heart-pounding danger he incites inside me can’t be fulfilled by anyone else.
