Siren Awakened - C.R. Jane Page 0,33

passage, I stepped out into a familiar hall where Alaric and the snake shifter had first fought.

People were everywhere, the place reminding me of a busy sidewalk on Christmas Eve filled with angry shoppers.

I darted across the hallway and stayed near the wall to not be seen, then made a beeline for Alaric’s room. I peered inside as I reached the doorway, only to find it empty.

“He’s not home.” A deep guttural voice came from behind me, a voice I recognized all too well. A delightful shiver raced up my back as I turned to Laz.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

He leaned an arm against the wall, staring at me with those deep eyes that brought back so many memories of our time together. An escape from everything else, and yet in his presence, my body flared awake with arousal. Those perfect full lips curled upward into a mischievous grin. Everything about him called to me when it shouldn’t have.

“You are in my quarter, darling. And I’m surprised you’re back here after what happened last time.”

I stiffened, well aware of what he referred to, but instead, I wrenched my head to the side and studied everyone minding their own business for a change. “It looks like the rest of the prison to me. Plus, I don’t run away from fear.”

His lips arched wider, and just having him stare at me with such admiration had me picturing that mouth, warm and soft, demanding across my mouth. Taking what he wanted. My nipples hardened in response.

I pushed away from him. “Have fun,” I said and turned to walk away.

Suddenly, he snatched the back of my neck and hauled me toward him. Before I had the chance to protest, his lips brushed against mine, tender at first, then hard. With his other arm sweeping across my back, he walked me backward and right into Alaric’s prison cell.

My back hit the wall, and his body crushed mine. Hands drifted up my arms. Something overcame me, and I lifted my hands, cupping his face and kissing him back. I hadn’t come here to make out with Laz, but I worried I’d opened up a Pandora’s box when it came to him.

Finally, we broke apart and reality crashed through me that I was kissing the hellhound in Alaric’s room. He would go ballistic if he found out, and the guy had connections everywhere. Fuck. I didn’t want Laz dead.

I shoved him off me, then slapped his face, anger rising through me. “Why did you do that?”

He didn’t even seem to feel my hand striking his cheek, but instead grinned. “Little one, a small pack of snake shifters were headed down this hallway, and you’re not exactly their favorite person. So count yourself lucky I just saved that sweet ass of yours.”

I glanced outside to people casually walking past the prison cell. My lips ached from his hard kiss, my body straining for him, and my nipples grazing the fabric of my bra each time I moved only added to the growing desire.

“You did that for me?” I asked, turning to look at him as he ran a hand through his hair. And the bulge in his pants didn’t go amiss either. He was a beast of a man in size all around.

“You seem surprised.”

“Well, not many people in the penitentiary go out of their way to help others.” I shrugged, eyeing Alaric’s room. The simple bed. Clothes folded perfectly on the shelves in the back. Two books sat on the table near the bed, and not much else. Nothing personal, though I didn’t know why it surprised me. If he had the secret television room, why would he leave anything personal in the room?

“Want to see something?” Laz asked.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Is that some euphemism for…” I lowered my gaze to the way his cock tented his orange pants.

He laughed, the sound a cross between a howl and the deep kind of noise that came from the pit of his stomach. Then he reached down and groped himself. “My one-eyed monster is yours whenever you want him, babe.” He cocked an eyebrow. “But that’s not what I meant.”

“What then?” On purpose, I ignored his comment about him offering himself to me whenever, refusing to flirt before I ended up in Alaric’s bed with him.

His hand slid into mine, and he guided me outside. “Follow me.”

Was I being a fool in getting close to him, holding his hand in public? Technically, I wasn’t