Ravage (Royal Fae Academy #1) - Lacey Carter Andersen Page 0,2
me. I moan and press harder against him, arousal uncoiling within me. I don’t always get horny when I feed, but Bron has always been a weakness of mine.
My lips are pressing against his throat before I realize what I’m doing.
Suddenly his emotions cut off from me, and I sag against him, gasping for breath. Yes. I’m full, but I wanted so much more than this. I wanted him.
“Sorry,” he murmurs. “I pulled back too fast.”
His arms around me keep me from falling, but slowly I slide my arms around his neck and open my eyes. He’s staring at me in a way I’ve never seen him do before, and even I know pure lust when I see it right in front of me. I reach my senses out, but his walls are firmly up, and I hate that they are because I want to prove what I can see.
“Esmeray.” My name is almost a groan of desire. “We need to talk.”
“Talk?” I say. No, we don’t need to talk, we need to fuck.
“Yeah.” He clears his throat. “Have you seen your brother?”
Every muscle in my body tenses. “What the hell do you mean? He’s at the academy, with you. Isn’t he?”
A guarded look comes over Bron’s face. “If you see him, I want you to call me. You have my number, right?”
I jerk out of his arms. “What are you talking about? Is he okay?”
“You have my number?”
I shove him. “What’s going on? Talk to me!”
He glares and reaches out, grabbing me by the arm.
I try to jerk back from him, but he pulls me against him. “Do I need to put my number in your fucking phone, or do you have it?”
Without thinking, I try to smack him.
He catches my other arm, and his gaze moves down to my cleavage. Again, a wave of arousal radiates off him for the briefest moment before it disappears. And I know damn well he must be upset to have let his guard down.
“Tell me what’s going on,” I repeat again. “He’s my best friend. If he’s in danger—“
“He’s probably fine,” Bron tells me, and I can’t be sure if his words are a lie. “I just worry.”
Suddenly, he releases me and steps away. “Go home, Esmeray. Be safe.”
When he turns and starts walking out of the alley, I follow. “What the hell kind of cryptic meeting was this?”
He doesn’t answer, just keeps going, his back straight, a I don’t give a shit swagger as he walks. When he finally stops, I realize he’s standing beside my car in the parking lot.
“Don’t tell anyone I was here,” he says. “And don’t worry about anything, I’m sure he’s fine.”
“Damn it, Bron!” I glare at him.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers, then turns and walks away.
I almost chase him, but if Bron is anything like the boy I remember, he’s stubborn as hell. If he’s decided not to tell me anything, then nothing I say is going to change his mind.
Getting into my sports car, I turn on the engine and gun it home. When I get there I’m calling my brother, and I’m not stopping until he answers and tells me he’s safe.
Our family has far too many enemies not to watch out for each other.
2
Esmeray
By the time I reach our lands on the outskirts of the city, a storm has blown in. Thunder rumbles above me and lightning splits the sky. Normally, weather that I love. Weather that I like to dance in with the ghosts in the graveyard, or howl in with the monsters in the woods.
But for the first time in my life, the weather feels…ominous. Like a warning of something terrible to come.
When the gates in front of our manor part, and I start down the long, dark driveway, something feels off. Never before have I minded being left alone while my parents traipse about the world, and my brother attends the prestigious Royal Fae Academy. But tonight, I don’t just feel alone. I feel…lonely.
I hit the button for the garage and steer my car into its usual spot. Then, killing the engine, I do what I was too afraid to do at the club. I call my brother. The line rings and rings, even though this late at night he should be wide awake. By the third unanswered phone call, I realize that I’m shaking.
Closing the garage door on the lightning and the rain, I walk past the twelve cars parked perfectly parallel to each other and enter our house.