Page 85 of Carnival
“That’s it, hellion,’’ he says, voice soft, but there’s the sinisterity in the edges, the one I’m too familiar with. “Let me see you come on my fingers like a good girl.’’
My eyes roll to the back of my head as he picks up the pace. His fingers pump in and out of me, touching that sweet spot inside me, all while managing to stroke my clit with his palm.
Fear and desire mix together, and I no longer have any control of my body. It all belongs to James. Every reaction, every single tear that rolls down my cheek, and every time orgasm threatens to spill out of me, it all belongs to him. He controls it, like a puppeteer master, and I’m the willing puppet.
His other hand reaches to touch my clit, and when he pinches it, I come undone. I scream out his name, my body arching, and one of the spiders manages to fall off me. My eyes roll to the back of my head in pure ecstasy, the orgasm hitting me harder than any before.
“That’s it, hellion. Milk my fingers.’’
My inner walls squeeze around his fingers, pulling them deeper inside while I ride the wave of my orgasm until I’m completely spent. I take a deep breath, trying to calm my rapidly beating heart.
James pulls his fingers out of me, then sucks them clean, staring right into my eyes. My throat closes up, but I try not to let him see it. Instead, I focus on getting myself back to Earth from that soul-shattering orgasm.
“The next time you act like a brat, you’ll get an even worse punishment, hellion.’’
32
Rose
I’d be lying if I said that this whole thing isn’t making me want to throw up in my mouth. The room is packed with tension, and even Noelle, who’s usually pretty good at keeping her composure and acting rationally in any given situation, is slowly getting irritated. Her lips are pulled into a thin, straight line, and she’s staring through the wall. Who knows where her thoughts have led her?
The two De Santis siblings and their respective partners are definitely still tired. Last week, they held a game of Kortlek, the first one where Aria participated without sneaking in as the prey and hoping for the best.
Doing that once was one too many times.
Noelle learned all of the hacking skills from her friend, Lucas, who ended up marrying her brother, Niko. She passed down the knowledge to Arlo, and I’m pretty confident he surpassed her a long time ago.
His fingers are gliding over the keyboard easily; the only sound in the room is our breathing and the keyboard. Aria’sholding in her breath, staring directly into Arlo’s side profile, as if that would make him work any faster. I’m shocked he hasn’t smacked her yet.
Blair is reading a book in the corner, seemingly unbothered. Well, it’s not that she’s completely unbothered. I caught her flicking her eyes toward Arlo whenever he’d pause his typing, her eyes lighting up with excitement, ever so slightly. But she’d go back to the book on her lap, and she’s definitely the most patient of us all.
Hudson is switching between shooting daggers at Cove and James, going back and forth between the two. They ignore him completely, both calm and collected, waiting for Arlo to finish the data collection of the chip that was in my arm.
There are four big monitors above Arlo’s head, and the fifth one, which I’m assuming is the main one, is where he’s currently waiting for some data to process. He’s tapping his index finger against the wooden desk, impatience radiating off him in waves. No one, however, dares to utter a word.
Arlo is a very scary man when he’s angry.
His bright, white hair, and that diamond tooth gem might suggest otherwise, but at the moment, he’s hands down one of the most feared killers in the United States. A true ghost — no one ever sees him come or go, but the dead bodies in his wake always remain.
How Blair tamed that madman is beyond me. Then again, I’m not in a much better predicament, either. James’ hand is on my thigh, possessively squeezing it from time to time. The warmth of his touch soothes my aching nerves, but whenever Arlo starts typing again, my restlessness starts showing.
Noelle’s eyes flick to mine, and suddenly, she’s out of the trance she was in. She offers a small smile of reassurance from across the couch, but I know that all of this is gnawing at her. Worry is evident on her face, no matter how much she tries to hide it.
“Fucking finally,’’ Arlo sighs, leaning back into the leather chair.
As if on cue, the rest of us rise from our sitting positions, circling around him, staring at the main monitor. The screen goes black for a couple of moments, then it lights up, and at least a hundred different folders start popping up, one by one.
My eyes skim through the titles, though they’re moving way too fast for me to catch them all. James wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him, his scent providing enough comfort for me to keep my impatience in check.
Arlo opens a few, and they’re just regular PDF files. He starts opening them, one by one, connecting them to the other monitors as well. Noelle and Hudson immediately take two, and Aria and Cove take the second, while James and I stare at the fourth one, with the main one left to Arlo and Blair.
I start reading internally, eyes gliding through the words. My entire body freezes, because by the fifth sentence, I immediately understand what I’m reading. These aren’t some silly, little files on corrupt politicians and dirty cops, and although they are mentioned by name, that’s not the main aspect.
Every single government secret of that time is right in front of us. I can’t hold in a gasp, my eyes widening as I continue to read, my palm flying to cover my mouth. James goes rigid, hand on my waist tightening.
“Holy shit,’’ Aria mumbles, staring at her own screen. “This is fucking madness.’’
“This is a bit outdated,’’ Hudson notes.
