Page 116 of House of Pain
Blaze forced his hands on her shoulders, his thumbs moving in circles over her soft, delicate skin.
“I already had my dick sucked right before we came here,” he said. Val’s lips pressed into a tight line. He brushed a thumb over her cheek. “Next time.”
Val lingered for a moment, her eyes narrowed as she searched his face.
And then she whirled on her heel and strolled away, back into the party, leaving Blaze leaning against the wall in the dark corridor.
He sighed, tipping his head back to the wall as he buckled his belt.
Shewas already ruining his fucking life.
And for the very first time, Blaze didn’t know what to do to stop it.
Worse—he wasn’t sure he wanted to stop it.
39
On a Wednesday night, the sound of a nail tapping at the glass woke Alecto up.
She opened her eyes to find her room dark, the clock on her bedside table showing a mere three o’clock.
The witching hour.
It was silent. Alecto sighed, rubbing her eyes. She hated waking up in the middle of the night for no reason.
After a few more moments of listening to the night and not hearing any more weird sounds, Alecto turned on her side, and the blood in her veins froze.
Just outside her window, a creature lurked. The moment their eyes locked, it cocked its skeletal owl head to the side and lifted one of its limbs to her window. A claw, long and sharp, landed on the glass.
Alecto had to cover her ears at the screeching sound the claw made as it dragged along the glass. Her insides recoiled.
She sat up, throwing her legs over the side of her bed as she narrowed her eyes and inspected the creature. It was a Hellbate, one of the many deadly creatures roaming the Cursed Forest.
Alecto blinked, her heart racing. No creatures wandered away from the Cursed Forest on their own, so what the Hel was this monster doing at her window?
A long claw tapped on her window again, and Alecto’s muscles seized. But then she remembered.
The protection wards.
Their whole House was secured. No chance in Hel this thing was getting inside.
She was going to kill Blaze. It probably followed her here all the way from the forest, tracking her smell when he left her there.
Fucker.
Just as Alecto was about to get back into her bed, ignoring the creepy thing watching her, a scream pierced the night, coming from somewhere inside the House.
She was on her feet and out into the corridor. One by one, all the doors opened, and witches and warlocks streamed down the corridor, terrified.
Alecto glanced around, swallowing the panic as she threw herself into the closest room. There were two Hellbates at the window, staring through the glass with their bloodshot eyes.
One flickered its black tongue, licking the glass and leaving a nasty streak of saliva behind.
“They can’t get inside!” Alecto shouted, returning to the corridor. “Calm the fuck down.”
Another scream came from downstairs, and Alecto ran to the top of the stairs at the same time that Val and Blaze appeared.
“What the fuck—”
