Page 28 of House of Ruin
It had been quite some time since their little moment in his room, and Blaze had been craving the touch of her skin, the warmth of her body against his like an addict craved another fix.
But it had to be spectacular. Next time he had Alecto, it wouldn’t be as a quick fuck while he was wasted.
Blaze inhaled another drag, letting his lungs burn as he held it inside. After a few heartbeats, his head started swimming, his limbs suddenly light.
No, when Blaze got his hands on Alecto, he’d make sure she was incapable of walking straight for three days.
A lady doesn’t kiss and tell.
Like Hel she did.
Flickering the butt of the cigarette into the street, Blaze returned inside. As he walked back to his seat at the bar, he rubbed his numb palms together.
Surprisingly, nobody had taken his seat at the bar, most people settling in groups around the tables and in the booths.
And Blaze’s unfinished drink still sat there, a coaster resting on top.
Blaze threw the cover to the side before tipping his glass up as he swallowed the rest of the whiskey, already waving for Garson to bring him another.
12
“Cinnamon roll or a brownie?” Jolene asked, inspecting the desserts while she chewed on her nail. “Cinnamon roll or a brownie?”
Alecto yawned, not even bothering to cover her mouth with her hand while she waited for her friend to finally decide. In her hands, Alecto held a tray with her breakfast—the largest cup of black coffee, a cinnamon roll resting on the plate next to it. The usual.
“Why don’t you get both?” Alecto asked.
Jolene straightened her back, glancing at Alecto. She pushed her long thick hair aside while her gaze scanned Alecto.
“Easy for you to say, long legs,” Jolene teased with a smirk. “But you might be right. Kaliad, can I have the cinnamon rollandthe brownie, please? Don’t bother with separate plates. Pack them on top of each other. Thanks!”
With a sigh, Alecto followed Jolene to the cash register, where they paid for the food, and then they walked to their usual table. The rest of the Inner Circle was already there. Also, today Gael had joined them, and he was next to Andro, grinning wide as Andro whispered something in his ear.
Val sat next to Andro, eyeing the two with disgust, which was an amusing sight. To Alecto’s surprise, Blaze had settled on the chair next to Alecto’s. Ignoring the way her heartbeat picked up its pace, she slid into her chair, placing the tray in front of her.
“I heard Lagavulin’s poetry night was pushed back because of Riverblood’s death,” Val said, kicking Andro’s chair so the boys would quit the flirting. Her dark gaze screamed,Time to talk business.
“Ah, mm-hmm, yes,” Andro replied, smiling. He ruffled Val’s hair, making a mess out of her short pixie cut and she batted him away, cursing colorfully. “Miss Bitch Rathone just sent in the updated invitation to everyone in class.”
From one of the folders lying next to Andro’s plate of half-eaten eggs with bacon, he fished out an emerald-green envelope and gave it to Val. She took out the ivory note, reading over it quickly. Then she nodded and threw the invitation on the table.
“It’s a good thing it wasn’t cancelled,” Val said. All eyes around the table focused on her. “We need to use it to sniff around and see if we can find out anything about the murder from other students. Someone’s got to know something.”
Jolene snorted. “I don’t think a poetry night is an event where someone’s going to share their secrets.”
“You can never know,” Blaze said. “We might get lucky.”
“Indeed.” Andro nodded. “But we have to be careful how we go about it. If we ask the wrong questions, we are going to doom ourselves.”
Val wasn’t focused on Andro and his dire need to stay safe, looking at something over Alecto’s shoulder instead.
“What are you looking at?” Alecto asked.
Two obsidian eyes flickered to Alecto.
“The Tigers haven’t picked a new leader yet.” Val spoke slowly, as if weighting every word. “Damon Soress is really the only one who would fit the role. Yet it hasn’t happened. I thought he might be the one who killed Riverblood for the title of High Priest, but he doesn’t seem interested in taking on Riverblood’s role.”
Behind Alecto, by one of the massive dining tables, sat what was left of the House of Tigers. Damon Soress occupied the seat at the head of the table, RebeccafuckingMoon sitting on his right, batting her eyelashes hard while she listened to him speak.
