Page 116 of A Taste of Torment
I sniff. “By the way, Bea. I left some stuff in your room. Can I get them back in a bit?”
“Sure thing, babe. Maybe you’ll give me the sweet tea in private.”
I blush again.Dammit.
I’ve never dealt with attention near as intense as I do here. At my old school, one glare would send most of the busybodies running.
Here, well, I’m less in my element. I’d like the opportunity to set them straight when I feel uncomfortable.
The question is, how?
I consider what more I can use to my advantage other than potions. Maybe I’ll start looking into magical objects. Or better yet, ones I can create. If I can orchestrate some new forms of magical objects, I could not only become really powerful, but I could create a business even more lucrative and influential than my parents.
It’ll take a lot of research, studying, creativity, and time experimenting. This isn’t a few-months-long project. It’s years.
Potions first, I tell myself. Maybe I’ll look into a few objects, but creating my own will be a next step kind of thing.
The topic of conversation turns away from Jarron and me, finally.
“How was the other prince of the Under World’s night?” Manuela asks.
“Perfect, as usual.” Bea’s marks have not changed, but my lips part when I notice Trevor has fresh puncture wounds. Guess I should have expected it goes both ways when the couple is two demons.
“Just the two of you? It’s been a while since you left alone,” Jarron asks.
Stassi pants. “I know. I’m so jealous.”
Bea chuckles. “Yes, we were a little vanilla last night. What about you two, though? Did you finally break out those chains building dust in your closet?”
My cheeks burn.
Trevor laughs. “They’re taking it slow, remember?”
“Mhmm,” Bea answers, a knowing glint in her eye.
“I heard the big alpha gave you some trouble last night,” Manuela says. “Rumor has it, you almost took off his head.”
Jarron sighs. “He insulted us both. He’s lucky he kept his head intact.”
“Daddy saved the day.” Trevor laughs.
“I remember the last person to insult our relationship,” Bea purrs. “Don’t you?”
Trevor snorts. “Don’t tell that story.”
“Yes! Tell the story!” Manuela says excitedly. “I love torture stories.”
I flinch. Torture?
Bea grins at me. “We sometimes use our handcuffs in different ways.” She wiggles her brows.“I was alone in the city, meeting a friend for business. A vamp told me I’d never keep Trevor’s interest so I may as well give him a taste. He tried too. Idiot. Trevor was shocked when I brought him back to our apartment, strung him up, and bled him out while we—well, you get the idea.”
I shiver.Holy crap.
She waves at me. “He was fine. Just really hungry when we finally set him free, with a spell that forbid him from feeding on anything but goats for a month. I’m sure that was fun for him.” She licks her blood red lips.
“Not one vamp has looked in her direction since,” Trevor says, voice low and full of pride.
All right, I may never be as extreme as Bea, but I do envy her reputation. The pride in Trevor’s voice. If she were ever a target, she could handle the threat herself. Trevor didn’t drag the vamp back to their room; she did.
