Page 60 of A Taste of Torment
Part of me wants to beg him not to stop. Which is kind of the problem.
He leans in until his nose just barely grazes my ear. “Candice,” he whispers, and I swear I’m one step away from throwing my head back and whimpering like a simpering fool.
I leap up from the chair, panting like I’ve just run a marathon.
His eyes betray his surprise, but his lips curl into a smug smile.
“I think that’s enough for now.”
“Okay.” He sits up straight then pats the spot beside him. “Practice is over.” Thefor nowis implied, or maybe that’s just in my head.
25
Speak of The Devil
I walkhand in hand with the crown prince of the Under World through the bright foyer of Elite Hall. What in the world has my life become?
My calm demeanor has unfortunately shattered with the promise of more touching. I try to remind myself that I’m in control.
Never let anyone make you feel weak.
That includes Jarron.
Anxiety crawls through my body like a living thing, though, at the thought of kissing him. Is it because I fear him? Or because I want him?
Maybe both are true.
Our relationship wasn’t ever like this before. We held hands sometimes as we ran through the forest. We even hugged a time or two.
But he did not touch me likethat.
I shake my head. Nope, not gonna dwell on that, because if I go too far down that path, I might implode.
I remind myself that he may have done all these same things with my sister. Told her he’d make her queen of his world. He’d mark her, bond her.Ascend her.
Jarron hasn’t said any of those things to me, but, well, it’s still early, right?
My sister was only dating her lover for two weeks.
He fits all the clues in her journal. Plus, Liz had a major crush on him when we were younger. It would have been very easy for him to get into her heart. Two weeks would have been plenty of time.
We haven’t uncovered much about the Akrasia Games, so I don’t really know how they fit, but for all I know, that was a cover up. Maybe her boyfriend lost control and killed her on accident. Or a jealous rival killed her. Then, they placed her in the right position to make it look like she died by entering those dangerous and very illegal games.
If my parents believed it, that explains why they stopped searching for the killer. They wouldn’t want to expose the way she died to the world, and in that case, there’s no real villain. She did it to herself.
Yes, they could try to tear down the competition altogether, but that’s a bigger endeavor than finding one murderer. This is an entire organization that investigators have been hunting for centuries.
But I refused to put the blame on Liz. Even if she did enter these terrible games, someone must have manipulated her into it.
Maybe her boyfriend pushed her to enter so she’d be worthy of him. In that case, he’s still guilty, and I’ll still tear him to bits.
Control. Power. Leverage. That’s what I need now.
I’m only a human in a war with supernaturals. I have very few weapons in my arsenal. One of those is the element of surprise—that’s about all I’ve got right now other than sheer tenacity.
But I know I can build up my knowledge. That’s my next plan.
We approach a group sitting in the sunroom. Bea is on Trevor’s lap as they chat idly with a few wolf shifters. Manuela is lounging back in her cushioned chair, arms crossed, not far from the group.
