Page 46 of Our Vicious Descent
Layla paused in her kisses so she could look at Elise. “Does that bother you?” she asked.
“Not at all. I just noticed…you know what you’re doing,” Elise said, smiling.
A breathy laugh escaped Layla. “So do you.” Her eyes glowed. “Can I touch you?”
Elise nodded. “Please.” Tension knotted her core, and her lips parted as Layla slipped her hand between her thighs. Her thoughtsvanished into a haze of immediate pleasure. Elise’s spine curved, her head pressing into the pillows as Layla continued her precise movements.
Layla kissed her throat. Her fangs emerged to scrape against the heated skin, drawing a burning pleasure from Elise.
“Does that feel good?” Layla asked. Her lips closed over the soft skin just above Elise’s chest.
Elise let out a breathy moan. “Yes. Keep going.” With her stomach tightening and her chest heating, Elise tried to keep a steady hand on Layla’s cheek. But every stroke of Layla’s fingers had her self-control withering away bit by bit.
“You’re so beautiful,” Layla murmured. She kissed her again, swallowing every sound Elise made for her. “I missed you so much, Elise.”
Just as she was picking up the pace, the door to the bedroom flew open. Layla pulled the blanket over a gasping Elise, and they both looked over to see Jamie standing in the doorway.
“Sterling has another brilliant idea—” He froze, eyeing their close positioning. “What are you two doing?”
“Nothing.” Layla pulled away from Elise, glaring at the gangster.
Heat flushed Elise’s cheeks, and despite the blanket covering her completely, she still crossed her legs, the pressure between her thighs a persistent and distracting variable.
Jamie frowned at them. “Do you think I’m stupid?”
“Yes,” Layla said. At the same time, Elise shook her head and said, “No.”
Silence stilled the room, neither girl moving nor breathing while Jamie stared down at them. Eventually, he shook his head, sighing, as he left the room. “You get blood on my sheets, you’re out. Both of you.”
The second he shut the door behind him, Elise covered her face with her hands. “How embarrassing,” she groaned.
Layla only laughed. “He’s seen much worse.” Her smile fell away as realization crossed her expression. “Maybe you should go back to bed.”
Elise blinked. “What? Why?” She touched Layla’s arm before the reaper could withdraw again. “Is it your nightmares?”
“Worse,” Layla whispered. “I’m afraid I’ll hurt you. Sometimes when I wake up, I struggle to remember…but there’s so much blood. I’m not safe to be around.”
Elise sat up. The blanket fell back, revealing the sloping front of her nightgown while the straps hung down her shoulders. “I’m not afraid of you, Layla. If anything, you make me feel safe,” she insisted.
Layla’s face went slack with shock. Her hand settled on Elise’s leg, and she nodded slowly, though her eyes remained dazed. “Really?”
“Layla. You are not a monster. I’m sorry for saying you were that day—I didn’t mean it.” Elise shuddered. A gentle smile lifted her lips, her hand coming up to tuck a strand of hair behind Layla’s ear. “We can just sleep. If you have a nightmare, I’ll be right here. Squeeze me if you need to. One day Iwillget to taste you like you always taste me.”
Layla lifted a hand to stroke the side of Elise’s face. She grinned as Elise kissed her palm and leaned into her touch. “One day.”
24
Water spilled over Layla’s shaking hands, and images of Elise’s face, struck with horror, filled her mind. The hot water turned into blood, leaking across her body while she tried to hold Elise’s limp body up. Her efforts were in vain, no matter how hard she tried. No reaper strength, reaper blood, no will could keep Elise’s mortal life earthside for long enough. As her heart failed and every living essence faded from her body, Layla could only scream.
“Layla?” Elise’s voice brought Layla back now, her mind returning to the hot water splashing over her hands in the kitchen sink and drowning the blood from beneath her nails.
She looked up to see Elise staring at her over the counter with concern furrowing her brows. “Did you sleep at all last night?”
Layla turned the water off and wiped her hands on a nearby towel. “Hardly.”
Elise swallowed hard. “You were saying my name last night inyour sleep and scratching yourself to death.”
“Nightmare,” Layla answered quickly. Though the scratching explained the blood under her nails night after night.
