Page 42 of Feral
“To shut you up,” Ella quipped. “Throwing a shiny object at you is one of the only ways that’s a guarantee.”
Axel’s smug expression turned back to indignation and he set his jaw, clearly about to respond.
“Come along,” Sterling said, putting a hand on Bishop’s shoulder to give him a push toward the door. “It’s obvious these two have much to discuss.”
“I’m not leaving,” Bishop growled, planting his feet.
“Why don’t you let Ella decide that?” Axel sneered. “Unless you’re afraid she can’t control herself without you babysitting.”
Bishop lunged and if Sterling hadn’t been ready to grab him, Ella knew things would have come to blows between them again.
“It’s fine,” she said under her breath, deciding that separating them was the only way she could keep the peace. Besides, she did have a bone to pick with Axel. This wasn’t the time or the place she’d thought she would do it, but he was already there, so she might as well. “I’ll talk to him.”
Bishop clearly wanted to argue, but Sterling already had them halfway out the door. “We’ll be close if he gives you any trouble.”
“Heistrouble,” Ella muttered under her breath, earning a snort from Axel.
The moment the door closed behind them, she turned to find him watching her with that triumphant look that made her want to put his head through a wall. “So,” he said, taking a step toward her. If he strutted anymore, he’d be a damn peacock. “Just couldn’t handle a weekend without me, huh?”
“Like I’ve ever been given the luxury,” she shot back, folding her arms to put some form of barrier between them besides space. It wasn’t him she didn’t trust, but rather whatever primal part of her brain took over when he was in close proximity. “Why are you even here?”
“Because you needed me,” he answered, seizing on the fact that his words had shocked her into silence to cup her face in his hand. It was an uncharacteristically tender gesture, which made her all the more wary of his true intentions.
“Bullshit,” she said, trying to ignore the hint of sincerity in his voice. However much it bothered her, she knew him and he knew her. She could tell when he was lying, and he’d never cared enough about what she thought to bother lyingtoher. He certainly wasn’t now.
“Think what you want,” he said, grabbing her waist before she could pull back and crushing her against him hard enough to knock the breath from her lungs. His gaze burned with a flame that sent the one inside of her rising even higher. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
That raised enough questions on its own, none of which she was sure she wanted answered. She planted her hands against his chest and pushed away. “You’ve been MIA since the dance and you expect me to believe you’re going to rescue me with your magic penis?”
He shrugged. “Pretty much.”
A growl escaped her throat. “I’ve seen it before. You’re not packing anything Sterling and Bishop lack.”
He gave her a shameless, lopsided grin. “So youwerepeeking all those summers at the lake.”
Ella rolled her eyes.
“I’m serious,” he said, coming closer once more. “You’ll fuck the damn etiquette teacher but you draw the line at me?”
This time, Ella had the sense to dart back before he could pull her in for another mind-sucking kiss. She had always known he was a demon, but it was only recently that she’d come to realize he was an incubus.
“He isn’t the etiquette teacher, he’s the civics teacher. He’s just subbing for the etiquette teacher,” she muttered.
Axel raised an eyebrow. “That’s supposed to make a difference?”
She knew she was grasping at straws, but she wasn’t going to make the mistake of letting her guard down around him again. Every time she did, it seemed he found a new way to wound her, and his latest method of pulling a disappearing act was the most lethal yet.
“Hewas there when I needed him,” she said, hugging herself tighter. “So was Bishop.”
“I’m sure they were,” Axel said bitterly.
There it was again. That look of possessiveness he’d always had when he thought he owned someone. Everyone except her, until she became useful in his eyes.
“No,” she snapped. “You don’t get to stand there and judge them, or me. You had your chance, and you blew it. You don’t get another one.”
He scoffed. “You know, it’s not the first time you’ve said that.”
“Maybe not, but it is the last,” she said firmly. “I mean it, Axel. You’ve done a lot of shit to me over the years, but disappearing like that after everything that happened? That was low, even for you.”
