Page 11 of Kings
“That’s half the point, isn’t it?” she murmured, running a hand down his strong jaw. “You have as much reason to hate him as I do, yet we both love him, in different ways. Haven’t you ever wanted to make him feel just a fraction of what he does to everyone else?”
Kyrie’s hesitation didn’t last long. He pulled her back in for another kiss, and this time, it was ruthless. He swept the items off the nearest portion of the counter and lifted her onto it. Even then, he was taller than her, his muscular body pressed against hers as he moved between her legs and resumed the kiss.
Ella’s fingers tangled in his damp hair and as her arousal surged, she hated her thoughts for drifting to Axel instead of the man in her arms. She really was twisted. She couldn’t even get back at him without lusting after him at the same time.
As Kyrie’s hands slipped beneath her shirt, it was a little easier to focus. Ella moaned, turning her head to allow him better access to her neck. She was thinking about other uses he might put that skilled tongue to, so distracted she didn’t even hear the front door close.
Apparently, neither did Kyrie.
“What the fuck?”
Axel’s voice sent a chill down Ella’s spine, and not entirely for the right reason. She looked up to find him standing in the kitchen doorway, and the look of rage on his face was almost as satisfying as she’d hoped. Not that she’d imagined he would be finding out this way.
She didn’t have long to enjoy the comeuppance. Kyrie had no sooner raised his hands in an attempt to explain the indefensible when Axel flung him into the wall.
Chapter 7
Axel
Soul searching was a rare event for Axel, but after a few hours of arguing with himself and unleashing his tiger’s energy on the woods surrounding the Academy, he came to a decision. He had to find Ella. Sure, he was the last person she wanted to see right now, but that didn’t matter. He’d convince her to listen.
He always did.
She couldn’t stay pissed at him forever. Especially not if he apologized and meant it this time. She turned to putty in his hands with the slightest hint of gentleness, and maybe he’d been faking it so long it became genuine, but either way, he’d mean it.
He knew he’d fucked up, but she’d get over it eventually. Hell, he hadn’t even done it to hurt her. The exact opposite. Sure, he’d wanted Avery to keep an eye on her and report back to make sure she wasn’t getting too involved with Bishop, but after the first couple of weeks, she’d been a shitty informant. He really did want her to have someone she could talk to, since he knew he was a big part of the reason her life at the Academy had been so rough.
Okay, maybe the main reason.
Still, she’d forgive him. She couldn’t help it.
He went to her dorm room, sure he’d find her there since that was her favorite place to sulk. When she didn’t answer the door, he broke the lock and found the room empty, along with her top dresser drawer. Her suitcase was gone, too.
What the hell?
His next thought was that she’d gone running to Bishop, so he took off for Felidae. Getting past the bouncer at the door wasn’t hard, and when he stalked up to Bishop’s room, he was already worked up enough to shift again. He flung the door open and found the other tom on the edge of his bed with his earbuds in and a textbook in hand like a complete dweeb, but no Ella.
“Where is she?” Axel demanded, looking around the room.
“What the fuck?” Bishop shouted, standing from the bed and yanking his earbuds out. “How did you even get in here?”
“Where’s Ella?” Axel repeated, ignoring him.
Bishop’s eyes narrowed. “Why, you don’t think you’ve fucked with her life enough already?”
“Don’t get high and mighty with me,” Axel snapped. “Everyone knows you’re just using her.”
“Is that so?” Bishop challenged, going toe-to-toe with him.
Axel’s beast roared to life in his chest, eager to settle things between them once and for all. This time, he wouldn’t be holding back.
At the last moment, before the tiger could tear from his skin, he pulled it back. If she wasn’t here, that left only one place she could have gone. Sterling’s car was in the lot outside, so she definitely wasn’t there. He ignored Bishop’s cries of protest and stalked back out of the clubhouse to his car.
He reached his house in record time, and the moment he walked through the door, her fresh scent told him he’d chosen correctly.
Except... he knew that scent. It wasn’t just her usual sweet, floral scent that lingered in his dreams and turned them to forbidden fantasies. It was arousal, and the pheromones of lust, mingled with another familiar scent that filled him with rage.
He stalked into the kitchen and found the scene their scents had already painted a clear enough picture of in his head. Judging from the fact that they were still both partially clothed, it hadn’t gone too far, but the sight of Kyrie’s hands under her shirt and his lips on her neck where Axel’s mark should already have been was enough to send him over the edge.
