Page 27 of Call of the Ride
With a gasp, I felt the overwhelming wave of Nox’s love crash over me, just as I found myself suddenly back in Cassandra’s toy room, sitting on his once-again solid chest. I scrambled off of him, grimacing at how I’d broken his bones in my rage.
“I’ll live, witch,” he chuckled, when I tentatively brushed my fingertips over his ribs. “Besides, being in the…darkness realm seems to have healed me.” His dark brown eyes met mine, his expression pleading as he quietly added, “I didn’t know about the tracking device.”
I know.
Before I could reassure my Rider, Tan’s lilting voice called from behind me.“Thereyou two are, amongst the dildos! Are you just mucking about, or are we in the market for another butt plug? Which reminds me, we haven’t had a chance to use the one Vasi picked out yet, hmm?”
Nox’s gaze darkened with interest as I cleared my throat and hurriedly changed the subject. “Yes, well, first we need to get to Thames Head spring, since your mother confirmed that Koschei’s clue meant…”
I stopped as Nox’s face fell, realizing with a pang that he probably felt just as betrayed bymycontinued lack of transparency as I did with his. Any resentment still lingering immediately vanished as I realized I’d been misinterpreting his actions. Nox hadn’t absorbed the force of Veles’ bomb so that he could control me or play the hero.Ihadn’t shared my plan withhim,so of course he panicked and only thought of how to stop me from dying.
My Riderneededto protect me, and that meant I needed to trust him to do so. Never mind that I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself, by fighting against Nox’s instincts—and insisting on maintaining my independence at any cost—I was hurting him. Hurtingus.
I don’t know how to change.
But I want to.
“Thames Head, you say?” Cassandra Moonstone sounded from the other room. “I have an old friend up in Gloucestershire who owns an inn. Let me send him a smoke signal to set you lovebirds up for the night. He serves the best Old English sausages I’ve ever had the pleasure of putting in my mouth…”
Tan wrinkled his nose as the seer wandered away. “I have had quite enough of imagining mum and her friends enjoyinganyone’ssausages, thank you very much. Cringey.”
I smirked as a naughty thought surfaced. “Well, I rarely eat meat, but sausages sound delicious to me right now. I’ll take three.”
My Riders’ attention snapped to me. Nox looked shocked, Asa appeared to be stifling a smile and Tan howled. “Did our sweet witch just make a dirty joke? Brilliant! Listen, doll, I will gladly volunteer as tribute if you’re truly craving athicksausage…”
“Too fucking late,mudak,”Nox growled, scooping me into his arms and racing for the front door. “I call back seat with the witch. She’ll be stuffed by the time we get there.”
Chapter 21
Asa
Much to my disappointment, Nox didnotstuff Vasi on the way to Gloucestershire near Thames Head. Instead, our team took advantage of the travel time to bring each other up to speed on any intel we’d recently gathered. This included Koschei’s riddle and Zehra’s visions; Veles being Tan’s father; Anthia’s heritage and how that possibly related to the Facility’s plan; me somehow calling Praline to fly Nox and me away from the ambush; and Matthew cruelly implanting Nox with a tracking device when he was only 12 years old.
That man’s death is long overdue.
While our individual abilities were impressive, the consensus was that we needed to work on deepening our connection to each other—which apparently involved telepathically communicating. We took turns practicing this skill during the drive, quickly learning that the stronger the emotion, the more clearly the message came through. As Vasi was soon furiously blushing in the backseat while Tan snickered behind the wheel, I assumed my first love had defaulted to sending x-rated requests to our witch.
Whatever it is, I hope she says yes.
I was determined to earn my keep in this unconventional relationship. As planned, I’d cornered Tan’s mother while washing dishes, begging her to help me not be so clueless about women. Unfortunately, no grand vision overtook Zehra, and she simply advised me to do whatever made usbothhappy before unhelpfully adding that all women want is a ring on their finger.
Except ones who prefer the skulls of their enemies...
Frustration had settled deep into my gut by the time we pulled in front of a thatch roof building that looked like it belonged in Harry Potter. Just as I vaguely wondered if Cassandra’s friend was going to be an actual wizard, a miniature house-elf of a man suddenly appeared on the other side of my window, wildly gesturing for us to drive around back.
Tan obeyed and Vasi hummed in approval as a well-kept barn came into view. I wasn’t sold on the idea of my witch sleeping in a stable, but as her usual residence was a hut on chicken legs, I could see why she’d find this acceptable. As soon as we walked inside, however, I realized the barn had been converted into en-suite guest rooms with country casual decor. Vasi seemed equally delighted by this, which put me right back at square one with figuring out what she liked.
Forget about the girl who has everything—what about the one who wants nothing?
I fully realized I could just talk to Tan, as he’d been with plenty of women before me, but I was in no mood to be teased. Likewise, Nox had never seriously dated anyone as far as I’d seen, and I really wasn’t interested in emulating the constant drama that fueled his relationship with Vasi.
“What’s troubling you, Asa?” My witch’s addictive voice brought me out of my head and back to where she and I were alone in the barn-hotel’s master bedroom. She was perched on the edge of the quilt-covered bed, her short blue dress bringing out the gorgeous color of her eyes while also distractingly riding up her deliciously thick thighs.
Dropping to my knees in front of her, I sighed and rested my head in her lap. This was partly so my face could be as close to her pussy as possible, but also because I was truly at a loss and just wanted some comfort. As always, she somehow knew exactly what I needed, running her delicate fingers through my curls, scratching my scalp just enough to make me settle.
I just want to please her.
“What do you want from me, sweetness?” I finally spoke, sliding my hands under her skirt so I could caress her achingly soft skin.
