Page 61 of To Crave Madly
He growled and lunged for me again, but this time I was too distracted by my gloating to move quick enough. Dammit, why did I have to enjoy being petty?
My back slammed against the brick wall behind me and a yelp of pain escaped me. His hand found my throat and I instinctively clawed at his forearm.
“Are you quite finished?” Cassian spat as he squeezed a little harder on my throat.
I responded by stabbing the stiletto of my boot into his foot. He grunted at the attack, but his hand didn’t flinch.
My chest heaved with the exertion of fighting with Cassian. I don’t know why I enjoyed it so much. It was like I deliberately wanted to antagonise him just so we could spar which was nuts. I never seemed to be able to beat him and it usually ended up in a similar position to how we were now. With him pinning me with something firm beneath him.
The only time I had won was when I let Iveri join the party and feed from him, but I wasn’t about to do that. I don’t think I could take another mouthful of all those sorrowful emotions he kept buried within him. Iveri might enjoy the dark energy, but the taste left behind by all the grief was unbearable. The image of the photograph I’d discovered in his desk popped into my mind and my grip loosened on his arm.
“I’m so sorry.” The words tumbled from my mouth before I even had a chance to stop them.
Cassian faltered as he digested my words, then leant closer and sniffed the air around me. “Did you steal my Dragon Tears?” His voice was cold, quiet and terrifying.
Oh, shit. He’d figured out I must have seen the photo if I’d stolen his precious tears. Real fear suddenly had my stomach churning and my hands trembling. God, what was he going to do to me?
“Have you no respect for privacy? Did Saskia put you up to this?”
I’d hurt him. I’d genuinely hurt him and now I felt like the worst person in the world.
“No, it wasn’t Saskia’s fault. I made her do it. She said it was too dangerous, but I convinced her to join me on a night out.”
“You really are something, Lori.” Disdain poured off him in waves. Disdain and sorrow. His mouth curled in a sneer as he looked me over. Shame and guilt washed over me, and I had to drop my gaze. I couldn’t bear to see him looking at me like that. His gaze hurt me more than his sparring ever could. And I totally deserved it.
A loud crash sounded in the alley as the back door to the club was thrust wide open. Cassian released me from his hold and looked over to the two men sneaking out the back door of the club. Luckily, we were hidden from view behind a well-placed dumpster.
Cassian placed his finger to his lips. Duh. As if I was going to call attention to us hiding surreptitiously behind a dumpster when two shady-looking guys were clearly having a secret conversation? I mean, why else would they meet in the back alley of a club for a little tête-à-tête?
“I agree,” the closest man said. “We will be able to retrieve more at the gathering.”
They were too far away to see their faces, but they looked well dressed and were clearly up to something shady.
“Yes, then our master will be pleased with us.” That was the second man.
Master? Who were they working for?
“Is the transport in place for accessing the mansion?” the first one asked. He was clearly higher up the nefarious food chain than the other guy.
“Yes. Along with the disguises.”
I turned to Cassian to signal I was going to cause a distraction to try and get a closer look at their faces, but he didn’t seem impressed with the idea. He scowled and started mouthing angry words at me. Most of which looked like the words “no” and “stupid.” I rolled my eyes at him. When was he going to learn that shouting at me was never going to solve anything? I made to stand up, but Cassian grabbed my hand and pulled me back down. I lost my footing and ended up kicking an old beer bottle that hadn’t made it into the dumpster. The sound it made echoed loudly in the alley and I winced.
Oh, crap.
“Who’s there?” one of the men shouted.
Shit. Trust Cassian to call attention to us with his quiet angry shouting. I didn’t care if it was me that kicked that bottle. If he hadn’t shouted at me, I wouldn’t have moved.
Footsteps echoed down the alleyway as the men came closer. Shit, shit, shit. We were going to be seen and it would be obvious that we had been eavesdropping. I could see Cassian eyeballing the dumpster. There was no fricking way I was getting in there. So, I did the only thing I could think of.
I grabbed the collar of his leather jacket, pulled him towards me, and crushed my lips to his.
He froze. His mouth was firm and unyielding beneath mine. Well, what was I expecting? A deep passionate kiss from the guy who hated my guts? I had kind of hoped he would have at least played along rather than turn to a statue.
He broke the kiss and pulled back from me. I couldn’t tell if he was angry, upset or just downright pissed off. Time seemed to stand still as he looked at me. Blood pounded in my veins and my heartbeat drummed in my ears, drowning the silence that lingered between us.
Then he snapped.
