Page 7 of Insurrection
What the fuck was wrong with me? Was she extending her Succubus influence over me without me knowing it? That had to be it, but just in case it wasn't…
I whistled a light tune as I came around the side of the column, wanting to purposefully alert her to my presence so as to not startle her. Her head whipped toward me, her hair flowing around her with the sharp movement, and in the blink of an eye she was suddenly standing with the most badass scythe I'd ever seen. Crimson streaked around the sharp blade and her hands as she narrowed her gaze on me.
"Who are you?"
So, she was a Reaper. My little creature was becoming more interesting with every passing second.
Her voice was slightly raspy but still feminine, and it shot a spark of desire straight to my cock, which twitched in my black skinny jeans.
While her stance and weapon showed that she wasn't afraid to fight me, her eyes held curiosity in them, and not malice. She would attack me if provoked, but it seemed more like she was intrigued by me, and that was something I could work with.
I pounced on that glimmer in her eyes and held my hands out to show I was not a threat. Laughing softly, the corner of my mouth tilted up in a smirk as I answered, "I'm not here to hurt you. My name is Finias."
Her gaze traveled the length of my body as she summed my answer—and me—up. Her eyes lingered on each tattoo she could see that wasn't covered by my black tank top, jeans and Converse. What she couldn't see was that the only expanse of my skin that wasn't tattooed with runes was my face.
Everywhere below it was marked, and I did meaneverywhere.
I must have passed whatever visual assessment she was giving me, as her scythe disappeared and a slender brow raised as she asked, "And why are you outside the House of Death lurking like a creep?"
Was that a hint of a smile I saw on her face? I'd roll with it.
"I'm actually just here to take back my seat you so rudely uprooted me from with your psycho ramblings," I offered, pointing at the spot on the fountain's edge.
Her mouth dropped open slightly as I took a seat and asked, "My butt warmed this spot up for you before you sat here, so we're friends already, right? Friends share butt warmth."
The confusion on her beautiful face made me belt out a laugh and clutch my stomach. As I continued to chuckle, the confusion on her face slowly faded, and she eventually joined me in laughter.
Eventually, our laughter died down, and I glanced at her in my periphery. She was staring at me as the moon lit up her large eyes and she nibbled her bottom lip gently, as if she wanted to ask me a question but was nervous.
I swiveled my head towards her, and she immediately glanced away as if she hadn't been openly staring at me. She was adorable. And what the fuck? I had never considered a woman adorable before. She really was though.
I figured I'd toss her a bone and hopefully it would help her open up to me in return. "To answer your earlier question about why I'm out here lurking like a creep..." I trailed off and waggled my brows at her like a weirdo causing her to giggle. The sound made me smile, and I became so wrapped up in it I almost forgot where I was going with this conversation. I found that I liked being the one to make her laugh.
Clearing my throat, I continued, "I'm the prince of the House of Runes, and my parents sent me here to get to know the other royals better before the Summit." Groaning, I rolled my eyes and added, "So, pretty much the absolute last thing I'd like to be doing right now."
She huffed out a single breath and tacked on, "Yeah, royals...what a bunch of assholes, am I right?"
My eyebrows raised as I grimaced and nodded my agreement, but then something appeared around her curled horns that made me blink a few hundred times to try to figure out what I was seeing.
Was that a crown?
"Takes one to know one." She winked at me and pointed to her crown, "I'm the princess of the House of Death."
Fuck my life. I had just insulted her without knowing it. I was such an idiot.
I turned my head back straight and dropped my face into my palms while grunting, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insult you...I just meant that all my previous experiences with royals were shit and I'm really not the best people-person, as you can tell."
A soft warmth landed on my shoulder, causing me to turn my head back towards her. Laughter danced in her eyes as she smiled at me kindly. "It's okay. I dislike all of them besides my dad as well. They really are assholes. I'm Amare by the way, or Ama for short, if you prefer."
For some reason, just the single touch of her soft hand on my skin made fire spread through my veins, and an overwhelming desire to pull her into my lap invaded my brain.
As my brain short-circuited for a moment, I was briefly unaware of my surroundings, so the deep voice that barked out her name startled me.
"Ama."
Fuck. She had quickly consumed all my thoughts, causing me to be caught off guard for the first time in as long as I could remember. That could be a fatal mistake, and I couldn't afford for that to happen again. Especially if it meant keeping her safe.Shit.When did that become a priority? No matter, there was no denying it, Ama’s safety was extremely important to me, and I was suddenly thanking my parents that I had the skill set I’d honed over years due to their guidance.
No one was safe from me…so I was the perfect person to keep her safe.
