Page 58 of The Never List
Every time we connect, as if our lives depend on it, is a claiming and a submission…
One we’re both powerless to stop.
18
Kal
“So, tell us,” Pierce says, raising his glass from where he sits on the cushioned floor of one of my favorite rooms in my house. “Is it love?”
I glance at the square pool between us—the center of the room—to give myself a few moments to respond. The water looks crimson, since the walls are painted red and the ceiling sports a detailed and carved section of rubies. Two chandeliers illuminate the room in blush light, and candles line the walls made of bookshelves, offering a golden glow.
The pool is surrounded by cushions made for relaxing or fucking, but right now, my friends take up the space. Pierce sits across from me, Jax to my left, and Axl to my right.
“Come on,” Axl says. “You can tell us.” He curls his fingers where he relaxes on the edge of the pool, and droplets of water rise to his call, spinning with each flick of his wrist.
It’s been a month since Rylee joined me in my city, and I can’t remember a time I’ve felt so…happy.
Genuinely happy—hopeful and frustrated and lust-crazed and fiercely protective, but happy. She drives me mad with how much she keeps locked tight, but it’s only been four weeks. I must be understanding and patient. She’ll have secrets up until the point when she fully trusts us.
“Rylee is different,” I say by way of answer, and Pierce and Axl laugh. Jax seems content to brood behind his drink. “Sheis—”
“You are the Dreamer,” Pierce says. “You always see the best in everyone. It’s your tragic flaw.”
My gut clenches. He’s not wrong. I’ve been betrayed more times than I can count because of it.
“You don’t understand,” I say. “She’s not like the others.” The previous potentials—it was easy enough to enjoy their company, but we were never as intimate as I’ve been with Rylee. She’s an addiction. An intoxicating mystery I want to unravel with every breath I take.
“What have you learned?” Pierce asks, always gathering data.
I try to hold back my smile as my mind drifts over the last few weeks, but I can’t. “Coffee and whiskey are her two favorite drinks, sometimes together if she’s in a feisty mood. She wears your two colors to get a rise out of me,” I say, pointing to Axl and Pierce, easily picturing her in the stunning emerald number she wore a few days ago. Wore and then lost because I peeled it off her body and worshipped her for a few hours after.
My dick twitches at the thought. I’ve never been so starved for a person, and I fucked her before breakfast today.
“Does she ever wear black?” Jax asks, the first words he’s spoken since they all arrived.
I think back on the past month. “No,” I say, shaking my head. “I haven’t seen her in black since the Choosing.”
Jax’s slow, sardonic smile stretches his lips as he leans farther back against the red cushions, sipping from hisdrink in a way that chills my blood. That smile… It usually means bloodshed or chaos, neither of which are particularly favorable when it comes to him.
“You can take the next month,” Axl chimes in, looking at Jax. “Help take the edge off whatever is eating at you.”
So, he’s noticed, too. I glance to Pierce, who nods. They’ve both noticed Jax being more moody than usual these past weeks. I want to ask what’s bothering him, especially since he’s the one who chose Rylee—and thank fuck he did—but I know my friend like I know myself, and he’s not one to open up about his feelings.
“No,” Jax says, studying his drink. “I’m not keen to expose the little liar. I’ll go last, like we discussed.”
I sigh. “You’re twisting it,” I say, shaking my head. “She could easily be withholding some details of her life that she finds embarrassing or shameful. When she trusts us, she’ll—”
“Spill all her dirty little secrets?” Jax waves me off. “You know me. I can’t stand liars. I didn’t sense it at first, but…” His purple eyes get lost as he stares at the water in the pool. After a few moments, he blinks. “I’m not eager to be rejected in the end again.”
Axl flashes me a look, and my gut twists. I may be reading between the lines, but if he’s dreading rejection, it means there’s something about Rylee that’s gotten under his skin in a good way. I cling to that kernel of hope that he’ll come around when he gets to know her and drop thelittle liarbusiness.
“Tell us more,” Axl says, leaping at the chance to turn the conversation back to where we started.
“She loves to read,” I answer. “So much that I haveto be very clever when coaxing her out of the library.” Flashes of taking her against the stacks at the city library last week races through my mind. She’d initiated it after her unfortunate encounter with the Occuli, almost like she needed a physical outlet for the fear the thing had created. I spoke to my father about the Occuli overstepping, and if it weren’t for the kings’ demands I not punish it, I would’ve flown it to the tallest, harshest mountain in Lumathyst and left it there.
But her reaction after… The way she’d clung to me, kissed me with such passion. The way she’d said she felt safe with me…it waseverything.
I shift where I sit. If I’m not careful, I’ll have to leave our weekly meeting and find out where my potential mate is hiding. “She hasn’t opened up about her family yet,” I continue. “Nothing too personal. Every time I try, she changes the subject.”
