ILSA
“What the fuck was that, Ray?” I asked after a few minutes of silence, trying to keep my voice as calm as possible.
“I’m sorry.” Her voice sounded weak, quiet, not like her at all. “I lost control.”
“No shit.” Rage bubbled in my stomach, but I managed to keep it controlled—a lifetime of experience. “Why did it happen? And how do I know it won’t happen again? Have I got to be on constant alert around you? Because we’re supposed to be working together to keep safe.”
Ray eyed me out of the corner of her eye, keeping her lips pressed against her knees with her legs drawn up to her chest, her toes bouncing as she rested her pinpoint heels on the concrete. “It’s your fault.”
Tilting my chin to my chest, I looked at her in disbelief as my eyebrows raised, unsure if I had heard her correctly. “I’m sorry, what?”
Ray shifted until she was cross-legged. “It’s you. I lost control because of you. I could feel your arousal, you were thinking about fucking me, and it was practically oozing from you.” I stared at her but couldn’t find anything to say. She shrugged a shoulder. “I’ve tasted you, and I want more. I have instincts I have to unleash, or they’ll take me over.”
Touching my neck, my fingers came away dotted with blood. In the space of a moment, her eyes flashed yellow before she blinked it away. When I recoiled from her, she dropped her gaze to the ground.
“I was never going to kill you.” She sighed before glaring at me. “I see you still carry a silver knife, though. Where’s the trust, huh?”
“It’s a necessary precaution, apparently.”
“But you didn’t know that when we left your place. I thought we’d made progress.”
I scoffed quietly, progress toward what? What exactly did she think was happening here? But I didn’t want to ask in case her answer reflected the thoughts I didn’t want to acknowledge.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the knife.”
She stared at me. “I’m sorry I scared you.”
“Don’t you mean you’re sorry for attacking me?”
Grinning, Ray intentionally stared back at the nightclub. I had almost forgotten about it and why we were here.
Oh my God, I hope no one saw us grinding against each other on the pathway.
Fuck.
“No,” she said. “I’m not sorry for that part.” The look she gave me… fuck, if I weren’t sitting down, I’m sure my legs would’ve buckled. “Because you were so wet. You can’t hide your desires from me.”
I wanted to argue but couldn’t find it in myself to do so. Instead, I simply stared at the club with her, keeping my hand on the knife in my pocket.
Just in case.
Although I knew if she lost control again, I wouldn’t use it.
I wasn’t a submissive person, but she made me want to submit to her.
Nothing happened, and it started to grow warm even in the shade of the shops. A handful of people came and went, and no one gave us a second glance. I had kept a few feet between Ray and me, but at least on the outside, it seemed she had herself under control now and was apparently completely apathetic at having lost control in the first place.
When the club’s door opened, I sat up straight, scrambling to my feet when I realized the man who had exited the club was coming our way. He was huge, tattoos snaking across his arms and disappearing under his fitted t-shirt before continuing up his neck. It was a colorful assortment of random images which I assumed meant nothing, but perhaps I was being judgmental. His stride was casual, but it was hard not to feel as though I should be arming myself, and my fingers gripped the knife in my pocket.
Ray was on her feet, sliding over until she was by my side but half a step in front of me. I wasn’t even sure if she was aware she had done it. There was something touching about the small gesture.
Demon, Ilsa. Demon.
I kept reminding myself so as not to get in any deeper.
As if I weren’t already past the point of no return.
The man from the club stopped on the street, keeping distance between us. “Boss wants to see you,” he grunted.
“Why?” Ray barked out.
His lips lifted into a snarl. I guess that was his version of a smile. It was unsettling. “Two strangers sitting here for hours watching the place after practically fucking each other in broad daylight raises some concerns…” he smirked again, “… and curiosities.”
“What if we don’t want to see the boss?” Ray jeered.
I tried to keep my expression neutral as Ray threw questions back at the man. He chuckled, crossing his arms over his impressive chest and raising a brow at us. “Ladies, you don’t have a choice.”
I almost suffocated, not releasing the sigh of relief I had been holding in my lungs when he had spoken.
Strangers.
Key word.
Guess they didn’t know who we were after all. Hopefully, this wasn’t all wasted time.
Ray turned and winked at me, and the bodyguard raised his brows. I widened my eyes in warning, pursing my lips, hoping she’d keep her mouth shut going forward. She acted as if this were some sort of game, but I guess I should be used to that by now with her. But we were searching for people who had made it quite clear they would kill us both if pushed further, so I’m not sure what part of that had escaped her attention.
He turned to face the street and stretched his arm out, indicating for us to walk. I didn’t like the idea of him being behind us, but he was right—we didn’t have a choice, not if we wanted to figure this thing out, and the thinly-veiled threat he had issued between the lines wasn’t lost on me.
Although I suspected it was lost on Ray with how she bounced along in front of me as though we were about to take a tour of a chocolate factory.
At times like these, I tried to keep my limp to a minimum, not keen to show weakness. But it was difficult, especially following the stiffness in my legs from sitting on the pavement for so long.
When we reached the club, he moved swiftly in front of us, holding the door open and shooing us inside. The light from the sun was quenched immediately as he closed the heavy door with a thud, and the dim neon lighting added to the foreboding atmosphere of the place.
A nightclub in the daytime wasn’t a sexy place.