“I am not wetting my pants!” I snapped, thankful there wasn’t anyone in the hall to hear that. “If I had, I would have already slipped my way to my doom.”
“I don’t think I have ever met anyone like you, Jaide.” I could just make out Elliot’s face before he was swallowed by the black.
“Thank you?”
“That wasn’t a compliment,” he chuckled and continued down. I could hear his feet hit every rusty step, but the staircase didn’t so much as move. “Come on Jaide.”
“I wasn’t lying you know…” I tried the step again. The rusty metal screamed so loud that I was amazed it didn’t just break in half right under me.
Elliot mumbled something below me, but he was so far down the staircase that I couldn’t make it out. It was just me, with my mostly bare ass in the tile hall, my feet freezing on a metal step.
And then a door opened somewhere in the hall.
“I understand that but I can’t discount--” Oh shit! Of course it wasn’t just any Synian taking a stroll. It was Parris.
If I wanted to see Jett’s room we were officially in a now or never situation.
“Come on, Jaide, get your shit together,” I scolded myself as I stepped onto the first step, the metal spiral shaking and creaking as the door behind me slammed shut, trapping us in total darkness. Now I didn’t even have the light from the hallway. It was just me standing on a death trap.
My hand immediately slid on the cold metal rail when I gripped it, nearly sending me off balance and the staircase shaking again.
So, this was off to a great start.
Elliot’s voice echoed up to me again, followed by a burst of white light coming from far, far, far, far, far below me. It was so far down that the light didn’t even hit me. It was just the light at the end of the tunnel.
You know, like right before you die.
Awesome.
I took the first step, trying not to think of metal breaking. My hand slipped the tighter I gripped. One step turned into another, which turned into five. The light was glowing closer, the beams of it peeking through the ornate design on the steps, illuminating me and the man who stood at the bottom of the stairs, staring up at me.
Staring right up my non-existent clothes to all my bits that were now under a spotlight. By the Fae!
I missed a step.
My foot hit air as I stepped down and I promptly fell face first toward inevitable doom. I braced for impact, but instead felt a rush of hot air around me. It pushed at me from every angle, swaddling me in warmth as my entire body was lifted into the air and whisked away. One second I was floating, the next my feet were securely planted on the ground; Elliot’s warm, firm chest pressed against mine. His arms encompassed me, his heart thundering so loud that I could hear it.
“You okay?” he half-whispered, his arms holding me against him.
“Did you just carry me down here with your… your wind body?” I asked, my voice shaking. Everything about that statement was wrong. Elliot just made a noise of confirmation before pressing his chin against the top of my head.
“Well, I saved you from breaking your clavicle, although seeing you land with your ass in the air might have made this whole experience worth it.”
I could have sworn I felt his cock jump at that. Oh hell no!
“Why didn’t you just do that from the beginning?” I pushed him away, smacking him on the chest that was once again bare. Elliot just shrugged.
“Because it was funner this way, and I got to enjoy the view.” I smacked him again, but he just kept smirking.
“How did… why did… how dare you?” I ended with a roar, his chuckle rumbling against the metal staircase.
“Here.” He handed the velvet robe to me like a peace offering and I snatched it. I was fully aware that it would mean he would be walking around naked again.
“At least I can stop myself from staring at your dick,” I mumbled as I shrugged my way into the soft fabric.
By the moon, could this be part of my nest too? Why did everything in my room feel like it was made from a cloud?
“I wasn’t staring at my dick, I was staring at your pussy. Hard not to when it’s floating above me like the goddamned sun,” Elliot sneered at me before crossing over to the open door, and the hallway just on the other side.