White Hot Kiss (The Dark Elements 1)

“So ask away. I can multitask.” He tugged me forward, circling an arm around my waist. Dipping his head to where my neck sloped, he inhaled deeply. “Can’t you?”

I shivered against him, my fingers curling into the front of his shirt. I didn’t think so, but I was willing to try. “Where have you been?”

“Where have you been?” His hands dropped to my hips, grip tightening deliciously. “You weren’t at school on Tuesday.”

“How do you know?”

“I know a lot of things.”

I sighed. “I stayed home. I figured with being sick and with the...bruises, it was best to take another day off.”

“Good idea.” A slight frown appeared on his lips as he lifted one hand, trailing a finger along my temple. “It’s barely noticeable.” His gaze dropped to my mouth, and I felt my lips part. “And your lip looks...”

“What?”

The frown turned into a slow, seductive grin. “Well, it looks good enough to nibble.”

I sucked in an unsteady breath, trying to calm the wild beating in my chest. “Roth, come on.”

“What?” He gave me an innocent look. “I’m just saying I could do all kinds—”

“Got it. Anyway, back to my question.”

“Hmm...” Roth moved his hands to my waist. Warmth flared from where his fingers pressed in through the hoodie. “How was everything when you returned?”

Distracted once more, I answered his question. “It was...okay, but I forgot to change back into my clothes before I left your place.” At his raised brows, I reminded him of the borrowed clothes and how Abbot had asked about them. “I don’t think he believed what I’d told him, but he hasn’t pushed it.”

Roth didn’t appear too concerned. “I am sure he knows the truth—about everything. But what can he say without exposing all the lies he’s fed you?” His hands slid up an inch, resting just under my rib cage. “And besides, he’s not going to kill you or anything.”

I scrunched up my nose. “I sure hope not.”

He chuckled softly. “I don’t think your fearless leader will do anything to upset Stony. Speaking of which, Stony seemed relieved to see you on Monday.”

“He was...” I shook my head. “I told you. I’ve known Zayne for most of my life. We’re close.”

“He seemed really relieved to see you on Monday.” His thumbs moved in slow, idle circles that made it difficult to concentrate. “I think I’ve only seen a Warden run that fast if it was actually chasing after a demon.”

I felt heat creep back into my face as I gripped his wrists. “Roth, I don’t want to talk about Zayne.”

“Why don’t you want to talk about Stony?”

Irritation flared hotly. “I don’t know, because there are more important things to talk about?”

Roth dipped his head again, and when he spoke, his breath was warm against my ear. “But I want to talk about Stony. Remember when I said he cared for you, Layla?”

My grip on his wrists tightened. “Yes. Like I said—”

“You’ve known him all your life. I get that.” His lips brushed the space below my ear, and I gasped. “But has it ever been...like this?”

Before I could even ask “like what,” Roth’s lips traveled across my cheekbone. Tiny, fiery shivers darted along my nerves. His lips brushed the corner of mine, and my pulse fluttered wildly. I was so far out of my league with him it wasn’t funny. “Is it like this, Layla?”

Like this? Ah, the touching...the almost kissing. “No.” I barely recognized my own voice. “I can’t...”

“Can’t what?” The very edges of his teeth came down on my lower lip. A little nip, like he’d mentioned before, and my entire body arched against his. “Can’t what, Layla?”

“I can’t be this close to him,” I admitted in a breathy voice.

Roth’s lips curved into a smile against mine. “What a shame.”

The lack of sincerity was epic. “I’m sure you really feel that way.”

He laughed, and this time, when he pulled back and bent his head again, his lips were against my pulse. This was ridiculous. We needed to talk about stuff. Important stuff. I wasn’t skipping class to do...well, whatever this was with Roth. But damn, what he was doing was all fresh and new to me.

And it felt so unbelievably good—this wild anticipation he was building, a promise that could actually go somewhere. The fierce yearning was like a tempest inside me, swirling and spinning me up so high that I knew the fall would break something valuable. Because this was different—this wasn’t built on hopeless fantasies. Realizing that was as thrilling as it was terrifying.

With effort I didn’t realize I had, I broke away. Roth quirked an eyebrow as he dropped his hands to his sides. His eyes were a heated tawny, consuming in their intensity and frightening in their ability to draw me in, make me forget all that really freaking important stuff.

Clearing my throat, I looked away. “Okay. Back to my question.”

“What did you want to know?” Amusement clung to his words. “I forgot.”

“I’m sure you did.” I sighed, wondering if I was ever going to get Roth to stay on target. “Where have you been?”

He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. “I had to go home.”

“Home as in...?” I lowered my voice even though there was no one else around. “Hell?”

Roth nodded. “I needed to check in and I thought it would be a good chance to ask around, see if anyone knows which demon is pulling the strings.”

I switched my bag to my other arm. “Did you find out anything?”

“Everyone is pretty tight-lipped about it. No one is willing to say who it is, which tells me it’s someone with a lot of reach.”

“Obviously an Upper Level demon like you?”

“But definitely not as awesome as me.” He winked, and, God help me, he actually looked good doing it. “But I didn’t come back empty-handed. I was right about the whole Lesser Key thing. The exact incantation to raise the Lilin is in that Key, and a lot of demons are looking for it, on both sides.”

It clicked together. “That’s why there are so many Upper Level demons around here.”

“Do tell?”

I nodded. “That’s what I hear.”

“And where did you hear that?” When I didn’t say anything, Roth pushed off the wall. His slow, precise steps forced me backward, until I was flush with the wall. Tiny flecks of paint floated into the air. “Sharing is caring, Layla.”

Telling Roth what the Wardens knew wasn’t easy. Guilt settled in my stomach like cement blocks, but I trusted him. Besides saving me from Petr and Lord only knows how many other times, he’d never asked me to trust him. Not once. Maybe for that reason alone, I trusted him.

“We’re in this together, right?” I said, glancing up at him. “I mean, we’re going to figure out the demon behind this and stop it?”

Roth’s eyes met mine. “You and me are like peanut butter and jelly when it comes to this.”