White Hot Kiss (The Dark Elements #1)(23)
Author: J. Lynn

He pushed off the wall and gestured at the closed door I’d noticed before. “I want to show you something. You think you’re up for it?”

Intrigued despite myself, I nodded. He opened the door and motioned me forward. I followed him up the narrow staircase. He stopped at a door and glanced over his shoulder. “Promise me you won’t walk off the ledge.”

I would’ve rolled my eyes if it wouldn’t have hurt. “I promise.”

He didn’t quite look like he believed me, but he opened the door. Cool air pulled me forward. I limped past him.

“Don’t walk off the rooftop. Please.” He followed behind me. “I wouldn’t want to scrape your remains off the pavement below.”

Soft, billowy white tents rolled in the perfumed breeze. Under them were several lounge chairs and small tables, but it was the neatly manicured flower garden that caught and held my attention. Vases of every size and shape lined the rooftop. I didn’t know most of the flowers, but I did see roses and lilies everywhere.

“Is this yours?” I asked.

“All of this is mine.”

I stopped by a large pot, running my fingers over the heavy petals. In the dark, I couldn’t tell if the flower was purple or red. But it smelled sweet and tangy. “You garden?”

“I get bored.” His breath danced off my cheek. “I find that it’s a viable way of passing time.”

I hadn’t heard him come up directly behind me. I turned around halfway, inclining my head. “A demon who gardens?”

One corner of his lips quirked. “I’ve seen crazier things.”

“Is that so?”

Roth tilted his head to the side. “You’d be surprised. I know a few of my kind who do taxes whenever they’re topside, some who teach gym. We demons do love a good game of dodgeball.”

I made a feeble attempt at a laugh. “I knew…there was something up with my gym teacher.”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think Mrs. Cleo was a Hellhound in disguise.”

I drifted away from him, focusing on the dazzling display of lights from the hundreds of buildings surrounding us. Off in the distance, I could see the tower of the Nancy Hanks Center. I shivered as I turned back to Roth.

He was so close, but I hadn’t heard him move. “You should sit.”

He didn’t give me much of an option, guiding me over to one of the lounges. I ended up on my back within seconds, embraced by the thick pillows. The high was gone. The adrenaline had seeped away, and all that was left behind were bone-deep aches and too many questions.

Roth sat beside me, his hip pressing against my leg. “How are you feeling?”

What a broad question. “Everything is…so screwed up.”

“It is.”

Shifting my gaze to him, I almost laughed again. His brutal honesty was something else. Under the white canopy, the moonlight reflected off his striking face. Our gazes locked. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do from here.”

His stare was unwavering. “Have you ever known what you’re supposed to do?”

Good question. I broke eye contact. “You’re a strange demon.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

I smiled a little. “You’re actually nothing like any demon I know.”

“Is that so?” He ran the tips of his fingers up my arm, over the slant of my collarbone, stopping short of where the skin was torn. “I find that hard to image. We demons are all alike. We covet pretty things, corrupt what is pure and whole, take what we can never have. You should have a whole fan club made up of demons.”

His touch was lulling, comforting. I yawned. “You’d be a member of my demon-horde fan club?”

Roth laughed softly. “Oh, I think I’d be the president.” He eased down beside me, onto his side. “Would you like that?”

I knew what he was doing. Distracting me. It was working. “Can I be serious for a moment?”

His hand skipped to my other shoulder. “You can be whatever you like.”

“You really aren’t all that bad…for a demon, you know.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” He stretched out beside me, propping himself up on his elbow. “They don’t come any badder than me.”

“Whatever,” I murmured. Several moments passed. “I—”

“I know. I do. There probably isn’t a question I don’t have an answer for. And we do need to talk. What you know now is nothing but a drop in the messed-up bucket. And what you’re going to learn is going to turn your world upside down.” He paused, and my heart skipped a beat. “But we don’t need to do this right now. You need to sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

As I watched him through thinly slitted eyes, I realized I didn’t know jack. I had no idea if I was ever going to be able to go home. If I’d ever really had a home. I didn’t know how far the betrayal ran, if it included others who’d watched me grow up. I didn’t even know what tomorrow was going to bring. But I did know that as unlikely as it was, I was safe right now, and I trusted Roth—a demon.

So I nodded and closed my eyes. Roth started humming “Paradise City” again, and I found it oddly comforting. In the moments before I drifted off to sleep, I swore I felt his hand brush my cheek.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

When I awoke, it was near dawn and the sky beyond the softly rolling canopies still clung to night. The events of the previous day rolled through my mind with startling clarity. My heart rate picked up, but I didn’t move. My body wasn’t the problem—the aches had dulled, and even the throbbing in my face was nothing compared to a few hours ago. It was just that I knew the Wardens would’ve realized I was missing by now. They would’ve started looking for me and for Petr. Zayne…I couldn’t even think of him right now.

Nothing would ever be the same.

The heat of the lean, hard body pressed against mine was a stark reminder of that fact. Roth’s chest rose and fell steadily against my side. Our legs were tangled together. His arm was thrown over my waist. The closeness, as crazy as it was, pushed away everything else that was important. I’d never woken up in the arms of a boy before. When Zayne and I were kids, we’d bunk together, but this…this was so different. Languid warmth started in my toes and traveled up my body at an alarming speed, flaring tightly at each point our bodies met.

I thought of the kiss we’d shared—my first kiss. I was as breathless as I’d be practicing evasive techniques. Considering everything that was happening and had happened already, it seemed like the last thing I should be thinking about.

But it was as automatic as breathing. My lips tingled from the memory. I doubted Roth even thought twice about it, but I had quite a few times since Friday.

I turned my head ever so slightly and sucked in a soft breath.

Roth was on his side, like he’d been before I’d fallen asleep. His face was relaxed, lips parted. I wanted to touch the line of his jaw, the curve of his brow, and I had no idea why. But my fingers tingled with the desire to do so. At rest like this, the harsh edge to his beauty was absent. In that moment, he was what I believed angels might look like.

Then he opened his mouth.

“You shouldn’t look at me that way,” he murmured.

A different kind of heat swamped my cheeks and I cleared my throat. “I’m not looking at you in any way.”

He gave his customary lopsided smile. “I know what you’re thinking.”

“You do?”

An eye opened. The pupils were stretched vertically, and I shivered—not out of fear, but from something else entirely. He reached out, brushing a few strands of hair back from my face. His hand lingered on my cheek, surprisingly gentle compared to what came out of his mouth next. “Just so you know, your virtue isn’t safe with me. So when you look like you want me to devour every inch of your mouth, I will without an ounce of regret. However, I doubt you’ll feel the same afterward.”

“How do you know what I’ll regret?”

The moment those words left my mouth, I knew I probably should’ve kept that comment to myself. Both of Roth’s eyes opened and fixed on me. Then he moved incredibly fast.

Hovering above me, he stared down at me with eyes that were a mosaic of every shade of gold imaginable. “I know a lot.”

“You barely know me.”

“I’ve watched you for a long time, always a few steps behind you. I wasn’t trying to be creepy when I told you that before.” He ran his finger along the hem of the borrowed shirt, his knuckles brushing the swell of my chest. “You know what I saw?”

I blinked slowly. “What?”

He stopped messing with the hem and slid his hand along the curve of my ribs as he bent his head down. His lips moved against my ear. “I saw something in you that you desperately try to hide from everyone. Something that reminded me of myself.”

I drew in a shallow breath, mouth dry.

Roth pressed his lips against my temple, sliding his hand under the edge of the shirt. I jumped when his fingers touched my belly. “You always seemed lonely. Even when you were with your friends, you were lonely.”

My chest spasmed. “And you…you’re lonely?”

“What do you think?” He shifted so that one leg was between mine. “But it doesn’t really matter. I’m not lonely right now. Neither are you.”

I wanted to pursue the conversation, but his hand traveled up my stomach, stopping at the edge of my bra. My body had a mind of its own and it arched against his hand, willing him further without really knowing why. His eyes met mine. There was something hot and calculating about his gaze—feral and predatory.

Roth’s gaze landed on my mouth, and I felt his chest rise sharply against mine. A soft breeze kicked up, stirring the canopies. They rolled noiselessly, revealing the sky. I knew he was going to kiss me then. The intent was in his stare, in the way he lowered his head to mine and parted his lips. I reached up, placing my hand on his cheek. His skin was warm, hotter than mine.

Roth pressed against me and my heart beat crazy fast. Our bodies were nearly flush, pieced together, and his musky, wild scent enveloped me. There was a brief moment when his lower body rocked against mine, and every nerve I had came alive, but then he sighed a sound full of regret and rolled off me.

Rolled right on off me.

Standing beside the lounge, he stretched his arms up over his head, flashing a tantalizing glimpse of his abs and the dragon tattoo. “I’ll get us some coffee. We need to talk.”

There was no chance to respond. He was just gone. Poofed like Cayman had in the hall the night before. What the Hell?

Sitting up, I pressed my palm against my forehead and groaned. I used his absence to gather my wits and calm my chaotic pulse. Five minutes later he returned with two cups of steaming coffee.

I blinked. “That was fast.”

“Being a demon has its benefits. Never have to worry about traffic jams.” He popped open the tab and handed it over. “Be careful. It’s hot.”

I murmured my thanks. “What time is it?”

“A little after five in the morning,” he said. “I’m thinking about skipping school today. You should.”

I smiled wearily. “Yeah. I don’t think school is going to happen.”

“Rebel.”

Saying nothing to that, I took a sip of the coffee. French vanilla? My favorite. Just how closely had Roth been watching?

He sat beside me, stretching out long legs. “Seriously, though, how are you feeling?”

“Better. My face doesn’t hurt as much.” I peeked up, wondering if he’d felt anything before he rolled off me and disappeared into thin air or if he’d just been messing with me. “How does it look?”

Roth’s gaze drifted over me, and I had a feeling he wasn’t really paying attention to the bruises. “It looks better.”

There was another stretch of silence, and I reached for my necklace out of habit.

It wasn’t there.

“My necklace?” Dismay hit me. “Petr ripped it off. I have to—”

“I forgot.” Roth leaned back and reached into his pocket. “I saw it on the ground and grabbed it. The chain is broken.”

I took it from his palm. Squeezing my hand around the ring, I wanted to cry like a fat, angry baby. “Thank you,” I whispered. “This ring…”

“It means a lot.”

I looked up. “It does.”

Roth shook his head. “You don’t know how important it really is.”

The ring seemed to burn against my palm and I looked down, slowly opening my hand. In the blossoming sunlight, the stone looked like it was full of black liquid. I thought back to what Roth had told me about my ring and then I thought about what Petr had said.

I looked up and found Roth watching me. A full minute passed before he spoke. “You must be so lonely.”