Savage Fae (Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac, #2)

by Caroline Peckham

I needed to get off over Elise. No one else was going to cut it.

“I’m beginning to think you torment me on purpose,” I growled. “Who me?” she asked innocently, turning so her mouth was half an inch from mine as she batted her lashes.

“She probably doesn’t keep anything but our files on the laptop anyway,” she sighed. “My thoughts exactly.” I tipped the coffee all over the keyboard and sparks shot out of it.

“Are you sure I don’t make you happy too?” I breathed.

I thought on my feet, flipping Elise back onto the desk, pushing her skirt up and unzipping my fly in the same instant. I fisted my hand in her hair, dragging her firmly against me the second the door swung open.

Elise gazed up at me with her lips wide and I glanced down at her bared panties between her thighs, fucking desperate for her as her legs tightened either side of me.

I didn’t move, drinking in the feel of her so close, my heart pounding frantically where her hand was fisted against me.

stepping back to let Elise up and missing the contact of her the second she moved away.

we headed to the door and Elise threaded her fingers through mine, tugging me toward her before I could leave.

“You do make me happy, Ryder.” She skated her lips to my jaw and I clutched her against my side with a groan of lust. “I wish I could show you how much.”

Elise kept her hand in mine as we headed back downstairs, laughing like two naughty school kids.

“You make me feel happy too, Elise. Forget pain or lust. Just happy. Are you going to tattoo it on my dick or am I?”

“That would make an interesting date.” “It would make a messy one. If you touch it, it’ll go off. Especially if there’s a needle involved.”

“I thought you were going to make me forget my own name?” she teased. “I will on round two.”

she looked to me with her cheeks colouring and her eyes bright. And I was pretty sure it was the best way anyone ha...

“Hey,” he said, glancing down at me like he wasn’t entirely sure what reception I’d give him. “Oh, talking to me in public are you?” I teased. “What is this, my birthday?” “Must be,” he agreed, the corner of his mouth twitching with amusement.

Gabriel growled in the back of his throat beside us and I huffed impatiently in response. “Something you’d like to say?” I asked him, arching a brow in his direction.

“The drugs are mine, Professor,” Gabriel’s voice averted world war three and I paused the coming tirade as I turned to stare at him.

uhhhhh

“I don’t need lies from you, Nox,” Mars said irritably. “Save the Romeo and Juliet shit for after hours.” “It’s not a lie,” Gabriel insisted. “It is a lie,” I countered, glaring at him.

You both want detention? Fine.

“Can’t you just cut off my arm or something instead? Anything would be less painful than spending more time with her.”

a large hand took mine and I flinched in surprise as I looked up at Gabriel. “Come on,” he said, tugging my hand and drawing me after him into the room.

I was so shocked by his behaviour that I didn’t even resist as he led me straight up the stairs at the centre of the auditorium and took me to the back row. We kept going until we were in the corner of the room and he dropped down into a chair, tugging me down with him.

and I watched Gabriel as he stared straight ahead, acting like him holding my hand wasn’t strange as fuck. And also weirdly nice.

“So what is it?” I asked Gabriel in a whisper. “Do you just get off on being the knight in shining armour or something?” The corner of Gabriel’s mouth twitched and he turned slowly to look at me.

“Only when it comes to you apparently.” “Convenient,” I sighed. “Not really,” he countered. “You make it very difficult.”

Gabriel hesitated for a moment then sighed, his thumb trailing over the back of my hand. I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t reclaimed it yet but I kinda liked the way it fit in his.

“For this and that,” he said vaguely. Of course he didn’t give me a real answer.

“Elise…” he began in a low voice. “I want you to know that my reasons for trying to avoid our fate were never anything to do with you…”

though my heart beat a little harder in denial of those words.

“Then tell me that I’m crazy,” he said, twisting in his chair so that he could speak into my ear. The distance between us was disappearing, the walls I’d put in place crumbling apart with the slightest movement of his mouth. “Tell me that I’m wrong…that you don’t feel this.”

I ached to lean closer, press my mouth to his and run my hands over every inch of his flesh.

because I was an addict. But Killblaze wasn’t my drug of choice. The Kings were.

“Gabriel,” I said slowly, either a warning for him to stay away or a plea for him to move closer. In that moment I had no idea which.

I turned my gaze back to Gabriel and raised an eyebrow as I found him smiling. Like, full on, actual teeth on show, smiling.

The difference it made to his face was astonishing. He was already painfully good looking before but without his smoulder in full effect he was just plain captivating.

“You know, I think that’s the first time I think I’ve ever seen you smile,” I pointed out. “Well I wouldn’t get used to it,” ...

“Do you ever do anything reckless?” “You mean like trying to take the fall for someone who’s had drugs planted in their bag?” he teased.

“How good is your control over your water element?” I asked conspiratorially. “Pretty damn good,” he replied, matter of fact, not even bothering with being cocky.

“I just don’t like drawing attention to myself,” he countered.

daring him with my gaze. Gabriel held my eye for a long moment then turned to look back towards the front of the room.

Students screamed as they were drenched and I laughed, grabbing Gabriel’s hand again and hoisting him to his feet as everyone began running for the exit in the dark.

Gabriel kept pace beside me and we didn’t slow until we’d slipped into the cover of The Iron Wood.

Gabriel pushed a hand through his soaking black hair with a grin, drawing the water out of it with his control of the Element.

“What’s the matter, Gabriel?” I joked. “Don’t you like me all wet?” His gaze slid over me slowly and he almost smiled. “I like you like this,” he admitted. “But not because you’re wet.”

“What am I then?” “Happy,” he said simply.

“Feeling happy sometimes doesn’t mean you loved him any less,” he said slowly.

“I can laugh and smile and have fun from time to time,” I said. “But the pain never goes. I can cover it up a little here and there but it still rules me.”

And I can’t even begin to remember what it was to live without this pain in me now.”

“The dead don’t want anything,” I interrupted. “Because that was stolen from them alongside everything else.