Lost in Salvation

23. Hunting Season

Lorelei

Disdain drips from my words like poison. "Please," I scoff.  "I came because of a vibrator," 

I knew what I was saying wasn't true, they knew it too, but to admit the truth would be far worse than keeping up this charade. Wren was right, I had been embarrassed after the little show I was dared to put on for Kenzo and Hunter. I've been hiding up in my room because I don't know how to face them now, I don't know how to even face myself. I'm supposed to be mourning my dead mother, plotting for revenge, not shacking up with the enemy. Never mind the fact that now two of them really do know what I look like when I come. 

I've never been shy, especially with my sexual explorations. I'm comfortable in my skin and sex isn't anything to be ashamed of. But god, there's just something about these four. My face has honestly never been redder. 

Wren advances and I retreat, backing myself into the dining room table. He stares pointedly at my figure, smirking as if we were sharing some kind of secret. 

"Just admit it, Lori." His baritone voice calls to equally dark desires that I've tried very hard to keep hidden. 

Everything falls away when he looks at me like this, when any of them give me this kind of attention, and that is a huge problem. 

Crossing my arms, I huff, casting my eyes towards the rest of the group in an attempt to calm my erratic heartbeat. I apparently have the worst ideas because the second I do, I realize that even Cyrus has paused his movements to watch us duel. It's as if none of them can resist grabbing some popcorn and spectating.

"This is ridiculous!" Throwing my hands into the air, I narrow my gaze. "What are we doing here, huh?" I poke a finger at Wren's muscled, far too close for comfort chest. "I hate all of you."

Just like the other day, he laughs at my meant to be threat. Which is far more dehumanizing than I had expected. Pushing forward once more, Wren levels his eyes with mine, picking up a lock of my hair and twirling it in his fingers. 

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think women get wet for men they hate." He's so smug right now, so outright arrogant that it practically rolls off of him in waves. He thinks he has me trapped, caught in my own lie. The Ledgers always did foolishly underestimate us Phoenixes.  

Licking my lips, I allow a small smile to grace my features. "So what does that make you? The little puppy begging for just a taste?" 

Nostrils flared, he grabs the back of my neck, spinning me around so that my back now slams into his chest. Air escapes from my lungs at the suddenness of his actions and I'm quite certain he can feel my thumping pulse beneath his fingertips. Nerves coil in my stomach, his touch causing both heat and pain to course through my body. I can feel each intake of his breath as the room grows completely silent. I can now also feel the growing bulge situated just above my ass, which has me slightly curious. 

"Someone has a choking kink," I remark aloud, earning a snicker from somewhere in the room. 

"We control you now, I don't have to beg for anything." His lips scrape against the shell of my ear, causing me to jump as the hair on the back of my neck raises. 

"Wren," Cyrus warns, sounding closer than he was before. 

"I can handle myself, Cyrus." My voice is strained, raspy. "I guess because of your limited experience and award winning arrogance, you wouldn't be able to decipher when a woman wants nothing to do with you, Ledger."