Fate of a Royal (Lords of Rathe, #1)(29)

Ben and I nod enthusiastically, secretly squeezing each other because we are most definitely hoping to leave here with someone.

The moment he’s gone we start laughing.

I swiftly steer Ben toward the door a certain silver-haired boy slipped through, but before we make it halfway, we’re intercepted by a leggy blonde with green eyes and tits that would make Pamela Anderson weep.

In a flash, her hands are on Ben’s pecs and his body jolts slightly.

Frowning, I look up at him, but he’s smiling wide at the Playboy version of Barbie before him.

“Alex.” He smirks.

“Benjamin,” she purrs back and I kind of want to vomit because I know that tone. The sugary sweet tone of desperation.

Ben was right.

He’s getting laid tonight.

When I release his arm, he looks at me and only then does his mystery date Alex do the same.

She smiles at first, but then her head tips and she presses closer, her heels meeting my Chucks.

Wait. Is she about to kiss me?

I mean, I wouldn’t stop her if she were. Actually, maybe I would since she’s Ben’s happy ending tonight. I’m not about to join in on some kinky shit with my best friend. Love him, seen and appreciate the size of his cock, but I don’t want it anywhere near me.

Suddenly, one of her hands leaves Ben, her teeth sinking into her lower lip as she reaches up to cup my cheek, but before her palm can meet my skin, her wrist is caught mid-air.

All our eyes snap up to the guy it belongs to and my mouth runs dry. Crap.

It’s the other guy from the diner. The angry one with a darker shade of blue eyes than Knight but the same color hair and skin. The similarities … they can’t be a coincidence.

They have to be related.

“Creed.” Alex grins, and I swear little sparks burst in her eyes. “Want to play too?”

Ben and I catch each other’s gaze a moment and he fights a grin as if to say I found myself a freak, be jealous. And you know what, I might be if I wasn’t so interested in what this Creed, as she called him, has to say.

“Not this one.” His tone is calm, a stark contrast to the harshness of his expression.

The guy is tall, maybe almost as tall as Knight, minus an inch or two, and I can’t help but enjoy the way his black shirt stretches over his biceps. I’ve got the urge to lick across the bulging vein there, but the death glare he shoots me makes me think he wouldn’t be into that.

But the way his tongue rolls across his lip has me questioning my whole life. Or maybe I’m still horny from the live action and I’m not thinking straight.

“Why not? She smells so…sweet. Different.” She reaches for me again. “Almost like I can taste her already. And the boost…”

O-kay. She’s a looney freak.

And what’s this about a boost?

“Not. This. One.” Creed’s words are low, lethal even.

Alex doesn’t push. She grabs on to Ben’s hand and drags him into the swarm of sweaty bodies. He turns, flashing me a thumbs-up before he’s gone. Poof. Disappeared and most likely about to have the best night of his life.

Lucky bastard.

Before I can face forward, Creed is in my space, backing me up until my heels meet the edge of something that prevents me from going any farther.

His eyes are an entrancing sort of blue, like the glare of the ocean on a stormy night. Even hard and narrowed on mine, there’s something gentle about them. Something deeper than the anger his expression wants me to hold on to. Almost a sort of panicked desperation for…more. More of what? I couldn’t pretend to guess, but I want to.

Apparently, I want to touch him too. Before I know what I’m doing, my hand has lifted, my fingers brushing over the tension lines of his eyes. When my skin meets his, warmth brushes my fingertips. The lines deepen, but he turns further into me. Not enough for it to be noticeable, but enough for him to cover more of my hand. He’s so close that I can feel the muscles of his thighs against my hips and the length tucked in his jeans against my stomach. He’s hard.

For a moment, he leans into my touch, his own darting up to grip my waist and a sharp breath hisses past my lips.

His hand is large, his grip strong.

Creed lowers his head, and I wonder if he’s the second person in the span of five minutes who’s about to kiss me and if I have any intentions of stopping him, which I’m pretty sure is a hard no. At the last second, his lips find my ear.

“Careful, Little London. The Lycan are the tamest of predators at this party. Wouldn’t want you to stumble upon something much … darker.”

“What’s wrong with that?” I egg him on, my breath fanning along his collarbone as he’s still bent toward me. I smile when the muscles constrict. “There’s something so enticing about all the trouble you can get into when the sun has burned to ash and all that’s left is the hidden cloak of midnight.” I lean farther into him. “Can I play?”

I swear I hear a small groan from deep within his throat and the fingers pressing my hip dig deeper into my skin, but he yanks himself away as quick as it comes, stalking past without a word.

Dropping my head back against the wall, I take a moment to breathe, unable to deny the ache that’s settled between my legs. This party is one massive pussy tease. I’ll fuck the next thing that bumps into me. I need something. Or I’m going into one of those rooms. Preferably one that runs like a thirty-minute circuit.