…ticktock.
I leave it and continue with my makeup. The monster of all distractions. The one activity that truly took me out of my own head growing up. Playing with different styles of makeup, being who I wanted to be on stage. It’s what kept me alive. I dress in a quicker time, choosing a skimpy two-piece outfit. The skirt is a maxi style that’s tight and has two slits running all the way up both thighs, stopping near my hip bones, and the top is cropped, which crosses over my ribs and then ties up to a strapless-style halter that only just covers the swell of my cleavage. I match it with pointed heel ankle boots that resemble a kind of new-age witch aesthetic, and for the hundredth time since I’ve been here, I thank the gods that Saskia helped fill my wardrobe. I swipe the wand of my lipstick over my lips one last time, a black-tinted burgundy, before making my way back downstairs. As soon as my feet hit the bottom of the stairs over the deep bass of CORPSE, Saskia jumps down from the barstool to greet me, but only after Killian swipes her skirt back down over her ass.
She whacks his hand away, catcalling while taking me in head to toe. “Goddamn. You look like your reputation.”
I wiggle my brows and take the shot glass off her, shooting it down. It’s not until I hiss through the fire burning down my throat and simmering in my belly that I realize I either need to do that a lot more or never again because it was as bad as I thought it would be. “I can’t wait to see what Eli is hiding at this club…” I wink to where he’s staring at me with his mouth agape.
Eli is piercingly animated. All of what is going through his head usually passes over his face. All but whatever he’s thinking right in this moment, but before I can think deeper into it, I’m ping-ponged back to the present when a wave of heat licks over my spine from behind.
I turn to look over my shoulder, and when I spot what he’s wearing, my mouth curves all on its own, because damn. Dark jeans, heavy boots with the laces loose, and a clean white shirt with an LV logo stitched at the front. His hair is hardly styled, but his cheeks look flushed and his eyes are an extra shade darker tonight. Images flash of him coming undone inside of me last night.
“Fuck. Lilith…”
My mouth waters and my thighs clench together.
Before I can pull my knotted stomach apart and calm down, he slaps his palm over my ass cheek before making his way to where Killian, Eli, and Keaton are talking. He fucked me for eight hours straight, but now I’m wondering if he took something else from me last night. Like my will to stay away from him. I gave him a dozen orgasms, and all he did was suck it off my inner thigh like it was his own personal poison.
“I fear you may need another shot.” Saskia chuckles, hooking her arm with mine as we make our way back into the kitchen.
I lean against the counter beside Eli, who’s talking about some drama he’s facing with one of the hotels he owns in New York, when I lean over to rest my elbows on the counter. “I’m bored.” The words leave my lips before I realize what I’ve said. They all stop talking, except Sass, of course, who is pouring more shots. I take two, shoot them back, and slide the empty glasses toward her. Guess we’re going with the latter as far as the shots are concerned.
“Alright, let’s go!” Sass says, tilting her head back and snuggling beneath Killian’s arm.
We all follow them out to a city limo that’s idling near the park we’re staying at, sliding in one at a time.
Kyrin’s phone pings in his pocket just as we’re pulling out onto the road. His brows tug into the middle of his forehead before he taps at Killian who is beside him and shows him whatever is on his screen.
“How far is it to town?” I ask, adjusting my boobs in my shirt.
Eli leans over and flicks the hem. “You know, this is sexy as fuck.”
“You like?” I smirk, crossing my leg over the other.
He closes some of the distance between us until I can almost taste his breath on the tip of my tongue. Just when I think he’s going to say something, he arches into the crook of my neck and nuzzles on my skin.
“You’re a fucking drug, Lilith Patience.”
“I am…” I whisper, pressing farther into him, seeking that warmth. He pulls back slightly and leans just enough for our noses to touch. “Are you going to kiss me?”