Laughing, uncaring about the sting in her chest, she pumped her arms in the air. Then she found herself peering into the familiar crystalline gaze of a spectator and lost her breath all over again. Thane had come to her game. And he was grinning, those scrumptious dimples on full display.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

ELIN DOWNED ANOTHER shot of “Legspreader.” That was what Bellorie had called the drink, anyway. It was sweet at first, but had a bitter aftershock, and oh, wow, it packed a powerful punch. Like a boulder, she thought with a grin.

After checking her out and declaring her sternum and ribs hadn’t shattered into a million little pieces, the girls had taken her to Inferno, a nightclub—Thane’s biggest competition—to celebrate their massive victory.

“Because of me,” she shouted with a laugh.

Beside her, Bellorie rolled her eyes.

Music thumped through the air. Lights were dimmed, creating a shadowy atmosphere. Smoke wafted, and bodies crowded...danced. Elin would have joined them, but she was currently too chummy with dizziness, and the black-and-white tiled floor wasn’t helping.

Bellorie patted her on the shoulder, and despite feeling numbed out, Elin grimaced. Her sternum and ribs weren’t broken, but there was a size-jumbotron bruise on her chest.

Jumbotron. Like Thane’s penis.

She snickered.

Maybe she needed to admit to him that she’d seen Thane Jr. at the Phoenix camp, and that, like a few of the romance-novel heroines she loved to read about, she didn’t think it would fit inside her. Then he would be determined to prove that it would, and she could at last have her wicked way with him.

Brilliant!

Because, here it was, flat out. They had chemistry. The kind that caused explosions. She had no idea why one element reacted to another, and she didn’t care. They just did. She was done fighting a losing battle. She wanted him. He wanted her. Why not try out a resextionship?

As he’d said, Bay would tell her to move on and be happy.

Somehow, Thane’s touch made her happy.

“So proud of you, Bonka Donk,” Bellorie said.

“Me, too,” she replied with a nod. “It’s got to be the best plan ever to be planned.”

“Plan?”

“Yep. Maybe even as soon as tonight I’ll be riding the jumbotron.”

“You are so weird.”

“Thank you.”

“Welcome,” Bellorie said with a nod that made her dizzier.

Thane would be supereasy to seduce. He wasn’t even mad at her! He must have understood what she’d hoped to accomplish by leaving him turned on—meeting every single one of his needs, even the darker ones, without actually harming him, or herself. Whether he denied having those needs or not.

“Last season, we lost to the Deep Fryers, a group of Phoenix,” Savy said. The girls stood around a small, circular table. “The ladies have since dropped out of the league due to fear of staking, and that really sucks, because a rematch would have been so cool. With Elin as bait, we could have stolen victory—and their boyfriends.”

“Woo-hoo!”

“Well, next up we play four Sent Ones,” Chanel said, flipping her hair over one shoulder. “The Knock Knocks. They’re part of Thane’s army. And don’t ever strike up a conversation with them. They’ll say, we’re the Knock Knocks, and you’ll think you’re being hilarious by saying, who’s there, and they’ll say, the girls that are gonna eff you up. Well, we are gonna eff them up.”

“I’m gonna be playing with jailhouse rules, ya’ll,” Octavia said, raising her glass.

Uh-oh. “Won’t Thane have a problem with us beating the faces off his fellow soldiers?”

The girls whooped with glee, and she frowned. She’d asked a serious question. Hadn’t she?

“Hells yeah, we’re gonna beat their faces off,” Savy shouted, and downed another shot. “They are gonna hurt so bad!”

This was the perfect conversation opener with Thane, Elin thought. Exactly what she needed to kick off a discussion about his penis. She closed her eyes, concentrating, and mentally reached out to him.

Are you gonna stake the Scorgasms when we cream the Knock Knocks? she asked.

Silence.

Had she failed?

Hello, kulta. His voice was pure eroticism as it whispered through her, touching every cell. She yelped. Have you been drinking to celebrate your victory?

Yes.

And how many have you had?

Only six—teen. No bigs. In college, I could out-drink anyone. So...where are you, and what are you doing? Better question: What are you wearing?

I was fighting demons. Now I’m in the air, flying. And I’m wearing a robe.

Robes are for girls.

I agree. You should wear one from now on. I like the easy access they provide to all my favorite parts.

Liquid heat pooled between her legs. Can I ask you a question?

You just did, he replied.

Har-har.

Ask.

She...forgot what she’d planned to say. So, she went with the one she’d wondered about for weeks: Why can’t Adrian touch a female?

Why do you care? This time, there was a bit of bite to his tone.

Curiosity only.

Then I will assuage it. He killed his last two lovers.

Oh. Talk about a bummer.

Quite.

So...why did he kill? How?

He’s too strong. An accidental mauling.

Both times?

“Elin,” Bellorie said, her tone odd. “You must listen to me.”

“Not yet,” she muttered. Things were about to get interesting.

“Now.”

Hold on, she said to Thane, finally remembering what she’d wanted to talk to him about. But don’t go away because I have a very important revelation about your penis.

At first, he offered no response. Then he rasped, I’m still aching, kulta. Are you going to do something about it?

Yes! But all she said was Time will tell.

Tease.

I’m not sure how it happened, but, yes.

Another pause before he said, I like it.

Denying the urge to twirl Sound-of-Music-style, Elin blinked open her eyes and faced her friend.

Bellorie’s expression registered, and she frowned. The girl looked...off. Relaxed, yes, but also emotionless as she waved to the male standing beside her. He was tall and wide, stacked with muscle, and, okay, he was quite handsome. But thousands of tiny snakes slithered from his scalp, like living strands of hair, and that was a...mild deterrent.