Chasing Wishes

  My gaze instinctively flits to Arrow, who’s staring at me with his brows knit, but then he rapidly looks away when our gazes collide and drags his hand over the top of his head.

  “Do you want us to do that?” East asks, sketching a path across my waist. “Do you want us to all touch you like that?”

  “Like what?” My voice is a bit shaky, but at least I get the words out. “I really have no idea what you’re talking about since I never saw you touching Darla.”

  A deep chuckle reverberates through his chest. “You’re good, sweetheart. Maybe one of the best I’ve seen in a while.”

  My heart flutters in my chest at his compliment, but I tell it to shut the fuck up. That we’re so not going there, to a place where I actually get excited over a compliment from a faerie.

  “Again, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say evenly, causing the corners of Asher’s lips to twitch.

  “Hmm … Well, if that’s the case, then I guess I better show you.” He brushes his lips along the side of my neck.

  Both tension and desire flare through my body, and I swallow hard.

  “I don’t need a demonstration.” I internally cringe at how flustered I sound.

  “You sure about that?” He kisses my neck again, slightly parting his lips to gently suck on my skin.

  I squeeze my eyes shut as a soft gasp slips past my lips. Goosebumps break out across my flesh as he traces circles along my hipbone—

  “That’s enough,” Asher bites out.

  My eyelids flutter open as East pulls back. Then I hurriedly smash my lips together, trying to hide my breathlessness, but the binding corset makes the rising and crashing of my chest painfully obvious.

  “Yeah, you’re probably right. I do need to stop,” East says to Asher then presses a savoring kiss to my shoulder. “But only so we can do the demonstration properly.” He splays his fingers across my hip. “Come on, Ash; you’re just as much a part of this as I am.”

  “I don’t want a demonstration.” What I want is this needy desire to stop controlling my body. The problem is, I’ve never been touched like this before—never been touched much at all—and my body thinks it’s been missing out on something.

  Stupid hormones.

  “I’m not going to do anything right now,” Asher says flatly, although his eyes are saying the opposite, blazing with flames. “We have other shit that needs to be done, so get your hands off her and let’s get the demon’s soul out of her damn body before she wakes up.”

  It’s like a cold bucket of ice water has been dumped over my head.

  I wiggle out of East’s arms and fold my arms across my chest. “You’re taking her soul? Huh … Why?”

  Asher’s gaze bores into mine for a brief but intense moment, then he yanks his eyes off me and focuses on the demon. “Because we need it to get into the vault.”

  “Which is what exactly?” I gesture for him to give me more.

  “The place where the Steel books are kept,” Arrow explains, his arm brushing mine as he steps closer to me. “To get inside it, we need some very specific items.”

  “Like a demon soul?” I still can’t wrap my head around that. “I didn’t even realize demons have souls.”

  “They do, but they’re very small and withered.” Asher crouches down beside Darla and tilts his head to the side as he examines her. “We’re lucky she showed up, or else we would’ve had to track one down. This way saved us a lot of time and headaches.”

  “Do you guys have demons knocking on your door a lot?” I ask, adjusting the top of the corset.

  Now East’s shoulder lightly brushes against mine as he steps up to my other side while rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. “Not always, but sometimes.” When I crinkle my nose, he adds, “Darla’s a groupie. She usually shows up at least once during every tour stop.”

  “So, she follows you around to different planets?” I ask, and East nods. “How pathetic.”

  “I completely agree.” East flashes me a wicked grin. “I’d much rather be doing the chasing.”

  I press my lips together, the spot on my neck where he sucked tingling a bit. “Not everyone who runs from you wants to be chased.”

  His brow elevates. “Is this another one of our life lessons?”

  I press back a smile. “Maybe.”

  Curiosity sparkles in his eyes. “What about you?”

  My brows furrow. “What about me?”

  He slants forward, his voice lowering. “Do you want to be chased?”

  I roll my eyes. “In your dreams.”

  His grin widens. “Do we really need to do this again? I know you’re lying. About a lot of things.” When I playfully glare at him, he moves even closer. “It’s okay to like me touching you. I like it just as much.” He traces his finger along my shoulder and grins when I shiver. Then he steps away and crouches down beside Asher.

  I let a slow breath ease past my lips, feeling frazzled and uneasy and … well, like I’m fluttering inside.

  Fuck.

  Asher glances at me then at East before shaking his head. “Are you done wasting time?”

  East gives him a thumbs-up. “Yep, I’m good.”

  Asher heaves a sigh then rolls up his sleeves and adjusts his cuffs. “Then let’s get this over with so we can get back here in time to transport to the arena.”

  “Relax, we’ll have plenty of time.” East places his hands on the demon’s arm.

  I’ve never seen a soul extracted from anything before, so I slant forward to get a better look as Asher leans over Darla’s face—

  Arrow enfolds his metal fingers around my wrist and rapidly steers me toward the hallway. “You don’t want to be in there while they do that; trust me.”

  “Is it gross?” I ask as we stop in front of a shut door that I know leads to his room. Not that I’ve ever been in there before. I just glanced in once when I snuck into their vehicle to steal Asher’s lamp.

  Nodding, he pushes open the door. “When a demon drinks a soul, they drink it out of the creature’s or human’s mouth. But to get a demon’s soul out of their body, you have to reach into their mouth and pull it out.”

  I shudder at the mental image of Asher reaching into Darla’s throat. “I owe you a huge thank you then, because there is no way in hell I wanted to see that.”

  Arrow offers me a small smile, though his face is creased with tension as he pulls me into the room with him. “There are a couple of things I want to talk to you about, starting with that tattoo on your back.” He releases my arm, walks over to a metal dresser, and opens the top drawer.

  “Do you think it’s something bad?” I take in all the different shades of metals and gadgets around the room, the orbed chandelier, the gleaming metal floor, and the massive four-poster bed welded with various metals.

  His room is wicked cool.

  “I think it might be a key to what you are.” He bumps the dresser drawer shut, clutching a small, metal box in his hand. “Like a mark or something.”

  I blink in surprise. “Really?”

  He nods then sits down on the edge of the bed. “Tattoos don’t just appear out of nowhere. They have to be put on you.” He sets the metal box down and pries off the lid. “And I’m not sure that the star on your back is a tattoo.”

  “It looks like one to me.” I watch as he removes a rag from inside the box and starts rubbing it across the charred piece of bronzed metal weaved through the flesh of his arm.

  “If you look closely at it, you can see it has a sparkly texture to it, and it’s a bit elevated. Tattoos are usually made with flat ink stained into the skin.” He scrubs harder at the spot. “Plus, those symbols inside the star aren’t from any language I know. I’d like to find out if they mean anything.”

  “How do you do that?”

  “I know a few Seeker Seers in the city. They might know something. But we need to be careful what we say to them about you. Or anyone for that matter …” He trails off as he looks up and notes me
watching him. Then he swallows hard. “Darla burnt my metal with her flames. This is the only way I can get it off.” He squirms a bit. “Sorry if it’s weird.”

  Confusion weaves through me. “Why would it be weird?”

  He shrugs. “Some creatures find cyborgs’ habits a bit unsettling.”

  “You’re just polishing your arm. That’s not weird.” I sit down on the bed beside him and take the rag from him. Then I dip it into the polish that’s inside the metal tin before rubbing at the burnt spot on his arm. “See? Not a big deal.” I smile, but it swiftly falters when I notice he is staring at me in astonishment. “Sorry,” I say, figuring I crossed a line by not asking first.

  I start to stand up and give him the rag back, but he seizes ahold of my wrist.

  “No. Don’t,” he utters quietly.

  I hesitate then slowly sit back down and start rubbing at the singed spot again.

  His eyes track my hand as I drag the rag across the metal. I’m unsure what’s happening, but his eyes convey a drop of fascination, so I continue polishing him for longer than I probably need to.

  “I’m sorry I’m acting strange,” he mumbles, yanking his gaze away from my hand. “It’s just … I’ve never had anyone polish me before.”

  I chew on my bottom lip. Wait … Is this like porn for cyborgs or something?

  “It’s nothing sexual,” he quickly adds, as if reading my mind. “It’s just nice to be … touched.”

  “Do you not get touched a lot?” Okay, this conversation could be heading to some very awkward territory if I’m not careful.

  He shakes his head. “Most want nothing to do with my kind. Even my own kind doesn’t want to get close to each other.”

  “So, you spend a lot of time alone?” How sad. A sadness I understand way too well.

  “I did until I met Asher and East. Things changed when I joined the band. My life got more … hectic.”

  “In a bad way?”

  “In a different way than what I was used to.” He rotates to the side, bringing his knee up onto the bed between us. “It’s weird because, while I’m on stage, I’m surrounded by a ton of creatures screaming out my name. And even when I step off, there’re still so many creatures wanting to be near me. But somehow, I still feel alone most of the time.”

  “Maybe it’s because you haven’t found your person yet. Or, well, your creature.”

  His forehead furrows. “What do you mean?”

  I set the rag down on the bed and twist toward him, keeping my feet on the ground to avoid my skirt riding up higher than it already is. “Before I met Jason, I spent a lot of time alone. And I mean, really alone. I didn’t have any friends and my family was gone, and honestly, I was kind of afraid that, if I got too close to someone, I’d end up loving them and they’d die. But then I met Jason, and he wiggled his way into my life. We ended up becoming really good friends, and I found out that it was nice to have someone to talk to and to be there for me. And even though I always had to hold back a little when I was around him, he made me feel not as lonely.”

  Sadness flickers across his face. “The only creatures I’m close to is Asher and East, and honestly, I spend more time keeping them out of trouble than talking to them.” He rubs at another burnt spot on his arm with his thumb. “I swear they’re always getting in trouble.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me.”

  He offers me a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. I know that smile. Have worn one similar many times.

  “If you want, I can be your person.” And yep, I’ve officially lost my damn mind.

  What is going on with me lately? First, I let East kiss my neck, and now I’m offering to be Arrow’s BFF? I think all this worlds traveling and craziness is starting to mess with my head.

  “You’re offering to be my friend?” He seems confused and a bit amused.

  I shrug. “Well, you don’t have to be if you don’t want to. I just thought, since we’re here, and I currently don’t have my person, you could be mine and I could be yours.” I scrunch my nose. “Although, neither of us are really people, so I think we may need another term for our impending friendship.”

  He chuckles softly, his silver eyes bright. “You’re an interesting creature. You really are.”

  “Thanks … I think.”

  “It’s a good thing,” he assures me. “Trust me; I come from a world of boring and ordinary, and it’s not great.”

  I give a pressing glance at my outfit. “I’m not sure I agree with you on this world being boring and ordinary, since I have to dress up like this just to blend in.”

  A tiny smile graces his lips. “You look nice, though.”

  “Are you sure?” I question. “Because Asher seemed upset when he saw what I’m wearing.”

  “That wasn’t what he was upset about.”

  “Then, what had his panties all in a bunch?”

  His brows knit. “Panties in a bunch? What does that mean?”

  It’s like the foodgasm conversation all over again.

  “It’s an expression that means he was acting super uptight,” I attempt to explain.

  He shakes his head. “Your world has very odd terms.”

  “How would they say it on your planet then?”

  His lips threaten to turn upward. “That he was acting super uptight.”

  Smiling, I lightly swat his arm. “Whatever. I like human terms better. They’re much more … interesting. Then again, I’m not even human, so maybe all the terms I’m using are wrong.” A frown pulls at my lips as realization smacks me hard.

  I’m not human.

  I’m some weird-ass creature.

  What if my kind is from another planet than the one I grew up on?

  What if there’s this whole world I don’t know about?

  But, if all this is true, then how did I end up in the human world and was raised by my human parents? And as far as I can remember, they always treated me like I was human.

  Did my parents know what I am?

  My whole life has been one, big lie.

  “Just because you found out you’re not human, doesn’t mean your past doesn’t belong to you,” Arrow says sympathetically. “You’re still you, and you can remain being who you are. You don’t have to change, no matter what we find out about you.”

  His words bring me a drop of comfort.

  “You’re kind of good at this best friend’s thing.” I give him a playful yet accusing glance. “Are you sure you’ve never done it before?”

  His lips twitch into a smile. “Nope, I can honestly say you’re my first.”

  “What in the worlds are you two talking about?”

  Arrow and I both jump at the sound of East’s voice drifting from across the room, and then my gaze darts to the doorway.

  He’s standing there with a curiously amused expression.

  “It’s a secret,” Arrow tells him. Then he trades a quick, amused look with me, and I grin.

  “Yep, and we’re not going to tell you,” I add, smirking at East.

  East juts out his bottom lip. “That’s not very nice.”

  I lift a shoulder. “We’re not trying to be nice.”

  East’s frown deepens, then he leans back and calls out down the hallway, “Asher, Arrow and our lovely little pet are keeping a secret from us.”

  I roll my eyes. “What a little tattletale.”

  A ghost of a smile emerges on Arrow’s lips. “Oh, I know.” He takes the rag from me and sets it in the tin. “Usually, I’m the one he’s tattling to.”

  “You should come up with some sort of punishment system for whenever he does it,” I suggest with a conspiratorial grin.

  “I’ll only agree to that if you’re the one who gets to punish me,” East says as he ambles into the room.

  “Sounds good to me.” I tap my finger against my lips. “I’ll just need a pair of iron cuffs, a dragon ash laced whip, and a bottle of hell fire liquid.” Faeries are weakened by all the items I prattle off, so
I expect East to get offended. But I should know by now to never expect anything from East other than flirty smiles and dirty remarks.

  An impish grin etches across his face as steps closer to me until the front of his legs bump mine. “And how will you punish me with those?”

  “Um … by using them on you?” Why does he seem so pleased about this?

  His grin magnifies as he leans over me and places his hands beside my hips. “Harlynn, Harlynn, Harlynn, my innocent, naïve, little creature, I’m not sure what to do with you.”

  “Maybe back off,” Arrow suggests with a shrug.

  East’s eyes glint with surprised delight, but his gaze remains on me. “And yet, despite your naïve innocence, you’ve somehow managed to wrap Arrow around your little finger.”

  I try not to squirm. “I have not. We’re just friends.”

  “Really?” East is all sorts of amused as his gaze dances between Arrow and me. “He’s never tried to be friends with anyone before. Usually, he avoids everyone unless we force him to socialize.”

  Arrow’s silver eyes glaze over with irritation. “That’s because the company you invite to our vehicle usually isn’t worth getting to know.”

  “Yeah, probably,” East agrees. “But I find it amusing how quickly you’ve gotten close to our little thief.”

  “I’m not yours,” I point out in exasperation.

  “It’s okay,” he assures Arrow, ignoring me. “It’s good you like her since we’ll be keeping her for a while. Maybe forever, if she gets attached.”

  I glare at him. “That won’t happen.”

  East dramatically rolls his eyes. “We’ll see.”

  “You’re beyond annoying,” Arrow tells him.

  “But not beyond inaccurate.” Grinning, East pushes back and offers me his hand. “Are you ready to go, my little creature?”

  “Only if you stop calling me yours and little creature.”

  His smile is filled with trickery. “Then, what do you want me to call you?”

  “Um, my name,” I tell him like duh.

  He dismisses my request with a flick of his wrist. “That’s too easy.”

  I sigh. “And that’s a bad thing?”

  He nods in all seriousness. “Complications make life much more interesting.”