The Hidden (Shadowed Wings #1)(17)
The skin is filled up and mixed one last time, and Ryn and Zeph make quick work of my legs and feet. Ryn acts like we’re done, and I open my mouth to ask about my wings. It has everything to do with not wanting to repeat this whole forced bathing situation and nothing to do with the desire to have his hands on me again, I tell myself adamantly...multiple times. Zeph presses his hand at the base of my spine, and he slowly traces up my vertebrae, stopping at the base of my wings. He applies a slight pressure between my shoulder blades, and a moan forms in my throat at the tingling sensation his touch starts in my back. My wings make a snapping noise, and then all of a sudden, the weight of them is gone from my back and shoulders.
I spin like a dog chasing its tail, looking over my shoulder to confirm that they’re gone. I look up at Zeph, shocked. “How did you do that?” I ask in awe.
He just glares at me with obvious disdain, and I try not to shrink under his hateful gaze. What the fuck is that for?
“In the water,” Ryn commands.
He moves away from me to grab a handful of the moss he set on a rock by the pool, and I pull my gaze away from Zeph’s loathsome stare and watch Ryn. I suddenly realize that I’m transfixed and practically drooling over his ass as he bends over, and I quickly tear my eyes away from his glutes and look out toward the trees with intense longing. A deep growl starts next to me, and Zeph makes his warning clear. I turn to meet his eyes again, the fuck you clear in my gaze and square off with him for a minute.
I tell myself to just get this over with. Once they know I’m telling the truth, I can go home and all of this will just be some confusing jumble of hot-as-fuck-fantasy mixed with confusing nightmare. I narrow my eyes at Zeph and move past him to step back into the pool. I would go for the aggressive shoulder slam as I walk past him, but I’m pretty sure that would do more damage to me than it ever would to his gargantuan ass.
The water once again stings my skin, too warm for my cold, numb limbs, but I grit my teeth against it and look up just in time to see Zeph untying the strings of his pants.
“Those will stay on,” I growl at him, and he looks from me to the water, down to his pants like I’m crazy for suggesting such a thing. “It’s bad enough that you’re putting me through all this, but I refuse to be in here with either one of you naked,” I demand.
“We won’t hurt you,” Ryn defends, and I turn to see that he was also unlacing his leather pants.
“I don’t know shit about you or what you might or might not do. I’m not just going to take your word for it,” I snap and swim back further into the pool. I tell myself that if things start to go bad, I will at least buy myself some time to escape if they have to get their pants off before they can hurt me. Besides, the last thing I need right now is to deal with their dicks and any effect they might have on my already conflicting desires.
Zeph and Ryn stare at each other for a second, and then Ryn shrugs and Zeph rolls his eyes. He grumbles something that I can’t make out and steps into the pool with his pants on. I get that Zeph thinks I’m some kind of spy for who the fuck only knows, but I have to wonder if he’s this much of a prick all the time or if this surly shit is just for me. Ryn follows him into the water, and I take a deep measured breath to prepare myself for round two of let’s fuck with Falon’s hormones.
“Drink this,” Ryn orders me as he walks toward me and extends his hand. He’s holding a small clear glass vial with light pink liquid in it.
I stare at him, making no effort to take it. “Right, I’m just going to down that with no questions, being that I’m all for giving you fuckers the benefit of the doubt,” I tell him, my nose scrunching up with distaste.
Ryn rolls his eyes at me now. “This just encourages the truth,” he tells me and then presses the vial closer. I lean away from it automatically, and Ryn lets out an irritated huff. He brings the vial to his lips and takes a sip. “See, it’s not poison or anything that’s going to hurt you,” he reassures once again, and I watch him warily for any signs that he’s lying.
I reach out and take the vial and bring it up to my nose and sniff. It smells like yellow cake, and I drop it to my lips and tilt my head back to drink the whole thing like a shot. A cool sensation spreads out inside of me, and I lick my lips as I hand the vial back to Ryn.
“What did it taste like to you?” he asks me oddly.
“Like yellow cake,” I answer, and I don’t miss the look that Ryn gives to Zeph who moves to my right. “Motherfuckers!” I shout at them and splash them both with water as I turn and try to swim away. Of course, their giant selves can fucking walk in this pool, and they stride toward me faster than I can swim away. “If you fucking roofied me, I’m going to kill you both. I don’t care if you’re the size of a mountain. I will find a bulldozer or a stick of dynamite or something. Not even mountains withstand that shit!”
I fight against the big hands that wrap around my waist and pull me backwards. I kick and flail, splashing around like a hooked shark desperate for escape. “I will go full House of Tyrell Sand Snake on your mountain asses, and you’ll be the ones getting your heads crushed. I will fucking crush your heads!” I screech as my back slams into the warm wet chest of either Zeph or Ryn. My threats become unintelligible as I battle to get out of my captor’s grip and curse them to hell and back.
I’m not sure how long I struggle or how long they just stand there and let me. I realize that it’s Zeph who’s holding me tightly to him like he’s trying to swaddle me with his body in order to get me to calm down, and I hate that it’s working. Tears prick my eyes again as I uselessly try to get away and he exerts very little effort to keep me right where I am. I stop screaming at them and breathe hard, trying to keep the feeling of helplessness and vulnerability from drowning me.