The Princess & Her Alphaholes by Renee O’Roark

Chapter Ten

Complete One-Eighty

Krinessa

It doesn’t take them long to lock me back into the car, alone this time. The drive is almost peaceful now that I’m not fighting them, but every time I feel the car stop, I feel like screaming because none of them open the doors. After hours of sitting here by myself, I start to get anxious.

What if she isn’t really my mother? What if she is and she’s not human? What if we find her and she doesn’t want to help get this mark off me? What if….

Stop it Krizzy. What ifs never help anyone. Focus on the fact that this could all be over and done with sooner than expected.

The sunlight fades as the car finally stops again. Gadriel is the one who opens the door, ushering me out into the chilly night air. I rub my arms, trying to get some warmth back into me but it doesn’t help.

“Here.” A fuzzy feeling spreads through me as Gadriel places his jacket over my shoulders and then wraps his arm around me. If I weren’t so cold, I’d argue that I’m just a mouse to him, but the words don’t come. A yawn cracks my jaw as I huddle into his side. For warmth, nothing more.

“Where is everyone?” I ask looking around the parking lot of the hotel we’re at. The hotel doesn’t look too bad, kind of like those three- and four-star hotels you find in small towns, which makes sense considering this entire street is all restaurants, shops and the single hotel. Haven was like that, one main street for businesses the rest of the town was residential.

“Kane’s checking us into the hotel, Rafe’s grabbing something for dinner.”

“So, you drew the short straw. Forced to look after the pathetic human.” I turn so I can see him better, his entire face is flushed red. The colour even extends to his neck. I’m curious if it goes all the way down his body but shake that thought away.

“You’re not human.” He grunts in that dead tone of his.

“I am human. You said so yourself not two days ago.”

“You’re not human! You’re a Cabaris. Lilith’s vessel. That’s who you are, you need to accept it.” As though his words are a spell, he starts to lean down towards me, his eyes glued to my lips. I lose my train of thought as he steals my breath.

That one breath of distance, if either of us close the small distance, we could end our little feud, I’m sure of it.

I blink, taking my eyes from his golden ones. In that split second he leans right in. Our lips touch, it’s as simple as that. The connection between our flesh in that single place is like a connection of our souls. Nothing in the world exists in this moment, only that slight connection.

I’m not sure which of us do it, but eventually we begin to move. It becomes a dance, small caresses spinning and swaying into larger ones before he opens his mouth and I’m drowning in his taste, it’s like cinnamon and mint but underneath those flavours is the essence of Gadriel. Something that’s uniquely him and completely indescribable.

I’m not just drowning in flavours; I’m also drowning in a sea of emotions. I hate him. I want him. I need him. I loathe him. I could love him.

“Fuck. No!” I wrench myself away, heart pounding and body shaking. “This is wrong.” I shake my head. “All wrong.”

“Dude, I told you kissing takes practice. Fuck man, try again, maybe she can teach you.” Rafe’s voice snaps me out of my panic. I back away shaking my head harder.

“Krinessa?” Gadriel saying my name is too much. I spin on my heels and run.

Right into Kane’s chest. My head throbs from the impact, but the pain only makes everything worse. I can’t be falling for the asshole. Kane’s arms band around me, holding me tightly to his chest. I slump into his hold, practically melting. Yeah, no. I’m not falling for Gadriel because I still have feelings for Kane. Rafe too if I’m being honest.

Fuck! I don’t have feelings… they’re demons. Get your shit together Krizzy. I push Kane away, my hands lingering on his solid pectoral muscles. It takes everything in me to remove my hands. I can’t look at any of them. Hanging my head, I move away from Kane until I’m standing next to the car again. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Gadriel bend down to scoop up his jacket. I’m not sure when it fell off my shoulders. Must have been when we were kissing. My fingers drift up to my lips, hovering without touching. I kissed Gadriel. Kissed him and he kissed me back.

Someone clears their throat making me jump. “We ah, should go eat and sleep.” Gad mutters rubbing the back of his neck raw. He looks like he’s as uncomfortable as I am right now.

“Yeah, about that. We have a bit of a problem.” Kane looks like he’s about to bolt.

“What?” Both Gadriel and I ask at the same time.

“They only had two beds left, apparently there’s a comic convention in town and they’re booked solid.”

“I’ll just take the couch.” Gadriel offers with a pointed look at me. Like I’d argue about sleeping in a bed. I roll my eyes as he continues to stare me down.

“It’s not that sort of hotel Gad. The room only has two single beds and a bathroom.”

“You and Krinessa take the beds, Kane can take the first watch. I have something I need to do anyway. I’ll be back in a couple hours and we’ll swap out.” Gadriel turns back around and jumps back into the car. I’m not sure what to think about him kissing me then running away, but it’s not like we agreed to date or anything. It was just one kiss.

A kiss I didn’t want anyway.

Kane, Rafe and I head into the hotel. It’s a typical hotel from what I can see, a clean well-ordered lobby, with a single check-in desk and a tired looking college aged kid behind the desk. I suppose he’s not really a kid, probably older than me, but he looks like he’s still a teen; skinny with floppy red hair and freckles covering his face from his nose to his forehead. He looks up as we cross the room, glancing once at Rafe and Kane, then giving me an overly long appraising look.

If I worked in a hotel, I’d probably be bored enough to find all the guests interesting too. Although I’d probably just read a book to pass the time. This guy seems to entertain himself by daydreaming about guests if the Dopey grin on his face is anything to go by.

Kane gives the guy a polite wave, while Rafe glares at the poor kid as we wait for the elevator to arrive. I’m almost glad for the elevator’s quick arrival when Dopey gets up from his seat and starts walking towards us. He’s staring right at me and its starting to creep me out. “Do you need any help?” He asks just as the doors to the elevator close us inside the box. I let out a sigh of relief at having dodged his attention but then the doors open almost immediately and Dopey gets into the elevator with us.

I move closer to Kane, practically hiding behind him. His eyebrow lifts in question but he doesn’t say anything. Dopey presses the button for the third floor and then turns his attention back to me. “You guys here for the convention?”

“Nope.” Rafe snaps out.

“Just passing through town then?” Again, Dopey keeps his gaze entirely on me, effectively ignoring the guys on either side of me.

“Nope.” Kane says it this time. He frowns at Dopey, then at me, I can literally see the moment he realises why Dopey is in the elevator. Without a word, Kane wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me tightly into his side. He even brushes a soft kiss across my brow before looking back at Dopey out of the corner of his eye. With my back now to Dopey, I’m not sure what Kane sees on his face but whatever it is makes Kane smirk like a cat who just caught the canary.

“Fucking demons.” Dopey growls as he punches the second-floor button. The doors ding open and he walks out, but before the doors can close again, he sticks his hand back in and hits every single button.

Kane curses as the doors close. “Fucking prick did that on purpose, we’re on the eighth floor.”

I grunt and shrug Kane’s arm off my shoulders. It takes me less than a minute to double press each button, cancelling the ones we don’t need. As I turn back to face the guys, I find them both slack jawed. “What?”

“I didn’t know you could do that.” Rafe mutters.

“It’s a safety feature. You can avoid stopping on every floor by simply pressing each button twice more.” I shrug, unsure why they’re making a big deal out of it.

“You know, you’re pretty smart for a human raised demon.” Kane wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to his side.

My effort to push him away is pretty futile, all my shoving does is make me wriggle around in his arms. “I’m not a demon.” I spit the words out like they’re poisonous.

“Actually, you are but we’ll discuss that later. We’re here.”

The room really isn’t much to look at, nothing more than two beds and a bathroom with a tiny shower and toilet. The sink is so small you’d have to wash one hand at a time. “So, if you’re demons then why the cheap ass hotel?”

“What, you think all demons are rich? Come on babe, we rarely come up to this realm, how would we accumulate much if we’re never here?” Kane whines.

“Then what was with the penthouse?” I’m genuinely curious, but I keep my face blank.

“Oh, that place isn’t in the earth realm, the entrance to the garage is a portal, humans only see an old abandoned insane asylum.” Again, it’s Kane who answers.

I glance at Rafe as he paces across the small space between the beds. “I’ll be back in a bit. Got something I need to take care of.” He doesn’t even wait for a response, just storms out the door, practically slamming it behind him.

“What’s with him?” I ask curious.

“He’s probably going to beat the shit out of that punk who pressed all the buttons.”

My jaw hits the floor, “You can’t be serious.”

“Deadly.” The casual way in which Kane speaks is enough to have me freaking the fuck out. Just how cruel can these guys get?

“We have to stop him.”

“Why?” Kane’s head cocks to the side, his brows furrowed in confusion.

“Cause….” I’m not sure what to say. “Cause it’s the right thing to do.” It sounds lame even to my own ears. “Because it’s wrong to beat someone up for pressing a bunch of buttons.”

“Oh, he’s not beating him up for that.”

“Then why?”

Kane’s green eyes begin to glow as he looks over my body from head to toe. My heart pounds as though his gaze has developed a sense of touch. I can feel what it would be like to have his hands on my body. I clench my legs together, trying to quell the ache his gaze is igniting.

“Doesn’t matter.” He suddenly snaps as he prowls towards me and before I know it, he’s crowding my space, blocking me in against the wall with his far too sexy arms. I open to my mouth to ask what he thinks he’s doing, but his lips hit mine with a fury that has pain coursing through my bottom lip. The coppery tang of blood lets me know that he's split the skin, but he just groans and sucks my lip into his mouth, sucking the tortured flesh as though it’s the most delicious meal he's ever tasted.

His hands skim over my shoulders, yanking the thin straps of my dress down, exposing my breasts to the cool night air. The sudden cold has my already hard peaks turning into diamonds.

Little gasps escape my lips as he lets my lip go with a small pop and kisses me headily again. I'm drowning in his taste, his touch, everything he's doing to me. Every single nerve ending in my body is alight, so much so that I'm sure I could come from a single touch right now.

Kane doesn't disappoint, his hands slip beneath the tight red dress I'm wearing, skilled fingers strumming my bundle of nerves. I'm a quivering mess as he presses against that bundle harder, making me cry out.

I'm being tortured by pleasure as he slams my back into the wall, somehow my dress ends up around my waist as my legs wrap around him. I can feel him pulsing as he grinds against my pussy.

His hand finds its way between us, pressing hard on my clit before he withdraws again. In an instant he's inside me, filling me fuller than I've ever been before. My inner walls clench around him, caressing his thick length. The groan that slips from his lips is like a siren's song to my already turned-on body. I'm close to the edge but instead of pushing me over, Kane pulls back, sliding out of my tight channel and making me whimper.

He turns me so I'm practically hugging the wall before gripping my hips hard. He slides in slowly from behind, making me feel every inch of him before drawing back out just as infuriatingly slow.

Every whimper that leaves my lips is enough to spur him on.

It's torture.

It's heaven.

It's fucking hell.

A sharp pain on my shoulder has me crying out again as his teeth dig into my flesh. Every pull of his lips is followed by a hard thrust until he's pumping into me so fast, I start to collapse.

My orgasm rips through me like a tidal wave. Leaving me a panting, quivering mess. If it weren’t for his hands digging into my hips, I'd be on the floor in a puddle of ecstasy.

Three more pumps and he's crying out my name as he comes hard enough to set off a second orgasm inside me.