God of Wrath (Legacy of Gods #3) by Rina Kent

Cecily pulls on a drunk Ava’s hand, only to be tugged down and trip.

She’s wearing heels tonight and a fuck-me dress that’s designed to show off her curves, her slim legs, and her pale shoulders.

My cock twitches at the sight. Again. And I close my eyes for a brief second before I stalk toward them.

“Come on, Ava.” Cecily grabs her friend’s hand. “I told you I can’t carry you when you’re drunk.”

“Cecy!” Ava wraps her in a hug, grinning. “My beautiful bestie.”

Then she sniffs and pulls back. “Why do you smell like male cologne? And sex? Oh my fucking God, did you shag?”

Cecily’s face goes red.

Ava’s mouth opens and then closes before she blurts, “OMG, OMG, you’re not a prude anymore. OMGEEE. Everyone! This girl right here finally got the D!”

“Ava!” Cecily slams a hand on her mouth. “I swear to God, if you don’t get up and help me take you to the car, I’m going to call Eli so he’ll pick us up.”

A glare is all Ava offers before she sluggishly gets up and leans on Cecily.

“You’re a cruel little bitch.” Ava staggers, then falls on her. “How can you threaten me with He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named?”

Cecily tries to half carry her and crumbles every second at her weight. “Ugh, when did you become so heavy?”

“Rude. I’m not heavy…” Ava trails off, and blinks upon seeing me standing behind them. “Oh, hi, Anni’s scary brother. Do you also party here? Good taste, good taste. Also, can you let Anni live a little? Thanks in advance.”

Cecily freezes, then whips her head in my direction. She must loosen her grip from around Ava, because she falls to the floor in a heap of giggles.

“What are you doing here?” Cecily purses her lips. “Go away.”

“Don’t.” I step into her space and she has no room to push back unless she’s willing to step on her friend.

I grab her by the waist and press her front against my chest. “You seem to be developing the habit of defying me just to get on my nerves, but that won’t serve any purpose except for pissing me off. And you know exactly what I become like when I’m mad, so don’t fucking test me.”

She bangs her tiny fists against my chest as if that will somehow hurt me. “Just leave me alone. Me trying to get my friend home has nothing to do with our arrangement, so you shouldn’t even be here.”

“I’ll be the one to decide that.” I release her for no other reason than to control myself.

If I touch her soft skin for one more minute, I’ll need to plow inside her tight heat.

Again.

Cecily crouches down to hold Ava, who’s using the floor as her pillow and is practically sleeping. She nudges her friend and implores her to wake up, but there’s no sign of responsiveness.

I nod at Ilya and he swiftly picks up Ava and carries her in his arms. Cecily’s eyes widen. “What are you doing?”

“Giving you a ride home.” I interlink her fingers with mine when she tries to snatch Ava from Ilya.

When he starts toward the back exit, she practically jogs behind him, and only my grip keeps her from physically stopping him.

This is the first time I’ve held her hand and I can’t help feeling that it’s small, soft, and fits perfectly in mine.

“I can call one of our friends,” she tries to tell me, having figured that Ilya won’t listen to her.

“Or you can just go with me,” I say, tightening my hold on her hand when I remember that fucker Landon is one of their friends.

I should’ve really put him in a coma when I had the chance.

I stopped because people romanticize about anyone who’s hurt, and I wasn’t doing the motherfucker the favor.

“Eli will kill me if he finds out about this,” she mutters.

“Why?” I ask.

“I just let another guy carry her.” She throws her free hand in the air. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“He wouldn’t be able to lay a finger on you,” I say matter-of-factly.

She just releases a long breath, and I swear she’s about to smile but stops herself. “You guys are cut from the same cloth.”

When we reach her small car, she beeps it open, and Ilya gives me a glance because the car might as well be a tiny turtle’s nest.

I nod at him to put Ava at the back. As soon as Cecily makes sure her friend is all settled, she opts to drive, but Ilya is already sliding into the driver’s seat after a lot of bending.

When I join him in the front seat, it’s like I’m sitting in a damn toy car.

I have to bend my legs and head, despite pushing back the seat to its maximum capacity.

Cecily stares at us through the window and does a shit job at hiding her smile.

“Get in,” I order. “And this isn’t funny.”

“It actually is. You two would look adorable with one of Anni’s fluffy bandanas.”

“Cecily.”

“Fine, fine. You don’t have to order me around about everything, you know.” She shakes her head but then sits beside her friend and lays Ava’s head on her shoulder.

Thankfully their dorm isn’t far from the club, and we arrive before Ilya or I can get a muscle cramp.

Cecily starts to protest when Ilya carries Ava inside but soon drops it, knowing full well that she can’t do it herself.