Solid Ground: A Reverse Harem Urban Fantasy (Arcane Rebels Book 3) by India Arden

Author:India Arden [Arden, India]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-02-03T16:00:00+00:00

21

Once my brother stomped out of the bank and headed back toward the compound, Sterling made a big show of deciding not to open an account after all, grabbed me by the hand, and hauled me out of there. Ember was still across the street poring over the bus schedule, and he tilted his head toward the south side of the block. We flounced off in that direction, then paused at the mouth of an alley. I took it for part of our obnoxious party kid disguises when Sterling swung me around and backed me against the façade of a cut-rate law office. But when he kissed me, it was definitely no act.

The glimpse of the face coming at me was disconcerting, with its swollen, squinty eyes and rounded cheeks. But the mouth was 100% Sterling, and the way his tongue skirted the edges of my teeth as if to test their sharpness felt comfortingly familiar. I’d never been kissed out on the street in broad daylight, publicly claimed like some kind of prize. It was vulgar, in a way. Immature. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find it thrilling.

When Sterling slid his mouth from mine, he pressed it to my ear and said, “Are you anchored?”

“Is that all this was?” I asked playfully. “Staving off the effects of the Bonding?”

“Absolutely. And, for the record, feel free to pull me into the Otherwise with you anytime at all.”

We joined up with Zephyr and Rain at the far end of the alley, then reconnected with Ember another block down. There was a neighborhood library branch across the street, and the rickety sign out front advertising a book club and an AA meeting had a Rebels anarchy tag scratched into the corner. We slipped inside to get our bearings. The building was squat and utilitarian, built sometime in the 70s. Natural light was minimal, the paint job was dingy, and the reading area was full of homeless people dozing on the sagging chairs and couches. Rain approached the reference librarian, a graying man whose face was set in a permanent scowl. He ushered us to a vacant study room, unlocked the door, and whispered harshly, “Half an hour. No exceptions. And no food, drinks or sleeping allowed.”

We filed into the room, and Ember closed the door behind us. The air inside felt stale and stifling and smelled of rubber cement. I slipped off Sterling’s hoodie and handed it back to him. He shrugged it on and gave his face a few rubs with the flat of his palm, and the swelling began to recede. He then gave my jaw a caress that left a pronounced tingle behind. The energy use cost him. He pulled out a chair and sat down hard, and the rest of us followed suit.

Rain was the picture of immediate relaxation. He sprawled easily in his chair, feet crossed in front of him. He pulled the elastic from his hair and gave it a few finger combs, so it hung long and loose in tousled chestnut waves.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.