Broken Wings (Cruel and Beautiful World, Book One 1) (22 page)

"Because I want to go to yours.
Please
. Just this once."

"No."

"I won't even ask to stay over. I know you hate that. Just let me come over for a little while."

Xander groaned.

"I swear, it's like you're hiding something in there. Have all your lies about having a wife manifested a real one, or something?"

Sort of
, he thought. "Fine." Anything to shut her up. "But you better be long gone before the curfew."

She smiled as he caved. "I will."

"I mean it, Finley. You're not staying over."

Her smile vanished. "I know. You're such an ass, you know that?" Finally releasing his arm, she turned to leave. Calling over her shoulder, she said, "I'll see you at seven!"

With her gone, Xander turned back towards the bookstore and stared at the one he wanted in the window. He had just started to take a step towards the door when someone called, "Hey, Xander!"

"Fuck," he mumbled to himself. He turned to see Luka and Wyatt Firman walking towards him. So much for doing something nice today. Oh well. Deryn probably would have seen it as creepy, anyway.

Xander did not make it back to his apartment until six-thirty. When he got there, Deryn was sitting on his couch with a cup of tea in her hand and
Complex Conundrums
on her lap. Her face was creased in thought as she read one of the more complicated riddles.

"Want to read it aloud?" he asked while hanging up his coat.

"No," she said coldly, without even so much as a glance at him.

Xander frowned as he walked over to her and handed her a paper bag. She took her eyes off the book and looked at it.

"What's that?"

"Dinner," he said. "Unfortunately, I'm going to need you to stay in your room tonight. Someone's coming over in thirty minutes and you can't be seen."

"Why on earth would you invite someone here?" she asked, finally looking at him. An hour here and there with one of his randoms she understood, but someone coming over during proper socializing hours? Unwise. Well ... really it was all unwise.

"I didn't. They invited themselves and I couldn't get out of it."

Deryn raised her eyebrows. "
You
couldn't get out of something? With that mouth of yours?"

Xander knew she was talking about his wit, but his mind couldn't help but drift to their moment together on the bathroom floor. He avoided her eyes and said, "I know. Shocking."

Deryn stared at the bag in his hand for a moment longer. She frowned before taking it. "Fine, Ruby. I'll go and isolate myself for the night. What else is new?"

Xander sighed as she stood up and walked towards her room with the book, tea and food, and he couldn't help but think how pleasant she would look in that robe right now.

"Leon."

She turned as she reached her doorway.

"I don't have anything going on tomorrow. Would it be alright if I went down to the basement with you and helped you with your Element?"

Deryn stared at him with her mouth agape. He wasn't sure why she looked so surprised. He hadn't been that bad this last week, had he?

After several long seconds, Deryn blinked and smiled softly. "Sure, Ruby. But you're not going to be very impressed. The most progress I've made is adjusting one of the buttons to tickle my opponent."

"That's why you need me. I'm positive I'm a better teacher than fucking Bronson."

"He's a test dummy, Ruby, not a teacher." She chuckled and started to turn - "Oh!" - but quickly turned back. "And thank you for the boots."

Deryn smiled one last time before stepping into her room and shutting the door.

For a long moment, Xander just stood there, staring at her door. He would much rather be spending his evening on the balcony with her, but Finley was a persistent pain in his ass and he just needed to play this out until she finally took a hint. Besides, she wasn't the worst sex in the world.

Finley arrived at seven o'clock sharp. She had actually brought food to make him dinner and he was starting to get the dreaded feeling that she thought this was a date. After she cooked, Xander sat at the table and she opted to sit on his lap instead of in her own chair. She then proceeded to annoyingly feed him bites of the rancid tasting chicken she had cooked. Xander chugged a bottle of whiskey he had brought out, knowing very well that he was going to need it.

As soon as he ate enough to satisfy her, she pulled him over to the couch, sat on the arm and positioned him between her legs. "Can we do it here tonight?" she asked, stretching up so she could nibble on his ear.

"No," he said sternly.

Finley pulled back and pouted. "Why not? We've had sex on your couch before."

"On my old one."

"Oh." She turned and glanced at it. "It looks the same."

"It's not."

It was. But looking at the spot Deryn so often occupied he knew he couldn't have sex there. It would be wrong to taint Deryn's spot like that.

"Just get on my fucking bed already, will you?"

"Whatever you say." She squealed as she ran to his bedroom.

Deryn's head shot up from her book. Until that moment, she had been making a point to ignore Xander and whoever it was he had out there, but she couldn't help but recognize that irritating shriek.

Standing up, she went over to the door and put her ear to it, but no sound was coming from the living room anymore. Then she looked at the wall separating her room from Xander's and gulped. She walked over to it and listened carefully.

"Come on, Xander. Lighten up. Seriously, what's with you tonight?"

"Just take off your clothes."

"You're not going to help me?"

"No. Fuck, Finley, you know I like to get straight to the point. Now, take off your clothes."

Deryn jumped back from the wall and nearly tripped on her own feet. She caught herself before her stumble could make too much noise, then she began hyperventilating as she realized what Xander had done. He had brought
her
here. Finley Scout.

Deryn couldn't breathe. She fell to her knees and gasped for air, urgently seeking some way to drown out the noise. But Xander was the only one capable of putting up a soundproof shield between their rooms.

"No," she mumbled to herself while still trying to catch her breath. "Not her."

Deryn's left side began to ache and she reached under her sweater, stroking her scarred flesh. This was the spot restricting her breathing. She cried as their noisy sex commenced, not even caring that her sobs were loud and hysterical. The two of them would be too distracted to notice anyway.

Finally able to get to her feet, Deryn grabbed her comforter off the bed and wrapped it around her. She went over to the window and sunk down beside it, keeping her ears close to the glass in hopes that the gentle sound of rain might distract her. It didn't.

Xander was having a hard time focusing as Finley bounced on top of him. He tried groping and sucking on her breasts - the one part of her he had always been quite fond of - to keep himself in the mood, but his mind kept wandering back to that damn robe. And it didn't help when his eyes drifted to his bathroom door. It had been only one week since he had been on top of Deryn in there, and Finley was the first girl he'd had in his room since.

Finley moaned his name as she pulled his head in for a sloppy kiss, forcing his eyes to leave their current place of interest.

Eager to get her lips off of his, Xander grabbed Finley by the waist and tossed her onto her back. He climbed on top of her and began thrusting vigorously, his gaze now focused on the wall in front of him. The one Deryn was behind.

His head was suddenly flooded with visions of her. Her full lips, her creamy skin, the rosy blush of her lightly freckled cheeks. And the sweet, sweet sound of his name slipping from her mouth as he trailed his tongue down her neck.

And then Xander was imagining her in that robe. That fucking robe which could hardly be considered sexy. He could see it wrapped around her, snuggled warmly against her skin. Then he was moving towards her, slipping it off one shoulder and then the other, letting it drop to the floor. Her beautiful yet scarred body was a vision as he reached out and touched it, grabbed it, caressed it, pressed it against his. It
was
his, just like she was.

His
.

His hands moved into that mess of mahogany-brown hair and pulled her head towards his. Kissing her. Touching her. Slamming her against the wall and fucking her. It was all there and he could taste it. The sweet tang of her mouth as she writhed around him, clutching him, clawing him, moaning his name between parts of their lips, holding him in a way no one ever had before. Because she needed him. She needed him and he wanted her. Just once. Just to taste.

Just to -

Thrust!

- fucking -

Thrust!

- taste!

"Xander!" screamed the woman beneath him as she came undone.

In three more thrusts Xander was finished. He bit down hard on his bottom lip to keep from screaming Deryn's name, tasting metal.

His body eased as he began to catch his breath. He was confused for a moment when he looked down and noticed that Finley was the one staring back at him. It was not who he had expected.

Xander rolled off of her, his eyes widening as he realized what he had just done. He had come while imagining he was having sex with Deryn.

"Fuck," he whispered to himself, suddenly feeling like he was going to vomit.

Finley moved so her head was resting on his chest. "Xander, that was ... wow. You've never fucked me like that before."

He looked down at her curiously.

"I mean, it's always good. You know it is. But
that
... I don't know what
that
was but I can't wait for more."

She brought her hand down and began to stroke him, but Xander was quick to snatch her wrist and push her off.

"It's time to go, Finley."

"What?" she asked, sitting up. "But it's barely nine. Curfew doesn't start for another three hours."

"I don't care. I'm tired and I want to go to sleep."

"And you're sure I can't stay?"

"I said no, didn't I?" he yelled, rolling off the bed and getting to his feet. He headed for the bathroom. "I'm taking a shower." He had never felt so dirty before. "Be gone by the time I'm out." He slammed the door.

After a very long and necessary soak, Xander was happy to find that Finley had listened and left. He changed into some sweats and grabbed his cigarettes off the dresser.

On his way to the balcony, he glanced at Deryn's door. Even after that humiliating experience, he still had this strange urge to see her. As she was. Not the dirty image he had created in his own twisted mind. So he went over and let himself in.

"Leon?" Xander poked his head inside and looked around. The bed was bare of the comforter, but he found it in a strange bundle beside the window. "Leon, what the fuck are you doing?"

Silence.

"Leon?" Xander took a cautious step into the room. "Are you alright?"

Nothing.

Noticing the comforter fidget a little, Xander walked across the room and crouched down beside it. He reached his hand out and touched what he hoped was her shoulder. "Leon, what -"

Her body snapped and a hand shoved him back. "Don't touch me!" she shouted as he landed hard on his ass.

"Leon, what the fuck?" he said, grabbing the comforter and pulling it off of her head.

"I said don't touch me!" Deryn's hands flew out of it and she shoved him again, only much harder this time. "Stay the fuck away from me, Ruby!"

Crinkling his brow, Xander asked, "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"With me? What the fuck is wrong with
me
? What the fuck is wrong with
you
?"

"What do you -"

"How could you bring her here?" shouted Deryn, her face bright crimson and soaked from what might have been an hour's worth of tears.

Xander's mouth dropped slightly. "Finley?"

"Who else would I be talking about?" Deryn pulled the comforter back over her head. "Get out."

"Look, Leon, I know the two of you never got along at Eagle, but aren't you being a bit dramatic?"

Her head popped back out. "Are you an idiot?" she asked, her face twisting in disgust. "I've been a slave! And she's a fucking Guardian!"

"Finley never owned you," said Xander, getting to his feet.

"No, but her father did!" stated Deryn, standing up with him while still clutching the comforter. "You said you kept track of me, Ruby! I have a hard time believing you didn't know he owned me several times!"

"I knew," said Xander, trying to recall exactly when that was. Maybe three years ago was the last time he took Deryn in. Before Finley was promoted from guard to Guardian, so she would have still been living at home.