The room smelled like amber and starlight.
Ra wasn’t sure if it was Mehen or the damn incense he lit every time she came over. Either way, it worked. Her blood was lava, simmering beneath her skin. She perched on the edge of the velvet couch, fidgeting with the rim of her glass.
Mehen leaned against the doorframe like a scene out of a forbidden myth, all dark temptation and smug divinity. Shirt open. Chest glistening. That serpent tattoo coiled along his collarbone winked like it knew things.
“You always look like you’re ready to run,” he said, voice smooth and low.
Ra raised an eyebrow. “And you always look like you’re ready to pounce.”
“Maybe I am.”
She didn’t flinch as he walked closer, slowly, deliberately. She didn’t move when he took the glass from her hand and set it on the table. But she did stop breathing when he knelt before her, one hand sliding up her calf.
“Your body speaks a different language than your mouth, Ra.”
“That’s because my mouth is fluent in sarcasm.”
Mehen chuckled, and damn if that sound didn’t make her thighs tense. He pulled her closer, guiding her legs to wrap around his waist as he lifted her with ease and carried her to the bed without breaking eye contact. His eyes, golden and flickering with something more ancient than stars, studied her like scripture.
She kissed him.
No warning. No apology.
Just lips crashing like twin comets, a kiss so fierce it burned. His hands found her hips, fingers digging into the curve of her as if trying to memorize every inch. Her fingers tangled in his hair, pulling just enough to make him growl.
“You’re playing a dangerous game,” he murmured against her neck, trailing kisses down to the curve of her shoulder.
“Only if you lose.”
He growled again, deeper this time, as he flipped her beneath him with serpent-like grace. His hand trailed up under her shirt, and she arched into him, breathy and reckless. The room spun with heat, lips brushing, nipping, gasps echoing.
Clothes hit the floor. Sense hit the wall.
They were just about there—skin on skin, heat rising, breaths shallow—when the door burst open.
“RA?!”
Tyler.
Of course.
Ra yelped, pulling the blanket over herself. Mehen didn’t even flinch. Still half-naked and full of ego, he just glanced back with a smirk.
“You’re early, Vampire Barbie,” Mehen said, casually adjusting his waistband like he hadn’t just been ready to worship Ra like a goddess on a sacrificial altar.
Tyler blinked. Twice. His face went from confusion to fury to controlled indifference in 0.3 seconds.
“Was I interrupting your cult meeting?” he snapped, eyeing Mehen like he was a bug on a pristine white jacket.
Ra sat up, cheeks flushed, trying not to combust. “Tyler. I thought you were still on the vessel.”
“Clearly.”
Mehen stood slowly, shirt still hanging open, and whispered in Ra’s ear, “You know where to find me when you’re done babysitting the emotionally unavailable one.”
“GET OUT.”
She practically shoved him toward the door. Mehen walked away laughing, unbothered, tossing a wink at Tyler on his way out.
“Nice timing, parabatai. You always did have a sixth sense for ruining things.”
“Try me again, Snake Boy. I bite harder.”
The door slammed.
Ra leaned against it, breathing hard, sweat clinging to her brow. Tyler folded his arms.
“So that’s happening now?”
“It’s not what you think.”
“Then explain it.”
Ra hesitated. “We were talking. It got... heated.”
“Understatement of the millennium.”
She crossed her arms. “Don’t come at me like I owe you something.”
He looked like he was about to argue but stopped. He just shook his head, lips tight.
“I came here to check on you. Guess I’m the one who needed the warning.”
He turned to leave.
“Tyler, wait—”
He paused.
Ra softened. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“You didn’t. I just forgot who I was for a second.”
And then he left.
Ra stood there for a long moment, heart pounding for an entirely different reason now. Mehen had touched something primal in her. Tyler had wounded something tender.
And neither of them felt safe.
She exhaled, head spinning, soul caught between gods, vampires, and whatever the hell Sovereign was becoming. She looked back at the bed, then at the door.
Mehen had played his game.
But what was his real agenda?
Ra wasn’t sure.
But tonight? She dreamed of golden eyes, blue eyes, and a third gaze she couldn’t name... yet.