Underground

47

After the meeting Elizabeth insisted that Duchess threw a party for Joel and I. Not only for the promotions but for our mating. But I knew better. What better way to show our appreciation then to throw Valentine a party without saying it's for him. Turning off the shower head, I tuck my hand out to grab my robe off the rack in my bathroom. Sighing, I opened my bathroom door, rubbing my forehead. A promotion was not something I was expecting for killing Krash. 

"You might need a new robe."

I yelped softly before cursing under my breath. Joel was sprawled on my bed, head prepped up by his hand, staring at me like a lazy cat. I put my hands on my hips. "Why are you in my room?" I snapped.

"I'm your mate. If it were up to me you would be sharing a room with me."

I rolled my eyes, "What's wrong with my robe?"

Joel looked up and down my body lazily, shaking his head slowly with a smirk. Peeking at the long mirror on the side of my room and saw that my robe was see through. Pervert. I walked over to my bed and looked down at him. He made my bed look so small. "You look comfortable," I said.

"And you need to go back to bed. We have a long night," he sat up on his knees and pulled me close. "We also need to prepare selecting our team."

I nodded, "I can't sleep. I choose Jonathan, Carter and Alex."

"Cherine, Staci and Thomas."

I looked at him, "Devlin, Mitchie and Charm. Charm is good with weaponry and would work well with Carter."
Joel smirked at me, nodding his approval of my choices. I get a weird burst of pride when I please Joel. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me onto the bed causing me to squeal. "Joel!"

"You've been sending me naughty thoughts all morning," he chuckled, leaning over to hover over me. Playful Joel? "I should punish you but I'll save that for after our party."

I groaned, "What is this party for?"

"Our mating and promotion," he said repeating Elizabeth's earlier words. I gave him a dirty look which I was rewarded with a breathtaking full on smile. "It's also another way too kiss Valentine's ass as you so nicely put earlier. A lot of Assassins and aristocrats will be there as well. All we need to do is show our faces and say hello to some people."

I wrapped my arms around his neck, biting my lip, "And then?"

Joel's eyes darkened but all he did was smirk. He wasn't going to give in that easily. Not my mate. The promise of punishment from him made me want to break every rule he gives me. "Fine," I said. "I need to get to my morning dance class. I missed a day already."
Joel didn't get up and I made no move to push him.  He leaned down, burying his face in the crook of my neck and sucking on the tender skin there. I moaned softly which drew a growl from him.

"Werewolves aren't the only ones who bite their mates to mark them as theirs," he growled looking up at me. Joel's eyes started to glow like a cat's eyes would in the dark. Before knowing about the Underground I would have freaked out but when it's Joel...it's hot. I remember asking him about the different things that go bump in the night after the mission in Miami and we spent a lot of time on werewolves. He got a bit irritated, thinking I was asking about it because of Nicholas.
"I'm your Airen," I whispered.

"Just a title. The mark is permanent which is why it isn't done on impulse," he said softly then sat up, looking down at me. "I can't mark you unless this is permanent."

I sat up a bit, looking up at him, "This meaning us. The mark is...stronger than marriage?"

He nodded.

Wow. "And this is a werewolf thing?"

"And vampire, nymph, dragon...thing," he smirked. "Over all it's an Atlantean thing."

"Atlantean thing? What does Atlantis have to do with supernatural beings?" I asked curious. Joel got off the bed and walked over to my dresser, looking for something for me to wear for the day I guessed. When he flashed me a pair of laced underwear that Cherine bought me with an eyebrow raised. I ran over and snatched it out of his hand.

"Dad says that supernatural beings originated in Atlantis. With Titans and humans roaming the earth and the gods having their own domain, Atlantis was our safe haven," Joel explained.

I frowned a bit when he handed me my underwear but I slipped it on. That sounded really weird but I listened silently anyway. "How old are you?"
Joel paused and smirked at me. "Twenty-four," he said smugly which made me roll my eyes.

"Joel."

"I'm old, Justine. I've lived for thousands of years and what I've seen, the people I've met...I could tell you things about history that your American textbooks leave out," he said seriously. "Think about it, baby. The sinking of Atlantis happened before recorded time. Before Plato and my parents had just gotten married around that time and I wasn't even born yet. Do you really want to know how old I am?"

When I didn't answer him, Joel grabbed me, pulling me close and kissing my forehead. "Get dressed, I'll drop you to school," he mumbled in my hair.

•••

After Joel dropped me to school and purposely made a display of kissing me in front of everyone. Being the territorial jerk he was, all he did was smirk at me before getting back into his car and driving off. I walked straight to my dance class, pausing when Bastien stopped in the middle of his instruction to look at me. My heart started to pound when I realized that if he wanted to he could kick me out. Instead, he gave me a slow nod which I returned, the knots in my stomach loosened, and I dropped my bag in a corner.

Bastien finished up the routine he was showing the class before walking over to me with a nervous look on his face. He stopped in front of me, looking me up and down before he met my gaze. "You look less...hostile than you did yesterday," he said softly. "Feeling better?"

I nodded. "Just a rough night."

"And day. Mainly my fault," he chuckled. He's still on that?

"Bastien-"

His green eyes bore into my ice-blue and it pinned me down to my spot. "Bash," he cleared his throat. "No one seems to call me that anymore since Krash..."
I bit my lip. Was it smart for me to speak to the main person Valentine wanted me to hunt down and possibly kill? "Bash," I corrected myself. "I understand why you said what you said. It was in the moment and everyone has their different ways of coping."

"I'm a musician and a dancer," he said. "I should have put it in my dancing and music...not on you."

"Well hopefully that slap made you think twice," I smirked and it had it's desirable effect of making him smile. He nodded slowly.
"Perhaps I could tell you about it...over dinner?" he asked.

Red flag, Ryder! Don't do it!

"Um..I...uh-"

He held up his hand. "Don't worry. The invite doesn't have an expiration date," he smiled at me. "Let me know."
Bash turned on his heel and clapped at the class to pause what they were doing. For the second time today I was rendered speechless.

"He's doing a bit better."

I looked over at Jude and she smiled at me. "I still can't believe you're a girl," I mumbled, playfully hitting her in the arm. "It's better than walking in on you."

Jude blushed, "How do you think it sounds to tell a friend that you're a girl that enjoys dressing in guy clothing?"
Point to her.
"Come show me this routine before Bash yells at us," I ordered and she chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah."