* Song: Need It by Chris Grey
15
ANIYAH
Running down the hallway, I felt lighter this time, faster, like all those clinging thoughts and emotions from before had melted off me. That old skin had been shed, and now I was gliding, high on something untouchable. Maybe that was why my furiously flapping wings got me to my office faster than the pounding footsteps behind me. Or maybe it was the anti-rush spell my brother laced into the halls for overly excited vampires. Either way, I was winning.
I grabbed the door handle, flung it open, and slammed it shut behind me, laughing like a maniac as I locked it. I wanted to see what my beasts would do. Would they break it down to get to me? Walk away? And if they did get in… what then? I hoped they’d take me together, but I’d settle for one watching while the other ruined me. I liked an audience.
Adrenaline surged in my veins. My heart was on overdrive. Every inch of me was buzzing, trembling with anticipation and lust. Waiting was torturous in this state.
“Aniyah?”
I spun around at the sound of my name. Van and the wolf from the stage, still in his mask, were waiting inside. How the fuck did they get in here? Their faces said everything: concern, confusion, rage. Van stepped forward, eyes darkening with something fierce, something that was different than his normal smirks and knowing glances.
“Ni, are you okay?”
The stranger’s wolf surged to the surface, flickering in his gaze. “You need healing? Who hurt you?”
Confused by his questions, I looked down, and, okay, fine, I was a mess. Blood down my front. No panties. Corset top hanging on by a thread. My hair? Probably a disaster. Makeup? Who knew… but I feltamazing.
The heat bloomed at my back again, building, wrapping around me like a second skin. I was wound tight, vibrating with need. I wanted more. I wantedeverything.
Loosening a few strings, my corset fell to the floor. Both men sucked in a breath, and I felt their eyes rake over my body, consuming me. I pressed my thighs together, biting my lip as I ran my fingers through my hair and down my curves, showing them exactly what could be theirs… if they played nice.
Lust erupted from my body like an inferno, licking along my skin, searing reason to ash. A primal rhythm pounded in my blood, commanding me.Take them. They’re yours.
Not thinking any more, I reached for both. In this moment, I was made of frayed threads desperate to be mended, searching for reconnection. Every instinct screamed to mount them. Claim them. To use all the tricks in the book to make them mine.
My body suddenly had a mind of its own, but I was enjoying the way it thought.
The wolf was the first to move as if magnetized. His hands slid up my sides, his breath ragged, a silent plea in his eyes to understand something I had no bandwidth to deal with. Van still looked stunned, like he needed tounderstand, but I didn’t have time for understanding. I was past that. I was all instinct, fire and desperation wrapped in skin.
I turned the wolf, guiding him back until I hit Van’s chest. His arms caught my shoulders. My fingers lifted to his chin over my shoulder, forcing his gaze to mine.
“Kiss me, Van.”
His eyes widened, his grip on me tightening like he was afraid this moment would slip through his fingers. It wouldn’t. Not this time. Every rule I’d made was gone, out the door. I wasn’t a girl anymore. I was the storm, the fallen angel commanding the chaos.
My wolf whimpered, his gaze filled with need. I pushed him down to his knees and threw a leg over his shoulder, glad that we had magicked the masks to be like second skin once on. “Lap up the mess you made.”
His eyes flicked up, loyal adoration I didn't understand staring up at me before he dove in. His tongue parted me, long and slow, tasting everything he’d spilled inside me earlier. Every flick was torment, and I sank into it, savoring it.
The metal of my necklace lifted, and the sensation of earth magic brushed up against my skin. Van’s magic was slipping out of him. Maybe it was because of that jealous, possessive edge in hiseyes, but none of it mattered because I knew he wouldn’t hurt me. The ends of my lips lifted.
Not breaking eye contact, he raised my arm up and pressed kisses into my skin, soft and reverent. When he licked the pulse at my wrist, his eyes flared.
“You can’t ignore this later.”
It was both a warning and a promise, but I nodded. I’d agree to anything right now, so long as he just kept kissing me.
The wolf’s tongue quickened, tormenting my clit, and a strangled moan escaped my lips. That was when Van dove in, stealing my mouth and attention.
His kiss was slow, deep, silken control under all the chaos. His tongue slid against mine like he was trying to memorize me. Every breath, every glide of his lips poured gas on the fire inside me.
Then the doorexplodedopen.
Van and the wolf were ripped away, their bodies slammed into the walls. They landed on the ground, slumped over. Alic stood there, heaving, like he was Death himself coming to claim a wayward soul.
