But he can’t fool me. There’s more sadness than malice in his voice.
Seeing my mate like this is making me doubt. Maybe I’m too late. Maybe he really has been replaced by this beast. I needed to return sooner to rescue Baelfire from becoming this, and I don’t even know why I was held up in Paradise forsix fucking months.If I had just?—
“Stop,” Everett says gently, crouching and cradling my face so I’ll look at him. He appears as exhausted as I feel, but his pale gaze is earnest. “We’ll get him back, Snowdrop. We’ll get all of them back.”
I breathe out shakily, straightening my shoulders. He’s right. Panicking is a waste of time, and I’m too fucking exhausted to spiral further.
“How is the stronghold after the attack?” I ask.
“They’re still putting out the fires, but the worst of the damage happened when he took you. Obviously, we won’t be staying in my old professor’s apartment anymore. We’ll stay in our quintet’s apartment.”
I hesitate. “People saw me.”
“Anyone who saw you was frozen when the dragon took you. By accident,” he tacks on, but it’s clearly an afterthought.
“Did Douglas survive?” I grimace as I shift my broken arm slightly.
Everett’s attention zips to my injury. He swears and glares murderously down at Not-Baelfire. “Yeah, he’s alive. I’m taking you back to be healed as soon as fucking possible. Then I’ll come back for Baelfire.”
“We’re not leaving him like this.”
“The hell we aren’t. This feral asshole just tried to kill you.”
I gesture with my good arm at the ice encapsulating him. “Might as well leave a sign on him that saysFree Shifter Popsiclefor the monsters craving a midnight snack.”
My ice elemental groans and rubs the unscarred half of his gorgeous face. “Okay. I’ll unfreeze his legs and freeze his mouth. You’ll need to help me drag him through these creepy woods. But so fucking help me, if something attacks us and you get any more injured, I’ll?—”
“Freeze me from the neck down and lock me up,” I repeat his earlier threat as I get to my feet. “Fair enough. But we need to figure out how to keep him from shifting back. I don’t know what I did to him, but it may not last.”
Everett glances at Not-Baelfire with a sigh. “I know how we’ll keep him from shifting, but you won’t like it.”
15
CRYPT
There’s no escape.
Only, caught in this moonlit, lust-drenched memory once again, escape is the last thing on my mind.
My tongue traces up the side of Maven’s neck as she rolls her hips again, mercilessly riding me toward that brink of perfect pleasure as her divinely wet cunt squeezes my pierced cock. Her breathless sounds compounded with the groans of the others as they watch make for a sinful symphony.
We’re all frenzied with need for her, thanks to the show Frost put on, preparing her. He’d spared no effort eating her out, toying and teasing until, for the first time, I got to see my keeper drench the sheets of this Sanctuary abode.
Frost hadn’t lasted through that sensual performance, which was lucky because now Decimus and I get to worship my dark darling together.
On cue, just before I can reach that tantalizing peak, Decimus pulls Maven from my arms and into his lap. Thrusting up into her, he captures her mouth with his so he gets to taste the beautiful moan that elicits.
I will never tire of the sight of my keeper like this. Flushed and overwhelmed, her dark hair tossed over her back as her sinuous, smooth, olive-toned body moves like pure poetry. Her euphoric expression leaves me breathless as I watch her chase her release, clinging to Decimus as we all adore the view.
They fall together over that brink of pleasure, but I’m not done with her.
Maven gasps when I immediately pull her away, rolling and pinning her to the bed before plunging my aching cock back into her wet warmth. Somewhere nearby, Frost swears brokenly and Crane mutters something under his breath, but I’m too far gone to take note of it.
I’m so fucking desperate for her.
Desperate to have my emblem on her—to be bound.
This powerful, beautiful,stunningwoman is going to be my muse if it’s the last godsdamned thing I do. She swears, her fingertips dragging down my back as I fuck her like I’m dying.
