I angled my head to see his gaze, dark and hot, drilling straight through me. His mouth dripped with my blood, speckling the stainless steel table. As I rode through the last waves of pure bliss, I lost myself in his eyes, catching a glint of his perfectly twisted, kind, and wild soul.
He slowed his thrusts, then they stopped completely. He remained on top of me, our heart rates evening out. Several minutes later, he pulled out of me and set my makeshift leash on the table beside my head.
Semi-sated, my monster withdrew back inside me. I suddenly felt so weak and fragile.
“That was…” His voice trailed off with a chuckle.
“Fucked,” I whispered, finding myself smiling. “I loved every second.”
“Me too. Now turn around so I can see everything I’ve done to you with a clear head.”
I did as he said, legs trembling as I straightened and pivoted to face him. With my wrists still bound, my palms lay flat as if in bloody prayer.
With a groan, Eros drew me against the hard expanse of his chest and planted a kiss on my brow. “Fucking beautiful.”
Just like that, things felt normal again. Even if they weren’t.
“I liked that game. Let’s do it again,” I said.
“We will.”
“Promise?”
“I promise….” He kissed the fresh wound he’d torn over the mark on my shoulder, took me by the hips, and lifted me onto the table. Then he kissed the healing wound he’d carved into my chest, licking up the last traces of blood. “I promise.”
I threw the loop of my arms over his head, keeping us close. This was more than a promise to play dark sex games with my magic. This was an oath to make it back to each other.
“I don’t want to wake up,” I admitted after a few beats, dropping my gaze to my knees.
Eros found my thighs and gripped them tight. “Look at me.”
I did. He pinned me with a severe scowl. If I didn’t know better, I’d almost say he was irritated that he was about to say whatever it was he was about to say. “You are going to get through this.”
“How can you be so damn sure?”
“Because you’re Ruby Renada Knight, the future fucking queen of the vampires. I wasn’t blowing smoke up your ass when I said I love you because you’re unbreakable. You are an unshatterable force, Doll.”
“I don’t feel unbreakable.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that you are. I know firsthand how durable you are. You're going to figure out a way home, with or without Feral. And you’ll do it before Thomas Knight shows up.”
“Yeah?”
He grinned. “I’d bet Corry’s right nut on it.”
I let out a laugh, but despite Eros’ best efforts to dispel my anxiety, my mind sunk to darker places than I wanted to go. My mate pinched my thigh, pulling me back to him. “Stay focused on me, Ruby. If you don’t, you’ll go drifting through my mind, and it’s not exactly a great place for a stroll in your current state.”
“Better lost in your darkest nightmares than go back to Feral.”
“I don’t think you really mean that. You’re pissed at him. But you haven’t stopped loving him.”
I squirmed uncomfortably, feeling an invisible fist tighten around my heart. “Shouldn’t I? Wouldn’t that make things easier?”
“If you had the choice of not falling from him, you would have picked that option from the beginning. You tried to fight your impending bond, but you two were connected at the first ‘fuck you.’ Fate’s a bitch like that.”
“I’m mostly terrified because I feel myself close to another heat cycle. Meaning, I’m not pregnant yet. My monster was kind of the one who provoked him into pulling out my birth control. She’s the best weapon I have in Faerie, but I don’t trust that side of myself with Feral. The last thing we need is to get freaky in the jungle and make a baby while you guys are back home fighting a freaking war. I need to keep my head clear, but when both our monsters are out, I can’t—”
“You’re going to have to trust that side of yourself, Baby Doll. She might have helped get you into this mess, but she’ll get you out. For now, just get through the next day. Sterling will be waiting for you next time you go to sleep. I think he’s onto something as far as the plan goes. He’s been barricaded in the library, pouring over his books.”
