My eyes started to go out of focus as I heard him mutter, “I-I have to kill you.” His voice came from the other side of the room. He fumbled with something, and I heard a bullet load into a chamber. “I n-need to kill Nova Rossey. I need to k-kill you. It’s the o-only way.”
Hearing my name pass his lips sent rage slicing through the haze, and I used all my strength to roll where my instincts told me to. A gunshot split the air right beside my ear.
I rolled until I felt something hard stop me. A wall. Still disoriented, I tried to keep my wits about me. I sat up with my back to the wall, trying to figure out my next move.
A roar sliced through the air in front of me. This one was deep, guttural, feral. It filled the room, shaking dust from the ceiling.
Frank screamed. The crunching sound of bone meeting bone filled the air, something ripping in between the cracks until a wet gurgling sound was all that was left.
I pressed my hand to my thigh, trying to blink away the dizzy state I was in while searching for my wolf in my mind. She was there, but it was like there was a wall between us, thick and humming. The magic was still burning under my skin, eating away at the edges of my power.
Except for my heartbeat and the faint drag of something heavy moving, the room was quiet. I reached out with my senses, tasting blood and magic in the air.Focus. Anticipate.
A light tread, four-footed and careful, slowly moved closer, but it wasn’t the pattern of a predator hunting. Each step was slow, cautious, hesitant. The air shifted with it, carrying a wave of emotion that wasn’t mine: sorrow, regret, fierce protectiveness that wrapped around the edges of my fear.
I should’ve flinched when something wet pressed against my thigh, but I didn’t. Focusing on what this beast was doing, I realized it was using its tongue to lick at my wound. Warm, steady, and deliberate, it coaxed the heat and pain out of my body until my breath evened and the shaking slowed.
Somewhere in that strange rhythm, my body began to relax on its own. The wall between me and my wolf thinned, threads of gold weaving through the dark. The licking became less insistent, more soft, lightly tracing my skin, and heat curled low in my belly. I let go of the fear, the pain, the fight, justfelt.
The magic’s burn faded as my pulse steadied. My wolf stirred beneath my skin again, no longer locked away.
Whoever the creature was, I could feel it. An apology pulsed through every careful touch, each deep breath. This creature was taking care of me like it owed me, like it was mine.
The tongue shifted upward, just shy of my center, and I couldn't help the soft moan that tore from my throat. The licking continued, slow and deliberate this time. I didn't know what was going on with my body, but the more the beast licked at my skin, the more liquid my bones became. My legs moved, falling open, thighs trembling as pleasurable magic raced up and down my back.
The change between emergency healing and sensual tasting came quickly. The air around me shifted, and hands gripped me, fingers digging into my flesh as they spread me even wider. The voice that followed was low, accented, breaking on the words. "My mate. My love."
Then a long, wet stroke lapped at my center, and my spine turned into jelly. My mind was muddled with magic and pleasure, not letting reason make its way through.
"More." The word scraped out of me, barely recognizable. The familiar scent of spicy warm strawberries filled my lungs, and I let it seep into my pores, wanting to drown in it.
The hesitation vanished. His mouth worked me over, nipping, licking, mapping every inch of me. My breath caught. Stopped. Started again in short, desperate bursts. A whine built in my chest.
Each touch came slowly. Deliberately. Heat layered upon heat, building in waves that never crested. My hands fisted against the hardwood beneath me, nails biting into my palms. My hips rolled, seeking more pressure, more friction, more everything.
My vision sharpened, then it blurred again as I squeezed my eyes shut. He held me there, balanced on a cliff's edge, never letting me fall.
"Please." My voice cracked.
Forcing my eyes open, I looked down to see the wound on my thigh was now smooth, sealed skin. Below it, rich brown hands touched with gold were curled around my thighs, the strength of his hold whitening his knuckles.
I looked up. Pale yellow eyes stared back. Dark loose strands fell around his face like a lace curtain. His mouth glistened.
"Please what?" His rumble vibrated through my bones.
I blinked again before recognizing who it was. Deslen. He was on his knees in front of me, resting between my bare legs. His smile curved, slow and knowing. His tongue dragged across his bottom lip like he never wanted to stop tasting it, tastingme.
"Please," I called out absently, my gaze completely captured by the movement of his tongue. "Make me come."
Light flooded his expression before something sharper replaced it. One hand slid down my thigh, and he leaned in toward my face, close enough to smell myself on his lips. A shudder rolledthrough me, and I almost closed my eyes again until his forehead met mine. His hair fell forward, shutting out everything else.
"I would kill hundreds—" Two fingers pushed inside me. I gasped, back arching. "—thousands, for you, my heart."
His fingers moved. In. Out. The rhythm threatened to unravel me. His forehead pressed against mine harder, grounding me, calling me to look deep into his eyes.
"I want to kill that man all over again for daring to hurt what’s mine."
My heart slammed against my ribs. Heat flooded my cheeks. Pressure built behind my chest like it was getting ready to break open.
