Something shifted between us when she surrendered. I could see in her eyes that she wasn’t just saying the words. She meant it.
But now, as she pins me down with this hungry look in her eyes, it’s clear my moment of asking her to surrender to me is over. All I can hope is that it was enough. That after she drinks her fill of me, the binding spell will be satiated.
“You must feel smug, getting me to say those words.” Julia pins my wrists above my head with one hand, her hair falling down and forming a curtain around our faces. Her voice is low. “But don’t forget where you belong, pet. Spread out under me, at my mercy. You got what you wanted, and now I get my end of the bargain. You’re going to let me take from you until I’m satisfied.”
The firelight dances across her face, highlighting the feral gleam in her eyes. This is the Julia I met in my backyard—dangerous, powerful, wild. There’s something even more intense now, like all this time we’ve spent together has only made her hungrier.
It ignites a blazing fire deep inside me.
When did I start finding Julia’s threats seductive instead of terrifying? When did the thought of her power start making me ache with want instead of fear? I should be fleeing, horrified by what I’m becoming. But as Julia’s eyes lock onto mine, predatory and possessive, all I can think is how much I want her to look at me that way forever.
“Take me,” I whisper, and I’m sure my tone betrays that I’ve never wanted anything more.
“I’m going todevouryou.” She hooks two fingers under my chin like claws. “Every drop of pleasure, every gasp, every tremor. You gave yourself to me so beautifully in the forest, and now I’m going to take everything—slowly, thoroughly, until you’re shaking with how good it feels to feed me.”
My pulse races, and that intoxicating rush of fear and arousal makes my head swim. Somewhere between the forest and this moment, she’s become the only thing I want.
She kisses my neck roughly, trailing downward. At my breasts, she sucks and bites until I’m arching beneath her.
With her free hand, she reaches between my legs. She teases me, circling but never quite touching where I need her most. I rock my hips, trying to guide her, but she just smiles that wicked smile I’ve come to crave.
“So impatient,” she purrs. “You made me wait. Now it’s your turn.”
“Julia—” Her name comes out broken.
“Beg for it.” The command is softer than usual. Her eyes search mine, like she needs to hear it. She needs to know that I meant what I said: I want her for who she is.
I tug at her hold on my wrists, my whole body aching for her. “Please touch me. I need you, Julia.”
Only then does she slide her fingers between my folds, and the relief is so intense I cry out. I’m already soaking wet, my desire having pooledthere while I was pleasuring her. The evidence of my arousal makes her eyes gleam.
“You’re practically dripping just from tasting me,” she purrs, gliding her fingers up and down. “Did you like kneeling between my legs? Thrusting your tongue inside me?”
I nod.
“Good. Because I expect you to do that for me again and again.”
My heart skips. She’s talking like there will be more of this. Like tonight isn’t all the time we have together.
She toys with me with expert fingers, building me higher while beginning to murmur the feeding incantation. Every cell in my body tingles as her power trickles into my veins.
I moan, rocking my hips, desperate for a release.
She takes her fingers away to examine them. They’ve turned as dark as shadows from feeding and are glistening with my arousal.
She pushes them into my mouth, making me taste them. I suck on her fingers, swirling my tongue around and between them. The way her eyes glint makes me burn.
As she brings her hand back down and her fingers enter me, I can feel my life force beginning to flow into her. It’s different this time—deeper, more intimate. The pleasure and feeding intertwine until I can’t tell where one ends and the other begins. Every slide of her fingers sends waves through me while feeding her magic in a continuous cycle of give and take.
The incantation grows stronger on Julia’s lips as she moves her fingers, and I’m climbing higher, the pleasure building to an unbearable peak. My vision blurs at the edges, that familiar darkness threatening to creep in as my life force drains.
But then—
Julia’s movements falter. Her fingers are still inside me, but the incantation dies on her lips. She breathes hard, staring down at me with something new there: fear.
“Hannah, I’m going to hurt you.”
She lets go of my wrists and tries to pull away, but I wrap my legs around her waist, keeping her close. The feeding has stopped, leaving me aching, but this moment feels more important than any physical release.
