And I couldn’t afford to lose control. Bad things happened, if I wasn’t in control of the situation. Anne proved that.
But despite that fear...
I’ll be damned if that little spark of hope blossoming in the hollow cavity of my chest wouldn’t be the death of me.
Because a part of mewantedto lose myself. In Violet, in her undeniable magic, in the what if.
What if she is the one...
What if Professor O’Connor was right?
I could feel her pulse quickening, the fear on her face registering as her fingers gripped my skin tight.
“Don’t worry, I got you,” I whispered as I pushed off the ground, far away from the meddling creatures below, my focus on one thing, and one thing only—getting back to Blackthorn, to safety.
“I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise.”
* * *
The transportback was a brutal jump. For starters, I’d only ever transported myself back and forth to the forest, and I wasn’t experienced with taking guests across realms, but secondly, the energy it took tonotgive in to the energy that surrounded me—Violet’s lust, her magic, which wasmuchstronger than it had been this morning—was draining, to say the least.
Instinctively, my wings surrounded her as we broke through into my dungeon, shielding us as we both crashed to the floor.
But mostly her.
The minute we hit the floor, my energy faded, strained to its max.
“You... re... crushing... me,” she said, her arms still tightly wrapped around my neck, fingernails embedded into my skin at this point. Though her voice was not pained or fearful, instead it was almost slightly... humorous?
“I’m sorry,” I said as I tried to catch my breath, but as I did I was met with the sweet scent of flowers and honey, of lust and desire.
The rise and fall of her chest against mine, her nails digging into my skin. Her legs cradled my body softly, her thighs squeezing my hips, no doubt because she had needed to ground herself, but the movement, the position put my unruly cock front and center to her entrance. Her legs shook from the adrenaline, no doubt, from the onslaught of traveling, her arms still wrapped around my neck as she squeezed my hips, as if she too, was terrified to let go.
The monster inside me pushed against my human visage. Up close like this, poised above her...
It would be so easy to let go. To devour this woman, myanam cara.
Her body was soft and warm beneath me, and the sound of her racing heartbeat in my ears, the sweet taste of her lust in the damn air was like a monster’s spell.
Captivating and full of promise.
My cock throbbed in my pants as my lustful energy reached out for her and her magic.
I was so empty, so tired, I knew just one bite, on deep breath...
No, not like this.
I scrambled backward, my back hitting the edge of the couch as I pulled my knees close, closing my eyes.
Think unsexy thoughts, think unsexy thoughts...
“Bane... are you... are you okay?” she asked, her voice the sweetest sound.
My psyche roiled against me as the memories of Anne crashed against my soul like unrelenting waves.
My magic was depleted, the one source I needed barely six feet away, and yet, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I couldn’t feed on Violet. I couldn’t be the monster Norman and Wanda accused me of being, and I felt rather complicated about that.
I knew from my studies that faerie magic was among the most potent. Like incubus and succubus magic, it was highly revered for its reality-altering abilities, as well as its emotional qualities. Put bluntly, faerie magic and sex demon magic were two sides of the same coin, capable of altering perception and feeding on emotion in the same sense. The only difference between us was the kind of energy and emotion we needed to sustain ourselves. Faeries thrived on love, on beauty, and whimsical notions. They gavelifeto things, and therefore their kind fed on light, love, and life giving energy.
