“I do, Wolf.”
“Well then, come kiss me before I huff and I puff and I blow your house down,” Torrez threatens, and I laugh.
“Lame, Wolf, I can think of way better things you can blow,” I counter, and Torrez growls in appreciation of my statement.
He kisses me with wild abandon and then moves to my shoulder where he nips at the runes that are there because of his mark. I moan a little when he does, and he pulls away with a salacious smile. “There’s my greedy girl,” he tells me, and then he pulls my lips to his again.
The problem with this method of saying goodbye is that now I don’t want to actually say goodbye. I want to drag each and every one of them back to the room and say, “Fuck it, group sex it is.” Torrez steps away from me, knowing full well what he’s done to my body, and he fucking loves it. Dick. Shit, I can’t even curse him in my mind without getting even more hot and bothered. Sabin steps up to me, and his eyes are so full of love, his smile so full of happiness, that I can’t help but beam right back up at him.
“You looove me. You want to bond with me, make love and have babies,” he singsongs to me, and I laugh and then choke on the word babies.
“Babies are a hard pass, bro,” I tell him, and he smiles at me like I’ve said nothing. “For real, Sabin,” I warn him, but he just kisses me.
He kisses me stupid, and for a minute, I have to remind myself why I was irritated.
“You know how I feel about you, Vinna. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to us. So let’s kill this fucking lamia and start living the life we all deserve, together.”
Joy takes over my face, and I have to squeeze my thighs together at Sabin’s words. “Fuck, it’s hot when you get all ruthless and shit,” I admit, and Sabin laughs. I salute him as he steps away. “Keep ’em in line, Captain Cockblock. You all need to be training every possible second of the day.” Sabin shakes his head at the nickname but gives me a weak salute back.
Bastien charges me like an angry bull, and my stomach flips with excitement by the challenge pouring out of his eyes.I’m a weirdo.He stops when his chest is pressed against mine, the tip of his nose skimming the tip of mine, both of us breathing heavily.
“No goodbye kisses and professions of love from me, Bruiser. You can have them when I see you again and I’m deep inside of you. You can scream my name and confess your love as your pussy clenches around my cock. I’ll show you what you mean to me then, when you can feel me loving you as I say it. Until then, stay safe and come back to us.”
Bastien’s hazel eyes are molten, and I’m pretty sure if he says cock one more time, I’m going to come. He steps back, and I immediately feel the absence of all of them. They stand in a line, shoulder to shoulder. My Chosen. More than I could have ever hoped for, and I realize I don’t want to go. I’m not sure how to process my hesitancy, because normally I’m bloodthirsty and ready for any fight. I revel in the anticipation of a good match, but as I stare at each of them, feel the ghost of their lips on mine, and hear the echo of their words in my head, I’m aware that for the first time in my life, I have so much to lose.
It’s terrifying and uplifting all at the same time, and I don’t know what to do. I take a deep breath, searing this moment into my soul. I tell myself that I have to do this for them just as much as I have to do this for me. Killing Adriel is not just about revenge or justice anymore; I need my Chosen to be safe. I want a life with them, and the only way that’s going to happen is if I rip this fucking lamia apart.
For us.
18
Iwake up with the taste of goodbye on my tongue. I can still feel my Chosen’s lips on mine, feel Aydin’s big arms around me as he crushed me in a hug and made me promise not to get hurt. The brush of Evrin’s reassurances that this will all be over soon tickle at my ear. And the concerned look that Enoch and his coven wore as I climbed into the sedan with a lamia I don’t really know and drove off into the dark of day, sit heavy on my shoulders.
The sound of tires against pavement are like a siren’s song, lulling me back to sleep, but I blink away the call to unconsciousness. I sit up, instantly missing the feel of the cool car window against my face. It’s roasting in here. I run my sleepy gaze over the setting for the heater and notice it’s on high.
“Do you mind if I turn this down?” I ask Siah, whose light blue eyes are trained on the dark road in front of us.
“Go ahead. I didn’t want you to get cold,” is all he says, and I nod while turning the temperature down.
I crack my window a little and sigh at the relief I feel when cool air sneaks in to brush over me. “How close?” I ask, my voice feeling like a violation of the quiet that’s been shrouding us since we left.
“Another hour.”
Siah falls quiet once again. I don’t typically feel the urge to fill silence with small talk, but seeing as how we’re going to be depending on each other to get out of this situation as unscathed as possible, I feel the need to find out more about him. I don’t know much about lamia aside from the vampire comparison that’s been made and what they look like when they die, but I’m not sure if it’s okay to ask much about that.
“So, you and Sorik are close?” I ask, figuring that’s a better place to start thantell me every detail about your life from birth until now, ready…set…go!
“We are.”
I wait for him to elaborate, but he doesn’t. “I appreciate that the silent broody thing you’ve got on lock probably does it for a lot of ladies, but I’m going to need you to shed your monosyllabic cocoon for the next hour. I’d like to get some idea of what I’m walking into and exactly how you fit in all of it,” I tell him and watch as his face remains stone-like and focused on the road.
He waits a few seconds past uncomfortable silence before he starts to speak again. “Sorik and I were blooded about a year apart, from the same sire. He helped me navigate my new life, and we moved up in the ranks together.”
“Blooded?” I interrupt, not able to help myself.
Siah looks at me curiously for a beat before turning his eyes forward again.
“Did Talon not teach you about our kind?” he asks me, and I wince.
