1
“That. Do you smell that rotten cauliflower mixed with sour milk scent?” Torrez asks me, his big hand moving to the small of my back and his chest just brushing against my shoulder as he leans down.
I shake away the distracting, dirty thoughts his proximity sends firing through my synapses, and focus on what he’s asking. I take a deep pull and try not to crinkle my nose as the sharp, potent tang of rot filters in.
“Excellent,” Torrez coaches as he lowers his voice. “That poker face is a must, especially around other shifters. You don’t want to give away what scents you’re picking up from them.”
I nod and turn my attention back to the lamia we’re questioning. His face is set like he can’t hear anything we’re saying and is simply waiting for the next question.
“Do you promise not to hunt another Sentinel down or assist anyone else who may want to?” I ask, ticking through the list of memorized questions we’ve been asking the lamia of this nest for the past week.
“I promise that all Sentinels will be safe from me,” he replies casually, looking me in the eye as if it will override the new dose of rotten cauliflower and sour milk that’s just permeated the air.
I shake my head at the lamia and try not to breathe too deeply of the lie he just tainted the room with. In a flash of movement, I magic a short sword into my palm, and remove his head. Torrez and I both jump back to try and avoid the spray of blood, but it does little to stop us from getting splattered as the lamia’s body falls to the floor and then turns to ash.
“Looks like shower number three is in order,” I grumble as Torrez pulls a handkerchief from his back pocket and hands it to me to wipe my face.
“Mmmm, I can think of worse ways I could spend my time,” Torrez confesses, dropping his voice to that sexy rumble that he knows makes me wet.
The memory of the last shower we took together pops up in my mind, and I lick my lips at the thought of the sexy wrestle fight that occurred and the new cracks we left in the surrounding stone walls. Who knew fucking and fighting for dominance was so hot? Torrez’s gaze dips to my mouth, and a knowing smile stretches across his face. I reach up with the handkerchief and clear his face of blood. He shaved this morning, and his face is smooth.
“I want these stubble free cheeks between my thighs,” I tell him as I run my fingers over his strong jaw and up into his short black hair.
He steps into me and grabs my hips. “I can arrange that,” he tells me.
The scent of warm pine swirls around me, and his brown eyes light up with heat and promises of pleasure.
“I can smell your want, Wolf,” I purr seductively as I deactivate the runes of my mate mark. Color blooms around me as my wolf eyes give way to my Sentinel eyes. The smell of Torrez and his desire fades momentarily until he bends down and nips at my shoulder, and my senses are once again filled with the clean woodsy scent that he exudes.
“Mmmm, and I can smell yours, Witch.”
A knock on the door pulls my focus away from the feel of Torrez’s soft lips on my skin. The door opens, and Bastien walks in. He takes one look at the ash on the floor and nods.
“Another one?” he confirms.
“Yeah, what’s that put us at?” I ask as I fight back the shiver that courses through me when Torrez nips at my earlobe.
“Fifty-three. Which is not bad considering how long Adriel was hunting Sentinels and mind-fucking this nest.”
I nod in agreement, but I’m momentarily lost in thought. Fifty-three lamia who couldn’t be trusted not to continue what Adriel had started. That’s one-fifth of the 267 that were in the nest, but it seemed like a lot of them were coming out of the woodwork just in the past couple of days.
“How many are left?” I ask absently.
Torrez’s hands drop from my hips, and he reaches back to cup my ass. He’s purposely making it harder to focus on what Bastien’s saying. I chuckle, amused with his efforts.
“That was the last. We only had twenty left for today, and you two flew through them. You’re getting better,” Bastien compliments me as he taps his nose.
I smile at the praise and release a tension-filled exhale. I’m glad to be done with trying to suss out who in this nest is still a threat.
“The sisters are ready whenever you are to go through what they’re packing for you,” Bastien adds and leans against the doorway, pushing his long dark brown waves away from his face.
I run my hungry gaze over his tall chiseled body. “I need to shower first, and then we can get all of that squared away.”
“Dibs!” Bastien calls out, his hazel eyes eager and sparkling with humor.
Torrez’s head snaps up, and he levels a glare at a now smirking Bastien.
“You snooze, you lose, Wolf,” Bastien taunts, and Torrez throws his head back and releases an irritated growl.
