My back stiffens, and I turn to look at him over my shoulder. “If you’re lookin’ to start a ruckus, Sheriff, then you can take your ass out of here, same as everyone else.” My cheeks burn, and my jaw clenches until my teeth crack together.
“I know who your piece of shit father was and all about that little cult he was headin’ out in the woods. By the looks of it, the apple didn’t fall far from that tree. No wonder your ma went out the way she did.” He snorts into his glass before finishing his drink, then slams it down on the bar.
Fire fills my veins, and my fingers twitch as my hands start to tingle. Tears sting at the corners of my eyes, only pissing me off more. He wants me to react and give him a reason to haul me out of here. “Keep my ma out of your fucking mouth,” I sneer through my teeth.
“Listen, you little bitch. You can either come sit your pretty ass down next to me and have a decent night, or I can throw you in cuffs right now and drag you out of here.” He traces his finger around the rim of his glass and smiles. “Either option is just fine by me.”
Every muscle in my body winds so tightly, I begin to shake. I suck my bottom lip through my teeth, willing myself to have the control to not gut this man right here in front of god and everyone. Before I can make my next move, Wiley appears like a guardian angel behind the sheriff. “Now, boy, I think you’ve had about enough. Why don’t I call someone to git you home, huh?”
Wiley’s weathered hand comes down firm on the sheriff’s shoulder. His eyes narrow towards me with a jerk of his head towards the door leading to the back. The message is loud and clear. I hurry towards the back and don’t take a breath again until I’m in the safety of solitude in the bar’s small kitchen. My heart is pounding hard enough to break a rib as my body finally catches up to the events that just occurred. What the fuck just happened out there?
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
ripp
Mattie flies through the back door of the bar then stills. Illuminated by the lone light in the parking lot, I can see each rise and fall of her chest. On the opposite side, Wiley steers the sheriff out with one hand planted on his back. I doubt he realizes how thankful he should be for every ounce of oxygen he moves through his lungs right now. The darkness around Mattie vibrated as she tried to restrain herself in there, and while I yearned to suck the life out of him, that honor should belong to her alone.
My attention draws back to my little bug as she crumbles to her knees. My magic stirs inside of me at the sight, and I imagine how pretty she’d look choking on my cock. I should be the one bringing her to her knees, breaking her down until she begs for her release. The thought of anyone else being allowed to break her makes me want to burn this whole bar down.
I go to her, suppressing my carnal desires, and meet her down on the gravel. We kneel in silence for several moments before her eyes meet mine, filled with tears. “Mattie,” my voice rumbles, and something inside her cracks. She melts into my chest with an explosion of sobs. My arms wrap around her, and I let myself get lost in her scent.
“He brought up my family,” she says, broken words between shaky breaths. “He made me feel wrong, dirty, just for existing.”
I cup her face between my hands and wipe the streams of tears with my thumbs. “Let me clip those dirty wings of yours, little bug. Tie yourself to me, and I’ll give you forever. No one will ever make you feel like less again.”
I say the words even though I know what it would mean for her to give herself to me. I know what she would have to give up, what she might have to become. Whatever the result of the transformation is, I have doubts it will leave her human form intact.
“It’s cruel, you know. The way you keep me on edge and string up every emotion I have just out of reach. It’s like a piece of my soul is living outside my body. Fragmented. You stole that piece. Broke it off and left nothing but sharp edges.” Her words are weapons, seeking to hurt the part of me I know is hurting her by having to stay away. “I’ve always been an outsider, but now, I feel like I was never meant to be a part of this world at all.”
“I have something I need to tell you,” I admit. She has to know. She needs to make her own decision once she knows the truth, because I know after tonight, I won’t be able to stay away. I refuse to stay away.
“You can start by telling me your fucking name,” she snarls, causing another wave of emotion to wash over us. I wince at the sharpness of her words. I could give her my name again, but I know once her darkness grows enough, her memories from that night will flood her. She’ll remember once she’s ready.
I grab both of her hands and stand, taking her with me. “Let’s go home, little bug.”
Resistance flashes briefly in her eyes, but she stays silent and lets me guide her to her car. She stays quiet the entire drive except for intermittent sniffles. Her hands stay white-knuckled on the steering wheel.
Once we’re finally back at the safety of her cabin, I round the car and lift her into my arms. She relaxes into my hold, and I carry her to her bed. I sit before I remove her boots and each sock then work my fingers into the tense muscles of her feet. A moan escapes her, and she scoots her ass down the bed until it’s pressing into my thigh, making more of her body available to me. Magic rushes to my cock and presses into the back of her leg. Fuck, I need her, but I also need to warn her of the magnitude of our connection.
“Mattie.” My voice is clipped, barely human. I fight off the desire to tear off the rest of her clothes and bear more than just her body to me. “Mattie,” I try again. “That darkness inside you is more than just a metaphor. It’s magic—ancient magic, forged by trauma and strengthened by your actions…and your proximity to me.”
She lifts up on her elbows and stares at me. She blinks once, twice. Her lips fall open, and I wait for her to say something, but it doesn’t come.
“I told you I’m not human.” I run my hands up the tan skin of her legs and grip her thighs firmly. “I only appear as one to appease your fragile minds.” The muscles in her legs twitch, but I keep my hold on them.
“What does that mean?” she whispers. “I don’t know what any of this means.” I know her mind is struggling to put the pieces together, but I need to help her try for both our sakes, even though I’m still trying to myself.
“Your soul called out to mine that day at the lake, and every moment since. It’s an undeniable call to the magic that exists in me—that makes meme. But our darkness is intertwined now. Even though I’ve tried to stay away, it still grows in you and becomes more and more restless in me. I went to see a witch…”
“A witch,” she interrupts, her voice filled with skepticism.
“Yes, Mattie, a witch. I realize your meager worldview is shifting rapidly, but try to keep up,” I say impatiently. “Even if I could stay away now, the darkness would continue to slowly consume you and would likely kill you before your transformation is fully complete.”
“My transformation into what?” she shrieks, yanking her legs from my hold. I groan and rub my hands down my face. The truth is, I don’t know. The witch said the transformation killed most humans before it was completed, but she didn’t elaborate on what it meant. I silently curse myself for not asking more questions, even though the witch would have been unlikely to answer them.
“I don’t fucking know,” I roar back. “This is just as foreign to me as it is to you. I eat humans, not attach myself to them. You’ve always been nothing more than an energy source for me.” She flinches and goes quiet again. The room fills with tension, and my restraint thins with each passing second.
“Do you realize how crazy this sounds? You’re fucking insane.” She shakes her head but doesn’t move further away from me.
