But once she broke free from the bush, it was not what I saw.
A tangle of pine needles clung to her hair. Each ragged breath she took made the branch hooked through her shirt tremble. The fabric of her black leggings surrendered to the forest, threads hanging loose where thorns were. Through a ragged hole, her knee gleamed wet with blood, dark rivulets disappearing into the tight spandex that clung to her thigh like a second skin.
My instincts went into overdrive.
Protect her, heal her.
“Don’t you come any closer!” She pointed her finger at me and took in a long, labored breath.
My antennae wilted, and so did my cock.
“Are you okay?” I pressed my two index fingers together repeatedly, feeling rather sheepish. I had avoided her, and she was angry with me. I could not blame her.
Kassie’s eye twitched. All was silent until she answered. “I’m literally a forest fire, and I am the fire, and I am the forest, and I am the witness watching it!” she cried.
My Mothman instincts kept whispering the word danger in my head. My female was out of her mind, my come overly stimulated her; she was in a craze only I could fix.
As sick as it was to put her in this state, it turned me on. Just a little.
Hollow’s tentacles twitched with impatience. "Handle your female, Atlas," he hissed through whatever passed for teeth in that faceless head. "Unless you prefer I lock her in isolation. The walls are thick, but not thick enough to muffle those screams when the separation sickness truly takes hold."
Kassie gasped. “And you!” She pointed at the mayor. “You drugged me, or knocked me out! You locked me in my room! How dare you!”
He sneered. “Yes, how did you get out, little cat? I cursed that door.”
Kassie swiped her imaginary claws at him. “Forgot the window chompers. I climbed down and ran to the last place I thought he would be, even if that meant breaking a rule.” She mocked him and stuck out her tongue. “If you'll excuse me, I need Atlas, we have business.”
Business? I don’t want to do business; I want to do other things.
Kassie came toward me and grabbed my hand. Lightening zipped through my body, and my cock pressed against my slit, the head poking out and touching the fabric of my jeans.
I groaned and wrapped one hand around the small of her back. “I need you.” I pressed my cock into her stomach, our height difference reminded me just how much smaller she was than me.
“You did this.” The bite in her voice didn’t deter me. “You have been edging me, and I don’t like it.”
Lucien popped up beside us. “Should we leave?”
Neither of us broke our heated gaze as the mayor and Lucien's footsteps faded into the forest, leaving us alone with the electric current humming between our bodies.
I could feel her heart racing against my chest, or maybe it was my own. Her scent was overwhelming, a mix of sweat and that unique smell that was just Kassie. Her breath hitched, and I could see the rapid rise and fall of her chest. She was mad, but there was something else there too, a hunger that matched my own.
"I didn't mean to," I started, my voice barely a growl. Her eyes flashed, and I could see the wildness in them. She was feral, driven by instinct and need.
"Didn't mean to what, Atlas?" she snapped, but she didn't pull away. Instead, she pressed closer, her body flush against mine. I could feel every curve, every soft line of her. "Didn't mean todrive me insane with your dried come on my body? Didn't mean to make me climb out of a window and run through a freaking forest to find you?"
I swallowed hard, my throat dry. Her words were like gasoline on the fire burning inside me. I wanted to consume her, to claim her right there. But not like this. Not when she was angry and hurt.
"Let me fix this," I murmured, my hand sliding up her back to tangle in her hair. Her eyes widened, pupils dilating. "Let me take care of you."
Because I messed up. I knew better. In the back of my mind, I knew what I did was wrong.
She shivered, her body melting into mine for a moment before she stiffened again. "You should have thought about that before you turned me into some kind of nymphomaniac," she growled. But her voice lacked the heat of her words. She was wavering, her body craving what only I could give her.
I leaned down, my lips brushing against her ear. "Let me make it up to you," I whispered, my voice a low rumble. I could feel her shiver again, her body responding to mine. I ran my tongue along the shell of her ear, tasting her. She gasped, her hands fisting in my shirt.
She wanted me. It gave me the confidence I needed to take her, to show her I could take care of her.
"Bastard," she muttered, but there was no venom in it. She turned her head, her lips brushing against my tongue. It was a soft, feather-light touch, a question. I answered it, capturing her mouth, pressing it against my face. She moaned, her body pressing against me as she deepened the kiss.
