“Can I taste you, please?”
Her eyes still closed, confusion filled her tone. “T-taste me?”
I nuzzled into the pillow of her thigh, laving my tongue over it.
“Oh! Oh. Um… I guess. If you want to.”
The depth of my want transcended language, needing actions. I licked up her seam, filling my mouth with apples and cinnamon, suckling her cherry at the top.A Gryphon’s Cursedetailed the humming that came next with fervor. Her hips bucked into my mouth. She didn’t pull away so I must have been doing it right. I tongued the length of her again, flexing my hands into her soft thighs. The cream that hit my tongue next told me I was definitely doing it right.
A tremor rippled her thigh and then her whole body.
“Dec stop!” She gasped out, pushing at my head.
I released her immediately, setting her fully on the mattress. Her back bowed.
“Stop. Please stop.” The pain in her voice wrecked me.
“I’ve stopped, Honey. Breathe.” My hands shook.
I reached into the bond and took what hurt I could.My eyes teared and I locked my muscles with every fiber of my shifter strength so I didn’t immediately curl into a ball of agony. Taking my own advice, I breathed with her as I rolled her over and applied some of the salve Noreen had left for me. It stunk like a raccoon in heat, but Honey’s muscles relaxed and I recovered the use of my own limbs.
“Better?” I asked.
Sniffles replied. My hands played over her back, massaging more salve up her neck and over her hips.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled into the pillow. The crust of the Fever formed along her spine like frost and then retreated again. “I ruined everything.”
I slid down beside her, keeping my hands to myself, struck by her beauty, especially when she was in pain. She didn’t need to be a shifter for her eyes to glow like jewels in the morning light. Her resilience painted her features with glory.
“You didn't ruin anything.” I did. I should have laid all my cards on the table.
“Even flopping there and doing nothing is beyond me. My hair is the only thing that doesn't ache.”
A smile creased my face, my gaze soft. Plunging my fingers into her silky curls, I massaged her scalp. Each ringlet grasped my skin like a little hand. “I like this just as much.”
That silenced her. Braced for her to tell me I was doing this wrong too, I worked to remain calm.
“You don't have to be nice about it.” Her watery words didn’t hold much bite.
I flattened my smile to show her I was serious. “I'm not.”
Her disbelief was so strong it resounded across the bond. She slid from my grasp and out of bed.
“I feel better. Thank you. Let's see if anyone needs help with the cleanup from last night.”
The pack had taken care of it. They let me know throughout the evening, excited that I had whisked my mate off in such a dramatic fashion. If the rest of the pack shouldered the search for the missing wolves for one more day. We got dressed in tense silence and it killed me not to help her when she winced pulling on her wool leggings. But she looked like she would shatter the Harrowlands if I offered to help.
The warm kitchen was full of the usual mix of pack members and siblings, all coping with the amount of wine and mead they had drunk the night before.
Fallon kissed me, despite the pain she was in, like we were real mates. After kissing Momma’s cheek, she walked over to the oven to check the bread baking inside. My gaze flicked to Momma’s stiff posture.
I scooped up poor, neglected Ned and held him in my lap like he was a much smaller dog. It didn't matter that he spilled off my legs. He put his head on my shoulder and everything was okay for a moment.
“Do you want to try that again with a littlemore conviction?” Momma slammed a cleaver into the butcher block in front of her. We all jumped.
The silence hung in the air as we all looked at each other. Momma grabbed Fallon’s arm and dragged her over to me as my stomach sank.
“I’ll miss you too, Anise, but I will do your legacy proud.”
