Page 447 of Eight of Swords, Part Two

‘No fucking, Zanoza. Fever will pass. I wait.’

Somewhere beyond them, automatic fire chatters in two competing directions. Men shout over one another. One voice rises in triumph and ends in a wet gargle. The frenzy Riley poured into the air is still dismantling them, turning military order into mating violence, but it weakens here beneath the trees.

The wind carries most of it back towards the killing ground.

Vasily breathes it anyway.

His pupils are wide.

His jaw is tight.

His hands keep closing and opening at his sides.

He’s not unaffected, and yet there he stays.

‘You should… go help the others,’ Riley whispers, unable to look away from him now even if he tried. So much of his energy has always been dedicated to containing the thing inside him, denying its every instinct.

He’s never let himself feel anything towards Vasily Sorrenko that wasn’t grudging respect for the power he wields, but he’d have to be blind not to recognise how attractive he is.

Strong and tall and hot as fuck while being funny, strange and sweet.

He’s nothing like anyone Riley has ever known.

‘I will stay and help you.’

‘You’re not helping.’

‘Guard, then. Do you know what it is?’

‘It-it’s like a… a fever.’

‘How do we break it?’ Riley rolls his eyes, mouth in a thin line. ‘No, I mean… what does it want? Not just sex.’

Riley’s body answers instantly.

Safety. Pack. Family.

‘D-doesn’t matter.’

‘I think it does.’

Riley’s heart is hurting his ribs. He’s getting dizzy.

‘I can’t…’ He’s going to pass out. ‘I’m…’

‘Riley, you are smart. Come on. What will help? Not fucking, but… cuddles? Cuddles will help?’

His body cries for anything, everything.

Touch. Kiss. Love. Own.

Bond.

He manages a shaky nod, head spinning.

‘I need a yes.’

‘Yes.’