Page 34 of Zodiac Beasts

Adrian would never complete their pact, no matter how much he might want to, after all, and that was going to make this delicious torture. Him developing feelings for her was always the intention. Him having to deny himself and accept that she was mated to me was a trap I couldn’t have dreamed up in my most twisted revenge fantasies.

I walked her backwards until her back was against the side of the building. We were in a position where we were hidden by bushes and hedge, but not completely. We could get caught by anyone who walked by and glanced this way—anyone who followed the whimpers and moans I was about to force through her delicate throat—but maybe no one would walk by. Maybe I could fuck her all night without interruption, or maybe I’d get her off while someone watched from the sidelines.

I shamelessly shared that thought with her, and she didn’t even flinch. The intensity of her scent and her flavor were all consuming as the idea only turned her on.

My baby doll wasn’t afraid to get fucked for an audience. I loved all of these filthy, perfect things I was learning about her, month after month after month.

On a night like this, I could blame ancient magic for my deviance, but it was so different to know that she was fully transformed, forced into her true shape, and yet she was completely in control. She might be more bold and in tune with her honest desires, but she wasn’t blacked out and controlled by her beast. What would it feel like to take her while she was shifted and I wasn’t? How much more intense were her orgasms when she was in this form?

I wish I could experience it. To know what it felt like to be in my truest, fullest transformation under the light of the moon, with pure power crackling beneath my skin, and to get to feel my mate connected in full.

I’d always valued control, likely because I’d had so little in my life and relationships until now. Tonight, I was the one who got to make all of the choices, and I could do that because she was already choosing me.

A sudden rustling caught in my ear, and I made a point to fully shield her body from outside view with my own. I held still and listened to the footsteps of passing students, assuring I protected her from any humiliation. The crunching of grass neared then distanced, with neither of us being seen.

I exhaled relief. As much as I wanted to wreck her from the pussy up, she was visibly changed enough in a school with humans, that this exhibitionism had to stay a fantasy and not a reality tonight. I was not trying to ruin her reputation or get her reprimanded by the Graves Counsel.

Ravaging her didn’t mean I wouldn’t also protect her.

Because… her feelings really did matter to me.

What a strange...

A…

Strange…

Fuck. Not now. What did I do? I didn’t want to—

Chapter 18

Bold as I felt, I still burrowed into Marcus’ shoulder as some students passed us by. He fully blocked the view of my body from anyone who might glance our way, and everything about that gesture filled my chest with a sense of warmth and safety. Some deviant part of me wanted to get caught, but I also wasn’t prepared for the consequences of the wrong person walking in on us.

Maybe if it was Adrian…

Moments after the threat had passed, Marcus’ arms tensed around me again, more stiffly this time. Maybe he heard something else in the distance. I didn’t know if my hearing was anything special, but I was sure his must be.

I remained still, and I waited. I wanted to keep kissing him. I felt so connected to him right now, and every second that we weren’t squeezing, touching, and devouring each other felt like an eternity too long.

I nuzzled into his shoulder, but he wasn’t moving. I felt the bulge of his bicep as he hugged it against me. Then the tightening of his chest.

Oh.

Oh fuck.

I looked up slowly, but I still looked up, only to meet narrowed slits in an eerie shade of brown. The darkly demonic shade was far removed from Marcus’ normal golden eyes.

He clawed at the stone wall at my back, as horns extended straight out, then straight up in a way that befitted a zodiac bull.

What triggered him?

Was it protecting me? Hiding me? Kissing me? What was the catalyst?

His shoulders grew broad and thick, while dark brown fur covered his arms to his extending claws. His ears grew into points that pocked out of his shaggy hair, while the too many earrings that lined his ear lobes glistened in the moon light. The transformation rippled down his body, to a thin tail to thick, muscular thighs, to large and powerful hooves. His fangs extended between his parted lips, fully realizing both the Taurus and the Vampire that now controlled him.

I wasn’t sure what to do, so I just remained in his arms as he shifted around me.

When he picked me up, I wrapped my bare legs around his waist and my arms around his thick, muscular, monstrous neck for stability.