Page 39 of Betrothed

Then he faltered, fearing he had spoken too much. Mortals did not want to hear of those things, yet another thing his brothers had told him.

“I would never hurt you,” he started.

Fawn cut him off. “No, I know. Keep talking.”

She stared up at him, her gaze eager and attentive. She was truly enjoying this, a strange, savage smile taking over her face as she neared her peak.

Zax let go of her hips to run his hands through her short curls. “If I knew he had treated my future wife so badly, I would have made it last. I would have had him suffer. I rarely kill in anger, only in joy. But I would have killed in rage, for you.”

Fawn shuddered and stilled, her mouth opening in a sharp cry as she came. Her hips jerked weakly, her hole tightening around him so intensely that there was nothing he could do but cling to her and come, spilling deep inside.

The first orgasm was always a relief. But it never made him fully satisfied. His other cock was still throbbing, brushing against Fawn’s clit every time she moved.

Fawn twitched with oversensitivity and knelt up. His lower cock slipped out of her, and Zax watched, enraptured, as his come spilled down her shaking thighs.

Fawn gripped his broken horn and twisted his face to look at her. Her brown skin was flushed and bright, chest heaving with the shocking excitement of what they had just admitted to each other. And she still smelled of that glorious arousal, even as their combined release dripped down her legs.

She kissed him hungrily and said, “Put the other one in.”

Sixteen

Fawn was dipping her waterskin into a small mountain stream when she heard it:

A twig snapping. The only noise in the otherwise tranquil morning.

Fawn sat up, looking around warily. She wasn’t far from the cave. If Errol had found them, Zax would be able to smell them… right? She still wasn’t sure how far his range went.

She stood cautiously, tucking her waterskin into her pocket. She took a step toward the cave, only for another cracking sound to echo around the mountain.

Fawn broke into a run. Her ankle twinged, but she ignored it. She was so close to the cave. If she could just reach Zax⁠—

A huge shape rushed her from behind. Before Fawn could even scream, she was shoved into the ground, her back colliding hard with the mossy stones.

“Sorry,” Zax blurted, his eye glowing hugely as he stared down at her in shock. “You were not meant to run! You know how I get when people run.”

Fawn laughed, relieved. She was shaking with adrenaline, still panting from her brief run after resting with her foot up for so long. “And you should have said something! I thought I was getting snuck up on.”

“You looked so beautiful,” Zax said. “I got distracted.”

Fawn laughed again. He was still on top of her, though the pressure had lessened. She squirmed underneath him, knowing she should ask after his wounds, or whether he had tracked any of the men who were following them, or how far they were from his brother. But there was a fluttery heat invading her stomach. How many times had she imagined this very scenario, her fear and desire tangling together until she couldn’t pry them apart?

She rubbed her legs together unconsciously. Zax’s purple eye widened again, and she knew he could smell her growing arousal.

“Fawn?” Zax said.

Fawn considered. If anyone did try to sneak up on them, Zax’s nose would give them ample warning. Plus, he had mentioned these mountains were hard to navigate. Plus, they would be so nervous about encountering the dark magics everyone whispered about when they spoke of this mountain—surely that would slow their search.

“Do it,” Fawn said quickly. “Take me just like we talked about. Just don’t rip my dress, they’re hard to come by around here.”

Zax stared at her in disbelief. Then he growled so deeply that it sent a thrill down Fawn’s spine. He kissed her, pinning her hard against the mossy ground.

“Tell me—” Fawn cut off with a gasp as he kissed her again. She let herself get lost in the kiss for a second—she had taught him well—and then pulled him back by his broken horn. “Tell me more about how you would chase me through the forest.”

“I wish you did have claws,” Zax said in a rush. “And fangs, like you dream of. You could fight back. Not a true fight. A play fight, like my brothers did with me when I was young.”

It wasn’t what she was expecting. But she felt that same glorious rush she had felt in the cave when she had spoken of wanting claws and fangs, a silly fantasy that she had never thought much about until Zax came along.

“Yes,” she said, grinding up against him and feeling his cocks swell under his loincloth. “Oh, yes. I’d—I’d fight.”