Page 69

“You okay?” I asked.

“That all of them?” he said instead of answering.

Most likely because it was a stupid freaking question. He wasn’t okay. How could he be? This whole situation was fucked up to the extreme. “Just the two on your neck, and then we’re finished.”

He nodded, reached down, and cursed as he yanked up his jeans. “I’m fucking sorry, Jaz. You shouldn’t have to deal with that shit. I thought I had it under control, but you’re fucking beautiful, and you were touching me, and you’re naked, not that I’m looking,” he quickly said. “But I know you are, and every one of your breaths against my skin felt…and I…and your hands on me, and fuck…I’m making it worse.”

You’re fucking beautiful.

My stupid, hopeful heart sped faster. Ren thought I was beautiful? “It’s okay,” I said. “You don’t need to explain. If you could just sit up. We’ll get the last two done.”

He rubbed his hands over his face and nodded.

Ren

* * *

She moved up beside me, and I could feel the warmth radiating from her bare skin against my side. She wasn’t touching me, but it was as if she were pressed against me so damn tight, her warmth soaking right through me.

Dammit, I’d had my dick under control until she’d made me look at her. The only place I could look was her eyes, and as soon as I had them locked on mine, my cock had stiffened. I wanted to reach down and squeeze it, badly. It felt like it was going to be torn off shoved down the leg of my jeans the way it was. But there was no way in hell I was going to adjust it in front of her. She had to think I was the biggest fucking pervert.

This was when Edward’s voice would usually invade my mind and tell me I was making her skin crawl just being this close to her, but it never came—and I realized it hadn’t for a while now. And then the heat of Jasmine’s skin seemed to intensify, and all my attention was back on her.

I tried not to look, and I didn’t, but when she leaned forward, pressing the needle to the side of my throat, I could see the flash of color from the tattoo on her chest in my peripheral vision, the way her soft tits swayed as she moved. I sucked in another fortifying breath and closed my eyes. I tried to zone out as she did the first one, but the fox could smell her blood still, and I could still remember the way she felt in my arms, the fear, the roar of mine through my head. She swiped the ink away and more goose bumps lifted across my skin.

“One final sigil to go, then I’ll get out of your way. You won’t have to see me again for a week.” Her warm breath brushed my skin once more, and it took everything in me not to shiver again.

I hated the thought of not seeing her again for another week. Yes, doing this with her was torture, but it was…it felt good as well. She thought I was a manwhore and an asshole, and more than likely a pervert at this point, but being this close to her, just the two of us— Christ, these past several days had done more for me than anything else had since I was possessed.

The thought of not seeing her tomorrow night? I hated it. Yeah, I might see her at the clubhouse, or when I was hanging out with Willow, but it wouldn’t be the same, I wouldn’t have her to myself, and I knew every day until I could be here in my living room with her again, just the two of us, would feel like a fucking eternity.

She moved to my other side, dipping her needle in the ink, then got started. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on anything but the feel of her fingers curled around the back of my neck. Her thumb pressed to my skin like she had the base of my cock, but this time to hold the skin taut, not to press down a bulging fucking vein because blood was pumping hard and fast to my engorged cock—and still was with her so near.

Minutes ticked by. “I just need to fill it in.”

Her soft voice had tingles dancing all over me. Then she was back at it, filling in the final sigil, whispering her spell. The soft sound of her voice repeating the words over and over again was a torment, Heaven and Hell all rolled into one. I needed her to stop for my own fucking sanity, but I thought I’d die if she did. I’d hated touch for so long after what happened, and now I was addicted to it, to Jasmine’s touch. Only hers.

The longer she worked, the closer to the end we got and the more I dreaded its arrival.

“All done,” she finally said, still in that soft voice.

Her hand was curled around my throat as she wiped the excess ink from the final sigil. “You suit them, you know. They look really good.”

“Yeah?” I turned to her and realized my mistake too late.

Our eyes locked, our faces, our mouths, so close, and every one of her soft breaths now brushed my lips instead of my throat. Our gazes held. She blinked, her soft green gaze bright and startlingly beautiful. A scent reached me—arousal. Jaz was turned on, pussy wet.

Fuck. I gasped in a breath that only made it worse. I looked away and quickly stood.

She stood as well, and like last time, she grabbed my shirt, pulling it on. Her head was dipped. “We need to do your healing, then I’ll leave you to the rest of your night.”

How the fuck was I going to survive it? “Sounds good.”

Not looking at me, she stepped into me, wrapping her arms around my waist. She hadn’t cleaned up and changed first, like she usually did, and with how thin my shirt was, I felt every one of her curves pressed against me, soft and warm. Her power slid through me, gentle but persistent. I kept my hands at my sides, fingers fisted so fucking tight my knuckles felt close to splitting. She murmured her words of encouragement, like last time, but I was lost in the feel of her, of her power, a jumble of thoughts and sensations, in her addictive scent.

The emotions swirling inside me were drawn away, her power sliding through my body as if she was stroking me, soothing me from the inside out. I sucked in breath after breath as it was all taken from me. For a short time, those awful feelings were gone.

The euphoria built, slow and steady, and I started to shake.