He’s the kind who’ll take a life then walk away without blinking an eyelid. So why am I so concerned for his wellbeing?
“And I thought I was the one who spoke too much.” I set my jaw. “Who was good at talking myself into anything.”
He frowns. His massive chest heaves. “Explain.”
“Since you realized I am your mate, your entire attitude to me has changed.”
“You have no idea what you are talking about.”
“Oh, the self-delusion.” I laugh. I actually throw my head back and chuckle.
Anger rolls off him, and his features harden. Color flushes his skin. “You are pushing it, Fire.”
His nostrils flare. The muscles of his shoulders flex. He raises his arm and wraps those big fingers around my neck.
I gulp.
His ears lengthen. “So delicate. So soft. I could snap your neck.”
“So why don’t you?”
“Damned if I know.” He sounds as confused as I feel. “One moment I want to throw you on the floor and rut you, the next I want to walk away from you. But more than anything, I want to bury myself in you and bring you to climax over and over again. I want to absorb your cries, then come all over you and mark you. Will you let me do that?”
The carnal need in his words grips my insides. My skin stretches tight. “What?” Is that the only word I know? The rest of my vocabulary is gone, lost in the lust-filled centrifuge that is my brain right now.
“Come on you. Rub my seed into your skin until you smell like me, taste of me.” He sets his jaw. "Until every male in a square mile radius of you knows you belong to me." A vein throbs at his temple.
“And here I thought you said you didn’t want to mate me?” I hiccough.
“There’s a difference.”
“You are twisting around my words—again.” I cut the air with my palm. My hand trembles as if I am caught in a whirlwind.
“You are changing the topic.” A muscle twitches above his jawline.
‘No, you are.”
“So this is it then?”
He lets go of me, and I stumble. I snake out an arm to grab his shoulder and right myself. Another jolt of heat pulses through me. I let go of him and drop my arms.
He swivels around and turns to leave.
He can’t do that. Just walk away in the middle of this conversation. My gut churns. The pulse beats at my temples. “Wait.”
He doesn’t stop, just keeps going.
Something inside me snaps. All that buildup. All that…teasing. The orgasms. And then what, he just leaves? They always do. All of them do. Take their fill and leave me behind. Use me then discard me. My father, then my mother, who’d given up on life died. I’d always regretted never standing up to them and demanding what I wanted. No more.
This time I am not letting him go.
This time I am going to take what I want and damn the consequences. I spring down from the table, race to the door, and fling myself at him.
18
Tristan
Her weight punches into me from behind. Soft curves, warm skin, the imprint of her breasts as she flattens them against my back. She winds her legs around my waist, and I fling my arms behind to hold her in place.
“How dare you turn your back on me?” Her breath hisses against the nape of my neck.
My cock twitches. “I didn’t give you permission to move yet.”
“Fuck your games.”
“You should know by now that I don’t say anything I don’t mean.” I shoot her a glance over my shoulder.
She digs her heels into my stomach, and I grunt.
“For a little thing, you pack a punch, I’ll give you that.”
“I am not someone who you can toss about and get to obey you.” Her muscles tense.
Anger rolls off her, and I revel in it. I want her to fight back. Need her to stand up to me. That’s half the fun in this back and forth with her. Me trying to subdue her, and her…resisting me every step of the way. Fighting to retain every inch until she gives in, eventually. And she will, I am sure of that.
“Never mistook you for anything weak, darlin’, and as for the second…” I drawl out the words, knowing it’s only going to anger her further. “I have proven that is not the case, is it?” I hitch her up higher on my back and continue walking up the corridor.
She goes still; her thighs go solid. I know the exact moment realization dawns, for it seems every part of her vibrates with tension.
“You baited me, asshole?” Her screech almost blows my eardrums.
I wince. “Easy. Fire, Fae hearing is as delicate as a shifter’s. You don’t want to maim me, do you, at least not before I deliver on my earlier promises.”
“Let me down.” Her voice rasps over my skin.
My already prepped nerve endings tingle. “Nope.”
“What did you say?” Her tone rises in pitch.
“You heard me. You already made your choice.”
“I was angry with you, there’s a difference.”
“Passion…emotion… Semantics.”
“Semantics,” she huffs in the same breath and at the same time as me.
“See, we are on the same wavelength.” I can’t stop the chuckle that ripples out.
And I know I am really making her angry.
That I’m pushing her to a place where she can’t think straight.
Maybe I’d subconsciously planned this all along.
This little dance, give and take, where I pretend that there is a chance for her to walk away, for me to walk away. But that was before. Before she’d called my bluff. She’s right in one way. That she’s my mate has changed this equation. It’s just made me more careful.
I am going to steer clear of any possible commitment to her, and before you go judging me on that, typical male and all that, let me tell you, it’s self-preservation. Not mine but hers.
Surely, she doesn’t want to be bonded to me. Someone who has nothing to his name. Nothing but the years of scars and fighting experiences under his belt. More than that, come to think of it. At least where my hidden talents are concerned, she’ll have no reason to complain. I wasn’t kidding earlier when I’d said I’d give her the kind of pleasure she’d never have dreamed of.
That much I know.
Temporary relationship? Check.
Multiple orgasms? You bet.
Making her come until she’s completely lost sight of anything else but us, me, and what I can do to her? That’s my specialty, folks. And you know what else? I’ve never seen it this way before. This time it’s about her.
Her needs, her pleasure.
I plan to keep her high on the endorphins, make her skin glow with my ministrations and fulfill her in a way she’s never been before. Yeah, so I’ll be spoiling her for anyone else. Tough titties.
She’ll always remember me after this.
Even when she’s with someone else… And no way will I allow that. Anger punches my gut, and the blood drains from my head. Can’t think about that. For now, there is just her. This space. The next few hours—okay, days—I can give myself that with her, while I take her apart and put her back together.
A fierce surge of satisfaction licks my chest.
Reaching the bedroom, I kick open the door, then, walking to the bed, turn and try to remove my arms from around her. She doesn’t let go. Holds on to me, then climbs my back. The feral creature digs her nails into my shoulders. The pain squeezes my chest then plummets straight to my groin. A growl rips out of me. “All bets are off, Fire.”
“Finally.”
She bites down on my shoulder and I feel it all the way to the tip of my cock. I grab her by the scruff of her neck and rip her off my back. Searing pain rips down my side. I touch my shoulder and wince. She’s taken some of the skin with her, too.
“Little hellion.” I swivel around to find she’s already on her feet and rushing me again.
I stay where I am. She leaps through the air and flings herself at
me once more. I take the brunt of her weight, then throw her down on the bed and cover her body with mine.
She wriggles under me. Her breasts flatten against my chest and her hard nipples rake my skin. My balls throb. I rest more of my weight on her, just enough to hold her down but not enough to hurt her. She hisses at me, then lifts her hand and slaps me. The sound of the thud echoes round the room.
I see stars in front of my eyes. I shake my head to clear it. “You’re going to pay for that.”
“Whatever.” She shoves up her knee, and I know what’s coming next.
“Sorry, Fire, I intend to keep my balls just a little longer, just until I pleasure you.”
“Dream on, buster.” Her muscles go rigid. She pulls her shoulders back then snaps her body forward with such precision that I am propelled back through the air.
I hit the floor at the foot of the bed with a thud. My shoulder blades slam into it, and my head pitches back to connect with the hard wooden floor.
Darkness edges into my vision.
A growl rips out of me. A primal need to restrain, to overpower her, to teach her who is the more dominant. I spring up on my feet and hold up my arm. The tips of my fingers tingle.
She springs up on the bed and faces me.
“We Fae do have a few secrets up our sleeve.” I draw on my telekinetic energy and channel it through my fingertips. I layer it in a shield between us, then thrust it at her.
The entire bed shudders, and she falls back on the mattress. The headboard slaps against the wall, and then again.
“Now that was a sound I’d wanted to hear only when I was inside you.”
“You wish,” she snarls.
“Wrong answer,” I draw back my lips.
She raises her head, and her eyes flash vertical.
Liquid lust pools in my chest. “Fire,” I breathe out. “That’s the most beautiful sight I have seen.”
She tosses back her hair. Her breasts heave. She raises her knees and parts her legs. My gaze drops to that secret triangle at the apex of her thighs.
The pink luscious folds of her lower lips glisten.
She drops her hand to her pussy and shoves two fingers inside herself.
My hold on the telekinetic shield wavers. “Fuck me.” My words sound hollow.
She holds up her fingers and the moisture glistens at the tips. Then she thrusts her digits into her mouth and sucks on them.
My cock strains to be let out. I take a step forward and my gaze fixes on her mouth.
Her lips curve, “You know, there’s one thing the Fae Corps didn't warn you about.”
I see her mouth form the words and don’t register it.
She draws herself up and snaps her neck back. A shimmering of scales appears over her neck, down her shoulders. Her pupils glow, and sparks of amber and red flare from her skin. She opens her mouth, and a fountain of flames pour out at me.
19
Jess
The flames fountain over him. The thick sheets of amber and red hide him from my sight. My palms go cold. “Tristan.” I hear my scream as if from far away. Adrenaline laces my blood. I strain against the hold of his telekinetic energy, which dissipates, and I scramble forward.
He falls to the floor, the fire shooting up from his body.
Sheer terror bubbles up my throat. “Babe.” My chin wobbles, and my heart pounds so fast I am sure it’s going to leap right out of my rib cage. “What have I done?” Blood pounds at my temples. I leap through the air and land right next to him, falling to my knees next to his still burning body.
The flames recede, and my breath catches. Each individual strand of fire is absorbed into his body. His skin glows. The tips of his ears spark. His eyes are closed, drops of fire cling to his eyelashes.
The fire flares up once then dies out, revealing a completely naked man. I gulp.
My gaze rakes over his beautiful face. His sculpted chest, every inch of which is covered in intricate patterns. The writing is in a language I cannot comprehend. The letters glow then fade.
The patterns continue down to the concave dip of his stomach, to where his hard shaft juts out, and… “What the hell?”
A metal piercing glints from the tip of his dick.
“Surprised?” His lips pull back in a smirk. He raises his hand and his fingertips spark blue.
The telekinetic power slams into my chest. I arc back through the air and hit the bed. The breath whooshes out of me.
The hair on my forearms rises and my palms tingle. That's my only warning, for the next second, he’s on top and planked over me. "How did you cover the distance from the floor to the bed so quickly? Did you teleport again?" My head spins.
"Faes never tell." His blue eyes blaze at me. His elbows are folded on either side of my shoulders, and he supports the weight of his massive body on his arms and toes.
The man doesn’t break a sweat.
His biceps are rock-hard; bet he does at least a hundred of those each day. Pushups, I mean, not the part where he taunts me until I lose my temper. “I thought I’d burned you.” I gulp.
“You did.”
I sweep my gaze over his face, down his throat, to where those sculpted pecs of his twitch, down to…no, not there, don’t look there. Of course, my eyes are drawn right back to his piercing. “Uh, you seem to have survived that trial by fire, alpha-hole.”
“You burned me where it doesn’t show.”
His voice is so serious that I look up at his face.
“I didn’t mean to do that.” I raise a finger to his cheek, trailing it over his skin.
His lips curve up in a lazy smile. “You did call me by my name, which did very interesting things to my insides, by the way.” His eyes gleam. “Not to mention that cute endearment.”
“You heard that?” I frown.
“You bet.” He draws his lips up in a smirk. “If that’s all it takes to get you all hot and bothered, you can set me on fire anytime… Fire.”
“Corny.” I make gagging noises in my throat. My stomach flip-flops from that crazy-ass stunt of mine.
“That’s me. One hell of a romantic fucker.”
“Seems you are not the only one with control issues.” I gnaw on my lower lip.
“Seems they didn’t tell you at the Bureau that Faes are impervious to dragon fire.”
“They’re not.” I swallow. “Except for…” Mates. I don’t say that aloud. Somehow, I know if I do, it will change the entire nature of our conversation, and I am done with this back and forth. Maybe it’s the shock of thinking I had hurt him, or worse, killed him that’s twisting my insides with need. I dig my fingernails into my palm. Or maybe it’s that I’ll take him any which way I can get. Just for now. Just once, can he possess me completely? If this is the only time, I am going to get with him, then I’ll take it. No, I’ll grab it and hold on to the memories for as long as I live.
“Except for—?” He frowns.
“The teleporting Fae Corps, who are obviously stronger than the more general Fae populace,” I mumble and force myself to hold his gaze. And yeah, I am feeding his already swollen ego, but can you blame me?
The furrows on his forehead smooth out. “For someone who speaks what’s on your mind, you are doing very well in reining in your curiosity.”
“Huh?” This man’s sudden changes of topic always throw me off course. “You lost me there.”
He jerks his chin down toward where his dick thrusts up at me. “Don’t you want to know about my piercing?”
I set my jaw. “Nope.”
“Aww, come on, Fire, indulge me.”
A dominant Tristan I can handle. But this side of him, that’s almost childish in its need for approval? What’s a girl got to do in the face of those piercing blue eyes that beseech me, that bore into my soul and set my skin on fire? “O-k-a-y. Did it hurt?”
He tilts his head.
“So why?” I reach out to touch his piercing, then pull back and tuck my elbow into my side.
�
�After being abused, and essentially having every hole of mine fucked, it was one way to regain some control over a very important part of myself. I wanted to remind myself that I am not…just my dick, not that I don’t value that part of me, but you know what I mean?”
“It certainly has fringe benefits, I am sure.” I stab my tongue into my cheek.
My fingers tingle to touch him, to take his shaft in my palm, to have his hard, throbbing length pulse against my fingers.
“Do it, Fire.”
His voice is low, his gaze intense. In all that time the man is planked over me, immovable as a stone. And I thought shifters were powerful. Clearly, the Fae have a thing or two over us when it comes to strength.
I reach down and curl my fingers around his cock. My fingers barely circle his girth.
He groans, and his chest muscles flinch.
I drag my finger up the vein on the underside then feather it over the metal piercing. His shaft leaps. His biceps tremble. Seems there’s something that can affect his composure after all.
I rub my finger over the head of his dick and flick the piercing. His entire body shudders.
“You know I think you did it to heighten your own pleasure.” My words come out in a rush. My throat feels dry, my eyelids twitch, and moisture pools between my legs.
“Not only…” He grinds his teeth. A nerve ticks at his temple.
I grab his dick and hold it against the opening of my pussy.
His shoulders bunch. “Do you know what you are doing to me, Fire?”
“No, show me.” I know I should hold on until I adjust to him better, and that’s the problem. Patience has never been one of my strong points. I inch forward just enough for his swollen head to dip into my wet channel.
A tremor of heat floods my belly. I want him, need him to do this. Want him to stake his claim on me. And yet I wait…wait for him to tell me it’s time. That he’s ready for this.
My thighs spasm, and I dig my toes into the mattress. I bite down on my lower lip. A groan wheezes out of me. I will not give in. Will not. The cold tip of his piercing grazes against my sensitive opening. A flare of lust stutters down my spine, and my belly clenches. The emptiness inside gapes, the need growing, filling my belly and spilling over. Liquid heat floods my channel and flows out to bathe his shaft.
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