by Maya Nicole
I pushed off my shoes and pants and lay bare before him. His eyes devoured me and then he lowered on the top of me, slowly sliding in. He groaned, his brows furrowing in concentration. He put the rag between us so it was against my clit and began thrusting.
"Sweet mother of hell hounds." I dug my nails into his shoulders as the rag rubbed against me with every stroke.
He didn't move his eyes from mine as he rolled his hips with a smoothness that was unexpected. Tears filled my eyes and he cupped my cheek.
"I love you," he whispered, kissing a tear as it slid down my cheek.
"Kage." I moved my hips to meet his, the friction of the rag and his strokes sending tingles to my toes. "I love you."
He groaned and increased his pace. I arched up off the bench, connecting our bodies even more as he hit deeper with each thrust. He closed his eyes as we both got closer to our orgasms.
"Look at me." I took his face in my hands and he opened his eyes. "Watch me as I come for you."
He shuddered and reached between us, rubbing my clit harder with the rag until I came so hard I saw stars. He came as my muscles tensed around him and then pulled me against him, both of us trembling with the after-effects of our orgasms.
His hands floated over my skin, sending small shivers across it. "Sammy. Look at your skin."
My eyes popped open and then widened. It was glowing faintly, but was pretty obvious in the dark shadows of the atrium. His fingers danced across my skin like he was chasing something with his fingertips.
"It looks like little tendrils of lightning." I brought my arm closer but couldn't see what he was talking about. He took my chin between his thumb and forefinger. "You're exquisite."
Exquisite or not, what if I suddenly started walking around like a light beacon? All of Inferna would be after me.
Chapter 2
Amari
I hadn't let my panther out to run for the sake of running in a long time. With worry about Val plaguing my every thought, my feline was practically vibrating with the need to be free.
I barely made it out the back door of the castle before I leapt forward on all fours and took off at breakneck pace toward the tree line behind the stables. I missed the feeling of dirt and leaves under my paws and the smells that hit my nose.
My muscles pulsed as I jumped over fallen branches and boulders. I was glad I still had all four legs. The thought of my missing arm sent a wave of anxiety through me and I came to a stop.
My heart pounded, and my tongue hung out the side of my mouth. To not be able to run like this would have killed me. Losing my arm in the first place had been Val's fault.
But I had forgiven him. I didn't know if I could forgive him for this.
I sniffed the air and headed toward a stream. Nothing tasted better than fresh water after running hard. I could hear the soft sounds of water moving as I approached.
What I didn't hear was the man bathing in the water. Upon closer inspection, he had a miniature monkey in the palm of his hand.
Neither noticed me as I scaled a tree to hide in the branches and leaves. If I wasn't mistaken, he had a monkey that was rumored to be extinct centuries ago. It was hunted for its light, which it naturally produced inside itself. We all had light, but some creatures had so much of it, they were worth the effort of extracting it.
I stopped myself from growling at the thought of Sammy being hunted for her light. I would never allow that to happen while I was still breathing.
My ears perked up as the man started talking quietly. "I don't see why you can't just go to her on your own for now. It's not time yet." His voice had a lightness to it that made me want to purr and curl up at his feet.
The monkey was sitting on the man's hand, which was barely dipped in the water, creating a small bath for him. I cocked my head to the side as he scrubbed his armpits. He squeaked as if he were talking.
"I know I should, but what would I even say to her? It's better if I wait until it's time. It will hurt less."
The monkey raised his fist at the man and sounded like he was going off on a rant. There was only so much that could hold my panther's interest, so I leapt from the tree and headed back to the castle.
I stared at the door leading down into the dungeon. I was torn between going to check on Val, or running after Sammy and Kage who had just taken off down the hall. My instincts told me to let them be, that Kage needed time with her, but my heart wanted to comfort her.
I put my hand on the door handle and rubbed my forehead with my other hand. I loved Val, but he had crossed a line that I wasn't sure he could come back from. There had been so much blood, and the look in his eyes had said he had enjoyed it more than he should have.
I shouldn't have been surprised. He was a vampire. We all had the propensity to become our deepest, darkest selves. Even sweet, innocent Kage had a dark side buried in there somewhere.
While some of Inferna's creatures, including myself, were more toward the light, others like Val were more toward the dark. I feared he had taken it too far.
"Are you going to go down there?" Raphael leaned against the wall next to the door. "Because if not, Nico and I are going to play poker. Loser takes knife position in bed."
I dropped my hand that was gripping the door handle tightly and turned toward him. He had been quiet lately, way too quiet compared to how he usually was. "Knife position?"
"Yeah. You sleep straight as a knife away from Sammy. Only two can spoon her, and bro to bro spooning is off the table." When I just stared back at him he rolled his eyes. "When you cuddle, your bodies fit together like spoons. Get it? Spooning?"
"If you say so. What's your deal?" I crossed my arms over my chest as he stiffened. "Why are you here?"
He opened his mouth to answer but then shut it, leaning the side of his head against the wall. I matched his stance and leaned against the door.
"I want to be here." He ran a hand over his face and regarded me with serious eyes. The most serious I'd ever seen him be. "Sammy needs us."
There was something he wasn't saying. My panther scratched to get out to sniff out the truth. "I don't buy that. Not too long ago, you were joking about her having tentacles."
He shrugged. "She still might."
We both laughed and then fell silent again. "Spit it out, angel. I don't have all night."
He looked at his feet and scuffed at the floor with the toe of his boot, making a squeaking noise. "I've never been in love before."
"Ever?" I tried to wrap my brain around that. "How can you live for as long as you have and never have been in love? I've even loved a few before Val."
"Fear?" His chest moved as he inhaled deeply and slowly let it out. "I see people die every single day. Why fall in love if they are just going to inevitably die?"
"That's a pretty fucking depressing way to live." It did hurt to lose someone you loved, but the amount of joy they brought while they were alive was worth all the pain it might result in.
Even now with Val, if I lost him, I'd do it all over again.
"What if we lose her when all of this is said and done? Or if she decides to run off with Nico?" He finally looked up at me, and I resisted the urge to pull him into a hug. He looked like he could use one.
"First off, I don't think she'd run off with Nico, at least not anymore. Secondly, if we lose her, then we're just going to have to accept that as fate telling us our time with her is done." I rubbed my chin and wondered if I even believed my own words. I'd like to say I did.
"I misjudged you. Here all along, I just thought you were all brawn." He laughed. I guess turning into stone did give off that impression.
"What do you think we should do about Val?" I examined my nails and let my claws protract.
Raphael watched me closely. "Do you love him?" I nodded. "Do you think he loves Sammy?"
"Without a doubt." I retracted my claws.
"Then we have to hope that love will transcend his bloodlust and he'll pull himself out of it." He pushed off
the wall. "If not, I'll kill him."
As he went to walk past me, I grabbed him by the shirt and shoved him against the wall. "We aren't going to kill him, angel. I will die before I let you or anyone else take him from me."
A small smile tilted up the corner of his mouth. "To answer your question about what my deal is. That's why I'm still here. I would die before I let anyone hurt her. Even if that meant taking one or all of you down with me."
I shoved away from him, and he smoothed out the wrinkles in his shirt. As much as I wanted to smack him with my claws out, I knew it was the same for all of us.
"When you're done seeing him, we'll be in the dining room. I have something I want to give you." He walked away before I could ask him what he had for me.
I opened the door to the dungeon and hesitated. My damn panther was curious to find out what Raphael had, but as curious as he was, I pushed him down and took two steps at a time down the stairs.
Val didn't look up from his position on the floor. His knees were pulled up to his chest and his face buried under his arms.
"Val?" I stepped toward the cell, but he didn't move an inch.
I sat down next to the bars and leaned against them, knowing I was taking a risk of him ripping my throat out or strangling me. He would be able to stop himself, wouldn't he? In a pinch, I could just turn to stone. The inside of the cells might have been magicked to stop me from shifting, but outside wasn't.
"You shouldn't sit so close." His voice was barely audible under his arms. "I'm an animal."
"Well, it's a good thing I'm an animal too." I put my head against the cold metal and shut my eyes. "What happened?"
He snorted, and I heard him move across the cell toward me. He leaned against the bars, the backs of our heads touching.
"What do you think happened? It was either kill everyone in the camp and village, or..." His voice cracked and he inhaled. "Kill people who deserved it."
"Did they deserve it though?" I was all for killing when it was necessary, but I was certain the guards and the few servants he had killed hadn't deserved it. "What about the servants and the guards?"
He didn't say anything and instead put his hand through the bars, palm up. I eyed it and then put my hand in his trembling one.
"You should kill me." He squeezed my hand. "I can't be trusted. If you and Sammy can't trust me, what's the point?"
I didn't say anything. We sat in silence for a while longer until my ass started to hurt from the stone floor. I shifted and turned sideways next to him.
Being close to him, I saw the pain in his eyes. I wanted to pull him to my chest and smooth his hair, but instead had to settle for only the latter.
"All I can think about is the taste of her." He shut his eyes and his lips parted, showing his fangs as I brushed his hair off his forehead.
I ran my hand over his messy hair a few times and then down his jaw. I pressed my thumb into his bottom lip and he hissed.
"I think we all have a hard time getting her off our minds." I moved my thumb to his fang and pierced my skin with it. A bead of blood pooled on the tip as I started to pull my hand away.
"Amari." Val gritted his teeth and grabbed my wrist to stop me, his nails digging into my skin. "Why?"
I clenched my muscles as he tried to pull my hand back to his lips. The bead of blood ran down my finger and threatened to fall. "You have to control yourself."
He shook his head and then scrambled to the other side of the cell. I stood and examined my finger before wiping it on my pant leg.
"Until you can control yourself, you won't be let out of here or near Sammy. Is that what you want?" I wrapped my hands around the bars and looked down at him. "Tomorrow we'll try again."
He didn't meet my eyes. My heart sank into the pit of my stomach. I hated seeing him so vulnerable. I walked to the stairs and stopped before turning back toward him.
"Look at me." His blue eyes met mine. "You have to try." He nodded. "No, Valentino. I want to hear you say it."
"I'll try. For you, mi amor, I'll try."
I had never known myself to be in a grumpier mood. I stalked into the dining room to find Raphael and Nico in a fierce stare off. There were colored discs the size of coins on the table, along with Raphael's backpack he had been toting around. A bottle of clear liquid sat between them.
"What's this?" I picked up the clear bottle that was cube-like in shape. I popped the cork and sniffed it. I nearly dropped the bottle to get away from the sharp smell. "Is this used to start fires or is it poison?"
"It's tequila. Some might say it's their poison of choice." Without looking up from his card game, Raphael slid a small glass across the table. "Fill that up and then drink it fast. It's called a shot. Apparently, you don't do shots here, which is very unfortunate given how you all live. You should be doing shots all the damn time."
I picked up the glass and examined it. It was hardly big enough for savoring alcohol. I filled it up with the tequila. Both of them put their cards down and watched me as I brought it to my lips.
I drank it and coughed as it went down, burning the entire way. Nico and Raphael started laughing. "You fuckers! You could have warned me!"
"The burn is worth it." Nico grabbed the bottle and glass from me and took a shot. "Earth's alcohol is superior to Inferna's by far. They must walk around drunk all the time."
"That's a pretty accurate assumption." Raphael opened his backpack. "I have something for you, kitty."
"You aren't allowed to call me kitty, unless you plan on letting me stick my-" My eyes widened and my purr bubbled out of me without warning as he pulled a bag out of his backpack.
It was wrapped up, but I could already smell the sweet aroma calling to me. He moved to open it and I snatched it from him, ripping the stuffed squirrel out of the wrapping and bringing it to my face.
"What the actual fuck?" Nico held his stomach as he laughed. "You got him a stuffed squirrel?"
"It's a toy for cats. It has an herb called catnip in it that they go nuts for. I was curious to see his reaction." Raphael snorted.
I tuned them out as my panther took over. I shifted, hearing both of them gasp and then continue to laugh at me. I didn't fucking care. All I cared about was the toy, that I decided would be called Shelly.
Sweet ball of yarn, it was like she was beckoning me to a land filled with yarn balls and mice. I swiped at her on the table, which was where she had fallen when I shifted.
Shelly skittered across the table and I pounced on her, my body skidding across the smooth surface.
"Crap!" Raphael saved the bottle of tequila as my body careened over their cards and game pieces. "I guess I didn't think this through all the way."
I had Shelly in my grasp and pierced her with my claws. Success, you pesky rodent! I rolled onto my back with her in my paws and a meow escaped.
I never fucking meowed.
I brought her to my mouth, but before I could get a taste, she fell from my grip and onto the table. I squirmed on my back, trapping her under me. The aroma became stronger as I rubbed against her and I growled.
"Oh, man. Where are Kage and Sammy? They need to see this. Kage!" I was only distracted for a moment at the sounds of their names coming from Nico, but then flipped and captured Shelly in my mouth.
"Come down from there." Raphael snapped his fingers and I narrowed my eyes on him. "Come on, boy."
I lowered the front of my body in his direction, my butt in the air, and then leapt off the table in his direction. He squealed like a little girl and jumped over me as I started shaking the squirrel violently in my mouth.
It was the most fun I'd had in ages and I decided then that Shelly and I were going to be the very best of friends from this point forward. Unless I let her escape. I couldn't let her escape.
"What is it?" Kage and Sammy ran into the room, Sammy adjusting her clothing.
I let the squirrel drop and sniffed in their direction. Mated. A growl came from my throat and I stalked forward.
"Woah, woah, woah!" Nico stepped in front of Kage, thinking I was headed his way. He was wrong. There was only one thing my panther wanted, and it wasn't Kage.
Sammy backed up a step, realizing I was coming for her. "Uhh... Amari, what-" I stuck my nose in her crotch. "Seriously? Gross!" She swatted my snout and I chuffed.
"Amari. Here kitty, kitty," Raphael teased. "Leave her pussy alone." A squeak came from behind me and my head turned. I'd almost forgotten.
Shelly.
My vision became laser-focused on Shelly as she flew across the room and hit the wall. I darted across the room after her and batted her around a bit, trying to wake her up.
Fucking Raphael has to go and knock her unconscious. I carried her back to where they were gathered and laid down with her right in front of my paws.
"So you're telling me, there's a plant on Earth that gets cats high?" Sammy was sitting on Nico's lap with her arms wrapped around his neck and watching me with glistening eyes.
My ears flicked in their direction as I licked the toy like it was my own cub. Maybe it could be my cub now. I was sure I'd make a good father. Especially to a helpless little squirrel named Shelly.
"Maybe we should take it away from him." I looked up at Kage, and a growl ripped from me. He stiffened and Raphael stood. "Don't, Raphael. He might bite you."
"He won't bite me, otherwise I'll never give him the bag of loose catnip I have for him." I looked up at him and bared my teeth. "You're worried about your toy. Let me help."
I was very worried about Shelly not responding to me. Raphael was the archangel of healing. Maybe he could help her. Raphael snatched the toy away and stuffed it back in his bag before I even had a chance to react.
If he ever left that bag unattended, I could make no promises I wouldn't rip it apart getting to my Shelly.
"What the fuck?" I groaned and rolled over in bed. I must have been dreaming because surely I hadn't lost my mind over a stupid toy and named it Shelly. Shelly because squirrels likes nuts and nuts had shells.