by Allie Santos
I wished they’d told me that earlier. The entire time, I was betting on it strictly being twenty-two when half-breeds turned.
“I’m not too keen on being a guinea pig.” I sighed. “Speaking of Cora, where is she?”
Ty coughed and looked away when I met his eyes.
“Enjoying a returned bond.” Roark’s voice was quiet as he stepped forward.
I hid my grin and glanced away from him. I knew it!
“What are you still doing here?” Ty sneered at Roark.
The violence in his voice shocked me, and I had to hold myself in check before I snapped at Ty. This defensiveness I felt for Roark was not going to fly with me.
Roark didn’t even spare Ty a glance, and that seemed to piss him off more. Annie coughed out the word ‘harem’ and I flushed and shot her a warning look. I rushed to ask Rian a question, so their altercation wouldn’t escalate. “Did you kill the thing that took her?”
“He was a gargoyle,” Annie quickly corrected me, an underlying hint of protectiveness in her tone.
I looked at her questioningly, but she wouldn’t meet my gaze—something to ask her about when we were alone.
“No, he got away.” The underlying anger in Rian’s words told me that fact pissed him off. But I couldn’t care less. Wherever that gargoyle had gone, it was away, and my sister was safe, which was all I cared about. “His poison wouldn’t have reacted that way if she had been his mate.”
I leaned closer to Annie’s bitten neck. The teeth punctures looked deep and nasty. He was lucky to have gotten away, but not for long. What was the point of being Queen anyway if I couldn’t hunt down evildoers? I added that to my list.
Annie turned away from my sight as if trying to hide her blush as I observed the bite. I gave her a suspicious narrowing of my eyes, and she smiled tightly.
A loud bang went off outside the window, and I stood quickly, heart-pounding, not sure what I was preparing myself for. Tyran’s hand settled on my shoulder and squeezed. My body relaxed, and I looked at him questioningly.
“Fire users are probably exploding things.”
I nodded slowly, but it took me a second of heavy breathing to relax.
“The castle is empty, well almost,” I said, thinking about the Fae I heard having sex.
“Everyone is celebrating,” Ty explained.
When Annie tried to stifle a yawn, I pulled the blanket that pooled at her ankles up to her shoulders. “You need your rest. You have a long day before you go back to the human world.” She smacked my hands away. “Hey,” I exclaimed. “What the hell was that for?”
“I’m not going back.”
“Yes, you are,” I said slower. Maybe she hadn’t understood me. Now that Sabine was dead, Annie had a chance to live her life.
“I’m staying here.” She had that stubborn edge to her face, the mulish one she used to get when she was little where nothing I said swayed her.
Grabbing the base of my nose, I said, “You’re the one that’s going to give me a heart attack.”
Her expression didn’t change. I groaned and looked up at the darkening sky through the windowed ceiling. I sighed. “We’ll talk about it later. For now, relax if you can ignore all the ruckus outside.”
She smiled and nestled into the bedding as if she had already won the argument. I shook my head. She’d better be glad she was cute.
“I’m going to bed,” I said, mental exhaustion running through me. I eyed the space next to Annie, but I was hyperaware, and I knew it would take me forever to fall asleep, especially considering she was a kicker. “Ty, you should go enjoy the celebration.”
He threw Roark a look before turning back to me. “I was hoping we could talk?” His voice was so hopeful that a part of me wanted to agree, but I shook my head slowly before I chickened out.
“Maybe tomorrow, Ty, I’m exhausted.” I forced myself to yawn, and I turned away, but not before I saw the disappointment flash across his face. “I’ll sleep in one of the empty rooms down the hall. Yell if you need anything, Annie.”
I bent and kissed her forehead. She rolled her eyes and wiggled deeper into the bed. Filled with guilt at the look Ty was giving me, I took off quickly, hoping everyone would leave me alone for a couple of hours. I needed to get my head on straight.
Using Fae speed, I ran to a bedroom a couple of doors down, feeling hunted by something… or, more accurately, someone.
30
As the door snapped shut behind me, I leaned against it and banged my head a little, hoping it would jostle some sense in my brain.
The events of the last couple of days flashed through my memory, taunting me with could-haves and would-haves and all the pain that shimmered at the edge of my consciousness. Everything had happened so fast, and my emotions had flip-flopped at such a rapid rate that they hadn’t had time to level out. I concentrated on my breathing, trying to absorb the overload.
The most recent hurdle I’d been thrown was Annie’s refusal to leave. I knew arguing with her would be fruitless, but I would try, regardless. At this point, it looked like Annie was to be a new addition, and I needed to deal with it. Well, until I convinced her otherwise.
And here I thought I’d get to leave as soon as I’d managed to free magic. Ty had burst that bubble real fast. All I’d wanted was to finish my last semester of school, hang out with friends, and live my life. Now that was no longer an option, and I needed to put it behind me. Because, in retrospect, that vein of thought had been foolish. I’d done my part, but that didn’t change what I was, and I wanted to learn about this new culture I was a part of.
Bottom line, I didn’t know what I was. Now more than ever, I felt the change in my body. I felt strong, and my senses were heightened, but I still felt like myself. Still human.
The most unsettling thing out of all my changes wasn’t my sight or the magic bubbling in my sternum. It was this intense ache of longing I felt. It had persisted, tingling at the edge of my consciousness this entire time. It was an ache that made me want to rub myself all over Roark. I tried to breathe through my want and clenched my legs together as my teeth made an audible click.
Roark.
His very name brought a slur of emotions to the surface, making pressure push against my skin. I hadn’t fully forgiven him, but a large part of me wanted to. I was able to hold back that ridiculous desire with added fuel. He’d told me himself it wouldn’t work, and he was right. I could admit to myself that he’d weaseled his way through my defenses, but no more. I hated him.
Pushing off the door, I let out a frustrated groan. I wanted to smack myself because I knew that was a lie. I wanted Roark near me—even now. I couldn’t bring myself to regret giving him a part of me. It couldn’t have been more perfect. It just sucked that he was entirely in my system now. I knew how he tasted, how he felt, and God help me, I wanted more.
I caught his scent on my body, and it sent a rush through me. I was going to need a shower, stat. With a little help from my hand, I would get over it. I settled on the bed, and the friction of the silly sheets sent shivers down my neck. My nipples hardened.
“I would be more than happy to help out with your little… issue.”
31
With a gasp, I jerked around and found Roark outlined by the doorframe, hands behind his back and a roguish smile curling his mouth. I’d been so in my head I hadn’t heard him open the door. The side with his scar made his grin slightly crooked, but it made him sexier. Desire pooled downward, and I swallowed thickly.
It wasn’t the need for him that made me clench my hands. It was the rush of… emotion as soon as I glanced at him. Tensing, I forced the thought away, every part of me recoiling.
No. Never. I didn’t… I’d never… It was pure lust I felt.
God, I didn’t want to get hurt again.
“You could have knocked,” I said in a much calmer tone than I felt. He needed to stop sneaking up on me.
His smile widened, and he shrugged. He took a step towa
rd me, and I unconsciously scooted back on the bed. That smile was doing very disruptive things to my system. My breathing picked up as my gaze ran down his body without my consent. I could feel his playfulness through the bond, and I wanted to soften, but I refused to give in to the stupid desire.
Had he sensed what I’d felt for him when he’d walked in? I really hoped not.
He didn’t answer the unspoken question, just bridged the distance between us with a determined glint in his eyes that set me on edge. I expected him to say something, but he remained annoyingly silent.
When he stood before me, he grasped the back of my neck and leaned down to fuse our mouths. His tongue claimed mine, and I gasped.
“What are you d-doin?” I tried, but I couldn’t pull away.
I moaned into his mouth, and he took it as permission to slowly back me onto the bed. The part of me that took over when he’d first taken me reared her head. She was in control, and she didn’t care about what I wanted.
I stopped fighting him and grabbed his shoulders, digging in my fingers into his flesh to bring his warmth closer to me. I hooked my legs over his hips and ground myself against his hardness. A gasp exploded from him. The next thing I knew, he tore my shirt from me with a hard yank.
The crisp air shocked me, and I looked up at him, wide-eyed. That grin melted me, and I gave in to the emotions swirling through me.
“I need you,” I rasped, and his eyes turned molten. My desire had built to an almost painful level, and I wanted him inside me—now.
Reaching down, I hurriedly tugged his pants down and gripped his erection. His eyes slid closed, breathing growing heavier. His reaction made me grow wetter than I already was, until I was writhing against the bed with the need for him.
When his length slowly entered me, spearing me to the bed, I threw my head back. It was so good and yet not enough.
“Faster,” I groaned, angry that he was holding back.
He growled and picked up speed, jacking into me with harsh motions. I met him midway, and the fantastic pleasure built. He looked down at me like I was everything, and my own heart begged to respond.
The heat grew to a feverish level, and I thrashed under him, my eyes sliding closed as goosebumps rose all over my body. My release seemed never-ending as wave after wave of pleasure crashed into me. From afar, I heard him gasp out my name. An explosion sounded, but I was too busy basking in the pleasure to pay attention.
He slumped on top of me, and I grunted at the heaviness that was more comfortable than I wanted it to be. The release lulled me, and my body begged to nestle into his arms and sleep. Tensing, I pushed him off me instead.
He fell on his side as I rolled to put space between us. When he turned to look at me, he was expressionless. With mechanical movements, he pulled up his pants and sat.
I turned away from his prodding look. “Thank you,” I managed to get out.
“I felt you.”
His words straightened my spine, and I realized the truth of his words. I’d been feeling both of our pleasure at that moment. I bit my lip. Remembering only made me want more. Instead of dwelling on that, I turned my attention outward and blinked at the shattered chair to the side of the room. It looked like TNT had been attached to it and set off.
“You did that,” he said. I gaped at him, trying to process how I’d managed to blow shit up when he pulled me from my thoughts. “Sex would be more intense if we were melded.”
I was pretty sure he had just brought up marrying him, but I chose to ignore that. “That’s not going to happen.”
I snorted, and a shot of hurt ran through me. My eyes flew him as I realized that was from him, but his expression conveyed nothing.
I was glad I’d abstained because if I had found out sex was that amazing when I was with Jeff, then I would have not been concentrating on schoolwork enough to have achieved what I had in that short amount of time. Feeling validated that I’d waited, I stifled the voice that said it only felt so mind-blowing because it was Roark.
I floundered to think of what I had wanted to ask him about Sabine. The very thought of her brought jealousy forward. He winced as if he felt the smarting jab that went through me.
“Sabine mentioned that you felt her.” My words were not a question, but I hoped he took the hint and answered what I wasn’t asking.
“Yes.” His one-word answer sent another vein of pain through me, and he clutched his stomach and straightened back up just as quickly. Good. I wanted him to feel what I felt. I wanted him to hurt.
“You didn’t let me finish.” His teeth clenched, and his jaw worked as he glared at me.
“I felt you finish,” I countered in an attempt to defuse the tension. And then a horrifying thought occurred to me. I jumped to my feet and scrambled to put my clothes back on. “Shit. Mates can get pregnant.”
Man, I was a dumbass.
“Only after they’ve completed the meld…blood exchange.”
I slumped in relief. Thank every magical being in the world. A child was the last thing I needed.
“I did feel her, but there was a darkness to it, a sharp edge to it, and it was constant pain. It drove me mad. I felt it, and I wanted to rip my stomach out. After you left me frozen, I concentrated on the dark bond and tried to hunt her down. Take myself along with her as well, so you would not have to deal with my many betrayals.” He grimaced, and his words and self-flagellation made me want to approach him, but I steeled myself. Then when he’d figured out she was after me, his need to protect me outweighed everything else.
He ran his hand through his hair, bringing my attention back to his hands. Those hands… I wanted them on me, caressing and touching me. His forearm was strong and muscular, and my gaze attached to the pale skin as it flexed. My toes curled, and I held back a shudder.
I wanted him again. What the hell was wrong with me?
“Again?” he breathed, eyebrows flying up as he glanced down to where I clenched my legs together. “I’d forgotten how voracious maturity makes Unnaturals.” A blush suffused my face. An evil question occurred to me, and I was too curious to let it go even though every bit of me told me not to go there.
“D-did you feel what I felt that first night?” I swallowed hard. “Did you scent how much I wanted you when you were fucking her right next to me?” I hoped to God he said no.
His lips tightened, and he looked away, his jaw working overtime. My stomach rebelled, and I was so damn disgusted. That was answer enough. I craned my neck to the now-dark sky and groaned, feeling embarrassed.
“You confused me when I saw you alone in the woods. I had never responded in such a violent way and then there were your reactions to me.” He closed his eyes and rubbed his neck. “Your scent was delicious. It was a call to my very blood. I didn’t know I could ever be so attracted, especially to a human.”
My lips pursed. The blood pounding through me urged me to run. I suddenly didn’t want to know the answer, wanted to take the question back.
“I had never fucked her that hard. It was because of you, because of your scent. It wouldn’t leave my senses, I needed you, and I didn’t know why.”
Roark ran a hand through his hair. His shame and anger filtered to me through the bond before they were stifled, and I couldn’t make them out.
“I cannot erase what has happened between us, or what I’ve done to you. But I swear to you I will make it up to you now that I have the chance. There was only one thing I wanted when I came to protect you. Just one more moment in your presence before I killed her and never saw you again. Before you found someone else and lived your life out without me.” His jaw worked. I closed my eyes and tried to think through my tumultuous emotions. “You’re looking for words to push me away.”
“No, I’m not,” I said quickly, sounding like a guilty child.
“Tell yourself that, Rae.”
“I will,” I said, feeling defensive. I finally met his lavender eyes. The darker and lighter eye showed the same determinatio
n written on his face. “There’s nothing to push away. You and me? Not ever going to happen.” His lips tightened. “Now if you will excuse me, I need to get some rest.” I waved a hand to the door.
He fisted the sheet. “I’m not going anywhere.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Yes, you are. I don’t trust you, and I don’t want you.”
His eyebrow flicked up, arrogance etched on every line of his body as he stood and stalked toward me. I retreated until my back hit the wall.
Roark inhaled deeply. “You want me. You’ll always want me.”
“According to you, we wouldn’t have worked anyway.” I ignored his words, the memory of them burning my pride. A thrill of adrenaline rushed through me, begging me to run. To deal with this the way I’d dealt with everything my entire life, but no.
This time, I wasn’t going to run and escape my problems. Nope, I was going to face them head-on and kick them in the face. Just like I was about to do to Roark.
He must have sensed I was about to physically shove him out because he backed up and smoothly strode to the door.
“The damage is done, Roark. Give it up.” I infused as much disgust into my words as I could.
“Never.” He froze and turned his darkened lavender eyes toward me. “You are mine. I’ll show you.”
His slight grin melted my heart, and then he disappeared—the door shutting behind him. I sagged against the wall, processing his challenge.
Roark thought I’d just fall into his arms? I snorted and dropped my head into my hands.
I’d show him.
Thank you for reading!
Rae and Roark’s adventure continues in Claimed by the Fae.
-September 2020-
If you have time—Rae would seriously appreciate a review :)