Chapter Thirty-Four
Calista
The bed was instantly too small. Everest’s heat pressed into the air, into the space, into me. He lay on his side facing away from me, enormous body rigid, and shoulders tense. As if the imposed distance could save him when we were sharing a tiny mattress.
What was most absurd was that we’d already shared a cave floor and a cot, and yet a proper bed was what made him squirm.
I rolled over, shifting closer, drawn to his heat and to him. His body went completely still. “You’re not a statue.”
His voice came out low and dangerous. “Don’t.”
“Why?” My anger rose, hot enough to fight the cold. “Because you’ll want me?”
Silence.
That silence was answer enough.
This wasn’t fair. None of it was. I’d invoked the Hunt so I could have a choice, and still, I found myself at the mercy of the Savage King. Even now, lying in bed with a male I clearly desired, Savage filled the space between us.
No, I wouldn’t allow it. Not anymore.
I slipped my arm around Everest’s waist, over the hard line of muscle beneath his tunic, and the breath that left him sounded like a warning dragged across teeth. His arm shot back, catching me and pulling me closer with a force that made my stomach flip.
“Calista…” he rasped.
“I’m not going anywhere.” I lay flush against him, my breasts pressed to the hard planes of his back.
He finally turned around, and the world snapped into that small circle.
His chest heaved against mine, rising and falling fast. His thigh wedged between my legs, brushing the most sensitive part of me.
I barely suppressed a groan at the contact.
His breath fanned over my mouth, and heat poured off him in waves.
And then I felt it.
Hard. Heavy. Pressed against my hip through layers of cloth and fur.
A bolt of shock went through me, followed by something that felt like triumph and fear tangled together. His jaw clenched like he knew I’d felt his arousal and suddenly hated his own body for betraying him.
I tipped my chin up, gaze meeting his turbulent one. “This feels like a problem you’re not winning.”
His eyes flashed silver. Not just a flicker. A flare. Brilliant and brutal, like the moon had reached into him and pulled on a chain.
His breath went harsh. “It’s Selraya’s pull,” he gritted out, voice frayed. “It’s the full moon. My Wolvryn—”
“Don’t blame the goddess for you wanting me,” I snapped. My own boldness startled me for a second. But I was tired of pretending. I was just so damned exhausted.
His gaze dropped to my mouth. His hand slid up my spine, fingers splaying at my nape as if he could hold me still with touch alone. A low rumble vibrated his chest, pressing against my breasts and coursing through my body. I waited, unsure if he would drag me closer or push me away.
“We can’t,” he finally murmured, and those two words were completely wrecked.
Then his eyes dipped to my lips again and the inch of space between our breaths vanished.
His mouth captured mine, hunger and restraint colliding in a perfect storm.
His teeth scraped my bottom lip, stealing my breath, his hand tightening in my hair like he needed the anchor to keep from losing control.
“Goddess, Calista, you have no idea what you do to me,” he groaned against my lips.
My body arched into him without permission. My pulse hammered as I wrapped my leg around his hip. The storm vanished, the Blood Hunt vanished. Everything vanished except the heat of him and the taste of him and the way he fit against me like he’d been made to.
His hips shifted, and the pressure of him against my center turned into a sharp, needy grind.
I moved against him, once, twice. Pure pleasure rocketed through me.
Moon’s curse me, I needed more. As if he’d heard my plea, his hard length stroked the taut bundle of nerves at my core.
A sound slipped out of my throat before I could swallow it down this time.
Everest froze, the embarrassing noise snapping him from the fury. He tore his mouth from mine like the kiss burned. “I can’t,” he rasped out.
I blinked, dazed, and ridiculously breathless. “What?”
He rolled away in one brutal movement, sitting up so fast the bed creaked like it might splinter. His hands braced on his knees, and his shoulders heaved.
“It’s the moon,” he repeated, voice raw, like he needed to believe it. “It’s making me—”
“It’s making you honest,” I shot back, anger tearing through the haze.
He leapt up. The hut felt colder instantly without him pressed against me.
“I have to cool off.” He turned toward the door.
My blood went hot. “You’re leaving?”
He didn’t look at me. “I’ll be just outside.”
“In a blizzard.” I pushed up on my elbows, the cloak pooling at my waist. “Are you insane?”
“I’m trying not to be,” he ground out.
That made something inside me crack. I swung my legs to the edge of the bed and glared up at the infuriating male. “You don’t get to kiss me like that and then walk away like I’m nothing.”
His head whipped toward me, eyes bright with silver at the edges. “You think you’re nothing?”
“No,” I hissed. “But you do.”
“That couldn’t possibly be further from the truth,” he roared.
“Then why are you acting like this? Like a coward.”
The word landed like a slap.
Everest went still, every muscle tightening. “Careful, little wolf.”
“Why?” I demanded, my rage roaring louder than the storm now. “Because you’ll want me again? Because you already do?”
His jaw flexed like it hurt. “Calista—”
“Why won’t you just give in?” I pressed, breath shaky. “You’re practically trembling with need. You’re hard against me and kissing me like you’re starving, and then you’re running.”
His voice broke rough. “Because I can’t.”
“Yes, you can.”
“I can’t!” The growl sliced past my ribs. He took a step toward me, then stopped like an invisible chain had yanked him back. “You belong to my king.”
The words hit me in the chest, then they lit me on fire.
I laughed, sharp and ugly. “I don’t belong to anyone, Everest. It’s the very reason I invoked the Blood Hunt—”
“You’re still his by law,” he snapped. For the first time his control looked utterly fragile. “By oath.”
“I invoked my choice,” I shot back. “Not a collar.”
His eyes went silver again, blazing. “You don’t understand what it would mean.”
“Then explain it to me. Explain why it’s fine for you to touch me, hold me, warm me, and then suddenly remember you have a king when it becomes real.”
His throat bobbed, hands curling into fists. “I don’t get to take what is his.” His voice was low and brutal. “Not from him. Not ever.”
That should have satisfied his duty, and it should have soothed something inside me. Instead, it only made my anger sharper.
“So you’ll want me,” I whispered, voice shaking now, “but you won’t choose me over him.”
Something in his expression twisted, pain flashing fast beneath the fury. He looked away, and that was answer enough.
My chest heaved. The hut felt too small, too hot and too cold at once.
“Leave.” The word came out harsher than I intended.
Everest’s head lifted. “Calista—”
“No,” I cut in, blinking hard to keep the angry tears at bay. “You’re right. Go cool off. Go be Frostcrag’s perfect shadow. Go pretend you don’t want me like I want you.”
His jaw clenched so hard it looked like it might crack. For a moment, I thought he would refuse. I thought maybe, for a second, that he would give in. Then he grabbed his helm, shoved it on like armor, and yanked the bolt free.
The door swung open, and the storm lunged in, snow and wind slashing across the floor.
Everest paused in the doorway, back to me. His tone was low, shredded. “You don’t understand… I’m only doing this because I must.”
“And I’m telling you to go,” I whispered, my throat aching. “Because I must.”
He hesitated one heartbeat longer. Then he stepped into the storm, and the door slammed shut behind him, sending a tremor across the whole hut like a verdict.
I sat there, wrapped in his fur, my mouth still tingling from his kiss. My anger burned bright and useless in my chest.
Outside, the snow raged, and inside, the bed held the shape of him like a cruel memory. And somewhere north, Frostcrag waited, cold and inevitable.
The moon crawled closer to full.
And the Blood Hunt slowly crept toward an end.