Chapter 13
Asterion
MINE.
This changes everything, and yet it changes nothing.
She is mine. Her scent is mine alone. I have crossed a line I can never uncross.
Now that I have tasted her, it will be almost impossible for me to leave her, and yet I must. The Drakons must be taught a lesson.
They cannot just leave women in my labyrinth for their own amusement.
I am not their puppet, and I refuse to play their games.
But this woman slung over my shoulder, and her Fates-forsaken scent might send me into oblivion.
Her scent that I will never be able to get out of my mind, my nostrils, nor off my tongue.
I fear that everything may taste like ash after having tasted something so sweet as her.
Even now, her undoubtedly wet, cloying cunt is a hairsbreadth from my nose, and if I had no sense at all, I would throw her down and rut into her right here.
Fortunately, I do still have some semblance of self-control, though I have no doubt it would only take something minor to crush it into dust.
The soft, warm glow of two dying fires barely illuminates our camp.
“Sit,” I command, sliding her off my shoulder, carefully this time, so as not to hurt her injured ankle any further. There are things I need to do before I can settle down for what remains of the night, and I do not trust this tricky little viper one bit. “Stay.”
“Woof.” She barks at me, saluting me with two fingers striking off her forehead.
My gaze flicks to the two fingers I had in my mouth only moments ago, before she realizes the attention she has drawn to them.
Saliva pools on my tongue at the thought of doing it again.
As if she can read my mind, her face flushes as she tucks her hands under her thighs.
If only hiding them from sight would erase the loss of self-control from our memories.
I eye her distrustfully, expecting her to move as soon as I turn my back on her, before collecting a few more twigs for the fire and stoking the dying embers back to blazing.
I turn back to her, kneel on the furs, and place her injured ankle on my lap.
She frowns to herself, and I wonder what is going on inside that wicked little head of hers.
She hisses as I test the limitations of it by moving it side to side.
Her ankle is red and swollen, but it could be worse.
“This will need to be rested, unless you plan on another escape attempt before the morning?” I place her foot back on the fur and she tucks it beneath her with a sigh.
“Probably not much point is there? You’ll only catch me again.”
“You did not make it very far,” I say pointedly.
Her face turns an even deeper shade of pink. “I wouldn’t have had the opportunity if you weren’t otherwise occupied,” she snaps back.
“And you thought to return the favor? So… generous of you.” I lean forward with a smirk. I no longer have to guess if she also saw me taking matters into my own hands.
My proximity has her leaning away from me, falling to rest on her hands to keep herself propped up. We are nose to nose when she scoffs, and I cock my eyebrow at her in question, my hand tracing her upper thigh through her pants.
“I was not thinking of you,” she spits, but the way sweet strawberries waft from her flushed skin gives her lie away.
“Are you sure, little viper?” I croon. “I was thinking of you.”
Her nostrils flare as her breathing catches. Growling, her hand goes for the little knife she has been keeping hidden in her pocket. The sharp little blade she has made sure I have become well acquainted with in the short amount of time we have spent together.
“Uh, uh, uh.” I wiggle a finger in front of her, causing her to pause. “Looking for this?” I flip the knife in my hand, the one that I slipped from her pocket while she was too busy blushing at me. She scowls, a slight wrinkle appearing between her eyes as she pushes me back, lunging for it.
I jump to my feet, tucking it in the waist of my loincloth. “If you want it, you will have to come and get it.” I smirk at her.
“Argh!” she shrieks, fists curled at her sides. “You are an asshole! A menace! A—!”
“A beast?”
“Yes!” She crosses her arms and legs at the end of her tantrum.
“Do not forget it,” I growl. I am all those things and more. “If you are done, I have had a long night catching little vipers in the dark, and I would like to get some sleep before the sun rises.”
I settle back down on the fur, picking her up and moving her over so I have room.
“Hey! What are you doing?”
“Sleeping.” I lay down on my side, pulling her down with me before trapping her inside my arms. Not optimal sleeping conditions, but I will not have her sneaking away and hurting herself again.
“Let me go!”
“No.”
She is tucked in against me, her back planted against my chest, and she attempts to wriggle free from my grip.
I scrunch my eyes shut and huff as her behind presses against my cock.
The Fates have cursed me. What is it about this little viper that has her so insistent on running away?
Already, I can feel my cock hardening again.
We do not need a repeat of earlier. Taking matters into my own hands has only made the mate bond angry and unsatisfied.
It was not enough. It will not ever be enough until my cock is seated inside her dripping cunt, and the longer we ignore the bond, the worse it will get for us both.
“I suggest you stop moving,” I mutter into her hair, causing her to still with a deep sigh. “And keep those hands to yourself.”
She grumbles, wriggling once more before finally settling with another exasperated sigh.
I told her I needed to sleep, but truth be told, I think it will be nearly impossible.
The image of her head tilted back against the rock, lips slightly parted as she writhed beneath her fingers, is seared in my brain.
Every time I close my eyes, it is all I can see.
It felt indecent to stand there and witness her most private moment, yet I have never seen such a beautiful sight as the one of her coming undone with pleasure.
A stark contrast to the girl with the biting tongue and the sharp words she is always quick to use.
Katie finally gives in to sleep; her breathing comes soft and slow with a little huff at the end of each breath.
It should not be endearing. Nothing about her should be, but I smother a small smile anyway.
If the circumstances were different, I would gladly welcome a mate into my furs.
I would love nothing more than to share soft moments curled up together beneath the stars, but this is all wrong.
She is not here by choice. They never are.
What if I had done exactly what was expected of me?
What if I had killed her? The Drakons were cruel to play such a trick.
The Fates even crueler for binding us together as mates. The hunter and his prey.