22. Ripp
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
ripp
M attie flies through the back door of the bar then stills. Illuminated by the lone light in the parking lot, I can see each rise and fall of her chest. On the opposite side, Wiley steers the sheriff out with one hand planted on his back. I doubt he realizes how thankful he should be for every ounce of oxygen he moves through his lungs right now. The darkness around Mattie vibrated as she tried to restrain herself in there, and while I yearned to suck the life out of him, that honor should belong to her alone.
My attention draws back to my little bug as she crumbles to her knees. My magic stirs inside of me at the sight, and I imagine how pretty she’d look choking on my cock. I should be the one bringing her to her knees, breaking her down until she begs for her release. The thought of anyone else being allowed to break her makes me want to burn this whole bar down.
I go to her, suppressing my carnal desires, and meet her down on the gravel. We kneel in silence for several moments before her eyes meet mine, filled with tears. “Mattie,” my voice rumbles, and something inside her cracks. She melts into my chest with an explosion of sobs. My arms wrap around her, and I let myself get lost in her scent.
“He brought up my family,” she says, broken words between shaky breaths. “He made me feel wrong, dirty, just for existing.”
I cup her face between my hands and wipe the streams of tears with my thumbs. “Let me clip those dirty wings of yours, little bug. Tie yourself to me, and I’ll give you forever. No one will ever make you feel like less again.”
I say the words even though I know what it would mean for her to give herself to me. I know what she would have to give up, what she might have to become. Whatever the result of the transformation is, I have doubts it will leave her human form intact.
“It’s cruel, you know. The way you keep me on edge and string up every emotion I have just out of reach. It’s like a piece of my soul is living outside my body. Fragmented. You stole that piece. Broke it off and left nothing but sharp edges.” Her words are weapons, seeking to hurt the part of me I know is hurting her by having to stay away. “I’ve always been an outsider, but now, I feel like I was never meant to be a part of this world at all.”
“I have something I need to tell you,” I admit. She has to know. She needs to make her own decision once she knows the truth, because I know after tonight, I won’t be able to stay away. I refuse to stay away.
“You can start by telling me your fucking name,” she snarls, causing another wave of emotion to wash over us. I wince at the sharpness of her words. I could give her my name again, but I know once her darkness grows enough, her memories from that night will flood her. She’ll remember once she’s ready.
I grab both of her hands and stand, taking her with me. “Let’s go home, little bug.”
Resistance flashes briefly in her eyes, but she stays silent and lets me guide her to her car. She stays quiet the entire drive except for intermittent sniffles. Her hands stay white-knuckled on the steering wheel.
Once we’re finally back at the safety of her cabin, I round the car and lift her into my arms. She relaxes into my hold, and I carry her to her bed. I sit before I remove her boots and each sock then work my fingers into the tense muscles of her feet. A moan escapes her, and she scoots her ass down the bed until it’s pressing into my thigh, making more of her body available to me. Magic rushes to my cock and presses into the back of her leg. Fuck, I need her, but I also need to warn her of the magnitude of our connection.
“Mattie.” My voice is clipped, barely human. I fight off the desire to tear off the rest of her clothes and bear more than just her body to me. “Mattie,” I try again. “That darkness inside you is more than just a metaphor. It’s magic—ancient magic, forged by trauma and strengthened by your actions…and your proximity to me.”
She lifts up on her elbows and stares at me. She blinks once, twice. Her lips fall open, and I wait for her to say something, but it doesn’t come.
“I told you I’m not human.” I run my hands up the tan skin of her legs and grip her thighs firmly. “I only appear as one to appease your fragile minds.” The muscles in her legs twitch, but I keep my hold on them.
“What does that mean?” she whispers. “I don’t know what any of this means.” I know her mind is struggling to put the pieces together, but I need to help her try for both our sakes, even though I’m still trying to myself.
“Your soul called out to mine that day at the lake, and every moment since. It’s an undeniable call to the magic that exists in me—that makes me me . But our darkness is intertwined now. Even though I’ve tried to stay away, it still grows in you and becomes more and more restless in me. I went to see a witch…”
“A witch,” she interrupts, her voice filled with skepticism.
“Yes, Mattie, a witch. I realize your meager worldview is shifting rapidly, but try to keep up,” I say impatiently. “Even if I could stay away now, the darkness would continue to slowly consume you and would likely kill you before your transformation is fully complete.”
“My transformation into what?” she shrieks, yanking her legs from my hold. I groan and rub my hands down my face. The truth is, I don’t know. The witch said the transformation killed most humans before it was completed, but she didn’t elaborate on what it meant. I silently curse myself for not asking more questions, even though the witch would have been unlikely to answer them.
“I don’t fucking know,” I roar back. “This is just as foreign to me as it is to you. I eat humans, not attach myself to them. You’ve always been nothing more than an energy source for me.” She flinches and goes quiet again. The room fills with tension, and my restraint thins with each passing second.
“Do you realize how crazy this sounds? You’re fucking insane.” She shakes her head but doesn’t move further away from me.
My laugh booms inside the room from her wide-eyed expression. Mattie kicks out at me, but I catch her leg. “Yes, little bug, but this existence often is insane. We’re all just molecules of magic swirling in a cosmos of chaos.”
Her body sags, becoming dead weight as she flops back onto the bed. “How do we stop it?”
“You don’t stop it. You finish it,” I answer. “The witch mentioned a ritual, but of course, the old bat didn’t give me enough details to be helpful.”
“I can’t imagine why. You’re so charming.” Mattie rolls her eyes, and I grin at her ability to snap back, even when she’s ready to fall apart.
“I’ve had nothing but time to hone my skills.” I flash a wider smile at her and have just enough time to move my head to the side to keep her foot from colliding with it.
Her eyes suddenly widen, and she shoots up, grabbing me by the shoulders. “Take me to her,” she says. I tilt my head, trying to examine what’s going on in hers. “Take me to her,” she says again.
“The witch?” I ask, my eyes narrowing. It might not be a terrible idea. Maybe she’d be more inclined to answer Mattie’s questions than mine, since it’s her life that hangs in the balance.
“Yes, the witch. Try to keep up,” she mocks me. “I’m better than you at pretending I’m not a monster, so let me ask the questions.”
“After tonight’s little display in the bar, I beg to differ.” Mattie immediately looks wounded, and I snap my jaw shut. This must be what guilt feels like.
“I’ll take you to her,” I concede. My hands roam across her thighs, wishing I could part them.
Mattie slowly relaxes under my touch, each muscle carefully unwinding beneath my fingertips. “Please don’t go,” she whispers. “I’d rather you rip my soul out by the roots than be alone again.”