Chapter 20
Back in the tent, I lay Aurelia down on the bed and turn toward her pile of clothes in the corner.
My heart is still pounding out of my chest as I rifle through her things until I’ve find the little leather pouch she usually wears on her belt.
My hands trembling, I start pawing through its contents.
“What are you looking for?” Aurelia asks, propping herself up on her elbows.
“Your healing potion,” I say, not looking up as I push aside a half dozen glass vials, loose herbs, and several wrapped bundles.
“Should you be saying that out loud?” she asks in a loud whisper.
“Don’t care,” I growl.
Frustrated, I dump the entirety of Aurelia’s bag out on the three-legged table, and relief washes over me when I spot a tiny vial of that swirling, blue-white healing potion which spilled all over the floor of my room a few years ago. Snatching it up, I whirl around and shove it at her. “Here.”
She blinks at me, clearly shocked. “I don’t need that.”
“You’re hurt,” I manage to say, eyes raking over all the thin welts and bruises covering her legs and arms.
“Yes, but I’m not losing blood—I’m just sore. This will heal on its own by tomorrow. That potion is for emergencies.”
“I. Don’t. Care.” My fingers close tighter around the tiny vial until I’m in danger of breaking it. I force myself to loosen my hold, uncork the vial with my thumb and hold it out to Aurelia, mere inches from her lips. “Drink.”
She looks exasperated, but takes the potion and drinks half of it in one swallow before handing it back to me. “Put that back in my bag. We might need it again.”
I take the potion, but don’t move, staring down at the bloody scratch across Aurelia’s collarbone. “How long does it take to work?”
She doesn’t even have a chance to respond before the question answers itself. The scratch on her chest lightens in front of my eyes, the skin knitting back together. In less than a minute, the scratch disappears.
Letting out a long breath, I collapse onto the edge of the bed beside Aurelia. The adrenaline drains from my body all at once, leaving me hollow and shaking. I could use that damn potion myself right now.
“Why the fuck did you do that?” I ask hoarsely.
“Do what?”
“Are you fucking serious? Why would you agree to fight with Runa?”
“Because she asked?” Aurelia raises an eyebrow as if it’s obvious. “I didn’t know it would be so intense, but she’s a good fighter. Maybe the next time—”
“What next time?” I snap. “You are not fucking doing that again.”
“Why? I won. Everyone lived. I don’t see the issue.”
I let out a growl, unable to even form the words to argue with her.
I hate how flippant she is about her own safety—like her life isn’t precious, something I’m desperate to protect.
I want to argue more, tell her how terrified I was watching that blade come at her, but I suddenly realize we’re talking too loudly.
The canvas walls of this tent won’t keep our voices from carrying.
I don’t care who hears us, but I know I should.
Aurelia stretches both arms over her head and yawns. “I actually feel great now. That potion must have gotten stronger from sitting in the bottle for so long.”
My eye twitches and I just grunt in response. I’m glad she feels so fucking great, because I still feel like I’m about to die.
Aurelia stretches some more, cracking her back, then her neck. As she turns her head, my eyes widen on the smooth, unmarked skin. Fuck, it was already fading, but the healing potion must have finished the job. “Your neck healed.”
Her dark eyes widen and she looks at me as she raises her fingers to her throat. “Is it gone?” I nod, and Aurelia exhales slowly. “You’ll have to do it again.”
Something wild claws at my chest from the inside, demanding release. I want to bite her again, now, but I know it hurt her the last time. Worse, I’m not thinking about it as something we need to do for her protection. I’m thinking about how desperately I want to mark her as mine.
I glance at our notes on the table, silently asking if she wants to talk about it first. Not that there’s much to fucking talk about, this isn’t really a choice.
Aurelia seems to know that, because she meets my eyes, determination hardening her expression. “Just do it.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“It doesn’t hurt,” she says breathlessly.
My heart hammers against my ribs, and I swallow back a growl. I’m sure she’s lying, but I also don’t know what else to do. There’s no less danger today than there was a week ago when I first bit her, and it’s not as if we can admit now that we were never mates.
We’re already sitting side by side on the bed, feet on the floor, but I reach over and grip her arm, pivoting her body toward me until her knees bump against mine.
I hold my breath, moving stiffly until my hand tangles in her hair, holding her head steady, and Aurelia stretches to give me better access to her throat.
By the fucking gods, I shouldn’t be so excited.
I shouldn’t be practically salivating as my teeth sharpen to points against my tongue and I lean in, the scent of her skin filling my nose.
Her pulse jumps visibly beneath the thin skin of her throat.
I hover there for one suspended moment, my breath hot against her neck, before I slowly press my teeth against her skin.
Instantly, Aurelia’s spine arches. Her fingers curl, digging into her thighs as she squeezes her eyes shut. My muscles lock in place. Her sharp intake of breath echoes in my ears, and I can feel her pulse hammering against my lips. Fuck, she was lying and now I’m hurting her.
I start to pull away, but her fingers suddenly tangle in my hair, nails scraping my scalp as she yanks me back against her throat. “Don’t stop.”
For a long second I freeze, my jaw locked in place.
Her pulse hammers against my teeth, her skin hot and yielding.
When I press deeper, the taste of salt blooms on my tongue, and she lets out a sound somewhere between a whimper and a moan.
My own pulse hammers so violently I can feel it in my fingertips, my jaw, in my rapidly hardening cock.
“You like it.” I hear myself say hoarsely. It isn’t a question.
She nods tightly and lets out a keening whine.
Fuck, I can’t believe I didn’t notice before, especially given how many times I’ve seen her come.
In less than a second, all my anxiety vanishes.
My skin burns hot, and I press my tongue flat to her throat, dragging it over the bite mark.
Aurelia whimpers. Her fingers twist into my hair, gripping tighter when I draw the raw, broken skin of her throat between my lips and suck hard.
Her body tenses, shuddering, then goes slack in my arms.
Good Gods. My entire body is shaking with the effort of holding myself back.
Seeing her fall apart like this only makes me want to see it again, to touch her, to go back to the way things were before.
It looks like she wants that too, but I’m not sure.
This could be nothing more than an involuntary physical reaction.
“Do you want more?” I ask hoarsely.
She makes the same keening sound again, not quite a yes but not a no either. It’s not enough.
I reach up with the hand not gripping her hair and run my thumb over the fresh mark on her neck until she shivers. “You have to tell me what you want, little witch.”
“Yes,” she gasps.
I know I should need more convincing than that, but I don’t. I’ve been fighting myself all week to keep from touching her, and I can’t remember right now why I shouldn’t.
Gripping her by the waist, I pull Aurelia onto my lap. She straddles me, knees pressing into the bed, her hands landing on my shoulders. We’re close enough now that we can breathe the same air.
My gaze drops to her lips, parted and swollen where she’s been biting them. Everything in me screams to close that final inch between us, to cover her mouth with mine, but something in the back of my head knows that would be a disaster.
I’m sure if I kiss her ever again I won’t be able to stop.
Instead, I bury my face in the hollow of her throat, inhaling her scent. My hands travel down the length of her spine, over the curve of her ass, finally gripping her bare thighs beneath her skirt.
Aurelia shifts, rocking her hips as my fingertips travel upward to brush against the thin fabric covering her center. Spurred on by her reaction, I lick her throat and at the same time drag my fingers over the dampness already soaking her underwear. She rocks against me, desperate for more contact.
I want to push her down to grind against my lap, pull my cock out and slide into her to the hilt, but I’m not sure I can handle fucking her right now. Not when I’m fighting so many strange instincts at once.
The wolf side of me wants to keep biting her everywhere, while the Fae side is struggling to keep my wings in. I’m not sure what would happen if I were inside her, but it would probably be catastrophic.
But I can’t leave her like this, dripping and needy.
I slide my fingers beneath the waistband of her underwear, tugging the delicate fabric down over her curves. She lifts slightly to help, but the cotton snags at her ankle, then falls to the floor.
Her wetness coats my fingertips as I circle her entrance, teasing.
I lower my mouth back to the mark on her throat, drawing the tender skin between my lips.
Aurelia’s thighs tense as she rises up on her knees, her breath catching in her throat.
When I finally slide two fingers inside, her walls clench and I freeze my hand in place, feeling her pulse through the slick heat clenching around my fingers.
“M-more,” she gasps, squirming when I hold my hand still.
I smirk. “Someone’s greedy.”
She gives me a defiant look, and rolls her hips purposefully against my hand. “Someone’s an asshole.”
Well, now, I’m determined not to move until she begs for it. I keep my fingers buried inside her, feeling her pulse pounding, but don’t move. “Say please.”
She opens her mouth, clearly about to comply, but then she stops. Her eyes narrow in defiance. “Why should I?”
“I thought that was obvious. Because if you don’t I’m not going to make you come.”
She scoffs. “As if my pleasure belongs to you.”
“Every part of you belongs to me,” I growl before I realize what I’m saying.
Aurelia’s eyes flare with…something. It’s lust and something else. Anger maybe. Defiance.
She doesn’t say anything. Instead she rolls her hips again, rising up on her knees and then sinking back down on my fingers. I gape at her as her hips begin a slow, deliberate rhythm, her eyelids fluttering closed as she takes what she needs from me, and my cock throbs painfully at the sight.
The marks on her throat bloom crimson against her tan skin, and I trace each one with the tip of my tongue, tasting salt and something sweeter beneath. Her fingers dig into my shoulders for balance as she rocks harder against my palm, her movements growing more urgent with each shallow breath.
She’s so fucking pretty like this. So perfect.
I can’t take it anymore. She wins.
I curl my fingers inside her, finding that spot that makes her thighs tremble.
She gasps, and I can’t stop myself from doing it again, stroking over her inner walls as she keeps rising and falling faster and faster.
Her breath is ragged, and I can tell she’s getting tired but hasn’t yet reached the point of release.
I’m not really sure who it’s for, her or me, when I finally take over, thrusting my fingers into her hard, my palm slapping against her clit. I can feel her growing wetter and wetter, and hear every one of her broken gasps as thighs begin to quiver, her nails digging half-moons into my skin.
She closes her eyes as she chokes out a broken sob, her entire body quaking. I hate it. I want her to look at me. I want her to know that she’s mine. “Look at me.”
Aurelia ignores me, keeping her eyes firmly closed. Growling, I lean in and sink my teeth into her throat a second time. Her eyes fly open and she lets out a silent scream as she completely falls apart, wetness drips down her trembling thighs.
I withdraw my hand from her and suck my fingers into my mouth, the taste of her mingling with the blood still on my lips. Every part of her is mine.