Chapter 44
Callum
My star should have known better than to run.
She should have known better than to tempt the deep, dark, demon part of me that wants nothing more than exactly this.
My mate, fleeing.
Dark woods, to hunt her down in.
A chase. A capture. A claiming.
Or perhaps she knew exactly what she was doing. Perhaps she was well aware of what the sight of her fleeing would do to me.
Perhaps she wants it just as much as I do.
Her magick lingers in the rain-soaked air—a bright, metallic beacon leading me straight to her.
I’m tempted to open a portal, to follow the strands of our bond that seem woven into the air and the earth and the fabric of the realm itself, and bring myself straight to her.
But I want something else more.
The chase.
The pursuit.
The catch.
Spreading my wings wide, I lift from the ground in a few mighty sweeps, buffeted by the driving rain.
It’s not ideal weather for flying, but I don’t intend to let this chase last long.
I’m not sure I can let this chase last long.
A week apart has felt like a year, a decade, and just one look at my star sitting there on that barstool, waiting for me, was enough to burn away any capacity I might have had to draw this out.
I need her.
Goddess, do I need her.
My eyes are keen and sharp in the dark, adapted to seeking and finding.
I scan each inch of forest floor I glimpse through the canopy, tracing all the paths my star might use to flee.
Just as I approach a small clearing, I see a flash of gold through the darkness, and instinct pours through me like liquid fire.
There she is.
My mate. My other half. My wicked little witch running from me, tempting me, the most delicious prey I could ever imagine.
As soon as she reaches a gap in the trees, I strike.
A hard dive, wings spread wide to slow my descent and keep me from crashing into the ground. Arms wrapped around her strong, warm body. A gasp of surprised pleasure echoing in my ears.
I roll my body so it takes the brunt of the impact, and even the promise of bruises as we skid to a stop on the forest floor barely registers.
How could it?
I’ve got my witch in my arms, back where she belongs.
Where she’ll always belong.
Seren, however, isn’t quite ready to give up the fight.
With a surprisingly deft maneuver, she levers herself away from me, lunging like she’s going to regain her feet and run again.
“Not so fast, witch,” I growl, pulling her to me again and rolling the two of us so she’s on her back on a patch of mossy ground beneath the trees.
I settle between her thighs, catch her wrists in my hands and pin them above her head, making sure she won’t get away.
She bucks against me, squirms, and though I detect nothing in her scent but pure arousal and dark excitement, I have to check just to be sure.
“Is this alright?”
The words, spoken in a whisper against the shell of her ear, send a shiver through her.
“More than alright.”
She bucks again, hips fitting to mine, rubbing herself against the hard, aching length of me and my already half-inflated knot.
“Witch,” I growl, and she just giggles, the little temptress. “Why did you run from me?”
“Why do you think?”
Another slow roll of her hips, a mischievous smile playing around the corners of her lips.
Her cheeks are flushed, her hair spread around her like a halo, her lashes damp and dark with rainwater, making her green eyes look even more luminous.
She’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
Almost beautiful enough to distract from the reason I came after her tonight, the reason that matters more than anything else.
“We said we were going to split the bounty.” I curl my hand around her jaw, stroke a thumb over the crest of her cheek.
“And we did.”
“Seren.” I can’t stop the growl that works its way into my voice. “You were supposed to take your hard-earned winnings and start your new life.”
“Who says that’s not exactly what I’m doing?”
My heart stutters in my chest.
Seren’s grin is wide and teasing. “Besides, I don’t want a mate who’s tied to some terrible job with an asshole boss.”
My hand slides into the back of her hair. I pull her closer, bring my lips nearly to hers, then stop.
“What kind of mate do you want?”
She laughs, and the sound is like dawn. “I want a big, grumpy, handsome demon for my mate. I want a mate who’s alright with me driving him out of his mind just because I’m me and I never know when to say when. I want a mate who will travel the realms with me and never make me feel like I’m alone.”
Unable to help myself any longer, I kiss her.
With all the love that’s threatening to burst my heart in my chest. With all the gratitude I don’t have nearly enough words to express.
With a promise I intend to keep for a lifetime.
“What about you?” she asks, breathless as she breaks the kiss. “What kind of mate do you want?”
It’s the easiest question I’ve ever been asked.
“I want a witch who’s braver than anyone I’ve ever met. I want a mate who will drive me out of my mind because of how much I love her, and who I’ll always follow. Anywhere. To any corner of any realm, there will never be a day when I won’t be by your side, my star.”
Seren’s eyes shine. “I love you, too.”
“Good.” I nip at her lips. “Because I’m not going anywhere.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
The kiss starts slow and tender. The gentle benediction to a commitment that’s already settled itself deep within my bones.
But then my star moves against me.
Legs wrapped around my waist, hands on my horns. She arches into me, moans into the kiss, and I’m lost.
We’re uncoordinated, graceless, with rain-slick hands and more hunger than finesse. We tear at each other’s clothes, kiss and lick and suck and bite at each other’s skin until we’re bare beneath the pine boughs and the stormy night sky.
With two firm hands on her waist, I turn Seren so she’s belly-down on the moss. I tug her cloak beneath her knees to soften the hard press of the ground, and pull her hips up and back.
Going to my own knees, I take a few long moments to simply admire.
The long, graceful line of her back, the swell of her ass, her beautiful cunt, pink and glistening for me, so hot and wet when I run my fingers over her.
“Callum,” Seren groans, and I’m lost again, powerless to do anything but drape myself over her and line myself up at her entrance, push forward into the tight embrace of her body.
My star feels exquisite.
Perfect, like the two of us were made just for this. Made to fit together. Made to never be apart.
I bottom out, press my knot against her, and she moans again, panting at the tight fit and delectable stretch.
One hand reaching beneath her, I find the place we’re joined and the swollen bud of her clit just above it.
Rolling it under my fingers, I withdraw and sink deep once more, and again, finding the rhythm that suits us both and flirting dangerously close to the orgasm that’s already threatening.
But there’s one more thing the primal, demon side of me craves.
One more claim I want to make.
It’s presumptuous, too soon, yet I can’t stop myself from pressing my chest against her back, running my fangs over her shoulder, the nape of her neck.
Seren cranes her head back, bares her throat to me, and the wave of instinct that washes over me is enough to steal my breath.
Bite her. Mark her. Claim her.
I press my fangs to her pale, tender skin, then pull back before I get ahead of myself.
“Star.”
“Yes,” she breathes, then says it again, more certain this time. “Yes. I want it.”
I bite.
My fangs sink deep, and she gasps, stiffens, but the pain passes in the space of a few heartbeats.
Her blood pours into me hot and rich and delicious, the most intoxicating wine I’ve ever tasted.
At the same time, I press my knot into her. It’s a tight fit with her like this, but she strains and presses against me, determined to take everything I have to give her.
With one last thrust, one last deep draw of her, my knot fits inside and pleasure consumes us both. Magick blooms like a garden around us, lighting up the forest and sparkling on every drop of falling rain, pulsing hard with each wave of our shared climax.
It’s an ecstasy like nothing I’ve ever known.
Deeper, more consuming, imprinting into every inch of muscle and sinew and bone. Like our bond itself made manifest, wrapping tight around us both.
With just enough sanity left in me to roll to a more comfortable position, I hug my witch against me and ease us down onto our sides. I spread one wing above us, not as effective as I’d like at keeping out the rain, but enough to shelter from the worst of it.
Breathing hard, I bury my face in Seren’s neck, run my tongue over the mark I left to clean up a spare drop of blood and help its healing.
When I do, she clenches down on me, and we both groan.
She laughs, breathless. “Oh, that’s going to be fun. Do it again.”
What else could I do but oblige?
We spend far too much time beneath those pines, trading kisses and caresses that make it nearly impossible for my knot to subside.
My witch is going to run me ragged, I can already tell.
And I’m going to savor every moment.
Every single one.