Max
His stomach twisted, nausea creeping in as he watched her pack.
His fingers itched to grab the satchel, to throw it into the fire.
He hated every second of this, the way she zipped up the bag as if she wasn’t walking away with his heart.
But he stayed rooted, his jaw clenched, forcing himself to let her go.
It took everything not to beg her to let him go with, to make sure she was safe, but he knew better.
Anyone who thought to take on Sin wouldn’t get the chance to think again.
She wasn’t a killer at heart, but her magic was, and it wanted to consume her fully.
He could feel it in her sleep, like a demon poking and prodding her soul to let them in.
There was nothing that even a mate could do to stop that.
She needed to learn how, and sulking in a library with her mate wasn’t going to do that.
Nails dug into his palms, his arms clenching with restraint and frustration. He just got her back, and now he had to say goodbye.
“Stop,” Sin’s voice pulled him from his thoughts, his eyes meeting hers, and he failed at covering up the vulnerability behind them as she approached.
Turning his back against the bedpost, his arms slid around her waist, pulling her body flush with his.
No words escaped his lips, because he didn’t trust what they might say.
Her eyes glimmered in the firelight, and she raised her hand to his face, her fingertips tracing along his jaw. Max took her in, memorizing every inch of her face, as if he could ever forget.
He didn’t know how long she’d be gone—or if she’d return at all. The thought of her alone, with her magic untethered and hungry for control, facing whatever monstrous force waited for her—if she was consumed, if she broke—terror unlike anything he’d ever known coursed through him.
“Are you scared?” she asked.
“Terrified.”
Sin cupped his cheek. “Nothing is going to—”
Max threaded his trembling fingers in her hair, pulling her close as he whispered against her lips. “I know you’re strong. That doesn’t make this any less difficult for me, little blade.”
She visibly shivered at the pet name, making the corner of his mouth lift into a smirk that didn’t match his eyes. She swallowed audibly before she spoke. “I wish this were easier, that I could just wake up one day, and over time have gained control over this and returned to you.”
Max gritted his teeth hard as he lifted her chin, hating the words that would leave his lips. “Even if you didn’t, I would understand. This life…”
“I want it,” she interrupted him. “I could never stop wanting a future with you, Max.”
Max’s hands trembled as he cupped her face, his thumbs brushing over her cheeks as though trying to wipe away the fear etched there.
He lowered his forehead to hers, his breath shaky, his eyes closing against the flood of emotion threatening to undo him.
He held her as if she were something fragile, a delicate thing that he had to protect even as his own heart splintered.
“Promise me,” he breathed, closing his eyes, but he couldn’t finish it. He sighed deeply. “I’m not even sure what I’m asking. I just—” He paused, his throat tight. “I can’t lose you. Not again.”
“Max.”
When his eyes met hers, they softened at the tears falling from her gorgeous face.
“I have to do this.”
“I know,” he choked.
“But I promise you, I am doing this for me, so that one day I can have a future with you.”
Max crushed his lips to hers, the force of his need making her stumble against him. He wrapped an arm around her waist, the warmth of her body pressing against him.
Max clung to her as though shielding a fleeting ember in a midnight storm, as if a gust of wind would tear him away and extinguish everything he knew her to be.
The other hand gripped her hair, not allowing her to break the kiss he demanded.
She wouldn’t.
Sin kissed him back with a hunger that matched his.
He didn’t want to think about what she would face. He only wanted to think about them, how perfectly their bodies aligned with each other, how no matter where she went, she belonged to him. If she was going to leave, he was going to send her with one hell of a goodbye.
As if her magic took a life of its own, all of their clothes shredded apart, falling into piles on the floor. Sin jumped, wrapping her legs around his waist. Smiles broke across their lips, but he couldn’t break them apart.
Max pinned her against the wall, his lips hovering over hers for a heartbeat too long. He felt her breath on his mouth, a mixture of longing and fear. His heart pounded, an erratic rhythm as he fought his own hesitation, the deep need to make her stay warring with the knowledge that he couldn’t.
He swallowed her gasp when he thrust into her, it wasn’t gentle—it was desperate, an unspoken promise carved into her skin, a need to mark her, claim her, before she could slip away.
His tongue found hers, their mouths moving in a dance that matched the slow, grinding rhythm of his hips.
The air was thick with the scent of firewood and sex, their breaths mingling in a hot, fevered rush.
Every thrust was a statement, every stroke a plea, and Sin’s nails raked down his back, urging him on, grounding herself in the chaos of his touch.
The sounds of her pussy made him growl, pulling out of her before dropping to his knees.
“Just a taste.” His thumbs slid under her knees, holding her up and pressing her back against the wall as he devoured her. Her moans made the walls shake, and he could feel her concern through the bond.
Smiling up at her, he said, “I have an idea.”
She nodded rapidly. “Okay.”
A dark ripple of magic enveloped them, and suddenly they stood deep in an unfamiliar forest, the chill of the night biting into their bare skin.
Sin glanced around, unease seeping in as she realized just how isolated they were—how vulnerable.
Max watched her, a dark hunger flashing in his eyes, a promise that this night would test them both.
At least her magic couldn’t control anything out here on a catastrophic level.
Max’s lips curled into a smile, slow and dangerous, revealing the sharp glint of his fangs. Sin’s breath caught, her throat tightening as her eyes searched his, now darkened to a predator’s gaze.
He watched her chest rise and fall, her pulse fluttering beneath her skin, and when she took a hesitant step back, the thrill of the chase simmered beneath his own skin. He moved closer, a low growl reverberating through him, feeling the delicious power shift in the air between them.
He grabbed her wrist, pulling her close.
“You want to leave, fine. But remember this face, Sin. Remember the monster I can become. If anyone dares touch you, if I even sense you’re in trouble, I will rip the world apart to find you.
I will be your salvation, or your reckoning—whatever it takes to bring you back. ”
Her breath hitched. “And if I hunt you?”
“Hunt me, my love, and I will crawl for you. But right now, I’m struggling to control myself. Every part of me wants to lock you in my room and never let you leave. You’re going to have to help me.”
“How?” she asked with a hopeless look on her face.
His tongue snaked out, now forked at the end, and he licked down her jaw before growling into her ear.
“Run.”