Chapter 36 Avery
AVERY
For the briefest moment, Elijah stared down at me, a look of wonder on his face, and then he slammed his lips to mine. I dug my fingers into his hair and let him consume me. I wanted him. Needed him. Was never going to get enough of him.
He shifted our bodies just enough to slide his long fingers between my legs. He traced the seam of my panties before dipping beneath the fabric, and another tortured groan escaped him at the wetness he found there.
I moaned against his lips. “Pl—”
He tore my panties from my body and buried his cock inside me.
“Fuck,” he hissed against my ear. “Dove.”
I whimpered as he began to thrust. He was long and thick and a perfect fit, as the Moon knew he would be.
“Yes, Elijah. Yes.”
He pressed his forehead to mine and fucked me harder. His pupils slit into those of the basilisk. “You are mine,” he hissed.
“Yes.” I dug my nails into the taut muscles of his back. “Yours.”
He licked into my mouth, his long tongue caressing mine. His thrusts became even more frenzied.
Brutal.
Proprietary and desperate.
He didn’t let up, fucking me and kissing me and driving me higher and higher. I lost track of where he ended and I began as I wrapped my legs around his waist and urged him on.
“Elijah,” I croaked. “I’m…. I’m going to….”
He pinned my arms above my head and ground down into me, his thrusts gentling, replaced with the slow roll of his hips.
The hard muscles of his pelvis worked against my clit while his dick filled me to bursting.
The basilisk’s gaze bored into mine. “We’re together now, Dove.
I’m not talking about bonding or anything with the others.
This is about you and me. I love you, and I’m not leaving your side for as long as we live. ”
Tears pricked in my eyes even as I skated along the edge of the most intense pleasure I’d ever experienced. “Yes,” I sobbed. “I love you, too, Elijah.”
He shut his eyes and let out a pained noise, like I’d kicked him in the stomach. When his eyes snapped open, they were his human eyes, their glow soft and warm. He dipped to kiss me again. “Mine,” he purred.
And then he held me down and went back to fucking me ruthlessly, until white-hot ecstasy ripped through my body.
I screamed into our kiss, and he groaned, following me over the edge.
As I came back to earth, he pressed kisses to my forehead, my cheeks, my nose, and finally my lips. His cock softened inside me, but he didn’t seem in a hurry to remove it, nor was I in a hurry to make him.
Being connected to him, having him as a part of me, if only for a little while longer, gave me more contentment than anything had in quite some time.
“I’ll never stop trying to be worthy of your love,” he whispered, “even if it takes me our entire lives to get there.”
I shook my head. “You are worthy, Elijah. You’ve made caring for me the center of your whole existence. You’ve stayed with me and loved me, even when I was trying desperately to push you away.”
“You were ambushed and almost killed,” he hissed, and the air turned icy around us. “Again, Dove. If I hadn’t arrived when I did….”
I cupped his face in my hands. “But you did. You gave Cash the end he deserved, and you even managed to get me out of the woods without anyone else seeing my beast.”
His expression softened. “Dove….”
“The Moon gave you to me, and I’ve decided to keep you.”
The sly smile I loved so much finally crept onto his striking face. “Then you’ll have me. I hope you know what you’re in for, my sweet dove. There’s hardly been room in my thoughts for anything but you since the moment I laid eyes on you in our shared class.”
I brushed a lock of his hair over his ear. “You were pretty memorable yourself.”
“And now that I have you?” He dipped his head to run his tongue along the side of my neck. “Now that I can taste you, and hold you, and fuck you to my heart’s content?” His tongue found the shell of my ear, and he rasped, “I’m only going to fall deeper, Dove. I’m only going to grow more obsessed.”
A shiver racked my body. “Yes,” I whispered.
He kissed along my jaw. “If anyone even breathes incorrectly in your direction, I will consume them and make them into nothing.”
“Elijah,” I gasped.
His chuckle was sinful. “I want to be where you are, always. I would crawl inside your skin and live there if I could.”
Only Elijah could make that sound so intensely romantic. I grinned and wiggled my hips. “You are still inside me, it seems.”
“Indeed.” He thrust his hips playfully, and I bit my lip at the sensation he elicited in my oversensitive pussy. “And I apologize for not inquiring before I came inside you, my love, but I’m aware you have a contraceptive implant.”
“I do,” I said slowly, narrowing my eyes at him. “How do you know that?”
He grinned, showing me those sharp canines. “Heath scented it.”
“Oh.” And reported back to the group, apparently.
He began to kiss down my neck, stretching the collar of my oversized T-shirt so he could move down my chest. “How long do you think the others will leave us to luxuriate in each other before they come in here to fuss over you?”
“Until right now,” Heath said gruffly.
Speak of the devil.
Elijah blew out a defeated breath and sagged in my arms, which made me laugh. When he finally rolled off me, the mess he’d left between my thighs leaked onto the blankets. He swirled his fingers at my entrance one last time, humming a pleased noise.
I bit off a moan and snuggled into his side.
Heath stood in the opening where my door had once been, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. He wore a tight white T-shirt and sweatpants that clung to his thick thighs, and he had the look of a man who was amused but trying very hard to appear stern instead.
Aiden was with him, dressed similarly and smelling like a rainstorm, his wavy chocolate hair damp. He caught me checking him out and raised his eyebrows, also trying for a stern look and succeeding more than his brother.
“As quintet leader, I am here to fuss over both of you,” Heath announced, striding over.
He knelt next to me and ran his hand over the side of my body still healing from being stabbed, beginning from where my T-shirt had ridden up to my breasts and all the way down to the exposed skin of my hip.
The blanket tucked around me only just obscured my bare ass.
His nostrils flared, and he groaned softly.
“Did Elijah take good care of you, Killer? Your tiger feels very happy right now.”
She sure was, though not entirely satisfied, apparently. She licked a claw and flicked her tail at Heath’s wolf.
I smiled dreamily at our leader. “Elijah and I are together now.”
His face split into a grin. “Are you?”
Elijah kissed the top of my head. “It’s true. And yet, I suspect you two are here to cut our honeymoon short.”
Aiden stood at our feet, arms crossed, surveying Elijah with a critical eye. “How are you feeling after… you know,” he asked.
He shrugged. “Surprisingly good, though I’d prefer not to dwell on it all.” He shuddered dramatically. “Meat.”
I patted his chest. My poor vegan monster.
Heath scooped me into his arms. I squeaked in surprise and threw my arms around his neck as he lifted me out of the nest. “Get dressed and report to the infirmary,” he said to Elijah, nudging him with his foot as Elijah grumbled in protest. “Dr. Lee wants to check you over to make sure there aren’t any lingering… issues.”
“And we’d appreciate it if you looked in on Wyatt,” Aiden added.
I gasped. “Why? Is something wrong? Is he okay?”
Aiden ran a soothing hand down my arm. “Wyatt is just fine, sweetheart. We just ran into Ward, and he told us that Wyatt is healing well and that his bear is strong. He should be awake soon.”
Elijah stretched his long limbs, blankets falling away and exposing his sinewy body and olive skin from head to toe.
He rose from the nest, completely and unabashedly naked.
He tossed me a heated glance before turning to Heath.
“Fine. I’ll go check on our bear and let Dr. Lee poke at me.
” He leaned in and planted a lingering kiss on my lips. “Be good for our boys, my love.”
“I’d planned to take you to the shower and scrub you clean of anything left over from our night from hell,” Heath said, and then he narrowed his eyes at Elijah. “And now I’ll also have to wash all of your cum off her before we parade her through a cafeteria full of shifter males.”
“Green looks good on our leader, doesn’t it?” Elijah purred, winking at me. He pulled on some shorts and sauntered to the doorway, shirtless and barefoot. “I’ll see you at dinner, Dove,” he called over his shoulder before he ducked outside.
Aiden sighed and squinted at the doorway. “I’ll follow him for a bit to see if he’s actually headed in the direction of the infirmary.” He stole a quick kiss and whispered against my lips, “I’ll meet you at the showers and make sure you have some privacy, okay, sweetheart?”
“Okay,” I whispered back, though I hated to see him go, even for just a few minutes.
Heath tightened his grip, still holding me bridal style.
I was pretty sure I’d recovered enough from my injuries—and from Elijah fucking me until I was a gooey pile of bones—that I could walk on my own, but after the events of the past twenty-four hours, I’d decided to take some time off from being a stone-cold, certified badass.
It was safe and comfortable here in Heath’s arms, just as it had been safe and comfortable wrapped up in Elijah’s arms and scales.
So, I’d stay for a little while.
Heath carried me out to the small concrete building behind my cabin that housed the bathrooms and showers I shared with the handful of female staff. At this hour, Aisha would be in the infirmary, and the rest were probably in the kitchen, preparing dinner.
My Alpha was all business. He took me straight to the largest shower stall in the corner and threw the curtain back.
He set me gingerly down on the bench in the spacious changing area in front of the shower, and then he cranked on the water.
As steam began to fill the stall, he tossed the curtain aside and marched back out.
He returned a few seconds later with a clean towel from the towel bin and the shower caddy I stored in my assigned cubby.
I didn’t ask how he knew which one was mine.
I tipped my head back to rest against the wall and watched him, fondness welling within me.
Heath was a true Alpha—noble, unwavering, and impressively powerful, all in the name of caring for his pack.
It was obvious he’d hardly slept since the night his wolf had spent in my cabin.
He’d been running around, putting out fires and keeping everyone in our family alive, including my brother.
My stomach sank as I remembered I had one more thing to add to my Alpha’s burden.
After he’d set my caddy on the cement floor of the shower, he knelt at my feet, bringing him eye level with me. He ran his warm hand up my leg. “Ready, Killer? I’m physically incapable of leaving you right now, but I can turn around, if you’d prefer.”
I cupped his stubbled cheek. “I want you to stay, and you don’t have to turn around. But I need to talk to you first.”
He sighed, frowning. “Is this about whatever Cash said to you before he became basilisk food?”
I nodded. “He raged at me for a bit, and of course he couldn’t help crowing with victory at my imminent demise.
” Heath’s expression turned thunderous, and I ran my fingers soothingly through his hair.
This wasn’t going to get any easier for him to hear.
“He didn’t name names, but… I’m pretty sure this involves your father. ”