Chapter 21 #2
Her dark hair is loose in large waves around her bare shoulders.
Her dress is corseted, the bustier a rich vibrant red with black boning.
It cinches her waist, showing off the high curves of her hips and the roundness of her perfect ass.
The black layered skirts puff out and bustle at the back while splitting open in the front to reveal tattooed thighs beneath black fishnet stockings.
I swallow hard and fight every urge to bend her over right here.
I want to tear the fabric off her body and fuck every single one of her tender holes.
My dark, exquisite goth goddess. Mmm. Fuck.
And her scent… that fragrant jasmine still intoxicates me as much as it did that first night I got a taste of it in the bathroom at Duff’s.
When I had her up against the counter, my cock buried so fucking deep I could practically feel her heartbeat through her cunt.
I stalk forward and pinch her chin hard between my fingers. I can’t resist the violent urge. Her breath quickens as the act forces her to pucker her lips. “Hi,” she murmurs.
“Hey, Trouble. You look… Fuck. You know how you fucking look.” I scrape my teeth across her jaw. “Beautiful. The most beautiful thing in existence.”
She tilts her chin up, forcing my gaze. It stokes my hunger as much as it does her own. “You’re as sexy as the dark. As always.”
I can’t help but smirk at that. “Like pure fucking sin,” I whisper. I nip at her lip before releasing her chin. As I step back, I admire the marks my fingers have left on her.
Bones embraces her from behind. He plants soft kisses across her shoulders. “We should play dress up more often, mi amor. I’m so fucking hard for you right now.”
She purrs, her eyes fluttering as she drowns in his affection. While I provoke, Bones soothes and calms. “I could get used to that kink.”
I brace myself for Aries’s reveal. Nox looks just as amused while taking in the sight of him. He inches forward, demanding his turn with her.
“Looks like you brought out the wolf tonight, little lamb. I fucking love every inch of… this.” He flicks his hand up and down the length of her.
Her eyes light up. Apparently, she’s very into this primal Pan-like version of Aries.
More than I thought she would be. And it all clicks into place.
It’s why she’s drawn to the Skelker. It’s the same reason she fell in love with Nox.
It’s the animal in her. The primal ache that breeds inside her blood, stemming all the way back to the original sin.
She flattens her palms against his tight belly and drags them up slowly, feeling every ridge and curve of his muscles until she reaches the top of his lengthy torso. Aries grins like a Cheshire cat, his ego blooming with pride and satisfaction.
“I like the fur.” She inches her hands up farther until she’s got both of them wrapped around his antlers. “And these… He has them too, you know.”
Aries nods. “I know, baby girl.” She mewls against his chest, falling under his carnal spell. He growls into her ear, “And I know how much they turn you on.”
Fucking hell. The heat is so thick in here you could bottle our sweat and sell it for pheromones.
Nox snatches her back with his tail, a quick lash that winds around her waist faster than the blink of an eye. Aries chuckles as his little lamb’s attention is taken off him and put onto her nightmare man.
It’s quite the dance to watch.
“My love, promise me you’ll be careful tonight.
” His concern stretches farther than any of us could even comprehend.
They have been together their entire lives.
He wouldn’t hesitate to kill for her. Even kill one of us if we ever posed a real threat to her.
The fact that she’s asked him to stay behind is breaking him. But he will obey her. He always has.
I can’t say that I would. I’m too selfish.
I’m more likely to throw her over my shoulder, kicking and screaming, if I thought it was for her own good.
But Nox is like a soldier. He falls in line for her without question.
He trusts her in a way that we don’t. For when her life ends, as does his.
Although, I can’t imagine going on without her either.
While we have all become quite close, a part of me feels like I’m intruding on them sometimes… But then they both remind me that it’s not the case. My own dark abyss is a nasty enemy. No one could loathe me as much as I loathe myself sometimes.
Mia loops her fingers through his thick black locks. “I will. I promise. Once I confirm that it’s really Sonny, then we can find out what he wants.”
“He wants you, Mia,” Nox growls.
Bones’s hard-as-steel expression returns. He fists his hands at his sides. “If my baby brother expects me to share my girl with him, there’s gonna have to be some ground rules laid out.”
I throw Aries a look. He nods and pats his vest. Keeping this from Bones makes my stomach turn. But we can’t be sure that he’ll agree to us pumping Sonny full of poison. Especially since that’s the reason Bones took his eyes off him to begin with, all those years ago.
It’s not enough to hurt him. I’d hurt myself before I ever harmed a hair on Sonny Crane’s head.
We just need him sedated so we can get him away from the Wishing Tree and the woods.
Bones has no idea how deadly he is. And I doubt he’s going to come willingly.
We’ll beg for forgiveness later. Again, another reminder of how different Nox and I are.
And yet we both love Mia like an obsession.
We’ve grown to love each other too. And that filthy tail between his legs…
Fucking hell. I welcome his eyes on me, transfixed by their radiance.
Knowingly, he stalks over to me and winds that very tail around my thigh.
“Take care of her, Draven. And I will reward you in ways you never could imagine.”
I draw in a sharp breath as his tail climbs higher, teasing the crook of where my hip meets my pelvis.
He leans in and licks my jaw with his forked tongue. “If anything happens to her… I can also hurt you in ways you could never imagine.”
His threat makes my cock harder than his promise. “Don’t make me hide her just to get a rise out of you, Nox. You know how much I crave the pain.”
He groans. “I have one of those annoying portable telephones you all can’t seem to part with. Send me an electronic letter if anything goes wrong and I’ll come to you quickly.”
Aries snickers. “Yes, if something happens, we’ll text you.”
“I’m dead fucking serious, Aries Thorn.”
He lets out a low whistle as he rubs up against him. “I always know I’m in trouble when you use my full name. It’s hot as fuck.”
Nox groans again. “For the love of the ravens, someone make him stop.”
Mia drags Aries away. “All right. Enough before he strangles you to death.”
“Shall we?” I ask the group. The sky is changing colors, going from light blue to dark with just a smidgen of pinkish-orange hues disappearing into the horizon. In the distance, the drums beat, echoing through Ever Graves as they have done on a thousand Wild Hunts before.
Before we pack into the limousine, Aries places a crown of flowers and antlers on top of Mia’s head. Except hers are special. Sacred. White like the stags of old. She wears it well. Our dark queen about to go catch herself a Skelker.
Let’s just hope he doesn’t catch her first. Because I don’t really fucking know who’s hunting who tonight.