Chapter 38 #2
She seems to breathe a sigh of relief and smiles.
"Then I want to have a picnic outside. I've always thought it was a beautiful place, but I never had the chance to explore it," she murmurs, wrinkling her nose before continuing. "The day I tried to run away doesn't count..."
"Then I'll prepare the best picnic ever. There's a clearing nearby, a few metres beyond the barrier. You'll like it there."
Her eyes sparkle with excitement before she throws herself at me, showering my face with kisses.
"Thank you!"
"I already told you, there's no need to thank me, sweetheart." I smile. "Now, let me take care of the food."
We get dressed and then go downstairs together.
"Mark..."
I turn to her before walking around the counter to enter the kitchen.
Sandra hesitates for a moment, biting her lip.
"What?" I ask.
"Can I use your computer? I need to check some emails. My friend Lucy must be worried about my disappearance, I don't want to leave her without news for so long again."
"Damn..." I take a deep breath, holding her face tenderly. "I was an idiot for not thinking of that before. You need your things. We'll sort everything out later. But for now, everything that's mine is yours. Make yourself comfortable."
She smiles, but gives me a mischievous look.
"Aren't you going to give me the password?"
I smile slightly, seeing exactly where she's going with this.
"You think I don't know you've used my computer before?"
She gasps, surprised.
"What?"
“Sweetheart, I work in security. I get an alert on my mobile whenever my computer is accessed. Besides...”
"What?"
"There's a camera at the front gate and another one in the back, facing the forest. I saw you. Not when you tried to run away that first time because I was taking a shower, but the other times. Do you think I wasn't monitoring your safety when I had to leave you alone in the cabin?"
She widens her eyes before letting out a laugh, shaking her head.
"And I thought I was being sneaky all this time..."
She turns to go to the computer, but I can't resist and give that delicious bum a firm slap.
Sandra gasps and glances over her shoulder, her emerald eyes shining with silent promises.
***
We are sitting on a blanket in a clearing in the forest. The lightness of the moment envelops me, the sound of birds singing, the rustling of leaves dancing in the wind, even a curious squirrel approaching, drawn by the smell of our picnic.
But as soon as it sees me, it disappears with a quick leap, vanishing behind a tree trunk.
Sandra lets out a low moan as she takes another bite of her sandwich, closing her eyes for a second.
"This is really good." She covers her mouth with her hand, still chewing.
I can't help but laugh.
The moment is perfect, relaxed, unhurried.
Just the two of us, far from problems, far from everyone.
"It's just a sandwich, my love," I reply, amused, taking a sip of wine as I watch her.
She giggles, her eyes sparkling.
"It's the best I've ever tasted, this ciabatta bread, the salami, the cream cheese..." She makes a sound of appreciation. "Better than in restaurants."
I've already devoured my sandwich and am calmly nibbling on the fruit, but what I really wanted was to taste something much sweeter... my female's pussy for dessert.
The thought makes my cock swell inside my knickers.
She continues eating, each bite of food seeming to be a pleasure in itself, but the sounds of her moans tease me in a way that makes me think of other ways to make her moan.
"Mmm..." she murmurs with her eyes closed, this time taking a sip of wine, her throat exposed as she turns the glass.
My body responds instantly. I want her more than anything else.
"If you keep moaning like that, Kitten, you'll end up with me inside you." My voice comes out rough, laden with desire.
"Oh, really?" She slides the glass to the side, leaving it on the blanket. Then she leans on her elbows, tilting her body back, a mischievous gleam in her eyes as she slowly spreads her legs. "Then it's a good thing I'm not wearing knickers."
Her dress slides slowly down her thighs, rising as she opens her legs, giving me a perfect view of where I want to be. My cock throbs painfully inside my trousers, and I run my tongue over my lips, torn between diving in or simply burying myself inside her at once.
But then, a noise in the forest makes me freeze.
My instincts go on alert in the same second. I sniff the air, a growl rising in my chest as I catch the scent of a supernatural being charged with rage.
It's getting closer.
Before Sandra can react, I throw myself on top of her, my body expanding as the beast takes control.
With the remnants of my fae magic, the transition is magical, and in the blink of an eye, I am in my beast form.
I wrap one arm around her waist and propel myself forward, running before the intruder can reach us.
"Mark!" Sandra shouts, clinging to my neck.
Then the voice comes from behind, laden with magic.
"Stop."
The command vibrates inside my head, and my legs falter for a second. Shit. My fae essence is weak. I wasn't prepared for this, my guard down, and this son of a bitch caught me off guard.
But I'm not that easy to subdue.
I fight against the mental persuasion, forcing my mind to erect a wall against his control. I can't falter. I can't give in. My body explodes into motion, and I shoot back towards the protective barrier of the cabin.
When I get about three metres away from it, I jump, holding Sandra tightly in my arms, but moments before I can get through it, a gust of wind hits me and blows me backwards. Far away.
Magic doesn't ricochet...
Damn, the protective seal that Balthazar placed on us has already broken.
I manage to turn in the air, landing on my feet with my body facing the forest, Sandra clinging to me with her legs and arms.
That's when I see him.
A man with silver hair and lead-coloured eyes stares at us, panting from running after us.
"Luther?" Sandra murmurs when she sees him too.
Damn. I know that name.
And now that I see him clearly, I recognise that face too.
He's the changeling I rejected to join the company, and from what Ted told me, he's working for the competition.
Where does Sandra know him from?
And more importantly, what is this bastard doing attacking us?
His gaze narrows, sliding from me to Sandra with an expression of pure disgust.
"I came after you," he says to my partner, his voice heavy with resentment. "I waited, watching until you came back. But you never did."
Sandra shudders in my arms and whimpers softly.
My blood boils. The air around me seems to vibrate with my anger as I bare my teeth at him with a thunderous growl. Every fibre of my being screams to lunge forward, to tear this son of a bitch to pieces, but the warm, fragile weight in my arms anchors me. Sandra. I can't act on impulse.
I can't risk her.
Luther just clicks his tongue, impassive, as if my fury is irrelevant. His piercing gaze doesn't waver, assessing me with irritating superiority.
My mind works quickly, connecting the dots.
He showed up here, as if he knew I was weak, ready to attack me.
The way he spoke to Sandra, with an obsession he didn't even hide.
The connection to my company: two consecutive rejections of his application for the position.
Finally, his connection to my competition, and how he easily defeated the wendigo, too quickly, too conveniently.
This can't all be just coincidence.
"Have you been allied with the witch all this time?" My voice comes out guttural.
The son of a bitch smiles slightly, but doesn't answer.
And that tells me everything I need to know.
"Is that true, Luther?" Sandra whispers, trembling in my lap, her nails digging into my skin as she clings to me even tighter.
He doesn't move from his spot, at a distance close enough to hit me with some magic without worrying that I'll get to him first.
"I didn't ally myself with her..." Luther tilts his head to one side, his eyes shining silver like sharp blades as he watches us. "But she was helpful."
I want to rip his head off with my teeth, but I restrain myself.
I need to stay calm, alert to any move he might make.
My body burns with rage, but my mind works quickly, calculating the options.
Perhaps if I can create a protective shield around Sandra and throw her inside the cabin's barrier without hurting her. ..
The problem is that my essence is too weak, its remnants fading away. I feel its limit approaching, a void about to swallow me.
I don't know if I can do it.
"Luther, did you know about the curse the witch put on me?" Sandra murmurs with a hint of disbelief, as if she still clings to the hope that he would never do such a thing to her.
Ah, Sandra...
The cambion looks away from me to her, his lips curving into a scornful smile.
"Did I know?" Luther's voice is arrogant as he begins to pace back and forth, agitated. "I was the one who cast it on you. The witch was just a piece on my board, a distraction, a way to divert your attention away from me."
I feel the dark magic spreading through the air, dense and suffocating. The same magic that emanated from the grimoire. He absorbed so much of this energy that it became ingrained in his very essence.
"Why did you do that to her?" I hiss, tightening my arms around Sandra even more, trying to protect her from his words, from the pain his revelations are causing her.
The cambion stops walking abruptly.