Chapter 29 #2
The thought of sinking my teeth into anything that isn’t Amarah right now doesn’t really do it for me.
“You need some help, sir?” the female attendant says in a low, syrupy tone. I hadn’t even realized anyone was here. When I turn, she’s staring directly at my chest.
Oops.
Here I am scolding Amarah for having no pants on, and I completely forgot I’m wandering around shirtless.
“No.” I make zero attempt to hide my disinterest and turn back to the shelves.
I grab some beef jerky, chips, a bottle of water, and a dairy-free protein bar, then head to the counter. As I pay, I feel a faint buzz along the bond.
“Kayn?”
Alright… this is new.
“Yeah? Everything okay, little slayer?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, um…”
That’s enough to keep me from sprinting back to the room. So, I take to the stairway at a normal pace.
“I really don’t want you to feed on someone, and it’s bothering me that that’s what you’re going to do… really badly. Please don’t.”
Well, shit…
There’s a long beat of silence, and I know I should say something, anything, but my mind blanks. I’m actually stunned.
Did she just… in so many words… say she’s jealous?
“That’s so selfish of me. Fuck, that was stupid of me to say. I’m sorry. Don’t listen to me. I… I take it back…”
The bond pulls tight, and suddenly my own chest aches. Maybe it’s from my side because has she been sitting there alone, worrying about this?
“I’m not. And I wasn’t going to.”
“Oh… really?” Gods the relief in her tone seriously makes my stomach tighten with such need it’s insane.
“Mhmm. I got you some snacks. I’ll leave them by the door for you.”
There’s a pause and as I hit the first step up to the second floor, her voice slips through again.
“Do you have a spare key?”
“I do.”
Only because we were given two for the one room.
“You can come in and put them on the table.”
I didn’t need her permission since the room is technically mine, but for her to offer for me to come in, without coercion, without fear, without a threat…
That’s—
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.
“Alright. I’ll do just that then.”
She pulls back from the bond just as I reach the door. I tap the key against the sensor, push it open with my hip, and step inside.
I walk past the running shower on my right, its door cracked just enough for steam to spill out into the warm air. I cross to the desk and set her food down, trying not to look toward the glow beneath the bathroom door.
My bag hits the floor and I rake both hands up through my hair, gripping the roots until my scalp stings. A low groan rumbles out of me. The rhythm of falling water—uneven, shifting—pulls at me like a damn siren call, urging me to go to the source.
After a minute of standing there like an idiot, fighting myself, I grab my bag and head for the door.
“All set,” I push through the bond.
“Thanks, Kayn.”
“You’re welcome, Amarah. Goodnight.”
I’ve got my hand on the front door’s handle, waiting for her response. If she tells me goodnight, I’ll leave and go to the truck, as was the plan all along.
“Okay.”
Godsdamn it.
I drop my bag, letting it hit the ground before I turn toward the bathroom.
“Fuck it.”
I’m done letting the ones I want run from me.
The moment the bathroom door swings open, my eyes lock onto Amarah. She jumps, caught mid-turn, but I don’t give her time to react. I’m already shoving open the glass shower entry and stepping inside with her.
I don’t let her speak.
I don’t let her tell me to stop.
I don’t give her any means to keep me from her.
My hands slide to the sides of her neck, cradling her there—gentle, but firm. Then I crush my mouth to hers.
The taste of her hits me like lightning. Sharp. Electrifying. Potent. She’s a full-bloom garden after a storm, sweet and floral without being cloying, crisp like mountain air, wild like the untouched world. I could breathe her in until there’s nothing left of me.
I brace myself for the fight back I’ve come to expect from her… but she doesn’t push.
She doesn’t flinch. Instead, she gives back to me just as fiercely.
Her head turns with mine, perfectly opposite, letting me deepen the kiss. My tongue slides past her lips, and hers meets mine with the same fire I’m pouring into her. It isn’t just me that consumers her, but equally her to me.
Gods help me—I want to devour her. Own her. Dominate her.
I am possessive over what’s mine, and that’s what she is. Mine.
She’s not going anywhere.
She can forget breaking this bond.
She can forget disappearing when we’ve found Lucifer.
And if she tries… I’ll tie her to my damn back until she understands I’m not letting her go.
Her fingers slide up into my hair and tangle there, gripping tight as she releases the sweetest sounds into my mouth. It pulls a hungry grin out of me while I press her back against the tiled wall.
“Should’ve said goodnight,” I murmur against her lips.
Her heartbeat thrums loud enough for even a Mundane to hear, and when her dreamy eyes find mine, the corner of her mouth lifts. “Probably… but I feel sort of crazy around you, so my judgment is questionable.”
I drag one hand down her chest, pausing as my palm curves over her. “Stay crazy then, little slayer,” I breathe, “because I’m having more of this. More of you.”
I claim her mouth again, and my hand closes over her full breast. The moan she gives me is sinful, addictive, and made for me.
She arches into me, her ankle hooking behind my calf as if she’s trying to fuse our bodies together. That’s when I notice the problem.
I walked into this damn shower wearing my jeans.
The water soaks the back of them while every inch of her is bare and warm, pressed to me. I need her skin on mine. Everywhere.
My free hand fumbles with my belt, desperate to shed the barrier between us, when her touch vanishes from my neck. Her hands catch mine, stopping me.
“W—wait.” Her breath trembles across my mouth. “Kayn, hold on.”
She pushes just enough to see my face. Her head tips back against the tile, cheeks flushed, lips swollen, eyes blown wide with panic and desire.
“What about Luce?” she whispers, a vulnerable state I’m not accustom to with her. “I… I don’t want to ruin anything. I can’t do that to you.”
I freeze.
I know the baffled look on my face is not helping, but her words actually confuse me.
“I won’t tell him we kissed,” she rushes out, voice thin and earnest, “but I couldn’t—”
“Amarah, stop.”
I catch both her wrists in one hand and slam them above her head against the tile. She gasps and that gorgeous flush along her cheeks deepens.
“Let me be very clear,” I growl, stepping in so my body cages hers against the wall. “He left me. I’m going after him because it’s what I should’ve done centuries ago. I should’ve never let him walk away in the first place.”
Her pulse kicks, frantic and beautiful.
“And yes,” I continue, tightening my grip just enough to keep her trembling, “I plan to keep him when I get him back. But make no mistake” —I lean in until our mouths almost touch— “you just let me in. And now you’re mine, too.”
Her lips part, rolling together again as her breath stutters.
“You and Luce are mine. There will be no misunderstanding. No confusion. No fucking question of that. Is that a problem? Will you make me choose?”
“No,” she quickly says. “I… I would never. I just…”
My smile softens as our eyes meet. “Just nothing. I’m capable of giving you both all of me.
” My free hand comes to her chin, tilting her face up to me, forcing her eyes to meet mine.
“And because I can feel the thought spinning around in your beautiful head—no, little slayer. I know what this feeling is I’m having, and it has nothing to do with the bond. Do you understand?”
Her lashes flutter, her bottom lip caught between her teeth.
“Do. You. Understand?”
She nods slowly. “Yes.”
A dark, satisfied sound rumbles out of me. “Good.”
I lean forward and bite her bottom lip. “Now, can I please go back to kissing you? I’m a desperate man for you, Amarah, and I only have so much restraint.”
“Y-Yes. Gods, yes.”
My mouth crashes back to hers—ravaging, claiming, starving for what is mine.