Chapter 8 #2
She purrs. “Now, while I’m not the villain—even though you are determined to paint me in that shade of black—I will do it, Malik.
I will burn everything to ash to bring your brothers home.
” I hardly register the threat through the agony of the pleasure she is forcing into every pore of my being.
She wraps her fingers tightly around my cock and pumps me hard and fast as she says, “I will start with Istanbul.” I grit my teeth, trying to concentrate past the haze of her magic.
She presses a kiss to my collar over my throat.
“Then Indonesia.” My breath stutters and holds as I realize what she’s saying.
She yanks on my collar, pulling me down so she can lick my neck as she whispers, “And then Thailand before I move on to Greece.”
Our homes on Earth. Fuck.
My legs shake as I fight against the lust that has me salivating to drive my cock into Leonora’s pussy and fuck her for hours.
Her hand moves with an expert firmness and pace, knowing exactly how to take me to the edge, and I find myself once more so very close to that blissful release, my only respite.
But my orgasm remains out of reach, and through my frustration, I barely register Leonora’s words as she says, “You don’t need those dwellings on Earth anyway.
Your home is here. But if burning down everything you own on Earth doesn’t ferret out your brothers, I’ll keep going.
Everywhere their scent lingers, everywhere their magic has left a mark … the world will burn, Malik.”
Shit. I have to warn my brothers. I have to …
I recognize the punch of Leonora’s power, and still, I can do nothing to stop it as tingling bliss fizzes low in my belly.
My orgasm is right there. I stare down at my goddess, at her breasts swaying with her pumping hand, at her luscious lips parted in pleasure, at the marks my beast left on her body.
I’m right on the edge, but I can’t … More.
I need more. Just once more. I need to come once more, then I’ll …
The warmth of Leonora’s body vanishes, but her magic remains on my skin like an oily stain.
Her laughter floats around the now empty room, and I grimace, scowling at my hard and aching cock, disgusted at myself.
Every time, I tell myself that next time I’ll resist. And every time, I give in to the pleasure. I’m a weak, no–good alpha. I …
Fuck.
The warm buzz of Leonora’s magic muddles my mind, but I shake my head, desperate to clear away the haze of lust. Think. I need to think. I need to warn my brothers. Askari will help me.
My beast pushes his voice through the thick layer of Leonora’s magic. “Maybe if that wolverine is still here, she can get a message to them. That way we won’t have to ask Askari to endanger himself again.”
“And you’d endanger our mate?”
He grins at me, catching the slip, but I ignore it as he asks, “What danger? Leonora doesn’t know Amri was even here. Using the wolverine to get a warning to our brothers is the safest and smartest option.”
I hum, acknowledging he’s right. And then I realize my hand is still firmly wrapped around my hard cock.
Amri.
Visions of her slender tattooed throat undulating under my hand as she swallows fill my mind. I can’t stop thinking about how she held my gaze as I choked her. She’s crazy.
My beast grins. “Crazy enough to love us, broken pieces and all?” Despite the cocky lilt to his voice, there’s a vulnerability in him that borders on hope.
I can’t deal with that right now. I can’t allow myself to hope. I can’t allow myself to want. But neither can I seem to banish the enforcer from my mind. Her pink lips. Her confidence. Her toned body. Her grin. Her … kindness in the face of me rejecting her.
Fuck!
I spin, slamming a hand against the bookcase as I hunch over myself, pumping my cock.
I stroke myself hard and fast as I think about all the things I want to do to that enforcer.
My barbs tickle and scratch along my foreskin as I jerk myself off.
Pleasure builds low in my belly, sparking, exploding.
I bite my lip as my orgasm finally crashes over me.
My release splashes on the spines of the books still on the shelves, but I keep my cock in hand because the pheromone-soaked magic driving this throbbing desire doesn’t go away with my orgasm.
I’m still hard, pulsing with the need to come again.
With a growl, I buck into my fist, spitting on my cock.
Wood cracks and splinters under my grip, and the shelf I’m holding onto snaps in half.
Leonora’s scent still fills the room, but it’s not my goddess I smell.
No, my fantasy of Amri is so visceral, when I inhale, it’s her …
leather, sunshine, and fresh mountain air.
The remembered scent of my mate tips me over the edge once more, and I groan, my strokes almost punishing as my orgasm sends sparks across my skin.
I sigh, slumping against the broken bookcase, finally feeling a bit more under control.
But as I straighten, I realize I’m still hard.
With a frown, I weave a quick sign, relieved when a small sip of my magic responds.
With the restrictions Leonora has on me, I never know which spells will work and which ones won’t.
My frown deepens as I see it. The spell Leonora left behind on my skin.
With a frustrated huff, I summon clothing and tuck my erect cock into the waistband of my briefs before striding from the room. This isn’t the first time Leonora has used a spell to keep me hard. I’ll just have to ignore it as best I can until she decides to end my punishment.
As I walk down the halls, avoiding eye contact with shifters that pass by, I almost … almost wish I hadn’t let go of Amri’s fate thread, then I’d know if she was still here somewhere. I’d be able to find her mind with ease. I’d be able to …
With another deep sigh, I find and reach for Askari’s mind. “I need your help.”
“I’ll meet you at our place in the south garden in five minutes, Alpha.”
Not for the first time, I think of how much I’ve depended on Askari these past few months.
I pause in the middle of the hallway, shame slapping me in the face.
Have I ever called on Askari and not asked something of him?
He’s always coming to me, offering comfort, an ear to listen, a shoulder to lean on, but me? I only call him when I need something.
Just another point hammering home the fact that I’m not good enough to be his alpha.
Stars, I want to be his alpha.
My beast gives me a sharp bark in my mind. “He accepts us as we are, but we can also work on supporting him more, yes?”
I nod with determination. My panther is right. We will do better by Askari. My instinct tells me he’s the beta meant for me, and I want that bond between us so badly, but …
It’s too terrifying to allow myself to want something for me, knowing Leonora will take it away in the most painful way possible. Still, I pick up my pace, long strides taking me through the palace towards the only light I have in this place.
My beta.