Page 197

Sybil’s sobs only grow louder, and I pull her back in for another hug.

The two of us hold each other for several minutes.

“Sybil.” Sawyer’s voice is low, rumbly, as he approaches us. “The car is here.” He lays a hand on my friend’s shoulder and runs his thumb over a patch of skin that causes a full-body shiver to course through Sybil. “We need to get you back. It’s not safe for you to be out here before you have mastered your shifts.”

What’s this now?

Sybil looks horrified as she pulls away from me. “I would never…” But as she speaks, her body spasms a little.

Sawyer steps in a little closer, and he makes a soft rumbling sound that causes my friend to relax. “Of course you wouldn’t. I would make sure both you and your best friend were safe.”

My eyes move between the two of them, and only now do I realize that the sweet embrace Memnon and I saw between Sybil and Sawyer a moment ago might’ve been more than just simple physical contact. Sawyer might’ve been containing her in case she accidentally shifted.

My best friend’s chin trembles, and I hate how fragile she appears. “Selene.” Her voice is hoarse with emotion. “The pack is going to keep me sequestered away until the next Sacred Seven. Apparently, this first month for witches can be…difficult.” Tears well in her eyes, and she looks scared. Everything she endured today couldn’t have helped that.

But the pack Sawyer is a part of is good, and I know they will take care of my friend until I can see her again. The weeks will go by in a blink of an eye, I reassure myself.

I tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “You’re a badass. You’ll do great. I’m sure of it.”

Sybil’s eyes flit over my tattered dress and the puckered flesh of my forearms. “You’re okay?” she asks tentatively.

I nod and give her a tight smile. “I’m fine.”

She frowns but then forces out her own smile. “I’m so relieved.” She swallows, and her eyes are welling again. “You should go home, Selene,” she says, her voice hoarse with emotion. “It’s freezing out here. We can talk more later.” As she speaks, Sawyer begins to gently steer her away from me and toward a car parked behind the ambulances.

“I’m holding you to that,” I call out after her.

I stand there, watching as Sybil and Sawyer head toward their waiting ride. Memnon comes to my side then, one of his arms draping comfortingly around my shoulders.

“Hey, Selene,” Sybil calls out over her shoulder. She pauses to turn back to me. “Seven other supernaturals were saved from bonds tonight.Youdid that. Not the Politia, not even the shifters.You. I hope you know how proud I am to be yourfriend.” She flashes me a shaky smile and another tear leaks from my face. “Now get out of here, you freak,” she says fondly, “before you catch your death.”

CHAPTER 52

The next morning,I wake to hands on my thighs. Those fingers dig into my skin.

Good morning, fiancée.

Memnon punctuates the words with a searing kiss to my clit, and I wake with a gasp. I nearly rise off the bed.

Memnon smiles against my sensitive flesh.

“I’ve decided,est amage, that as your husband, I’m going to make you come on my tongue at least once a day—maybe twice.”

“What?” I say dazedly. Last night returns to me then, but Memnon’s touch quickly eclipses the memories.

I begin to sit up, but the sorcerer pushes my torso back down, hauling my hips up closer to him.

“And since you can no longer command me,” he continues, “I’m going to control the pace of your orgasms, starting right now.”

Before I can respond or even come to grips with the fact that Memnon is holding my legs and ass like it’s his favorite teddy bear, the sorcerer kisses my clit again.

I cry out, my hands threading into his hair.

Memnon single-mindedly sucks on my clit, his tongue stroking the overly sensitive knot of flesh again and again.

The feeling is overwhelming.

Sensation is rising in me, and my core clenches uselessly.