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“Fuck,” I whisper, long and drawn out like the spell of euphoria still resonating through my core, wetting me so thoroughly.

Nowmy voice works?

He manifests the lowest chuckle from deep in his chest, reveling in the way he has me at his mercy. I convince myself I don’t feel teeth tugging at my earlobe, frosty lips dragging down my cheek. I can’t do the same when his slow motion and long breaths shift into the sudden angling of his head. He bites my jaw like a starved beast, teeth and tongue on my skin. Pain and pleasure collide and anchor at my slick center.

His scent pulls me into the darkest depths of the earth, burying me in him. I let out an awful sound, somewhere between a moan and a squeal, all command of myself lost in lust. I’m light and heavy at once, desire and denial battling for the upper hand. Then his lips hover over my mouth.

And it’s excruciating. “Are you going to kiss me or bite me again? Pick one and get the fuck on with it.”

He smashes his palms into my arms. “Give me a godsdamn minute.”

His cagey eyes fixed on mine, he drops lower, his closeness pushing past the loneliness, filling the holes in my heart and mending the scars on my soul. My thighs squeeze his sides, and I clutch the carpet fibers in my fists.

A minute is a fucking eternity.

Hot air warms my face. Shaky, hungry breaths. His lips brush mine, the lightest touch of skin on skin, of him and me.

Then something inside him snaps. He pulls back, eyes flaring.

I stare into his growing pupils until his words seep into my consciousness, tearing me away from the false escape. His face contorts with alarm. “Get your boots. We’re going.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

He releases my arms and climbs off, his bare feet brushing over my bruised toes. A rush of cold air cushions the blow. Confusion and anger crisscross his forehead. His huge figure stands over me, one hand adjusting his stiff cock. “Now.”

I stay flat on the floor, breathing through the internal chaos and trying to calm my dueling heart while Eli paces around the room, hands laced atop his head.

Chapter

Twenty-Nine

The polished moons give off more light than made it through the shingles of the house. We work our way through the dense trees, moving southeast. The night air numbs my nose and ears, and the wind picks up, swirling around me while I run through the earlier events.

I’m not surprised that Eli acts like he wants me, only to pull away and toss me aside. That’s what happens once someone gets a glimpse of the real me.Put up your walls, hun, Cam would say.No one wants to see what’s behind them.

But I don’t know what possessed me to take off that man’s boots, or what part of me insists on noticing every shift in his face, every ripple of muscle. What part makes me want to take him apart and know everything about him.

Milo, Kaleida and Sypher were in the castle when we returned from the house, red-faced and out of breath. They walk with us now, all in their jumpsuits and boots.

“You should have left her at the castle. It’s not safe,” Milo says, his long legs easily keeping up with Eli’s pace. “Someone could see her.”

“Nobody ever crosses the ravine,” Eli says, pulling me along by my arm.

“But they could.” Kaleida places a hand on his broad shoulder, an affectionate touch. “We’re not under the protection of your house anymore.”

“I know,” he says. “I need a godsdamn break from that place and that fucking clearing.”

For once, I agree with him, despite the painful steps that make me regret kicking the door.

Milo pushes forward and steps in front of Eli. The usual softness of his face is gone, his golden brows angled, lips thin. “Take her back, Eli. You’ll regret this.”

Eli tugs me to his side. “I’m not leaving her behind for someone to let loose again.” He gives Sypher a pointed look with the darkest of eyes and shoves past Milo.

No one questions him again.

A half hour later, Eli passes me off to Kaleida, and I peer over the edge of a ravine. Trees on both sides lean inward, branches and foliage overlapping in the center and creating a ceiling along the length of the ravine as far as I can see. A frothy torrent claps against the steep banks below. It’s breathtaking—and a tadterrifying after only seeing city streets and the forest my whole life.

“Eli may be reckless, as usual, but at least you’re getting out,” Kaleida says, surveying the view.