Page 38 of A Cursed Bite (Bound to the Enduar #1)

VANN

O ur eyes meet across the clearing.

Arlet’s breath stutters, her chest rising and falling. The flush of exertion paints her cheeks.

She gestures me forward, and I shake my head, remembering the warning from the others.

I see the exact moment she decides to break away.

And, somehow, no one notices.

The witches are lost to the rhythm. Their bodies twist—hands grasping the air and feet pounding the earth in a fevered trance. The firelight pulses over their moving forms, their laughter curling into the night like mist. She could vanish, and they wouldn’t see. Wouldn’t care.

And she does.

She slips through them, her green and pink dress catching the light, flashing between bodies like a living ember. Then she’s in front of me, her fingers catching my bicep and searing my skin.

But instead of gratitude, her eyes blaze.

“You shouldn’t have come,” she breathes. “They told me it would be dangerous. Uncontrolled magic can quickly turn malevolent.”

“I wanted to make sure they didn’t hurt you.”

Her chest heaves and her pupils widen. She sways slightly when the rhythm shifts, as if the drumbeats had buried themselves beneath her skin.

As if they live inside her now.

She bites her lip, then smiles again.

“Then let’s get out of here before they see me with you,” she purrs.

Before I can speak, she grips my wrist and pulls.

No hesitation. No fear. Only movement.

“We need to be careful. They say it is dangerous without an escort,” I huff, bounding behind her.

“We won’t go into any houses or dark corners,” she responds over her shoulder.

The glow of exotic plants illuminates her bare shoulders and her unbound hair, which has curled in the humidity. She’s half-running, half-laughing as she moves.

I let her drag me deeper into the dark, past trees thick with hanging vines, the ground warm beneath our feet. When she finally stops, she turns to me, eyes gleaming in the low light.

"Do you remember what you said?" she murmurs.

I swallow hard. "I've said a lot of things to you."

“That I gave you back a piece of yourself.” She shakes her head, stepping closer, until I can feel the heat rolling off her skin. “I’ve never had anyone care about me the way you do. Never have I known someone to push me to be better. To voice what I want so they could… give it to me.”

My breath catches. I remember the feel of her coming apart as if she’d been crafted for my tastes. “I just—want you to be happy.”

She smiles so brightly I can hardly stand. “I am, Vann. And I want you to be happy to.”

“I… am.”

For a moment, she stares. Unraveling my soul. It makes my blood run hot—would make me lose my mind completely, if not for the guilt nagging in my gut.

And then she moves.

One second, she’s standing there, breathless and burning, and the next, her hands are in my hair .

Her lips crash into mine, wild and feverish, like she’s trying to drink in the night, the fire, everything.

Her nails scrape against my scalp as she exhales into my mouth, half-mad.

"Gods, it’s like I can still feel the drums in my skin,” she laughs.

She bites my bottom lip, not hard, but enough to make me feel. Enough to make my whole body seize and thaw at the same time.

And then—she’s gone.

Spinning away, arms high, feet kicking up the dirt.

She laughs, throwing her head back as she moves, the rhythm consuming her, owning her. Her hair whips around and her dress sways in time with the beat she makes.

I stand there, watching, wrecked.

”What are you doing, Firelocks?” My voice is rough, unsteady.

She smiles. “Dancing.”

Then, she steps back, slowly, her fingers slipping away.

Her hips roll, the motion subtle, hypnotic, and then her hands slide up the sides of her dress, skimming her waist, her ribs, before lifting to let her fingers trail through her hair.

I stand there, utterly frozen.

She’s playing with me.

“Your hands are still stained,” I rasp, eyes flicking to the plum-colored dye on her hands.

She lifts them, flexing her fingers, watching the way the color catches the moonlight. “You don’t like it?”

I growl, ignoring the voice that tells me to put distance between the two of us until I tell her the truth.

“I like everything on you.”

She steps closer again, tilting her head. “Then you should dance with me.”

I huff out a laugh. A part of me wants to, but another part has never seen her like this.

The last month has been torture for her. She’s been so afraid, but right now, she looks unburdened. Happy.

A part of me is acutely aware that the only reason I am graced with this moment is because, somehow, by a stroke of cosmic luck, she forgave me—my rudeness and coldness—and then chose to trust me.

“I would but you look so beautiful in this light.”

She grins. “Then you should watch.”

She twirls, slow at first, and then faster, her laughter curling around me like a spell. The fabric of her dress sways, the slit revealing the long, freckled stretch of her thigh.

Then she stops abruptly, her chest rising and falling as she watches me. “I want you again. Want this moment, this night of good news, to be marked by you.”

Her hands move to the knot at her shoulder, pulling it loose. The fabric shifts, the dress slipping slightly, baring more of her skin.

I go still.

“In the morning, the curse mark will be gone and we will leave together,” she murmurs, fingers brushing the strap off her shoulder. “I don’t want to go back to the Enduar Mountains and resume the life I had before. I want a new one. With you . Burn yourself onto my skin so that… matehood doesn’t matter anymore.”

My throat tightens.

Tell her.

She mistakes my pause for disagreement, and one of her steps falters. Unsure.

Absolutely fucking not.

I growl low in my throat, and reach out. My fingers wrap around her wrist, pulling her close, so close I can feel the heat of her breath against my jaw.

“You’re playing with fire, Arlet.”

She smiles, tilting her chin up, her lips inches from mine. “Burn me, mi cielo.”

Her gasp is lost in my mouth and her body molds against mine as I lift her and press her against the nearest tree. She clutches at me, legs wrapping around my waist and hands threading into my hair as the kiss deepens.

Grinning against her lips, I feel the heat pool between us. It is impossible not to savor the time I spend with her, free of pain .

She grinds against me once, and my tail wraps around the legs she’s crossed behind my ass.

It is impossible to not be insane with lust around her, and my cock strains at my pants, pressing against the spot between her legs.

She pulls back, eyes wide, hungry.

When we’d been together before, I’d denied her this part—hadn’t asked for anything more than to give her what she wanted. But now… she reaches down to undo the top laces of my clothing. She begins to rock as she undoes each tie, her mouth falling open and her breath turning to gasps.

I see white.

She's breathing heavily now—her cheeks flush pink.

I feel myself grow even harder at the sight.

"Can I touch you?" She whispers, licking her lips nervously. “Gods, have I dreamed about touching you. Causing your cock to go slick with your own seed. I want you to slide it between us. Inside me. Between my breasts. I want to smell so much like you that no man would come near. Your seed in my cunt. Your arm around my waist. A mark on my neck—two if you can manage.”

I groan, my eyes heavy-lidded as I push against her. She grinds again. “Please let me touch you.”

My hand goes around her neck. Begging, but in the most beautiful way. Begging for me. I would reward her for that.

“If you touch me now, I fear my plans for you won’t last as long as I’d hoped,” I grab her wrists again and she moans. Loud. “Do you know how long it has been since I laid with a woman?”

"How long?" she whispers, her voice just above a whisper as she looks at me with eyes full of lust and hope, wanting more.

"Half a century," I answer truthfully. "So let me savor this."

I move to undo the ties on her dress and feel a shiver run down her spine before my hands reach the last tie. "I was not even tempted by another, until you walked into the cave and shoved a finger in my face. You light me on fire. I've waited for this moment. For weeks, months… forever it feels like."

“Hate and desire feel confusingly similar,” she confesses as I slide my hands down her body. “Forgive me for being confused. ”

She touches me again, as if she can’t help herself. I grab her hand and hold it to my empty chest. I start to move, and she sucks in a sharp breath and squirms.

“Woman. I will need to hold you down unless you stop squirming,” I pant.

Her eyes go wide. “Then do.”

I blink.

Perfect, perfect creature.

“You are sure you want that?”

She places both hands on either side of my face.

“You are the man who promised me he would be the warmth of the sun on a winter morning.” She presses a kiss to my nose. “I ventured halfway around the world. I’ve faced every fear, even the ones that threatened to break me, and soon, it will be over. You have been there every step. Come down this path with me, too.”

As she speaks, I can feel my resolve weakening. Her words are a siren's song, and I'm powerless to resist.

“As you wish, Arlet,” I say. “But I won’t bind the knots so tight. We’ll go slow. I am going to savor you until you tell me to stop."

Her chest heaves with each erratic breath, but she doesn’t fight me. With her silken belt, I bind her hands and pull her arms above her head, securing them to the tree. She winced at the slight pull, but her eyes never left mine.

I lean down, my lips hovering over hers, and whispered into her ear, "I’ve got you—you are in my hands now, and you fit perfectly."

Another surge of lust flows through us as I kiss her again, our bodies pressed together. Her breasts rub against my chest.

Then I untie the final string of her dress. I run my hands down fabric, feeling the delicious curves beneath her dress and then finally… finally, I let my fingers glide over her skin.

I force myself to step back, instead deciding it is time to remove my own clothing.

I watch her as I begin to undress. I want her to see every part of me, know every inch. Her eyes rake hungrily over me as I pull off my shirt, revealing my labor-honed body, the faint scars that mark my years of service as a soldier .

She licks her lips.

Each movement brings the sound of rustling leaves and snapping twigs, until I stand before her, my tail twitching. In front of her stands a man transformed by time, both older and bolder than ever.

Her eyes widen as she takes in my cock, and something inside of me hums. I’d known her angry, sad, heartbroken, fiery, smart, and sleeping. But I hadn’t really seen enough of her like this. Wanton. Sensual. Unapologetic.

I approach the tree, trailing my finger over her skin as she stands there, legs spread for me and waiting.

“Does this hurt?” I ask, touching her arms.

She shakes her head.

“You look so fucking good tied up and waiting for me,” I praise. Then I cover her body with mine, kissing her again. She arches up. I begin to lay kisses along her neck, then trail downwards towards the valley between her breasts.

Each soft press of my lips and lick draws a sweet sound from her, urging me on. I am relentless in my pursuit. She is beauty incarnate, her light filling all empty corners of my empty chest

“Everything still all right?”

“Yes,” she pants. When my hands trail between her thighs, she’s soaked.

I feel like I’ve lost my mind. The possessive part of me rears its head again.

“I’m going to keep you forever, Arlet.”