Page 29

Chapter 28

Vareck

Anticipation hummed in my blood.

Meera waited in the bedroom while I finished washing myself. The distance between us was the only thing keeping me from losing my fucking mind. I needed a moment to think beyond the unbearable ache in my cock. My body reacted to every little sound she made, every breathy moan, every scrape of her nails against my chest.

I stepped out of the tub, water sluicing down every inch of my skin. I snagged the folded towel to dry myself off.

Meera thought I wasn’t affected. If I wasn’t so fucking desperate for her, I might have laughed. What the little vixen didn’t realize, is that I had been on pixie dust before. Only a handful of times, but not once had I ever felt this level of burning need.

It spoke volumes that my eyes had changed, my fury this close to the surface when we hadn’t done much more than kiss. Kaia was the only one alive that had seen the shift in me before. Ever since my father’s demise, I worked hard to gain control of myself, and it .

Meera was systematically undoing that without even realizing.

My heart hadn’t slowed, despite the minutes that passed. That concerned me. If I lost it and bit her . . . no. No . That wouldn’t happen.

Neither me nor the fury that lived deep inside me would betray her trust like that. Even in the throes of passion I would keep my head. I had to.

I dropped the towel and stepped into the bedroom. Meera’s wanton noises drew my attention. The light from the flickering fire cast a warm glow over her body. Without a stitch of clothing, she was an absolute vision, sprawled out on the large mattress, legs bent with the soles of her feet on the bed.

She was temptation incarnate, and I was starving .

Each step I took was more hurried than the last as I stalked toward her. Meera’s face turned toward me, her wide eyes glowing emerald green.

“I want you inside me.”

Her persuasion, even dulled by the Faerie dust, called to me, wrapping around my senses like a vice.

Thank the gods her magic was weakened.

“Shhh,” I whispered, leaning down to kiss her softly. Her lips chased mine when I pulled away. “I’m going to take care of you.”

The green of her eyes didn’t fade in the slightest as she tracked my every movement. I stopped at the foot of the bed, taking in her waiting form. With her legs spread and nipples peaked, I couldn’t imagine a better sight.

“Vareck,” she ground out, back arching off the bed. “It hurts .”

I paused, schooling my reaction. While pixie dust was an aphrodisiac, and it was clearly hitting her harder than most, it shouldn’t be that bad.

Easing onto the bed, I settled between her thighs. My fingers pressed into her supple skin, stretching her further. I loved the way they dimpled under my touch. She was so soft, but not fragile. I didn’t worry I would break her with my ardor.

She reached for me with both hands as she tried to sit up. I moved one hand to her stomach, holding her down. My breath ghosted over her glistening arousal. I traced the tip of my tongue around her clit and couldn’t help the satisfaction that ran through me when she jerked.

Fingers laced through my hair then pulled taut.

“I’m going to make it feel better.”

That was the only warning I gave her.

Meera writhed beneath me. Needy moans rent the air. Her scent—her taste—pushed me further to my edge.

I realized right then that I was in deep fucking trouble because I would do anything for this woman. Seeing her this way—in the flesh and begging for me—was everything I wanted.

Not the crown. Not the power.

Even my guilt about the curse faded away in her presence.

I don’t know what the future held for us after this, but I knew one thing. I wasn’t letting her go. She was it for me.

If Meera wasn’t all in, then I’d just have to convince her.

Starting now.

Her back arched off the bed as I pushed my middle finger into her tight channel. “You’re soaked for me,” I rumbled.

Meera’s thighs trembled, her telltale sign that she was close. I blew on her clit, thrusting my finger in and out of her. She detonated.

Her lips opened and closed as she gasped. I added a second finger. Her muscles clamped down. The hands in my hair clenched tighter. Nails that were sharper than I recalled scraped across my scalp.

She was just starting to come down from her high when I pulled out of her. If she wasn’t wet enough for me before, she was now. Normally I would be happy to eat her for hours. Bringing her pleasure gave me immense satisfaction, but it did nothing to soothe the restless monster in me.

I climbed up her body, moving my forearms to either side of her head so I didn’t crush her beneath my weight. “You still with me, Meera?”

She hummed against my shoulder, pressing soft, open-mouthed kisses against my neck. Her teeth grazed my skin. I stilled. Fuck. I’d been so worried about myself losing control that it didn’t even occur to me that she might.

I tried to pull back just a fraction so that she couldn’t easily bite me. I underestimated the woman’s ferocity and her fae instincts because she lunged.

Teeth pressed against my skin, locking down. I barely flinched, but my cock sure as hell did. Her fangs threatened to puncture my skin. I wanted that. There was no point in lying to myself when I’d made up my mind.

Meera didn’t, though. Not yet and not under the influence of pixie dust. Which left me with no choice.

“Let go.”

A sharp, desperate whine went through her, but she yielded to my persuasion. When her hold on my head didn’t get me to move closer, she let out a frustrated sigh and moved her hands to my shoulders.

“Why won’t you let me?” She groaned, moving her hips against mine. My shaft slid against her wetness, applying pressure to her clit.

“Because I promised to take care of you,” I said gruffly. “Which means no biting .” I prayed to whatever gods were out there that my persuasion held. Meera’s powers were dampened because of the dust, but so were mine. The only difference was she couldn’t think beyond the lust at all. Her attempt to bite me—bind me—proved that.

She wrapped her legs around my waist, the thickness of her thighs holding tightly against me, her nails pressing into my shoulder. I could feel the growl that was building in her chest. Apparently she was a vicious little thing when she didn’t get her way. I hadn’t seen this side of her because I always let her do whatever she wanted in our dreams.

But this was reality, and her biting to claim would have very real consequences that I wasn’t sure she was ready for yet.

“I’m burning,” she moaned, the sharpness of her nails breaking the skin. Sweat glistened at the base of her throat.

She needed relief, and she needed it now .

“I wish I could be gentle,” I rasped, angling my hips to notch the head of my cock at her entrance. “But you’re not the only one that’s too far gone. Tell me if it’s too?—”

“Fuck me.”

I slammed inside her. My head dropped to where her neck met her shoulder as I groaned. Meera clenched around me.

I slid out, savoring the friction of skin on skin.

“Gods, you’re perfect.” The floral scent in her hair was nice, but it wasn’t what I wanted. Something about that agitated my fury, making me thrust back into her harder.

Meera cried out, losing herself in the fervor.

I licked a path up the column of her throat, the taste of her sweat and skin soothing me. I sucked on a patch of flesh. She jerked beneath me. Nails pierced my skin as she raked them down my back. The violence of it spurred me on. My hips set a brutal pace that made her gasp and moan.

“Yes,” she hissed. “Right. There.”

She spasmed around me, pushing me to the edge of my release. I gritted my teeth to hold it at bay while she strangled my cock.

The second her orgasm let up, I reached back to wrap my fingers around the back of her knee, forcing her to release me. Her body went lax as her eyes fluttered open.

An expression I’d never seen on her before crossed her features. Her hazel eyes opened wide, almost like she was in shock. Her parted lips trembled. I summoned the tiny bit of tenderness left in me to brush my thumb over the apple of her cheek. Meera shuddered.

“You . . .” she breathed. “We . . .”

I sat back on my haunches and fisted my shaft, squeezing my base to force the orgasm back. “Get on your knees. Press your face to the mattress.”

She swallowed, not moving, as if stuck in a trance.

“Now, Meera.”

Her body rolled fluidly to her stomach. I lifted her hips, bringing her to her knees. “Hands behind your back,” I commanded. This time she obeyed without question.

I held her wrists in one hand and her hip in the other. In a single thrust, I entered her, sinking deep. I groaned, taking in the woman beneath me. Her cheek pressed against the duvet. Every inch of her beautiful form was on display. I started to pull back, only to pause.

Where there should have been nails, instead were claws. Soot blackened her fingertips to the first knuckle, then tapered off into her soft skin color.

Meera had questioned if she was part human. I’d doubted it based on her strength, but the proof of it was now undeniable.

I didn’t know what she was, but it wasn’t human . . . and it wasn’t fae.

Smudges of red stained her lower back. I recalled the way she’d scratched my back. The sting was still there, dampened by the arousal that was steadily pulling me under. Whatever she was would have to wait.

“Vareck,” Meera moaned.

My gaze snapped to hers. The strange look from before was gone, replaced with a feverish need. I slammed into her, reveling in the way she tightened around me. My heart rate kicked up. A haze descended over me.

I didn’t want to hurt her, but you wouldn’t know it from the way I fucked her. Meera’s sweet sounds filled the room, mostly unintelligible, as I plunged in and out of her.

I couldn’t stop, even if I wanted to. She felt so good. So right.

“It’s like you were made for me,” I rumbled.

The need to ruin her was instinctual. Primal. I had to take, and take, and take—until there was nothing left for her to give to anyone else. No piece of her that craved another. I would break us both apart to rebuild something precious. Our pieces would fuse together until she couldn’t bear to leave me.

My cock jerked. The release slammed into me with the power of a god. Meera followed after me with a scream. I rocked my hips shallowly, needing to ride every last wave inside her.

I let go of her hands to wrap my arm around her waist. I rolled us to the side without separating. Bliss settled over me even though the pixie dust was far from done with us both.

I almost didn’t notice.

“You’re—” I broke off, trying to form the words, but what I was feeling, it was impossible. There was no way . . . and yet the magic couldn’t be denied. It was like a blind man seeing the sun for the first time. It was the start of spring after an endless winter. I finally understood why Meera looked shocked. What she was trying to say before. “My mate.”

I hadn’t bitten her, but it didn’t matter. Meera wasn’t a chosen mate. We were fated, even if I hadn’t claimed her.

So much made sense now.

The dreams. The way I hunted for her. My inability to let her go.

I tightened my hold, pressing a kiss to her temple. I didn’t know how it was possible. I also didn’t care. This beautiful, funny woman was mine.

Meera shifted, slowly rocking her hips against me. “I need you,” she groaned. The husky lilt of her voice was all it took for me to harden once more.

I thrust into her slowly, reveling in the way we came together.

This was going to be a long fucking night.

And gods help me, I was going to give her everything .