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Chapter

Thirty-Five

GRIM

“ T his is bloody ridiculous. We’ve been over it more than once,” I grumbled under my breath as I stormed down the hall toward Merri’s quarters. “You say you can take care of yourself, but I don’t see any evidence of that. And if you act like a child, I’m going to treat you like one.”

I stood outside of her door, glaring at the wood as if it had personally offended me. She’d been hiding from us for days. At first, I’d thought Chaos had gone against my wishes and spoken to her, but he, along with the others, had sworn she was avoiding them as well. It had gone so far that she actively left a room if one of us walked in.

Death was not one to be ignored.

I did the ignoring until the time was right. That didn’t change, no matter how pretty the subject might have been.

With an annoyed huff, I reached for the knob, pausing before I turned it. She could be in the middle of filming. If she was feeding, I didn’t want to interrupt her. The last glimpse I’d gotten of her had revealed deep purple smudges beneath her eyes and formerly vibrant ruby hair that had lost its luster. The time she was able to safely go between her feedings had dropped significantly. None of us understood exactly why her window of power was closing rather than getting wider, but there was no denying our little succubus was starving. She was on the verge of collapse once more. I’d seen it firsthand in my penthouse and had promised myself I’d never let her get this way again. But here I was, breaking that promise.

“Wildflower? Are you in here?” I called as I knocked. My heart ratcheted up when there was no answer. “Merri?”

Still nothing.

I flung the door open, suddenly terrified I’d find her slumped over her desk or in a limp pile on the floor.

“Merri. Where are you?”

Apprehension danced across my skin as the weight of silence filled her room. My gaze raked across every corner, and when I didn’t find her, I rushed into the attached bathroom, expecting to find her unconscious in the tub.

Nothing.

She wasn’t there.

“Where the fuck are you?”

Dangerously close to spiraling completely out of control, I reached for the hairbrush resting on the basin. Before giving into my panic, I needed to assure myself whether there was true need for it. Plucking one long strand of hair from its bristles, I sent a little tendril of my power to it, testing it for advanced signs of decay. In other words, I was checking for evidence that death was waiting in the wings. If anyone would sense it, it would be me.

Reassured, I left the bathroom and began making my way out of her boudoir, but a flash of red from the window caught my eye, and I stopped in my tracks. It was her, outside in the maze with the fucking groundskeeper. If he wasn’t careful, she’d drain him dry at this rate.

It had been too long since I’d last got to look my fill of her. Even in her current state, she was stunning. Though her cheeks were far too hollow and I could make out the rise of her collarbones beneath her thin shirt. Merri needed to feed. Why was she punishing herself?

Why is she punishing us?

Because she’s a stubborn brat who needs to be taught a lesson.

Knowing that the dreamwalk was real. That she’d been there with me, on her knees, calling me Daddy while all but choking on my dick had done something to my brain. Clearly, she didn’t know what was good for her, or if she did, she was ignoring the truth. But I knew. I knew exactly what she needed: Her Daddy to make damn sure she got everything she required.

It looked like I was going to have to force the issue.

Keeping one eye on her, I absently reached for a scarf she’d slung on her desk. Lifting it to my nose, I breathed deeply of her unique scent. My body reacted instantly, my dick coming to life behind my fly. All it took for my body to react was a fleeting thought of her these days, but that fragrance was like a lightning bolt of lust.

Again I took a deep breath, needing another hit of her. The result was the same. My balls were now aching for release.

“Fuuuck, baby girl. If you would let me feed you, I’d be the best meal you ever had,” I rasped as I opened my belt and began to work my zipper down.

My fucking cock was a throbbing length of steel, and it needed attention. Lucky for me, I had Merri’s perfume scented scarf at the ready. A little bit of her to help ease the ache. I’d only just wrapped my hand around the base of my shaft when it happened. Merri smiled at that rodent.

Absolutely fucking not, wildflower.

Your smiles are for us.

I cast a glance at her bed, so soft and inviting, just like her. She needed a reminder of who she had at the ready, just waiting to give her sustenance. Four of the most powerful men in history. Not a sniveling little Frenchman who didn’t know his arse from a hole in the ground.

Shoving my trousers and boxer briefs down my hips in one rough move, I set my sights on a new task. I wouldn’t only use her scarf to find release for myself; I’d leave my pheromones all over her bed. The succubus in her wouldn’t be able to resist such a strong echo of sexual energy. She’d have to give in and feed.

If she insisted on running from us, fine. I’d chase her. There was no escaping from Death. Not once he set you in his sights.

Tossing the scarf on the bed, I crawled across the duvet, taking extra time to rub my face along the blanket as I made my way up to the pillows. Her pillows. Fuck, this whole bed smelled like her.

I rolled my pelvis into the fabric, the image of Merri spreading her sweet thighs for me filling my mind. The subtle friction had me biting back a groan, my hand grabbing for one of her pillows as I did it again. God, this was as much for me as it was her. It had been too long since I’d found my pleasure because I’d been waiting, saving it, for her.

“Oh fuck.”

The thought of Merri coming back to her room, of finding the present I was leaving her, spurred me on.

“What are you going to do when you smell me all over your sheets, wildflower? Will you touch yourself and think of me?”

My words were just a harsh whisper as I rolled on my back and brought the pillow to my mouth. Reaching down, I stroked my cock, precum spreading over the head and down the shaft as my arousal grew to near-painful heights.

I thrust into my hand, pretending it was her tight cunt as my climax loomed ever closer. This wasn’t going to last much longer, but it didn’t need to. In fact, it would probably be for the best if I was able to flee the scene of the crime as soon as possible.

“God, Merri. Do you taste as good as you smell? I need to fucking know.”

With another tortured groan, I rolled back onto my hands and knees, bracing myself just above her duvet. The scarf was close enough to my face that it was catching the soft pants of my breath. I bit down, taking it into my mouth and nearly suffocating myself in her scent, pretending that it was her I was drinking in.

Once again the hit of her scent had me near feral. I continued to roll my hips into the pillow that was now lodged firmly beneath me.

I could hear her moans and whimpers as though they were real. The sound of my Merri making herself feel good was something I could never forget and something I’d always be able to conjure at will.

“Fuck, you’re such a bad girl, teasing me by flirting with that other man.” I thrust hard, balls tightening at the thought of spanking her into submission. “You’ll take your punishment, wildflower. You’ll take every fucking thing I have to give.”

Her voice from my dream flashed into my mind, the words sending me over the edge. “Am I forgiven, Daddy?”

I came with a ragged groan, hips pistoning into her bedding as jets of cum shot across the fabric, rubbing into my skin and soaking the pillowcase. She would know I’d been here. There was no way to hide it. But I didn’t fucking want to. My girl was hungry, and I’d just rung the dinner bell.

“Come and get it, wildflower.”