Page 11 of Desired for Her Blood

“Axe—”

I leap up.

Her voice brought me back to reality, and I move as far away from her as this small alcove allows, pressing into the stone in darkness. Then I realize that I have no idea whether her magic, especially after drinking Ryker’s blood, lets her see in the dark.

“Where are you?” she calls, staring into the darkness, and I watch as she breathes, her body seeming to react to my presence. I don’t think she can see me, she’s not looking in the right direction, but if her powers let hersmellme, or hear my breathing…

“I was worried about you,” she says softly.

“Aboutme?” I grunt. She was the one who was unconscious, the one who almost drowned, who I almost raped… My chest caves.

“Of course I was worried about you.” She steps forward. “When I regained consciousness, you were gone.” She continues to take small steps toward me.

“I stayed,” I tell her, “until I was sure you were alive.”

“I wasn’t accusing you of deserting me.” Reaching forward, she shakes her head. “Please. Axe. I need to know what you’re thinking. How you’re feeling.” Her voice cracks. “What Octavia did to us…”

Stopping, she rubs her legs together, swiveling her hips and fighting against an arousal that’s so palpable I can taste it.

She moves toward me again, the points of her nipples pressing out from under her damp t-shirt, her scent consuming me.

My cock throbs, urging me to take her into my arms, to pleasure her until her cunt is wet enough for my girth, to use my fingers inside her until she’s stretched wide enough for my hard rod.

I gasp. Since taking my wife, my cock has not been inside another, and I haven’t even had thedesirefor such a thing, but Ember…

I can’t trust these feelings. She’s a witch.

She takes another few steps, so close now it’s too late for me to move, so close she must feel my heat even though no parts of us are touching. She’s so close the dangerous lure of her makes my heart and cock pound.

“Axe.” Her hand stretches forward.

I crush myself back against the stone wall, but I can’t escape her fingers as they discover my chest, landing near the center and sliding softly upward from there.

For a moment I’m frozen, like a deer or rabbit hoping its predator can only see movement.

“Axe,” she says softly, tentatively, clearly sensing my tension.

I move away, leaping to the far corner of the space, and her hand falls against the stone where I was.

She turns, looking for me. “What’s wrong?” her voice breaks.

I want to tell her, but my jaw is locked and the hate inside me screams not to trust my feelings, that if I admit anything she’ll use it against me. That her magic will trick me into lowering my guard.

“I know how you feel about magic,” she says tentatively. “What Octavia did to you was horrible. And she did it to me too. I know how bad it felt.” She looks down. “But I’m sure it was so much worse for you.”

“You stopped her.” I say, my voice carrying more gravel than I intend.

Turning toward my voice, she shakes her head. “I didn’t… Okay, Ryker and Zuben think that I did too, but I… If I did, I don’t know how.”

“You told me you didn’t have magic.”

She gasps, and then her body crumples, her eyes filling with tears. She drops down into a crouch, head in her hands as she sobs.

My heart shatters, its remaining shards stabbing all my harsh feelings and fears. Rushing forward, I pull her up against me, enveloping her shivering body inside the cocoon of my arms, holding her so tightly I fear that I haven’t given her lungs room to breathe.

But her small body expands and contracts as she sobs.

“I don’t know who I am anymore.” Her voice cracks. “I don’t knowwhatI am, Axe. I’m so afraid…”