Page 177 of Evil Hearts

Chapter 4

S he moved closer, her claws brushing against the cut she’d made on my chest. I shuddered at the touch, the cold sting of her claws a sharp contrast to the heat rising beneath my skin. Her glowing eyes flared, and the air around us seemed to pulse with her presence, with something alive and unrelenting.

“You are mine now,” she murmured, her voice curling low as her claws slid lower, dragging lightly over my ribs.

“To seal the bond,

to weave the thread,

with mortal breath,

and shadow wed.”

My heart thundered in my chest as she pressed closer, the warmth of her body bleeding into mine. Her wings folded around us like a cage, shutting out the world until there was nothing left but her—the sharp lines of her smile, the glint of her talons, the haunting hum of her voice.

Her lips brushed against my neck, soft and deliberate, and I sucked in a breath as heat flared under my skin. Her claws trailed down to my waistband, hooking into it with a strength that left no room for hesitation.

“This is how it must be,” she murmured, her song slipping into a low hum as her gaze burned into mine. “The bond is not just words. It is flesh, breath, fire. Do you still consent, little lamb?”

“Yes,” I said, the word slipping out before I could stop it.

Her smile widened, sharp and knowing, and she pulled me closer, her body pressing against mine. Her lips captured mine in a kiss that was both searing and consuming, a jolt that stole the air from my lungs. She tasted like the edge of a storm, electric and wild, and I couldn’t stop myself from leaning into her, from giving in to the pull of her.

Her claws moved against my skin, not cutting but close enough to remind me of her power. Her hands guided mine to her waist, the curve of her body fitting against mine in a way that felt impossibly right and impossibly wrong all at once.

Her song rose again, a low, haunting melody that echoed through me, wrapping around my chest like a chain.

“The threads entwine,

the hearts align,

the mortal bound to shadow’s sign.

No longer lamb,

no longer prey,

but bound in night,

till break of day.”

The words weren’t just sounds—they sank into my skin, into my blood, into every part of me. I could feel her power pulsing between us, something dark and alive that tied us together, that consumed the space where we ended and began.

She pushed me back against the stone, her wings spreading wide as she straddled me, her claws tracing lines down my chest that burned like fire. Her movements were deliberate, her body a force that demanded everything I had to give.

“You are mine now,” she whispered again, her lips brushing against my ear, her claws tightening against my hips. “Say it.”

“I’m yours,” I said, my voice raw, my body trembling beneath her.

Her song, a mixture of joy and agony, ancient and immutable, soared as her smile grazed my skin, swallowing us both in its crescendo. The bond surged between us, locking us together in a way that felt both terrifying and perfect, a pull that I knew I’d never escape—and didn’t want to.

I was no longer just a man chasing a cure—I was a man who had walked into the heart of darkness and found something that both terrified and excited me beyond measure. The Harpy rode me with an intensity that left no room for doubt; I was hers, completely and irrevocably.

Her wings flared, a shimmering dark canopy catching the faint glow of otherworldly light on her skin. She moved with a rhythm that was both wild and precise, each thrust of her hips a testament to her power. I could feel the muscles inside her, tight and slick with a heat that bordered on searing, a sensation that was nothing like anything I had ever known.

The feel of her, the alien strength in her thighs as she rose and fell on me, the way her body seemed to devour mine—it was overwhelming. My hands slipped over the softness of her feathers, tracing the outline of her wings where they met her back, feeling the play of muscle and sinew that were unlike any human contours.

She was hot, so hot, and so wet that I was lost in the sensation, in the way her body seemed to mold perfectly around me. There was no shame in admitting she was beyond anything I had ever known. Her inhuman strength and grace, the way her movements and muscles gripped me, brought me to a place where nothing else existed.

Her talons scored into the skin of my hips, and I arched into her touch, aching for more. Her eyes, those glowing, mesmerizing orbs, held mine as she rode me, her breath mingling with my own in a dance as old as time.

I felt the tension coiling inside me, a storm that threatened to break free. Her wings enveloped us, blocking out the world, and I was swallowed by the sensation of her—her scent, her heat, the intoxicating song that poured from her lips as she moaned and screamed.

I reached up to touch her face, my fingers tracing the sharp lines of her cheekbones, her jaw, the softness of her lips. She was a creature of contradictions, a being of beauty and terror, and in that moment, she was mine as much as I was hers.

Her song took on a new intensity, a melody that seemed to pulse through my very soul. I could feel the bond between us, a connection that was both unbreakable and as delicate as the finest thread. It was a moment of surrender, of raw and unbridled need, and when I finally let go, it was with a cry that seemed to echo through the cavernous lair.

Her movements slowed, her body shuddering against mine as she rode out the waves of her own release. She collapsed against me, her wings folding around us like a living cloak, her breath hot against my neck.

We lay there in the aftermath, the echoes of our passion still reverberating through the air. The Harpy lifted her head, her eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that spoke of things yet to come.

“You are mine,” she whispered, her voice a low, throaty purr that sent shivers down my spine. “Now and forever.”