Page 25
Wynter
“ G et into bed,” I tell Summer, jerking my chin toward the root-woven frame draped in moss and lined with ferns, built by my magic and set near the crackling fire.
Throughout dinner, I could barely speak as I fought the impulse to drag her to the ground and finish what we started by the river.
Even now, my words are slurred, my blood a hot ache in my veins, and the wolf within longs to shift and run through the woods, find something to kill, and crush this lust with an act of unrestrained violence.
Summer stares at the bed like I’ve just suggested she spend the night in a pit of writhing vipers.
“It’s safe,” I say, crossing my arms, mildly offended she doesn’t seem to appreciate my efforts. Or look even a little impressed. “My magic will keep crawling insects and small creatures at bay. You’ll be fine.”
“What about the larger ones?” she asks, arching a brow. The stars in the sky glitter behind her head like a crown of diamonds .
“Well they’ll have to get through me first, and I won’t let anyone or any thing harmful touch you. Ever.”
“Okay. Thank you. But why make only one?” she asks, grinning like a manic pixie.
“One what?” I rake my fingers through my hair, then my sluggish mind catches on. “Oh, bed . Well because—”
“Let me guess,” she interrupts. “Is it because we’ll be warmer if we sleep close?”
I sigh, bone weary and aching for the relief of sleep, if only to stop thinking about her. Remembering how she looked, her lips parting with a moan as she came apart in my arms. “Of course we’ll be warmer. But if you’d rather sleep on the ground and freeze, then by all means, do so.”
If she chooses the ground, I’ll be right there beside her, suffering in discomfort.
“I’m wondering how you’ll resist me, Wyn, if we’re lying close, breathing the same air,” she teases. “Because right now you’re staring at me like you’re imagining something delightfully wicked.”
The fire crackles and sparks swirl into the sky as I shake out a magic-woven blanket and drape it over the bed. “I’m actually picturing strangling you,” I say. “But thanks for assuming my intentions are only dishonorable rather than murderous.”
I swallow as she removes her cloak, revealing pale skin and a smile that makes me forget where I am. Or indeed, who I am.
“Your turn,” she says, lying back on the bed as if it’s no big deal, her T-shirt riding up just enough to fry my last sensible brain cell .
Moonlight catches the curve of her stomach like it has a personal vendetta against my self-control. I place my sword beside the bed and slide in next to her.
She doesn’t make room for me, and I find myself half lying on the hard ground.
“Can you move over a little?” I ask, her crisp, apple scent invading my senses.
“Sure. I can do that.”
When I settle my weight onto the bed, without warning, she lurches up and straddles my hips while I lie there blinking like an idiot, contemplating pushing her off. Which I should do. And I will. Yeah… soon.
“I don’t think this is good idea,” I manage, even as my hands betray me, my fingers curling around her hips.
“Remind me why we shouldn’t,” Summer says, leaning down to trail soft kisses along my neck, a curtain of dark hair blocking out everything but her delicious scent and warmth.
The wolf inside me roars to life, hungry for its mate. Desperate to flip her over. Pin her down. Make her mine.
She tilts her head up slightly, and her lips graze my jaw. My restraint hangs on by a fraying thread.
I take slow, deliberate breaths. Right. She wants reasons. And I did vow to make her happy. To give her anything she wants. Even if that promise was only to myself.
“Well…” I begin. “I have the self-control of a starved wolf. I might not stop until it’s too late. Until I break you.”
She hums, not the least bit deterred. “You wouldn’t hurt me, Wyn.”
I risk meeting her gaze, instantly regretting it. She says it like it’s a truth carved in stone, but she doesn’t know what happens when I lose control. What I’m capable of. She’s smiling, soft and sweet. Like she already knows how this ends. Like she knows I’m so close to cracking.
“Also, this bed is not the finest I’ve made, and I’d rather not ruin my back for eternity.” Most pathetic excuse I’ve ever come up with.
She makes a small, amused noise. “You’re a supernatural being. I don’t think your back is at risk.”
I exhale, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Fine. How about this? My sister, the Queen of Merits , will have my head if I make you mine and bind our fates together.”
“Sleeping with someone doesn’t bind their fate to yours. At least not in the human realm.”
“Oh, lucky we’re still there, then.”
She smacks my head lightly. “Stop it.”
“Merri will probably take your head, too. Maybe she’ll be doing us a favor.”
Summer scoffs. “Ridiculous.”
“Since you haven’t met my sister, you’re not in a position to judge. But fine. We’re in the middle of a forest . I refuse to bring you what will be the greatest pleasure you’ve ever experienced while a pinecone stabs the back of your ribs.”
Summer chuckles, still watching me closely, waiting for me to cave.
“And I’m kind of… possessive about those I’m fond of,” I say, strengthening my argument. “If I let myself have you tonight, I’ll never let you go.”
“And that’s a bad thing, Wyn? ”
A laugh catches in my throat, but it sounds more like a moan. “Yes! I might start writing you poetry. And you’ll have to pretend to like it, which won’t be good for either of us.”
She sighs, the sound causing heat to explode inside my chest. “You told Rose at Neon Velvet you were an excellent poet.”
“I was drunk .” I shudder as her nails trace lazy patterns over my bicep. “And another reason I can’t have you,” I continue, “I’ll be required to fight off every fool in the Land of Five who so much as looks at you. After a while, that will become exhausting.”
“You’d enjoy it,” she teases.
I close my eyes and curl my fingers into fists, fighting the urge to kiss her senseless. “Gods help me, I probably would.”
Silence enfolds us as she traces a path along my collarbone, featherlight, making every inch of me strain toward her warmth. “Plus, there’s the significant age difference,” I add.
“Okay, then. How old are you?”
“Twenty-five.”
“Wyn, we’re the same age!”
“Yeah, but in fae years it’s kind of closer to a couple hundred years.”
Her eyes narrow to dubious slits. “How does that work exactly?”
“You don’t want to know. It’s complicated.”
“None of those are real reasons,” she whispers.
Groaning, I tilt my head back against the bed, fixing my gaze on the stars glittering through the trees above us. My fingers flex at her waist. “True. They’re not,” I admit, adding silently, except for the one about my sister .
Merri really will kill me if I get closer to Summer and set my curse in motion. And if Merri’s right, then before long, I’ll be dead. Buried beneath the soil forever.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to reveal what Summer told Merri while she was still a thrall at the Merit Court—how she said she didn’t want to leave because she was waiting for the winter prince to find her.
Believed she was fated to him. And how my sister thought straight away of me . And recognized my mate.
I recall the bitterness I felt when our High Mage returned Summer to the human realm without informing me. How I fell into a drunken depression, telling myself it wasn’t love that I felt. Assuring myself that like the Shade and Merit Courts, I too only wished to own her. Control her.
But that was never true.
All I want is to bask in the warmth of her smile. To see her happy. Keep her safe.
The tips of our noses touch. She’s so close I can see the moonlight reflected in her eyes. Smell her sweet, musky desire. Close enough that I could cast my doubts into the soil beneath me and stop fighting this insane longing. The desperate need to make her mine. To mark her as my mate.
I let my thumb stroke over her lips and revel in the way she shivers. “I have many more reasons to list.”
“Let me guess. Is reason number nine that I talk too much?”
From what I know of humans, she speaks exactly the right amount.
I huff a breath and move on. “If we do this, you’ll be stuck with me, and I’m more than a little cursed.
My uncle was cursed, and my father before him.
Mine’s somewhat… tempered, but still. Fate’s made it clear I’m not allowed happiness, so that can’t possibly end well for you.
And also, wh at if I shift during the event?
You might end up fucking a fur-covered—”
“Wyn, will you ever stop?” she asks.
“Why would I? You clearly can’t get enough of my witticisms.”
“Is that what they call being annoying here?”
I wrap a length of silky hair around my fingers, tugging gently. “Also, you did ask for reasons , so I’m happy to provide a long list and—”
Her palm presses over my mouth, cutting off my ramble. “Wyn… shut up.”
“Okay.”
Summer’s bare thighs and steady gaze hold me in place as her teasing smile challenges me to make a move. Any move other than lying here like a lump of clay, hypnotized by her scent and the feel of her bare skin.
Summer .
Right now, my summer girl is exactly where I’ve always dreamed of having her. Correction— almost where I’ve dreamed of having her. The wolf in me wants to drag her under me, rip away every barrier between us, and claim her roughly, hungrily. Like the animal I am.
I close my eyes and reach out my senses to check for danger in the woods. Other than the sound of our rough breathing and the rustling of a nearby night creature, all is quiet. I detect no encroaching magic. No strangers lurking.
As I stroke her cheek, then rub her bottom lip, dipping my thumb into the wet, soft flesh, she wriggles her hips, and my cock pulses, straining against the last of my control.
“Wyn,” she says. “Can you hear what I’m thinking? ”
“ Ohhh , yes. And it’s exactly what I’m thinking.”
“Go for it,” she whispers.
Three little words, and all rational thought dissolves.
All that’s left is her, and the need to make her mine.
“Fuck it,” I say, tugging her down. “Let’s do this.”
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25 (Reading here)
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52