Page 7

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~ D evin Grimm, Seaside Inn ~

Steam-warmed skin, jasmine oil, crushed rose petals and salt. The scent was killing me. It drifted through the crack beneath the rented room’s door like smoke from an old memory. Her magic pulsed beneath it, golden and sweet and growing stronger by the minute, wrapping around my senses—and my cock—with slow, deliberate seduction.

I’d bought the flowers myself when we reached the port city. Chosen them from the market with careful hands, knowing she deserved something soft after everything she’d been through—and the trials coming. Two days ago, I’d been prepared to face the fae sorceress,Lady Myrienna, even beg for my life. But I hadn’t been prepared for this. For her .

Cleo was a wildfire barely contained in a mortal body, and her awakening grew stronger with every moment that passed. Her presence beat through the ether like a beacon, bright enough to draw every hungering creature for miles. We were barely holding it together during the journey. She’d set two trees ablaze without meaning to—just because I said something that upset her.

I didn’t blame her. I’d had years of study to perfect my skills. Had learned hundreds of spells. She was like an open flame in a windstorm. Raw. Untamed. Out of control. I couldn’t risk the world getting too close to that power. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

And Void help me, I couldn’t leave her alone. Not when she might set the inn on fire.

I leaned my back against the doorframe, arms crossed, trying to keep my breathing steady as I stood guard. The smell of the stew we’d eaten for dinner drifted up the stairs, mixed with the bright, citrus scent of the innkeeper’s soap used in my own bath. The hallway was silent save for the occasional footstep on the floor below, the flicker of torchlight catching motes of dust in the air… and the steady, unbearable sound of water lapping in the bath on the other side of that door.

Every now and then, I caught her voice—a hum. A sigh. The splash of water.

And still, I waited. Cock hard. Like a man cursed. Because going in there too soon would be a mistake. One I might not come back from.

I’d chosen the flowing nightgown now folded on the bed, paid the seamstress in pure silver. Soft linen, pale as moonlight, laced with silver thread and delicate enough to slide over her curves like a lover’s hands. I imagined her wearing it. Imagined removing it from her as I kissed every exposed bit of soft skin.

I closed my eyes and breathed deep.

Focus. She was fire. She was magic. She was mine to protect, not possess.

When I was sure I was about to go mad—softly, with barely more than a breath—her voice came through the door. “You can come in now.”

I froze. Just for a heartbeat, long enough to make sure I was in control. Then I opened the door.

She stood near the bed, wrapped in the nightgown I’d chosen, hair still damp and clinging to her shoulders. Her feet were bare. The glow of the hearth fire painted her skin in gold. She looked like something from a dream. Untouchable. Divine. And yet so real it made my chest ache.

She didn’t meet my eyes right away. “Is it really necessary? You staying in here with me?”

I shut the door behind me. Locked it. “Yes,” I said simply. “It is.” Not only could one flare of her magic burn the entire inn to the ground, but as her power grew, she would be hunted.

She frowned slightly.

“You started a forest fire a few hours ago.” I reminded her gently. “And that was before your power really started to surge.”

Her gaze dropped. “I didn’t mean to.”

“I know,” I said, crossing to her slowly. “But until we reach The Spire, I need to keep you safe. And that includes keeping the rest of the realm safe from you.”

Her lips trembled just slightly. She looked fragile in that moment, for the first time since I’d met her. But I knew better. She was forged from stronger stuff than most. She just didn’t believe it yet.

I reached out and touched her chin, lifting her face toward mine. “I’m not afraid of your power,” I said softly. “And I won’t let anything hurt you.”

Her eyes shimmered with something I couldn’t name. “And what if I do?” she whispered. “I need to learn how to control it.”

“I’ll teach you. Until you learn, I’ll protect you. Nothing will hurt you, Cleo. I give you my word.”

Her gaze dropped to my mouth. She wanted me to kiss her. And I—I burned for her. The relentless darkness within, silent. Watching. Waiting. Hungry.

I stepped closer. The air between us thickened, charged with something deeper than magic. She should step back. Retreat. Tell me to fuck off and keep my distance.

She lifted one hand and rested it against my chest. Moved closer. Tilted her head to look up at me with a level of trust I hadn’t earned. She was too young. Too innocent. Too pure for a black-hearted mage like me.

“You should go to bed,” I murmured.

“I’m not tired.” She licked her lips and I locked my knees so I wouldn’t move.

“You’re playing with fire. You smell like temptation. I’m only a man.”

Her lips parted. “I’m on fire, too. I need you.”

I didn’t wait any longer. I cupped her face in both hands, lowered my mouth to hers, and kissed her like it was the only thing keeping me alive. This kiss wasn’t like the one in the woods. This one was slow. Devastating.

A caress of lips. A brush of breath. A slow press of my mouth to hers until she sighed and melted into me like she’d been waiting her whole life for this exact moment.

She wrapped her arms around my neck.

I slipped one hand to the small of her back, the other tangling in the damp silk of her hair. She fit against me like the missing half of a soul I hadn’t realized was broken.

The fire—the magic—inside her responded instantly. A warm pulse of golden light spread through her skin, sinking into mine. It didn’t hurt—but it lit every nerve with electric heat.

I deepened the kiss.

She made a sound—soft, wanting—and I was lost.

Her mouth was sweet and hot and demanding. She kissed me like she needed it to breathe, like she was just as starved as I was.

I couldn’t stop. Her body was soft curves and glowing power, pressing against every line of mine. My hands moved without thought, mapping her through the thin fabric of her gown, learning her shape like it was something sacred.

She didn’t pull away. Didn’t ask me to stop. Her nails dug into my shoulders. Her breath hitched as my mouth left hers to trace a line down her throat.

And still— still —I held back. Barely.

Because if I didn’t, I’d take her right here, right now, and there would be no going back. No pretending this bond wasn’t real. No denying she was already carved into my bones.

I pulled away slowly, resting my forehead against hers, breathing hard. “Have you ever been with a man?”

Her eyes fluttered open. “No.”

Something primitive—madness—clawed to life inside me. She was mine. She would always be mine. Only mine.

I lifted her and carried her to bed, lay her down so I could strip off my clothes. With one flick of my wrist, I sealed the door with death magic, the most powerful spell I knew, one that would suck the life from anyone who managed to force their way past the metal locks and thick wood.

Naked, I knelt and pulled her toward me, kissed my way from bare ankle to knee. Inner thigh to?—

Her hands fisted in my hair as my mouth closed over her sensitive clit. I devoured her sweet pussy, fucked her with my tongue, worked her until her back arched off the bed and she cried out, her inner walls pulsing with her first release.

She was virgin. My cock was not small. I needed her wet and ready and begging. Even then, I would use my magic to ease my entry, take her pain. I wanted her desperate for me.

Moving up her body, I tasted the soft swell of her belly, the soft underside of her breast. I slipped two fingers inside her core, working her as I worked her nipples with my tongue. She tasted divine. Better than I’d imagined. Perfect.

The dark magic inside me pulsed against my skin like ocean waves crashing against rock and sand, flowed into her sensitive breasts through my lips, into her tight pussy through my fingertips. I wrapped my darkness around her, through her, made sure she felt me in every cell, every breath.

I felt her body stiffen, the air in her lungs freeze. Her arms wrapped around my shoulders in both need and demand as her body responded, her orgasm seizing control of her like a wildfire blazing through dried paper. She came apart in my arms as I claimed her mouth and slid my cock deep.

Balls deep, I froze, used my magic to tease the walls of her pussy, make sure she felt no pain. Only pleasure.

She shuddered and lifted her legs. Wrapped them around my hips. “Why did you stop?”

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I don’t think you can.” She laughed, her inner muscles squeezing me in unexpected ways. “I feel your magic. Mine is burning through me, too. It’s making me crazy. I can’t stop. I need more.”

Void take me. Her words unleashed an animal. I thrust hard and fast. Deep. Shoved her knees up over my shoulders so I could fuck her harder. Her hips rose to meet me with every thrust until she was writhing on the bed, her freshly bathed body covered in sweat that glistened in the candlelight. So sweet. Tasty. Perfect. I leaned over so I could run my lips over her shoulder. Her neck. Taste what was mine.

I took her mouth, and her body exploded with pleasure, her cries pushing me over the edge with her. I filled her with my seed, my soul, my darkness. My magic. My release roared through every cell, every nerve, from head to toe, consuming me until there was nothing but her body, her scent, her hot, wet pussy wrapped around my hard length, her delicate hands fists in my hair. Until I wasn’t alone.

My kisses slowed, became exploration. Gratitude. Contentment. After long minutes, she sighed. “Is it always like that?” she whispered.

“No. Never.” I tilted my hips, moved inside her, just to hear her gasp. “That was madness.”

“Was it us?” she breathed. “Or magic?”

“Maybe both.” I rolled over and pulled her with me, her head nestled under my neck, her hand on my chest, right over the place where my heart struggled to beat with this new rhythm. Her rhythm. “Sleep. The ship leaves at dawn.”

I pulled the blanket over her, oddly satisfied when she molded herself to my side and promptly fell asleep.