Page 48

“Lorcan,” she breathed. She pushed forward onto my hardness, then back to the finger threatening to penetrate her, her hand between her legs racing. “Please… please… more…” I massaged her breast harder, twisting her nipple and digging my fingers into it.

“That’s it, wildflower.” I rubbed my hand over the puckered hole, pressing in just to the point of feeling it open, but no more. She ground her teeth together. “You are so amazing. Give yourself to me. Let me feel that beautiful release.”

I pinched again with one hand while swirling the other on her asshole. Her mouth fell open. “Yes, come for me. Let me watch you.”

Her back arched as her cunt quivered. “Perfect, wildflower.” I pushed into her pulsing wetness, my balls tensing, growling as a stream of seed shot into her.

“Now, come harder.” I ground into her deeper, pinched a little more, and swirled my hips, her cunt grasping and pulling at my cock uncontrollably.

The most exquisite sobbing whimper I have ever heard fell from her throat as her hand fell to the wrist nearest her tormented nipple.

She pushed back, gasping, taking the tip of my finger in her ass.

She clung to my wrist, easing herself over my shaft as her body trembled, her face telling me she was savoring the feeling of both my cock and finger inside her, giving me what I desired.

Her head hung back, her eyes closed, her mouth open, blood pulsing through her neck.

Briar. My beautiful fucking wildflower. What I desired …

I didn’t even think twice as I sank my fangs into her, just as Ashdowne wanted to do to Isobel.

And Briar was mine.

My eyes jolted open, and I realized I had fallen into a rough sleep.

My back was stiff from resting against the stone wall all night.

It was hard to tell it was daytime; the sheets of rain continued to batter the walls.

I looked at my phone, and there was still no service, but I found it was nearly noon.

The storm still raged as I made my way to the ferry office.

The same man from yesterday was there again.

He looked up as I entered, his face twisting. “What happened to you?”

“Never mind that.” I stood directly in front of him. “When does the next ferry leave?”

He shook his head. “Still no ferries. This storm isn’t supposed to let up until tomorrow morning.”

“That can’t be,” I growled. This couldn’t be happening. I had been so close to her yesterday, and every moment I was trapped here was another moment she got farther away. My patience snapped. My hand slammed against the desk harder than I intended, splintering the wood beneath it.

The man stepped back, fear flickering across his face. “Look,” he stammered, “I-I don’t know who you are, but… You need to leave.”

I didn’t care anymore. I stormed around the desk and towered over him, grabbing the front of his shirt and twisting my fist into the fabric. His shoes scraped the ground as I lifted him, a strangled gasp escaping his throat as his fingers clawed at my wrist.

“Where is there a boat?” I demanded, my pupils shifting. The compulsion seeped into my voice, curling around his mind, forcing him to tell me what I needed to know.

His eyes glazed over. “M-my neighbor’s husband brought a boat home last night,” he said, his voice trembling. “He’s a fisherman. Couldn’t take the ferry because of the storm.”

I bared my teeth. “And where is this boat? Do you know how to sail it?”

He swallowed. “I-I can manage it. It’s moored just outside, but the storm…”

I turned and dropped him to his feet. “Let’s go.” I pushed him ahead of me and followed him out the door to a fishing trawler tied at the end of the pier.

“That one.”

“Well, don’t let me keep you.” I glared at him. “Go.”

We climbed aboard, and he started the engine, guiding the vessel into the open water.

As we pulled away from the shelter of the dock, the waves surged higher. The sea raged around us like the turmoil inside me, crashing into the sides of the boat with a fury that felt personal. The cabin door blew open, and rain lashed into my back.

I clenched my jaw. “How long will this take?” I demanded, screaming to be heard over the noise of the storm.

“I-I don’t know,” he stammered. “The sea is…” A wave crashed over the bow of the boat. “This is madness!” he shouted, his knuckles white as he gripped the wheel. “We have to turn back.”

“No,” I snarled. “I have to get to her.”

He lifted his chin, scoffing. “You’re still chasing that woman?”

For a second, I didn’t move. I didn’t breathe. Like a lynx ready to pounce, I turned to face him slowly. “What did you say?” I laced compulsion through the words.

He looked at me with a lopsided smile. “I only asked if you’re still chasing her.

I mean, I would too, if I were you. Those tits looked like they were asking for attention.

She had that look about her—like she’d be a proper little treat if you bent her over something solid and took your time.

Not the kind you bring home to your mum, but the kind you keep tucked away for a long afternoon.

Makes you wonder, doesn’t it—what she’d sound like with your cock inside her and your handprint across her skin, whether or not she wanted it? ”

I lunged, my hand closing around his throat. My fangs tore through my gums, and before I could stop myself, I sank them into his neck.

Hot, rich blood gushed into my mouth from the artery I pierced.

I swallowed the thick, metallic liquid with little enjoyment.

The pulse beneath my tongue quickened as his feet kicked out toward me, no more effective than a fly darting against my leg.

I gulped at the life-giving liquid flowing into me as his body convulsed, his heart thundering beneath my palm.

“P-please…” he gasped, but I barely heard him over the roar of the storm.

I didn’t care. He deserved this. He deserved to die at my hand for how he had spoken about Briar. My Briar. Mine.

When the blood stopped pouring into my mouth, I sucked on the wound, not allowing a drop to go to waste. Then I wrenched my fangs free and stared down at his lifeless body. His head lolled to the side, his mouth frozen in that grotesque grin.

Without hesitation, I dug my nails into the torn flesh of his throat, pulling away a sizable chunk. When he was found, no one would question a sea creature feeding on his body. Ignoring the bobbing of the boat in the storm, I threw the man and his flesh overboard as the rain pelted my skin.

I dragged a hand over my face. When I pulled it away, a pink-red stream ran from my fingers.

“Fuck.” The word exploded from my lips, lost beneath the storm’s rage.

My stomach twisted, though whether it was from the kill or what it meant, I didn’t know.

Ashdowne’s ghost flashed through my mind, my ruin complete.

I had killed for her, killed to keep her mine.

I staggered back into the wheelhouse, gripping the controls.

My hands trembled against the wheel, but I steadied them, the man’s blood filling the hunger that had gripped me on the island.

This wasn’t over. Not yet. I needed to reach Kirkwall.

I fought against the waves. I would have to abandon the boat before I got there—make it look like the man had stolen it and had an accident.

But at least I would be back on Mainland.

From there, I could find Zadie. Had she stayed through the storm?

Even if she had, the storm would make it impossible to fly.

As vampires, we wouldn’t die, but we couldn’t force a plane to stay together in a storm this strong—the crosswinds would rip it apart in a moment.

The ferry was the only way out of Orkney.

The wind shrieked in agreement. I would leave this place behind. One way or another, I was getting closer to her.