Page 45 of Venom Island

I run my fingers through my hair, yanking on the strands.

The water around me has started to feel warmer, my body seeming to exude heat. Or maybe it’s the streaming sunlight warming the lagoon.

Please keep me cool,I beg.Please don’t let me burn.

My prayers go unanswered as a wave of hot lava sears me from head to toe, my body trembling violently in response. I bite back a cry, my insides churning with foreign energy.

Gods…

It burns.

I… I can’t…

I sink my teeth into my palm, determined not to make a sound, but it’s too much, it’s… it’sall-consuming.

And I’m alone.

Enrique isn’t here.

He isn’t coming back,that evil voice whispers.

“Shut up!” I yell at it. “Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” The final word leaves me on an agonized scream, one that echoes off the cavern walls.

I grab my hair again, scarcely aware of my blood-slicked palm. I really bit myself.Hard. But I can barely feel it.

The inferno bursting inside me is so much more powerful.

Soprofound.

My limbs shake, my stomach churning once more.

I. Need.

But I don’t understand what I need. It justhurts.

I squeeze my thighs together, a whimper escaping my lips.

Gods, it’s hot between my legs. So tingly. So… so…wet. And it has nothing to do with the water in the lagoon.

I shiver, my hand creeping downward to palm myself where the heat is most intense. I moan at the contact, my little bundle of nerves practically pulsating beneath my touch.

I never do this.

I was always told not to, that I wasn’t allowed to stroke myself.

But I can’t help it right now. Ineedthis.

I need Enrique.

My Alpha.

My… mymate.

Except he’s not my mate. He hasn’t bitten me.

But oh, I don’t care! I want him right now. My wolf is practically demanding his presence. She forces my jaws to open, and a guttural howl escapes my throat.

It’s so loud. So terrifying. Soneedy.