He looked up at me, a sly smile dancing across those wondrous lips.
“Whatever you say,” he whispered.
Then, with newly nimble fingers, he stripped my bra away, leaving my breasts exposed.
He looked up at me, his breath coming heavy and his eyes widening.
“Is everything okay?” I asked, a hint of fear tracing my words as I watched him look at me.
Rolling to the side to place me beneath him, Karr laid me against the floor beside the fire. The warm stone sent shivers through me. As Karr’s mouth traveled down my neck and settled on my breasts, I felt as though I might explode.
His lips traced my nipples, teeth lightly grazing against them and sending a whole new level of pleasure pulsating through me. I felt myself moisten and clutched the ground to no avail, trying to find an anchor to keep me from getting lost in this sea of pleasure.
It didn’t work. One flick of his tongue against my hardening nipple, and I was gone. I had no idea where I was anymore or what we were going through. All that mattered was Karr and me, right here and now, in this moment.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew better than to think this moment might go on forever. Still, I pressed that thought down deep as his hands went to work at my panties, pulling them down quickly in one swift motion.
Suddenly, I was completely exposed to him, completely vulnerable to whatever he wanted to do to me.
And I couldn’t have been happier about it.
“You’re perfect,” he answered breathlessly. His lips moved down my breasts, traveling past my navel, and then finally touching the part of me that no man ever had.
“Not me,” I said, pleading in my voice. “You’re the perfect one.”
He didn’t answer, not with words anyway. Instead, his tongue flickered against my body, licking at the moisture that had pooled since he’d begun touching me. His hands traveled up my legs, pushing them apart and leaving me wide open to his advances, to his actions.
The insecure part of me had the thought that I’d be wrong. He must have done this before. But the increasing feeling of pleasure soon pushed those concerns from my mind. Past was past. Future was future. This… whatever this was… was about right now, about us and only us.
His tongue pressed past my willingly melting defenses, and he looked up at me, still buried in my mound. His eyes shone with a sort of mischievous glee as sparks seemed to fly through my body.
I closed my eyes, hoping this would never end.
And then it did.
Wondering why he stopped, I looked up, and my heart skipped a beat as I watched him remove the last shred of his clothing. He was before me now, full mast and ready. His body was art, a thing of beauty, though his intimate parts were a bit intimidating to look at, so I quickly averted my gaze.
As he neared me, his lips quirked up into a smile. “I love you,” he said right before he pressed his mouth to mine. After a moment, he came back up for air, his gaze searching mine. “You know that, don’t you?”
Again, he didn’t wait for my reply. His lips were on mine, his tongue invading my mouth and his large hands pinning my arms behind my head.
But if he’d let me speak, I would have told him yes. Yes, I knew he loved me with everything he did, and now I knew just how much.
I winced as he entered me, though for his part, he went slow, letting my body adjust to his. It felt awkward and uncomfortable, but good at the same time. And the deeper he pressed inside, the better it started to feel, his slow movements agonizing and intoxicating.
Eventually, it felt more good than strange, and soon after that, the strange feeling was gone completely, replaced by a building pleasure as his pelvis rocked against mine and his fingers grazed my nipples and his lips accosted my mouth.
My body shook with anticipation as he grinded into me, my body seeming to mold to his, allowing him to thrust deeper in a way that made my eyes roll with pleasure.
And then all that pleasure built into something unimaginable, a burst of the greatest thing I’d ever felt, and my body seemed to pulse around his. As though the pleasure had shattered into a million pieces, or exploded, or something—but in in the best possible way. Tingles and aftershocks rippled through my body, and the world seemed right for the first time in forever.
An orgasm, I thought to myself, almost giggling as I realized what had just happened. And then blushing at the thought he could probably feel my smile against his lips.
Forget the faction or the Box, forget the witches, the fae, and every son of a bitch in between. This was what happiness was: me, him, and this moment. This was what my faction should look like.
He pulled away from me, climaxing himself but spilling his seed onto the floor between my legs instead of inside of me. We might have been orphans, but we knew were babies came from and that this wasn’t a world anyone should want to bring one into. Of course, his efforts would only do so much good now, but even within the faction, sexual protection was hard to come by, and most people relied on similar methods. There was always that chance, though.
As I sat up and moved back a little, Karr smiled, then moved beside me and kissed me gently. When he’d wrapped me up in his arms, I fell into the most peaceful sleep of my existence.
When I woke the next morning, Karr had cleaned up the space. The fire was out, my dried clothes were folded, and his big shirt covered me like a blanket. It was almost as if last night had never happened. But it had, and I was glad I could hold onto that.
I changed into my clothes, then walked over to Karr to hand him his shirt. He’d already dressed into his pants, and was looking out at the woods beyond the edge of the cave.
I glanced down at my atern band. “The spell won’t last much longer.”
He nodded, his Adam’s apple bobbing. He hadn’t looked at me since I’d gotten up, and even now, standing next to him, he didn’t take me in as he spoke. “I know,” he said quietly. “We can’t stay here forever.”
It felt as though there was so much unspoken there. That here didn’t just mean in this cave, but also in this moment, in this morning after our tryst.
I let out a deep sigh, and he wrapped his arm around me and pulled my body against his side, then pressed his lip against my hairline.
Just then, a rustle came from the woods. The spell was still in effect, so there was little need for me to move. Instead, I just watched as the culprit came into view.
The feet appeared first, and I saw it was a person—a woman. My gaze drifted up from there, from feet to legs, from legs to stomach, from stomach to chest, growing more and more certain by the moment who it was, while at the same time thinking how impossible that would be. Right up until I looked at her face, and then, my heart stopped beating.
“No,” I muttered. “It can’t be.”
My hands clawed at the sides of the cave as I took her in. The woman before my eyes, walking right past me without even seeing me, was Arbor.
Chapter 29
My mind completely ceased functioning while Arbor just stood there, looking around this forest every bit as lost as I had been when I first found myself in it.
How was this possible? I’d watched her die. I’d watched as Karr—possessed by Westman’s energy—threw her out the window to her death. I’d seen her body laying cold and lifeless. How was she here now? How could this be?
Arbor ran a hand across her brow, obviously sweating and tired. It occurred to me that her body had been stolen, but then I had a second thought: What if she’d just… woken up? What if the energy Karr had used to kill her, energy which came from Westman, had somehow revived her? What if she’d woken up, freaked out, and run away? What if, somehow, she’d ended up in this place?
Would that really be the strangest thing I’d seen lately?
After all, Westman claimed he had given me life with his energy… If that were true, would it be so different from restoring said life to Arbor?
My heart broke at the sight of her. She had been throug
h so much in her short life. To end up here after being killed by one of the two people she loved in the whole of the faction was an injustice I wasn’t sure I could bear.
I didn’t have to bear it, though. She did. This was Arbor’s life and, seemingly, her afterlife as well.
My mouth opened, though I wasn’t sure what to say. Not that it mattered. The spell in play which cloaked us from prying eyes also cloaked us from similar ears. I could scream as loud as I wanted, and no one outside of this cave would hear me. If I wanted to talk to Arbor, I was going to have to leave the safety of this cave.
Before I could make my move, another rustling in the brush made me pause. Arbor spun quickly to find a Rambler behind her, then darted off into the woods, away from view.
Shit! They were after her, too. It made sense. She had the same strange eyes as me. Perhaps Westman was responsible for her life, too. Maybe that was why we had always gotten along so well.
It made me feel a little good and a lot sad and more scared at the thought Arbor and I might be sisters. But even if we weren’t by blood, we were in my heart. So without another thought, I rushed out of the cave and into the woods after her.
The thuds of Arbor’s footsteps carried panicked and rushed, followed closely by the rapid stomps of the Rambler. My best friend was at a distinct disadvantage. Take away the fact that this bastard did this sort of thing for a living, he also knew these woods exponentially better than Arbor ever would. Worse, it wasn’t likely that someone who came from the dead would have much in the way of atern.
If I didn’t catch up soon, this would be a bloodbath. And Arbor didn’t deserve to die—not the first time, and certainly not again.
My feet slapped heavy against the ground, dead leaves crackling underneath. My power had depleted from holding the spell on the cave in place, bringing me down to about one tenth of my Atern capacity. If I wasn’t careful, I’d be as good as dead. Now wasn’t the time to turn to magic.
I couldn’t scream her name, not without garnering the attention of the Rambler who was after us. They wanted me, too, and since all I had was the element of surprise on my side, I couldn’t necessarily go giving it away.
I wasn’t sure what I was going to do when I found Arbor and her would-be attacker. All I knew was that I needed to keep going. I had failed my friend before, and I wouldn’t fail her again. If I was meant to die protecting her, then I was going to do just that.
Still, my body shook with fear as I realized the steps had come to a stop. That either meant Arbor was dead (again) or that the Rambler had found her and a scuffle was about to take place.
I came to a stop, too, knowing frantic feet would give me away now in the newfound silence. Instead, I moved slowly, careful to dodge as many of those noisy leaves as possible.
As I neared Arbor and the Rambler, muffled indeterminable sound echoed around me. Slowly, the muffling started to sound like mumbling, until soon, I realized what it was: Arbor’s voice. I couldn’t make out the words—just the tone, the familiar feel of it. But when I stepped into earshot of Arbor and her attacker, I noticed something a little off about the way Arbor spoke.
“Don’t. Please don’t,” she said over and over again.
There was no fear in her voice, though. Nothing to betray the terror she must have been feeling. She thought she was all alone. She thought she was done for. So why didn’t she sound like it?
I rounded a thick tree trunk and watched from a distance. Arbor was pressed against a tree of her own. Her face was scrunched in fear, tears streamed down her face, and she repeated her mantra. “Don’t. Please don’t.”
But it was monotone. It was so damn monotone.
Something wasn’t right.
The Rambler raised a hand, red energy glowing in his palm. My heart spasmed. I couldn’t allow this, for this son of a bitch to hurt her. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do when I reached him, but I knew I had to at least try to put him down before he hurt Arbor.
I rushed forward, thrusting my elbow out before me and ducking my head. Hey, becoming a battering ram was better than nothing, even if it was only a hundred and ten-pound battering ram.
As I neared him, I squeezed my eyes shut and braced for impact. Maybe if I knocked him down, it would stun him long enough for Arbor and me to get away. It wasn’t a great plan, but it was all I had.
Unfortunately, I never made contact. Instead, my body went right through him. I tumbled down, having thrown myself top-heavy in an attempt to maximize my damage.
I hit the ground hard and rolled. Looking up, I saw the man flicker out of existence. In his place stood a tall man with gaunt cheeks and angular features. He was handsome in a threatening sort of way, with black hair swooped to the side, a cocky and arrogant smile plastered across his face, and a pair of eyes that looked frighteningly like mine and Arbor’s.
“Westman,” I muttered, taking him in. “You’re here.”
“In the flesh,” he chuckled. “More or less.”
Quickly, I turned back to Arbor, who was repeating the same mantra of, “Don’t. Please don’t,” over and over again.
“Run,” I screamed, but she didn’t move. Instead, a dark chuckle from Westman cut through the air.
“Don’t bother,” he mused. “It was too late for your friend the minute she was thrown into my world. Though I do enjoy the tricks I can play with a reanimated corpse. Even if her time has passed.”
Westman snapped his fingers, and Arbor’s body fell heavy against the ground. My heart followed with it, crashing with a new wave of pain that felt a lot like losing her the first time did.
But she was already gone. And this—this had all been a trap.
“You,” I said through clenched teeth, my hands bunching into fists at my side as I climbed back to my feet. “You stole her body.”
“I figured it would come in handy—and look at that. It did.” He prowled closer. “Now,” he said, his tone growing more serious. “You and I should go. We have a lot of catching up to do.”
Chapter 30
I had been so foolish, and yet, even if I’d had any doubts it was really Arbor, I would have followed anyway. Because I’d never have been able to live with myself on the chance she’d come back to life and needed me, and I’d turned her back on her out of fear it was a trap.
Now wasn’t the time to think about such things, though. Now was the time to run. As I turned to do just that, my mind raced as my worried eyes flew past Arbor’s body, which had slumped against a tree on the ground.
My feet caught traction beneath me as I ran, but no sooner had I taken off than an unseen and powerful force knocked me down. I hit hard, my lip busting open as my face slammed against the solid ground. A metallic taste coated my tongue as the same unseen force which had knocked me down flipped me over onto my back.
Westman stood over me, his eyes flickering with something between a threat and sick elation. He smiled down at me, his lips every bit as menacing as the rest of him. Still, glowing eyes aside, he looked nothing like me. Wouldn’t that have been a clue? If I was really his daughter, wouldn’t there be some other sort of physical proof?
I shook my head. This didn’t matter now. Because of my stupidity, because of how badly I’d wanted Arbor’s resurrection to be the truth, I had allowed myself to be captured. I had ruined everything.
“What do you want from me?” I asked, my teeth grinding together and my hands clawing at the grass, leaves, and dirt.
“I told you what I wanted, Lara,” he said, shaking his head. “I told you in the message I sent with Karr. I told you through the body of that brave Rambler who sacrificed herself for the cause.” He huffed loudly. “But did you listen? Of course not. You were too selfish, too arrogant. You could have done this the easy way. Then it would have all been over by now. Yet you refused.” He stepped closer. “So now we have to do things the hard way.” Energy crackled bright red around his body. He knelt, his creepy smile broadening even more. “Lucky for me, I like the hard way
.”
He twisted his hand, and the red energy shot toward me. I tried to move, but I was too late. The magic invaded me, lighting me up and setting my entire body on fire. I clenched, throwing my head back against the ground and looking up at the sky, unable to close my eyes.
Agony rushed through me anew. It was stronger than anything I had ever felt. It burned through me like the worst sort of nightmare, threatening to take away everything I was and leave me only a shell of myself, if I even survived at all.
I couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, could barely think. The only thought that ran through my mind, the only thing I could manage to hold onto through all the pain, was a memory of Arbor, Karr, and me from when we were children.
There was a bakery not too far from House 1, and every day, right before the sun changed directions, the baker would open his windows and let the scents of the day’s concoctions waft through the air. It was glorious—the sweet, sticky aromas as they filled our noses and lifted our spirits.
We, of course, could never actually taste the sweet delights for ourselves. Orphans only got fed what was necessary to stay alive, so we certainly weren’t getting desserts. Except for this one day…
Unbeknownst to us, Karr had taken a little trip, and when he back, he had sweets under both arms. He had stolen them from the bakery right as the owner had turned his back. It was wrong, of course. Stealing always was. But on that day, we didn’t care. And why should we? No one cared about us. In that moment, we were just like any other children, feasting on the most amazing foods the faction had to offer. That was all that had mattered in that moment.
I held onto that memory as the pain threatened to rip me away from myself, threatened to hollow me out. And then Westman stepped into my line of sight, blotting out not only the calm night sky, but my memory as well.
“You’re mine now,” he said, as though he was reading my mind and finding my thoughts to be ridiculous. “Don’t forget that.”
Harvest: Faction 1: (The Isa Fae Collection) Page 15
