I thrust up. Deeper, harder, more urgently, as I ground into her while she firmly held my wrists.
Her kisses were never-ending, our tongues entwined as she sucked the very breath from my lungs.
With her knees on either side of my hips, and her feet hooked over my thighs, she pushed herself upright, and I offered my hands to better support her.
Fingers tangled in mine, she rode me hard, tits bouncing, lips parted slightly, but never once breaking eye contact as she crested the wave of her first orgasm.
I felt every tiny response, saw the intensity of her pleasure in the depths of her eyes, and as she came down, she repositioned her legs, released my hands, and slowed her pace, but she didn’t pause for a second.
Running her hands down her body, she caressed her breasts, squeezing before continuing down until her hand found her most sensitive place.
I grabbed her hips, matching her movements with a slow rocking of my own as she massaged her clit until we both reached our peak.
She was glorious in every way. The woman. The witch. The demon. Combined, finally at one with herself, the vision before me was everything I knew her to be and more. In that moment, she was mine. I felt it. Not an emotion, but a new sense of self. Of belonging.
Every step had led me to her—years of blindly wandering and seeking my path. She was my past, present, and future. All roads led here.
It was too much.
I tensed, gripping her hips and thrusting deeper. She joined me, her head thrown back, and her hair trailing against my bare thighs. I watched as she arched her spine, her wings spread in a dusky backdrop. A quiet mewling sound was all she could manage as she reached her own trembling limit, slowing the motion of her hips and moving her hand to my chest.
Breathing slowing, she trailed her fingers through the coarse hair on my chest and studied my face. Eventually, she smiled and asked, “Is that how you imagined it?”
“No,” I answered honestly, reaching for her. She allowed me to pull her down beside me, and I turned to face her, tracing her bottom lip with my thumb. It was slightly swollen, and she smirked at my concern.
“Was there more blood?”
“No,” I said again, kissing her gently. “I didn’t imagine it at all. I didn’t think for one minute you’d want me.”
Her brows pulled in a little, but she didn’t voice the question that was clearly on the tip of her tongue. She wouldn’t like the answer, because it would force her to acknowledge that she wasn’t the asshole she tried so hard to be. I saw through her long before we ever met, and that gave me an advantage. Sorrel Bishop liked to have control, but I put her in a position where she couldn’t walk in a take it. With me, she wasn’t witch or demon.
I made her human, and I knew it terrified her.
Without a word, she rested her head on my arm and curled her body against mine.
I had the night.
Chapter 22
Sorrel
Scratching on the wall behind the bed woke me. Strangely, Sorin didn’t seem to notice.
I listened for a few moments, gauging the reason for his visit. He never came close to the house. Not through my lack of trying to coax him. He just wasn’t a people dog.
When there was no repeat, I turned my attention to the man in the room.
He’d slept facing me, his arm curled around my waist, and that was how he lay now. Still holding me. Still perfectly at ease with everything I was.
“Good morning,” he muttered sleepily, eyes still closed.
“How did you know I was awake?” I asked, not taking my gaze from his handsome face.
“The snoring stopped.” My lack of response to his jibe forced him to open his eyes and inquire, “How do you not wake yourself up?”
“Couldn’t hear myself over you,” I snarked.
He released me, rolled onto his back, and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds. I remained where I was, studying him.
His nose wasn’t straight, slightly humped in the middle and tapering almost to a point at the end. The scruff he had when I first met him was much more pronounced now, although it was clear he’d tidied up his neck with a razor recently.
Dark hair, cut short, grew in thick sideburns, blending with his facial hair.
“I thought the military made you all cut your hair short and be clean-shaven.”
His lips twitched and he reached for my hand. I let him take it, allowing myself to enjoy the intimacy. Last night had been more frenzied, perfectly, satisfyingly frenzied. This was the natural next step. A luxury I hadn’t afforded myself recently.
“They do. Luckily, my genes allow me to grow it out quickly.” He turned back to face me, still holding my hand. “Do you have a preference?”
I shook my head, some of my hair catching on my horns and dangled annoyingly in my eyes.
Releasing my hand, he reached up to fix it and smiled. “I’ll leave it alone then. What’s the plan for today?”
I shifted, propping my head up on my left hand, and frowned. “Plan? There’s supposed to be a plan?”
His eyes roamed over my face, from my eyes, to my lips, and then to the protrusions on my hairline where my horns grew. “I thought you had everything mapped out?”
“I thought you knew all there was to know?” I countered, reaching out to trace my finger through the thick hair on his chest.
“Spoiler—I only see pieces,” he divulged, glancing down at my fingertips. “I rely on chance to get me on the right path a lot of the time.”
I nodded. “Spoiler—I don’t always have a plan. Sometimes I wing it. Like when the fae cornered me.”
“I’d forgotten about that little incident,” he murmured, shuffling toward me and kissing me gently. “Which version did you get?”
I narrowed my eyes. “You really want to know?”
“More of a need,” he answered, kissing my cheek. Then my jaw. Then the soft spot over my pulse point. “Was it the one where he tried to have the guards restrain you with enchanted ropes?”
“That sounds kind of fun, to be honest,” I quipped, pulling away.
He moved quickly, taking my hands and pulling them over my head as he used his body weight to pin me. “You like a bit of bondage?”
I smirked. “You’re the stalker, you tell me.”
The comforter was still between us, but his intention was clear. Round two. I wasn’t about to protest.
Despite his position of dominance, his kiss was gentle. That wouldn’t do at all.
Biting his lip, I pushed up hard and wrestling him onto his back. There was no resistance, and I easily straddled him, pushing his hands over his head.
“The one where he used a racial slur and you lost your shit?” he continued.
There was an intensity in his gaze that brought a flash of color to my cheeks, but I refused to look away.
“It’s so easy to love you, Sorrel. The harder you try to be distant, the quicker you pull everyone in. It’s a remarkable attribute.”
It was then I noticed Alva was missing from the conversation. Her input was invaluable at moments like this, but she was nowhere to be felt. No smart remark. No urging me to drop the chatter and take what we both wanted.
He must have seen the alarm in my eyes, because he tightened his fingers over mine. “Sorrel? What is it?”
I shook my head. “Alva.”
“Is right here,” he assured me, keeping a tight hold on my hands. “Baby, listen to me. She’s you. You’re her. Just because she isn’t behaving as a separate entity doesn’t mean she’s not there. It just means you’ve taken that step.”
I wanted to believe him, but the more I focused on it, the more out of place I felt.
“Sorrel, will you just—”
Without warning, my tail flicked over my shoulder, the center barb pressing right under his chin, forcing his head back into the pillow.
Despite the threat, he didn’t release his grip on my hands. There wasn’t a flicker of fear in his eyes as he he
ld my gaze and said, “See. You’re right there. I’m right here just like I said. You have friends. You can’t be at war with yourself and the Assembly. Don’t undo everything you overcame, Sorrel. Not now.”
My hands heated, my nails extending into sharp talons, but still, he held on.
“Why?” I demanded through clenched teeth. “Why are you here? It would have happened anyway. All of this would have played out without you involving yourself with me. Was it curiosity or the opportunity to boast that you fucked a demon and lived?”
Even in such a compromised position, he challenged, “This still? If others can see the best in you, if they can love you, why can’t you love yourself?”
My vision blurred as my eyes brimmed with tears, and no matter how hard I shook my head, they wouldn’t recede. I didn’t want to have this conversation. Not now. Not with him. But even with my claws piercing his skin, he wasn’t prepared to let it go.
I blinked and the tears began to fall.
He swallowed, the movement of his Adam’s apple scraping horribly against my sharp tail barb. “Sorrel. You have to stop. You’re only hurting yourself.”
I watched the blood bubble to the surface before slipping down his throat.
He was wrong. I wasn’t hurting myself, I was hurting him. The man who had put his life in danger to reach me. Who had let me lead him to the edge of hell just to get me the one thing I desperately wanted despite knowing it wouldn’t help either of us. He clearly thought there was something I could do for him, but he was wrong.
As quick as they came, my tail withdrew, my claws retracted, and I tried to push away from him.
“You have to leave,” I stated firmly, or as firmly as I could with the wobble in my voice.
But he didn’t move. His fingers remained entwined in mine, and when my shoulders sagged, he took the opportunity to force me off of him.
I landed on my side, pulling my knees up to my chest, and he instantly wrapped his arms around me.
Resting his scruffy cheek against my much smoother one, he squeezed and let out a tense breath. “I’m not going anywhere. When he warned me off, I disagreed, and I asked your father to send me here. When your damned guard dog came at me, I told him he’d have to tear my head off if he thought he was going to stop me from coming here. I’ve seen my future without you, Sorrel, and I don’t like it. The ones where I die aren’t the worst of them. I’ve seen so many eventualities, so many horrific ends, but the ones where I carry on without you are my idea of hell. Don’t push me away.”
It took me a few seconds to process everything he’d just admitted. But, eventually, I relaxed in his arms and queried, “Are you here for what I can do for you or for what you can do for me?”
“Both,” he answered immediately. “Because that’s how it works. We’re facing a world of uncertainty, but it’s brighter if we do it together. Not because it’ll hurt less, or because the outcome is more positive if I have a demon holding my hand, but because I don’t want to face this with anyone else.”
When I didn’t respond, he moved away, pulling the comforter up and over me, making sure my naked body was completely covered before kissing my cheek. “I’ll give you some time.”
It only took him a few seconds to pull on his boxers and head for the door.
The fact that he left his clothes behind was further confirmation he wasn’t going anywhere without me demanding it of him.
Because he was here by choice. Not for what I could do for him, but for what I was worth.
I didn’t know what my worth was yet, but the truth was, I didn’t want him to go. And seeing him walk away, even into the next room, was all it took to drive that point home.
“Sorin,” I called.
He paused with one hand on the door handle, but didn’t turn around. “Sorrel?”
“Put the kettle on. I’ll be there in five minutes.”
I didn’t need to see his face to know he was grinning. The swagger in his step as he exited the bedroom said it all.
Smooth bastard.
He was right, I couldn’t be at war with everyone, especially not with him. He deserved better from me. For now, at least, things were as calm as they could be. I knew it wouldn’t last, not where the Assembly was concerned, but for now I was content to be in my cabin with Sorin. I was going to enjoy it for all it was worth, because outside these four walls, I knew the moment we got back on track shit was going to hit the proverbial fan.
To Be Continued
Note From Authors
Thank you so much for reading. We would be very grateful if you would consider leaving a review.
Also By
Carrie Whitethorne
Kingdom of Oz
The Ruby Fortress
The Quartz Tower
The Prism City
Three Tricksters
Trickster’s Hunt
Trickster’s Guard
Trickster’s Consort
Riftkeepers
with Analisa Denny
Prime
Pursuit
Reckoning
Fused
Carrie Whitethorne with ZL Morris
The Demon’s Daughter
Vengeance
Uprising
Carrie Whitethorne writing as Shae Banks
Discarded
Things We Lost
Shae Banks & ZL Morris co-authoring
Pieces of Me
Detachement
Fulfillment
ZL Morris
Field of Blood
Tallulah Falls
Willow Dark Storms
Tallulah Rising
Standalone Contemporary
Saving Arlia
About the Author
CARRIE WHITETHORNE
USA Today Bestselling Author Carrie Whitethorne lives on the edge of the Lake District in North Western England with her husband and two children.
She writes Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance and Fantasy Romance with a focus on folklore and mythology.
Please join her mailing list for new release updates.
www.carriewhitethorne.com
ZL MORRIS
ZL Morris is a quirky author who refuses to be defined by one descriptor. While her current books dabble in the reverse harem genre, ZL plans to expand her writing to include all genres in romance. She likes stories of romantic mishaps and mayhem and looks forward to writing all of them! She can be found awake at odd hours of the night, which works well for her connecting with her American readers. Just don't hold her ramblings at four in the morning against her. It's when she comes up with the best ideas!
www.zlmorris.com
Vengeance Page 16
