by LJ Swallow
“Don’t stop.”
Ty sits back and dips my finger into his mouth. “You taste so fucking good.”
When he leans over and traces my nipple with his damp finger, lightning trips along my spine and lust blinds me. Ty leans over, kissing along my neck until he reaches my ear. “I have wanted to do this to you for so long.” His mouth moves, across my breasts and down to my belly, inch by tormenting inch, and the aching between my legs grows as he hooks fingers into my panties and slides them off.
I exhale loudly, heart thumping as I wait for his next move. Ty switches to kissing along my thigh, hot breath caressing me before he leisurely draws his tongue along my wet centre until he reaches my clit.
Holy crap. The world slides away, and I grip the edge of the bed to stop myself falling.
Ty pushes a finger into me, darting his tongue against my clit as he matches the movement with his fingers, and I grip harder to the edge, vision blackening with the need for release shaking through my body. Ty skillfully strokes and teases as he sucks until I’m heading upwards again. This man can do things with his tongue I never imagined possible, each stroke pushing me into craving one thing. Him. My whole body trembles as he presses harder against me. The rhythm of his tongue along with his fingers against the soft spot inside end me, and I fall away from the edge I’m holding. My vision blackens, blood roars through my ears, and at that moment, he shatters me, body and soul.
He shucks down his briefs and places his arms either side of my head before settling himself between my legs. His hard length slides against my sensitive flesh and the hunger in his eyes is barely controlled.
Thoughts race through my head, whispers about Scions and Hylands, of lust and death, but with my life so fragile, I don’t care. I want and need to experience this, to connect with a man who can trip sensation through my whole body from just a kiss. I could die tomorrow… next week… any time… and this is a moment I will not lose.
Is he thinking the same? Oh crap, don’t stop. He remains still, and I move my hand to wrap my fingers around his cock. There’s nothing between us now other than the go ahead Ty is waiting for.
“Do it,” I say, guiding him downwards. “Anything. Just don’t leave me again.”
He digs his hands into my hips and glides his hard tip along my slick centre, a teasing smile on his face. He rocks against me, pushing slowly, and I inhale, still positive I’m floating somewhere above the room after my orgasm. I twist my head and sink my teeth into his arm, gently, but enough to change his mind.
“Fuck!” Ty fists my hair and pushes into me, hard, until he’s stretching and filling me. His lust takes over, mouth and hands rough against me, chin scraping, fingers digging, teeth pulling at my nipples. Possessing. He pushes me back toward the height I was sure I’d moved away from, dragging me from the bed so I’m straddling his hips. I’m lost again; our bodies slide together, my nipples rubbing against his chest, as if any more pleasure is needed here when he’s sliding me up and down along him. I grasp his hair, holding him to my breasts, as he grips my ass and thrusts deep. “So fucking hot,” he breathes. “So fucking mine.”
Ty pulls my hair back and our eyes meet. Tenderness crosses his face for a moment, and I touch his lips. He touches mine too, as we continue to move together in our new world. Our lips mash together, and I tighten around him again. Ty pulls his face away and looks into my eyes, soaking up the pleasure he’s giving me, his own building.
“You don’t understand my self-control here,” he growls.
“This? Self-control?”
“Yeah. There’re a hell of a lot more things I need to do to you. But later.” Ty shoves me back onto the bed again and pulls my leg over his hip, the intensity building as he gathers pace, seeking his own release. I dig my fingers into his ass and stare back at the man who I’d happily give over everything to—heart, body, and soul. I wriggle against the sheets, arms behind trying to hold on again but I can’t. His mouth parts with pleasure of his own. I mumble his name in an attempt to stop panting, shocked when I come more powerfully than before. Ty pulses inside me, pushing himself to the hilt and swearing. He settles on my chest, showering my face with kisses.
“I think I should’ve done that earlier,” he says and nudges his nose against mine.
“I think you’re right.”
“But it feels different somehow.” Ty traces his fingers across my face and I wipe perspiration from his forehead. “I always said there was something different about you.”
“Curious?”
He rests his lips gently on mine. “I told you before, you brought the sun.” Ty rolls off me and drags me in into his arms in a hug that squeezes out what little breath I have left. “And I promise I will never let anything happen to you.”
As reality seeps in, I’m aware I’m pulled into a place I never intended to go. I’m not frightened because I could be physically hurt, or whether he’ll take my heart and break it. I’m scared that Ty won’t give me his, and that winter will remain instead. Does this go any deeper for Mattias than physical pleasure, and his need to protect, or does he feel this too?
22
Mattias shrugs on a jacket as Silas calls out to ask if he’s ready. Outside, three men, who live here and head out daily, sit in the old Land Rover, engine running.
“Where are you going?” I ask him.
“Now they’re sure an area is clear, I’m heading out with them.”
“To do what?”
“To look at what residual magic might be around. The witches lived amongst the humans for hundreds of years. Some used energy along ley lines and other places. This part of the old world attracted the supernatural, even the humans were aware of that. The latest cleared place we found has a ley line running through.”
Silas spots my “huh?” face and laughs. “Yeah, I understand about as much as you do,” he says.
“Only I can locate this, and any magic outside of the sector helps us.”
“Right.” I scout around the kitchen for my coat. “Wastelands, right?”
“You’re not coming,” protests Silas. “Tell me she’s not coming.”
Ty turns away and fills an empty bottle with water from the tap. “Ty?”
“She’s not coming, Silas.”
“She?” I pick up one of the empty bottles and throw it at the back of his head. “Speak to me. Why not?”
He reaches out a hand and catches the bottle before it reaches him, despite not looking. “Because you don’t know how to protect yourself. Sorry.”
“You said it’s safe out there.”
“Ever fired a gun?” asks Silas. “Hand to hand combat? Unlikely you Enclave princesses are taught that.”
“Careful,” growls Ty. “I’ve warned you about how you speak to her.”
“For fuck’s sake,” he mutters and grabs a rifle propped next to the door. “Hurry up. I want to be back before dark.”
I watch as Silas storms out, hear the van door slam, and the engine rev. “I guess you should go, then,” I snap.
“Cora, don’t be like this. How about I promise to teach you? I was going to when I had the chance. You need to learn.”
“I want to. Especially if I’m made to feel unequal because of it. He’s rude to me!”
“Because he can see you’re a distraction to me.” Ty tips my chin and places his lips on mine. “An inconvenience. If I took you today he’d lose his shit.”
I can’t help laughing at Silas’s influence over the Hyland prince. “Fine. I’ll help out Emma.”
A shadow crosses his face for a moment. “I worry about leaving you here alone, though.”
“I’ll be fine. Your hired muscle are here to protect me.” Paul and Andy, the men who located me in the sector, rotate between reconnaissance and security. “I’ll find something to do. When will you be back?”
“Sunset.”
Ty wraps me in his arms, leaving the taste of him on my lips, his touch imprinted on my body, but takes the guarded par
t with him.
Paul and Andy’s idea of protecting the farmhouse appears to be playing poker and drinking. They returned from a morning patrolling the property, satisfied nobody was approaching, and now sit at the kitchen table with a card deck and half-empty whiskey bottle.
Emma appears and when she sees the pair her face reddens, eyes narrowing. “What are you doing, you assholes?”
“Relaxing.”
“You have job to do!”
“Pfft.” Andy throws a card hand onto the table. “Show me what you have,” he says to his card partner.
“Nice.” Paul places his, spreading out a hand that makes Andy scowl and swear.
“Don’t you bloody ignore me!” she snaps. “You are supposed to be collecting more med supplies today. Ty organised today for pick up. If you don’t go, he’ll be pissed off. I’m running low on painkillers and antibiotics. There’s nowhere else we can buy them.”
“Don’t stress it, we’ll go. Just gotta finish this first.” Paul gestures at the table.
“The bottle or game?” she asks.
“Both.”
“You can’t drive into the city after drinking a bottle of bloody whisky. If you don’t go, Ty won’t be happy. At all.” Emma walks over and grabs the bottle.
“Hey, we’re here protecting his princess. He can be happy about that.” Paul takes it back and pours another drink.
“One more person calls me a princess and I’ll smack them,” I say and slam down the mug I’m carrying onto the table.
The derisive laugh and look they share, and the comments indicating I can’t look after myself conspire. “I’ll go,” I say to Emma. “They’ve already drunk too much.”
Paul looks up, gripping his cards. “Uh. Nope. You’re not to leave. Strict orders.”
“But we need the supplies.” Emma’s strained face builds my resolve. “I can’t believe you’ll happily let people suffer while you kick back and enjoy yourself. Aren’t we supposed to be a team?”
Andy stands. “Listen, sweetheart, I spent three days in the Wastelands last week, stuck in buildings that make this place look like a palace, not knowing whether a ravager waited nearby. Not sure if I’d come back alive. Some places we come across… Yeah, it’s hard being reminded what was lost, seeing it crumbled into nothing and knowing what theses witch bastards are doing. I deserve to forget that shit.”
“But Ty said there aren’t any ravagers.”
“A couple here and there. But the further we explore, who knows? Maybe a whole fucking army of them. It’s a risk.” He sits back down and picks up his cards. “So yeah, I can fire a gun after a few drinks. Don’t worry. Your pretty little self is protected.”
“But not drive,” retorts Emma.
Each patronising comment, each jibe, and my desire to either hit him or walk away grows. “I can drive.”
“No you can’t,” says Andy.
“I can!”
“No, I mean you’re not leaving this house. Ty would string me up by the balls if I let you,” retorts Andy.
“You can both come with me, then. Bring your guns, whatever. But I’ll drive.”
Wary looks pass between the three others in the room. “We need the antibiotics. What if Ty brings back somebody else? I won’t have enough.”
“Then that’s sorted.” I hunt for my coat.
“Everybody’s looking for you!” snaps Paul. “You’ll lead them back to us.”
I walk over and snatch his baseball cap from his head, then wind my hair underneath. I pull my hood over my face. “I’m sure not everybody is. We’re going to one specific place, aren’t we?” Paul nods. “Is it hidden? I presume so if they’re selling drugs.” Another nod.
I grab Paul’s pistol from the table, and he looks up in alarm. I hold it out, handle first. “So, I’ll drive, you bring you guns, and we’ll be back before Ty knows. Simple.”
I’ve driven before, that wasn’t a lie, but I haven’t driven anything like a Land Rover. Gritting my teeth through false starts and stalling, the journey eventually smooths, although the whisky odour turns my stomach. This had better be quick. The farm is hidden towards the back of a large wooded area, and once we drive through, country lanes lead away from the fertile countryside to the concrete world filled with despair.
The men don’t speak to me, and as we approach the city outskirts, my nerves pick up. No, nobody will see me, not like there’re wanted posters plastered everywhere. And as me and Ty both know, a determined Alaric would’ve located us by now.
Andy indicates a side street, and I swing the vehicle behind the tall building into a dirty car park crammed with older cars. Fewer cars exist in the sector compared to the Enclave. Magic fuels them, and although anybody in the Enclave is allowed one, out here, they’re shared with people paying extortionate amounts of money to borrow from each other. In turn, the witches fuelling these can extort money and favours too.
“Should she wait in the car or come with us?” Andy asks Paul.
“She shouldn’t be left alone,” he replies. “What if somebody drags her away when we’re inside?”
“She will be fine. I want to come in with you, anyway,”
I step out into the dull summer’s day, glad I wore my coat. Andy knocks on a small, black door in a building at the edge of the car park, and I look up at the dirty windows framed by tattered curtains. Is this a house? The door opens and a pale guy holding a gun peers out, lank hair hanging in his face.
“Oh. You.” He jerks his head, and we step inside.
House. I once visited my sector friend’s house, and the state was a shock compared to the place I live. This one is worse. Dents mark the peeling painted walls, and there’re no carpets. A rank smell permeates throughout, mingled with sweeter herbal smells reminiscent of witch rituals, but there’re no witches here.
“Just you two in there,” says the man with the gun and tips his head to an open door. A round table, partly obscured, contains a selection of small plastic bags and different sized pills.
“The girl can wait with them.” In an adjacent room, two other people sit on an old, brown sofa. One, a guy, sleeps, head lolled back against the chair, and the girl with him drinks from a mug, eyes unfocused. Her long, dark blonde hair is scraped back into a ponytail accentuating her gaunt face.
Looks like medical supplies aren’t all this guy sells, and for a good price, I’ll bet.
“You’d better do as he says,” huffs Andy and points at the room. “Paul can keep an eye on you from the kitchen.”
The girl looks up as I step into the room and hesitate in the doorway. A moment between two people, where they recognise each other but can’t think where from, passes. I’m less recognisable beneath my hood and hat, and only when I remember who she is do I speak.
“Sara?” I spent evenings with this girl every week for months tucked away in the bar I met Ty. She was friendlier than most sector kids in the group me and Declan hung out in, and we hit it off once her wariness dropped.
Her face folds into suspicion. “Yeah?”
“Cora.” I pull down my hood and smile.
“Holy shit!’ She glances at the man with her. “Dude, you shouldn’t be in public.”
The man lazily opens an eye. “Who?”
I drag my hood back up, and the man closes his eyes again, mumbling something I can’t catch. “So people are looking for me?”
She laughs and curls her feet under. “Story I heard is the other Hyland murdered the Regent’s supporters, then abducted you.”
“Abducted me?”
“Yeah, the guy wants his freedom from arrest in return for your life. Is that true?”
“No.” Shit, does Ty know? I look over my shoulder at the two men negotiating in the kitchen, dirty banknotes exchanged for pill bottles and syringes. Neither pay attention to me. “Why would it matter if Ty kidnapped me? I’m a Scion, but an awkward one.”
She giggles. “The Regent’s marrying you, right? Kinda difficult if his brother abduct
ed you. For a chick who wants nothing to do with the Enclave top dogs, you seem pretty involved.” She pauses as another thought trips into her mind. “So he didn’t kidnap you?”
“Kidnapped who?” Andy appears, tucking a small plastic bag into his jeans pocket.
“Cora.”
“What the fuck?” The semi-drunk guy whips his pistol from his pocket and points it at Sara. “Nobody is kidnapping anybody, or I’ll blow their brains out. How does she know who you are, Cora?”
“Whoa, easy tiger,” I say. “You really need to sober up. Nobody here has threatened me. Did you know Alaric is telling people Ty kidnapped me?”
He lowers his weapon. “No. Fuck, that’s all we need. I told him people would come looking for you.”
I don’t reply. This situation is weird and growing more uncomfortable by the second. “They don’t think he’s killed me do they?”
“Rumoured possibility,” says Sara with a laugh.
“Oh, fuck. This gets worse. We need to leave. Now.” Andy glances back at the kitchen, then walks back in; a low conversation with Andy follows before Andy storms out and grabs my arm. “This was a bad idea. We leave. Now.”
“I wasn’t to know someone I knew would be here.”
The guy who dealt the drugs to the pair peers out of the kitchen. “Is she that Scion chick?”
“Fuck.” Paul elongates the word. “Nobody in this house better think about trying anything or I’ll shoot the lot of you.”
Sara holds her hands up in a gesture of surrender. “No way. Now, if there were a reward might be a different story, huh, R?”
The guy whose name is apparently one syllable shrugs. “You guys should piss off. We don’t give a shit who she is. I have a business to run and don’t care who buys as long as they keep their mouths shut. I’m not getting involved and drawing attention to this place.”
As Paul lowers his weapon, I drop my shoulders in relief. “Sara’s a friend,” I say.
“How the hell are you friends with sector drug addicts?”
“I’m not a drug addict,” she snaps. “I live here with Alfie.” She points at the stoned guy next to her.
