Throat bobbing, she held her ground, holding her chin up high like a defiant little thing. Oh, what fun he would have in breaking that. It had been over a week now, aweekof her scent driving him mad, watching her mouth move and imagining it elsewhere, every goddamn instinct screaming at him to mark her like she was his mate.
A step closer. Then another. Until he was close enough that he could see the candles flickering in her eyes, their bodies only inches away. He cocked his head. “You take my magic without my permission.”
“Your permission?” She scoffed, getting up from her knees to face him.
“You don’t listen when I tell you to stay put.”
“Because I wanted to help you, you stupid cat.”
Smiling faintly, he made sure his fangs were showing. He was going to ruin her.
Taking another step, he pressed into her space. “You consistently talk back.”
Instinctively, she retreated, flattening herself against the wall as he caged her in.
“You live to disobey me, Avery.”
He raised a hand to her face and unsheathed his claws. Avery didn’t dare breathe as he pressed the back of his claw to her face, cold and rough against her fervent skin. Achingly slow, he moved it down to her neck, her pulse throbbing against its tip. One wrong move and it would slash her jugular.
The next words came out as a whisper as he leaned into her. “Disobey me one more time, Avery, and tell me to stop.”
The edge in his voice gave him away. He wanted her to say it. But Felix was right about one thing: she would disobey him to the end. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
Though her body had other ideas. She squeezed her thighs together, a subtle movement, but one that didn’t go unnoticed. His eyes fluttered shut.Fuck, he could smell her.Her scent sentevery rational thought out the window. He wanted to pin her down and fuck her until she couldn’t walk. He should stop, should walk away. But he couldn’t, not when she looked like a fucking goddess in her own right. Freckled skin so supple and soft, and features so perfect, it was like she was made for him specifically. Carved from a dream.
His tongue flicked over his fangs, and he only wished it would be somewhere else. He couldn’t hold back any longer. Finally, he dragged his claw down and down, until it brushed over a nipple. A breathy moan escaped her.
Using his magic, he called away the shadows that clothed her. They fell as fast as his inhibitions.
For a moment, he just stepped back, his breath hitching as he looked at her. Nipples pebbled, one still gloriously pierced with his shadow standing to attention. Begging, no, pleading withhim to taste her. How could he resist that? There were so many ways that he could ravage her. Usually, he was a patient shifter, butfuck,this little witch would be the death of him.
His gaze dropped. Dripping, she was dripping for him. He crouched, and Avery watched him, heavy-lidded, as he took his claw and ran it through the puddle she’d spilled onto the ground. He rose from the floor and brought his claw to his mouth, licking herslick juices from the ridges.God, she tasted so fucking good,like cinnamon and honey. His thumb pressed against her bottom lip until it gave. Carefully, he slipped his claw past herteeth, making sure not to cut anything soft. The needy whine she let out almost had him spilling right there, and if that didn’t work, then the way Avery’s pupils dilated until her usually bright eyes were almost black would send him over.Fuck.
Shadows threaded around her neck, forming a collar. Just for the fun of it, he made a heart-shaped tag with ‘property of Felix’engraved on it. Another shadow connected it, almost like a lead. She had collared him, so he would collar her, too. He stepped back, smirking, and tugged. The collar forced her to her knees.
Tug.
She didn’t move.
Tug.
Defiant little thing.
Tug.
Finally, with a glare, she crawled toward him like a cat.
With the way her arousal snaked down the bond, he shouldn’t stop.She was enjoying this. She wanted him to take control.
He led her to the armchair. In one swift motion, he picked her up and dropped her into the armchair with a surprised yelp. Candlelight flickered over her form, illuminating every curve that he would ravish. So much skin, so little time. Then, before he could second-guess it, he sank to his knees. Shock flashed through her face, like she hadn’t expected him to do that. And with anyone else, he wouldn’t.
“Open your thighs for me, Avery,” he commanded.
She hesitated, which prompted him to stop and ask, “What’s wrong?”
“I’ve just never had anyone do that for me.”
His eyes darkened, a growl building in his chest. “You’ve been with others, yes?”
