“As long as I take those bastards down first, it’sallworth it.” My claws tighten possessively around her hips, and I suck in a deep breath, no longer able to keep up with the teasing and sarcasm—not about this. “Look, scarecrow. I’m not good at this shit. Words and feelings and trying to make sense of the shit in my head… It’s a right mess. All I know is I need to take care of you, okay? I need to bloody take care of you because those fucking monsters didn’t, and your fucking piece of shit father and stepmother didn’t, and none of this shit should’veeverhappened to you. It fucking guts me. Absolutely fuckinggutsme, thinking of you like that… helpless and in pain and scared… It’s eating me up inside. And yeah, I know I’m making this about what I need instead of what you need, and maybe I’m a selfish arsehole for it, but fuck it. Iamselfish when it comes to you, and no, I won’t walk away from this. I can’t. I just… I just fucking can’t.” My voice breaks on the last words, my throat tight from holding back the roar in my chest, my heart slamming against my ribs, and if I try to hold her now, I’ll fucking crush her with the force of everything I feel for her.
It’s her gentle touch on my wings that drags me back from the brink, her palms stroking the crests.
“Jude,” she says. “I get it. I get it, and if I can’t stop you, then… Okay. Whatever you need to do? Get it done.”
“You… you’re saying you’re actually okay with this now?”
She nods. “But I have one condition.”
“Name it,” I whisper.
She kisses me again, vicious and deep, fuckingdevastating, and when she finally pulls back to meet my gaze, her blue-green eyes are damn near on fire with determination. “I’m going with you.”
I skim my palms up her rib cage, thumbs brushing her nipples, making her gasp. “Scarecrow, when I find them, I’m not going to be kind.”
“Skull-bashing, intestine-tying, bone-carving… Pretty sure you’ve set the scene for me, Jude. Clearly.”
“Thenclearlyyou can trust me and Augs to get the job done proper. You don’t need to see us doing it.”
“I’ve already seen you doing it, Jude. You slit Randall’s throat right in front of me, remember?” She grins at me again, but it’s no longer the sweet, innocent smile I’ve come to associate with our little witch. This one is brutal and cold and terribly hungry for something she hasn’t even tasted yet.
This one is unhinged.
Something hot and fluttery swirls inside my chest, like my soul’s just recognized its long-lost mate.
“Hmm.” I drag a claw along her lower lip, back and forth. “Seems my little scarecrowlikeswatching me spill the blood of her enemies, doesn’t she?”
“You havenoidea.” Pure, uncut lust darkens her eyes, and the scent of her desire spikes hard, heat radiating from between her thighs, making merockfucking hard in an instant.
“I can smell your sweet little cunt, darling,” I whisper, my own grin turning feral. “That gives me averygood idea. Really sets the scene, as you say. And now I’m afraid you’ve left me no choice but to fuckingdevouryou.”
Chapter Ten
JUDE
I shove Randall’s kneecaps aside and lay her on the table, ripping off her shorts and shredding the silky blue panties with the swipe of a single claw.
She opens her pretty little mouth to scold me, but I press that claw to her lips, silencing her.
“I’ve already taken the liberty of ordering you new undergarments, darling. Lots of them, in every color of the rainbow, so I can keep shredding them off you whenever the mood strikes. All that’s left for you to decide is whether you want the sweatshirt to stay on tonight.”
At first she shakes her head—an automatic response. But then she sighs and says, “Wait, no. I’m good. I want it off.”
“You sure?”
With an emphatic nod, she unzips it and slides her arms out to unwrap herself for me, her perfect tits on full display.
I take a moment to admire the view, all smooth skin and soft curves, black-and-silver hair fanning out beneath her, lips parted as her chest rises and falls with ever-quickening breaths.
“Well, well, well, darling. Aren’tyoua fine meal, all prepared for me on the breakfast table.” Ditching my loincloth, I climb on top and lower my mouth to a dark pink nipple, flicking it with my tongue. Westlyn arches her back and grabs my horns, thighs parting, that soaking wet little cunt of hers already begging for it.
“Jude,” she breathes, determined to keep me in a state of complete arousal for the rest of my fucking life. “Wait. What if we get caught?”
“Don’t pretend you don’twantto get caught, my little exhibitionist.” I move to the other mouthwatering tit, sucking her nipple between my lips and grazing it with my fangs. “Be honest. You love putting on a show for your gargoyles, don’t you?”
“Y-yes,” she whispers. “Oh, goddess… Your mouth…”
“This mouth?” I tease, kissing a hot path down to her belly button. Then, gripping her thighs and spreading her wider, I swirl the tip of my tongue around her clit, the taste of her unleashing a deep growl inside me. “Mmm. You taste too fucking good, darling.”
