Page 20 of Dark Goodbye

In an instant, her eyes harden. “Then what are you looking for?”

“Well, maybe for you to actually heal and not try to kill yourself?”

Ladria looks down at her wrist for a moment, as a wet sheen crosses over her eyes. “That part wasn’t intentional. I-I had to see what he did to me. I had to see what was so hidden away.”

Pulling her arm toward me, I prop the injured wrist on my thigh, noting the look of agony that crosses her face as I force her shoulder to move, and slide a pair of gloves onto my hand. As I reach toward the ointment, I pause, sussing out my intentions. What will benefit her in the long run, actually trying to heal her or making a point by causing more pain?

I set the jar to the side and ease out from under her arm, holding it as still as possible while moving it to a different location. It’s still not enough to keep her from crying out, and once more, the feral need to rip Malus limb from limb tears through my body.

“I have the end of the leash,” I taunt, waving it in the air. “Don’t give me cause to use it. I’m not soft like Mogen. I have no problem watching you writhe at my feet.” Again, that hint of spice, that raw need peppers the air, swirling in my brain until my thoughts threaten to scatter.

Walking into the bathroom, I turn off the water before throwing open the cabinet doors and pulling out a package containing healing leaves. The result will be similar to the ointment but without the pain. Rather, it should be more soothing.

When I come back into the room, I watch as Ladria cradles her arm, forcing the shoulder to roll about in its capsule. “That’s enough of that.” Her face is red as she looks up at me, shock parting her luscious lips. “That is unless you want to pop it back out, forcing me to put it back into place.”

“No thank you,” she finally whispers, easing her arm back down.

“Good girl.” The arousal that greets me from just those two little words slams into me, robbing me of breath.

This simply won’t do. I can’t think around her. I can’t be this calm, unmovable force when she smells so damn good. It makes me want to push her back down and devour her, not stopping until she’s cried out from pleasure as many times as her body will allow.

Reaching into my pocket, I slide the respirators in, sighing when all the external stimulation comes to a halt. My brain cranks back into gear, and the need to see to her wound comes back to the forefront. I watch her as she watches me, her expression wary as I sit down and ease her arm back to my thigh.

“Sana Vulnus, a healing plant from Laxa,” I tell her, holding up the thick leaf, taking care to not prick my fingers on the sharp spines that line the edges.

Digging my finger into the base, I find the edge of the bark-like outer leaf and the pulpy sheets that lie within. After a few moments of prying, I’m able to peel it back, revealing the pale green, slimy innards. One by one, I ease them off of the plant base and place them on her arm.

Though she winces at the initial contact, she doesn’t cry out or give off any physical signs of distress. Instead, her body sags against the pillows as relief flows into her. I’ve never used the plant myself, but I’ve heard stories of how great it feels.

“Now then. I have other things I have to attend to. I’m going to bandage you up, and you will not pick at them, move them, or in any way cause them to come off. Am I making myself very clear?”

Her face screws up into a frown, as if my edicts have the audacity to disgust her. “You can’t tell me what to do.”

“Oh? I can’t?” The sadist side of me, the part that only she’s been able to draw to the surface, the part of me that wants to make her squirm, pokes up its head and looks around. “I promise you, you do not wish to test me on this.”

Her mouth drops open as she stares at me. Some unnamed emotion flashes through the depths of her stunning gray eyes, welding me to the spot. I can’t move even if I want to. She is mesmerizing, tantalizing, everything I have ever wanted and more.

It’s not just her pheromones that call to me — it’s her. It’s all Ladria. Even though I’ve removed the temptation of her scent, it does nothing to stop the unchecked desire that flows through me, consuming me from the inside out. She’s perfection. Just as I remembered her, only now, she’s a woman, able to fulfill any need and desire I have.

Unable to resist the allure of her parted lips, I lean in, pausing for just a moment before closing the gap. Need pummels me, demanding I take action. It’s only by sheer stubbornness that I make myself content with the soft, delicate rasp of her lips against mine.

Her body is rigid, unyielding, and it only makes me want to break her barriers down even more. But I’ll never get anywhere by force. I’m not Malus. I refuse to take what isn’t mine. Sigh heavy on my lips, I pull back, staring back down into those fathomless gray eyes.

They’re so mercurial, flitting from one emotion to the next. There’s desire there; I know it. I don’t need to smell her to see the raw need etched on her face. But there’s more than that, a malice that makes no sense to me.

“Why did you run?”

The question hangs in the air as Ladria blinks up at me, her eyes watering for just a fraction of a second. “Because I can’t do this. I can’t be with an Alpha. Even you.”

CHAPTER 10

Davix

Her words sting like a physical slap to the face, and I pull back, needing to put space in between us before I do something I’ll regret. Though I don’t wish her harm, the need to pull her across my lap and smack into that rounded ass until she sees reason is at the forefront of my mind.

It’s astonishing, really. Someone like me, all facts, figures, and finesse can be reduced to caveman-like tendencies by a pretty face. No, not just any pretty face — Ladria’s. If it were any other omega, I’d be shocked that my mind is rebelling this way, but with her, it just makes sense.

“I’ve wanted you from the moment I knew what desire was.” Though it pains me to admit it out loud, she needs to understand the depths of my feelings. “I never stopped. Even after you were gone.”