Page 292 of Sorrow & Strangers

I hear him gaining on me, the steady beat of his heart somehow more threatening than the low growls passing his lips. My lungs burn as I add another burst of speed. I hear his talons scrape against bark, and I know he is marking over the blood I left on the trees. Possessive beast. I veer slightly to the right, making him work for it. Making him work for me.

My core is a throbbing fire, and I feel the uncomfortable way the wet lace of my panties rubs against my pussy. He’s gaining on me, and I want to let him catch me, but I know he desperately needs this, so I will hold out⁠—

I am tackled to the ground, hitting the soft mud hard. Rafe yanks me up to my knees, his claws making quick work of slicing away my jeans and panties before plunging into me with a snarl.

“You caught me . . .” I gasp out, my cheek pressed into the dirt.

Rafe leans over my back and slams his fangs into my shoulder, using them to hold me there, to pin me beneath him as he fucks me without mercy. I press my hands into the ground, trying to anchor myself as his thrusts turn brutal.

“Fucking your prey, demon?” I moan, my pussy quivering around his thick, hard cock.

He pulls his fangs from my flesh, sliding his tongue over the deep punctures. “Mine,” he growls demonically.

The dirt beneath me acts as a conduit for my heat, but without being able to reach Rafe’s horns, my body continues to get hot. My hair bursts into a mane of flame, and I feel the flames licking down my back. Rafe groans at the heat and plunges his fingers into the fire, gripping the burning locks at the roots.

Rafe’s body hums with aggression, and our power seeps from us, explosive, flammable magic rolling off our bodies, only stoking our need with every punishing thrust. Rafe’s fangs pierce my other shoulder, right where it meets my neck. My hips buck, and slick pours down my thighs as his teeth tear into my skin. He plunges into my body, growing more feral and animalistic as he fully succumbs to his demonic side. My toes curl from the pleasure, and Rafe growls a moan against my shoulder.

“I love you,” I say, the words falling from my lips as easily as air fills my lungs. Rafe snarls in answer, the demon sucking almost tenderly at my shoulder. I feel my orgasm so fucking close, and I don’t know how much of this forest will still be standing when I reach it.

As if he knows, Rafe tilts his hips a fraction, and I scream as my orgasm detonates within me, every cell in my body exploding into a fiery inferno.

Rafe pulls his hips back, fighting against the grip of my molten core. He pushes my thighs wider with his knees and slams into me so hard I see stars. His teeth still buried deep, he roars into my shoulder. His body shudders, his cock swelling and throbbing as his own orgasm comes on hard, filling me up with his release.

His hips buck against me, and he pulls back on my hair, trying to get as deep as possible. His ragged breaths begin to slow, all that pent-up energy finally dissipating. I feel his fangs shrink even as they are still piercing my skin. He eases them out fully, my blood staining his lips as he rubs his face against my neck, marking me with his scent.

He pulls out of me just long enough to flip me onto my back and then pushes his cock back inside me, continuing to rub against me, kissing, nipping, and sucking at my throat. I tilt my head for him, giving him access to any fucking area he wants. He rubs his hands down my arms, massaging muscles I didn’t even know were aching until he starts to roll them between his strong fingers.

“Kiss me,” I say, and he immediately presses his lips to mine, kissing me deeply. His tongue tastes like my blood, but all it does is make me want him to kiss me deeper. I slide my tongue along his still slightly elongated fangs, and they slice my tongue. The sensation of the caress across the sensitive surface of his teeth and the taste of my blood once again filling his mouth makes him moan, and he rocks his hips against me.

He pulls back and looks down at me, his eyes slowly clearing as the demon recedes. “How . . . how did you know?”

“Know what?” I ask, tenderly sliding my thumb over his lower lip, swiping my blood across its softness. I am a little obsessed with his mouth. The rest of his body is so hard, but his mouth is deliciously lush.

Rafe watches me, and the look in his eyes takes my breath away. “What I needed?”

I think for a moment. “I’m not sure. I just knew.”

Rafe glances at my lips. “Thank you,” he whispers before leaning down to kiss me again, rolling us so I’m sprawled on top of him. “Did I hurt you?” he asks, an edge of concern in his voice now that his mind is clearing.

I shake my head, leaning up on my forearms on top of him. Did he cause me pain? In the best way. Rafe’s eyes lock onto the trail of blood coming from his bite on my shoulder.

“I liked it,” I say, rocking my hips a little, enjoying him still being inside me. “A lot.”

Rafe groans. “You did?”

“Can’t you feel how wet I still am?” I ask, clenching around him.

Rafe moans again, but his hands go to my hips, and he holds me still, looking up at me. “Move in with me.”

“Rafe . . .” I blink and go still. That is so much pressure for such a new relationship, let alone one as intense as ours.

“You said you’d move out of the dorm.”

“I will. I’ll go to the admissions office and get reallocated.”

“Move in with me,” he says again. “We have extra rooms.” He adds when he senses my resistance.

“Your sisters⁠—”