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I barely had time to register Marik’s seductive tone inside my mind when a punishing blast of wrathful essences burst through the trees. I didn’t even have time to raise my shield again. I was lifted from my feet, my body tearing through the trees in a spiraling whirl - my only thought was that I finally knew what a wheel must feel like.
As I careened through the branches, I felt a strong arms brace around my waist before I was yanked into a hard chest, the sudden stop causing my mind to fracture. It felt like my body was disintegrating, and my mind was simply going along for the proverbial ride. My lungs were suddenly starved of air, despite nothing leaving my lips, and I realized that I could no longer feel the warm body or arms cradling me tightly. Hell, I couldn’t even feel my own clothes. Or the pain, for that matter. What the hell?
Darkness closed in around me, cloaking a whirling vortex of colors that streamed by in rapid succession. I couldn't register any of the sites before me except the continuous flow of black mist that remained unmoving despite the shifting scene behind it.
And as fast as it had begun, it stopped, all the sensations coming back to me suddenly. I had to force myself to inhale, reteaching my body to do its most natural function for survival. The pain in my limbs returned, as did the warmth of the hard-defined chest I was cradled against. I had no clue what had just happened - but I did know I was no longer in the forest. The only scents that surrounded me were Marik’s, and the soft flicker of candlelight replaced the halos of early morning light. The trees had melted away to gray stone walls with rich brocade burgundy and onyx fabrics hanging from the ceiling.
I was gently lowered to the hard stone tiles. I wobbled, and the arms around me tightened protectively. I looked down, recognizing defined olive-toned skin over corded forearms and large defined hands that dwarfed mine by comparison.
“I have you, my Little Thief.”
???
Marik
“And this time, I’m not letting go.” I registered how her body shivered as I allowed my lips to brush against the lobe of her right ear in a barely perceptible caress, so much better than any psychic connection I had used on her before. This was so much more exquisite - the raw feeling of her alabaster skin so tantalizing pressed against mine left me with a single-minded desire.
But first, I’d have to fix what the hellcat had done. My pique rose - the mixture of blood and brimstone clung to the air, and I growled, greatly displeased by any reminders of what could have happened to her. She may have some sort of connection to hell beasts, and not to downplay her skills, but hellcats were not something she was trained to handle. She could have been shredded to pieces with the prophecy shattering with her. She had no idea of her importance – no idea of how much we needed her. I need her.
My Little Thief tensed as I gripped her tighter and shifted, her good foot stomping down on my instep with a crunch. I all but purred. There were the claws I craved. But I only bent back down and took in the sweet scent just below her chin, only for it to be overpowered by the blood still trickling down her leg.
“I wouldn’t suggest moving Little Thief. That wound is deep, and I don’t want my efforts to save your life wasted because you stupidly bled out.”
She huffed. I snarled. She went to press down again and flinched, her body giving way as I swept her into my arms again.
Her breathing shallowed as her face radiated pain. I forced down my frustration and calmly stated, “Be a good girl now because this wound could be fatal if we don’t fix it.”
She nodded sharply, reluctantly surrendering into my hold. Despite the fear and agony leaking from her every pore, she maintained a bravado of contempt and defiance that made my cock twitch.
I carried her from the common room to my bedroom, laying her out across my bed, uncaring of the blood that smeared across the sheets. Content for now she would remain in check, I summoned Felix and Drew, who appeared before me in a single cloud of black smoke.
“Fix her,” I said, my voice brooking no defiance. Felix came forward, a subtle, warm glow of brown flowing across his fingertips.
Gluttonous energy melted into my Little Thief’s skin as the jagged edges of the wound pulled together. The skin folded in on itself and smoothed back, revealing only a slight pink line where the once heinous wound had been. As the skin knitted back together, the blood that had seeped into my blanket dissipated, leaving no lasting visual evidence of her injury.
“Just call me crazy!” Felix grinned and relaxed his hands into the pockets of his black pressed trousers.
I raised an eyebrow in bemusement, and Felix chuckled.
“As in the mental state… or the glue?” My Thief’s face bunched in confusion.
“The latter! I stuck it all back together!” Felix’s jovial nature was infectious. Even as annoyed as she was, my Thief fought back a giggle.
“Thank you,” she said softly, tracing her finger along the pink scar that would likely forever tarnish her beautiful skin. We all bore scars - but the look of this new one on her perfectly unblemished skin had the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end.
“Leave.” I barked, and my Thief’s eyes grew large. I waited until I heard the door click closed behind me.
“What the hell were you doing out there?” I snarled. Her previously warry expression grew heated with the defiance I had come to expect from her.
“That’s none of your business,” she spat.
“Oh, I think you’ll find it’s very much my business.”
She snorted. A nasty habit my demon wanted to break.
“You doubt me?” Anyone who knew me well would know the dangerous edge to my voice, something she did not yet understand.
“Oh, I don’t doubt that you think it’s your business. But it doesn’t make it true,” her snarky raised eyebrow left me craving the taste of her blood against my tongue as I devoured her lower lip.
