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I won’t test it because of Tesq, who’s still wandering around the bottom, but I definitely fantasize about it.
“Don’t worry, kitten. We’ll get him. Get those claws ready.”
It’s the first time that Dev’s used that nickname and it hasn’t annoyed the crap out of me. Right now, we’re both on the exact same page. “Let’s do it.”
He signals with his claws, and I hold my breath before we dive a second time, this time going deeper.
That strategy doesn’t help because one of the sharks notices us. The massive torpedo-shaped creature turns in a slow circlethat sends prickles up my arms. He swims deftly towards us, and Creep portals right into the shadow underneath the beast’s belly. My bastard monster grins at us from the shadows, sticking his thumbs in his mismatched ears and wiggling his fingers before portalling right back out and leaving us to deal with a charging shark.
Motherfucker!
Instead of letting Dev take care of this one, I brace my legs against him and lean out as far as I can. I imagine those ice spears that I shot at the sandworm, hoping against logic that magic really is as easy and instinctive as my mates claimed.
A javelin of ice flies from my palm right into the beast’s mouth. While I don’t see a streak of blood or any damage, the spear goes right into its gullet. Either the cold or the internal injury stops the shark on the spot. Its body shudders and shakes as if it wants to vomit.
I’m not sure if fish can vomit, but Dev doesn’t wait around to find out. He kicks hard and propels us up to the surface. As soon as we’ve caught our breaths, he pulls me in front of him so that I cling like a koala. Reaching over his shoulder, he collects one of my hands and threads my fingers together with his massive claws. He stares down at our interlinked digits for a moment before looking back up at me.
“That was…hot,” he confesses.
Is the Devourer actually admitting he likes that I can stand up for myself? That I can fight and use magic?
“Actually, I’m pretty sure it was cold.” I deliberately misunderstand Dev’s words, and he rolls his red eyes before scanning the surface of the water for our target.
Creep is popping from spot to spot, cheating like the magnificently underhanded bastard he is.
“We’re never going to catch him normally,” I murmur, wondering whether I should leave our hands linked or not.
“We just have to get close enough to clock that idiot—” Dev starts to disagree.
“Or we have to tempt him to get close enough to us,” I say.
“How the hell are we—” Dev stops talking when I lean up, pushing my face closer to his. Untangling our fingers and looping my arms back around his neck, I enjoy my moment of superiority as I stare confidently up into those ruby eyes. “Like this.”
And then I yank on his neck and pull his werewolf face down to mine for a kiss. Our mouths connect, and something feral bursts open inside of me, like an animal that’s been caged for years finally escaping its confines and running free. A reeling, unsteady and unstable sort of ecstasy fills me, as if I’m about to stumble but rushing forward so quickly that momentum alone is keeping me upright.
Shit.
The kiss was supposed to be a strategy. Just a silly, stupid move to drag Creep’s ass back to us out of jealousy. But when Dev’s tongue sweeps out from between his fangs and tangles with mine, I find myself lost. A bit loopy.
My eyelids start to flutter closed, as if this kiss is real. My heart beats faster, particularly when his warm claws cup my ass, the heat of him seeping right through my underwear. All ourarguments, his ridiculous, possessive, controlling nature, the ongoing anger and resentment I should be feeling… It all fades.
A low rumble emerges from his chest, something that almost resembles a purr, and the sound calls to me like nothing ever has before. It sinks deep into my bones and rattles the marrow there, churning it until lust seeps from the very core of me. Matches alight. Christmas lights flicker one by one, as if they’re strung along my skin, starting at my center and pulsing all the way down to my toes.
I think he can sense it, that my response is different than it’s ever been before.
Before, we were hatred and anger and desperation even as our bodies came together. Today, I invited the kiss.
How foolish of me.
Might as well have invited a vampire inside, like in the old human stories. Now, my very blood is abandoning its duties, forsaking my veins, and rushing to any spot that’s connected to Dev’s body.
My nipples harden through the thin bra where they brush against his chest. My stomach prickles and heats against his fur-covered torso. My legs slide lasciviously up and down over his back, feeling the swish of his tail in the water. The hairs on my arms stand at attention, and goose bumps born of anticipation prickle along my neck when his palms press me more firmly against him so that I can feel him lengthening against me, hardening.
Dev moves his kiss to my jaw and then glides his warm tongue down my neck, creating an entire tidal wave’s worth of emotions. I feel simultaneously vulnerable and treasured as histongue sails over my pulse, those knife-sharp teeth hovering just above my skin. The warm puff of his breath against my clavicle and the shallow nature of his breathing tell me I’m not the only one affected.
It’s tempting to forget that there’s even anyone else here. But we’re not alone.
Glancing up through half-lidded eyes, I spot Empty watching from the platform, boxers shoved down his thighs, cock in hand, stroking. I can tell it’s him based merely on his expression and the way he’s double-fisting his cock.
