AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ugh. This again. Something screamed in the forest, a high, shrill call that was almost person-like, but not quite. Probably a nymph or dryad, or some other sort of wild fae. I felt the moon's pull like an itch under my skin, digging into my veins, making every muscle contract, poised on the brink of action, urging me to move, to express some of this pent-up energy that was building inside me. Instead, I rolled my eyes at the big highborn and turned away, going back to Adder's side.
Adder stared across the fire at Bach, their eyes locked on one another in some weird staring contest. I snorted and nudged the tall, silver-haired fae's arm. "Were we going to get water?" I asked sweetly. "Or did you want to finish eye-fucking your leader first?"
Adder glanced over at me and raised his brows. "Impatient, are you, my dear?" Turning, he started off toward another animal trail that led off into the forest. "One would think you'd be apprehensive about venturing off into the Untamed Wood with a man you hardly know." He glanced over his shoulder and his eyes glinted. "It could be dangerous."
I shivered and hurried after him. "I'm certain it will be," I replied as I followed Adder into the dark. "That's half the fun. Besides," I said impishly, feeling my cheeks redden, "we can't eat until we fetch the water. And I'm feeling quite…hungry."
He chuckled darkly and led the way deeper into the forest.
It was darker here, under the canopy, but enough moonlight filtered through to make it manageable. My eyes weren't quite as keen as a full-blooded fae, though, so I was happy to let Adder lead the way.
A rippling stream of laughter suddenly sounded off to our right, and a stiff wind kicked up, as some wild forest elemental blew across our path and away into the night. It was harmless, but startling, and I was so caught up in watching it pass that I stumbled over a tree root in the path. I managed to catch myself, but Adder's hand found mine, long fingers wrapping around mine and drawing me along behind him. It was a simple touch, but the contact lit a fire inside me that I hoped the dangerously handsome male was planning to quench.
We reached the stream shortly thereafter, only to find that the place he initially led us to was occupied by a pair of kelpies. Luckily, they seemed more intent on violently mating than on finding food, because we probably would have seemed like a perfect meal.
Adder didn't seem afraid. He simply squeezed my hand and led me off the path and upstream to a more sheltered location, where tall reeds swayed in the night breeze and a chorus of frogs sang undisturbed. He released my hand to push through the reeds, revealing a place where the stream trickled over an outcropping of rock, making a tiny waterfall. Kneeling, Adder filled the pot he'd carried with him. Then we traded, and I set the pot aside while he filled the two flasks.
When that was done, we simply stood there, staring at each other in the dappled moonlight as frogs sang and the forest sighed around us. The need was cresting inside me again, and I turned my head to glance at the dark forest behind me while I waited for it to ebb. The sudden urge to run, to dash off into the wilderness and frolic with the creatures who lived there, hit me like a physical blow. I didn't realize I had moved until Adder's hand wrapped around my wrist, halting my steps, keeping me there with him.
"I know the melody of the moon is strong," he murmured, his deep voice richer and more alluring than ever. "But don't listen to its call. The forest spirits would devour a little halfling like you."
I let him tug me back, even as his words tumbled through my brain. I wanted to be offended that he'd just called me a halfling—it was considered a bit of a slur among those with mixed blood. But the way the words flowed from his mouth didn't seem offensive. It sounded almost affectionate, like a nickname.
He pulled me closer, until my breasts brushed his chest, and one of his long arms wrapped around my waist. "And I should listen to you instead?" I asked, my voice a little breathless as the urge to run shifted into an entirely different urge. "Are you somehow less dangerous than the Untamed Wood and the wild moon, my lord?"
He chuckled, and this time I was close enough to see his fangs, slender and needle-sharp. They seemed to unfold from the roof of his mouth, springing forward like the fangs of a viper. Like the snake he was named for. "Less dangerous?" he purred. "Perhaps. But no less likely to devour you."
Chapter 35
The moonlight shimmered over the hint of tiny scales that dusted Adder's high cheekbones, and I lifted my hand to trace my fingers over the smooth bumps. I hadn’t noticed them in the daylight. But there were parts of themselves that some fae kept hidden under glamor. I suspected I was seeing the real Adder now. His dark eyes gazed into mine as I touched his face, and I shivered at the intensity I saw there.
"Promises, promises," I teased, a bit surprised at my daring, but feeling perfectly confident in his presence, despite his intimidating aura. "Let's hope you're a bit more thorough than your companions."
He used the arm around my waist to press me closer, so that I had no doubt at all about the hardness in his breeches. "Did they leave you unsatisfied, mistress?"
I sucked in a breath as lust shot through me, sharp and heady. "Not unsatisfied," I muttered, a sulky tone creeping into my voice. "Just still thoroughly clothed."
The moonlight highlighted one side of Adder's handsome face as it cast the other side into shadow, but it was enough for me to see one corner of his chiseled lips turn up in a wry smirk. "They know we shouldn't complicate matters by fucking the queen’s spy," he said bluntly, in that no-nonsense way of his, the tone of voice that dared you to meet his honesty with your own.
I rolled my eyes. "Believe me, the queen does not care. And this spy would very much like it if we both enjoyed the interaction."
Adder leaned down, running his nose along the side of my neck before whispering in my ear. "Believe me, halfling, if my companions feel as I do, you call to our beastly natures like nothing else has in ages. I would love nothing more than to pin you down and fuck you until you can't take any more." His tongue flicked out to touch my earlobe, making me break out in goosebumps at the unusual feel of the appendage. "But there are other ways to slake this urge. And I will thoroughly enjoy the interaction, even if you never touch my cock."
He drew back, and I felt magic stirring within him. When he spoke again, his blue eyes glowed faintly, and his voice grew sensual…mesmerizing. "I will have you crying out like a banshee without removing a single item of clothing. And I will enjoy every second."
There was something in his voice…. I swayed a bit, everything else falling away. It was as if the forest no longer existed. My entire focus narrowed to the male before me and that voice that went straight to my core. My breath came short, like a mouse frozen under the gaze of a cobra.
Adder's lips on mine drew me out of my frozen state, the crushing pressure calling to the moon madness inside me. My arms came up around his neck and I arched my body into his, opening to him. The tongue that met mine wasn't what I was expecting, and it took me a moment to figure out what I was feeling. Adder's tongue was forked, and a bit longer and firmer than usual. It undulated and flicked against my own—like a snake's tongue.
I groaned into the kiss, feeling the press of fangs against my lips, getting so caught up in the moment that I ran my tongue along one of his fangs without thinking. I started and pulled back when a prick of pain lanced through my tongue.
Staring up at him, I searched my poor, moon-and-lust-drenched brain for words as my tongue went all tingly. "Did you…is there…venom?"
Adder chuckled darkly. "You did say the danger was half the fun, did you not?"
At my panicked stare, he grabbed me and spun me so my back was to his chest, one strong arm banding around my waist as the other hand spanned my throat, holding me in place. Then he leaned in and flicked his tongue over the exposed skin on the side of my neck, before dragging the point of his fangs over the sensitive flesh.
I gasped and shuddered in his grip, fear warring with desire and creating some potent combination of lust that I had never experienced before. Was he going to bite me? Did I want him to? I had lost every last bit of my mind.
