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Finally, he relented, nuzzling under my ear before whispering to me, his warm breath making me shiver against him. "The venom won't hurt you," he promised. "But it does have some other interesting effects. Maybe some time I'll show you. If we lose this tournament, my fangs are here for your enjoyment."
I let out a long breath and leaned into his embrace. "Tease," I muttered, not sure if I was relieved or disappointed. But his words reminded me of the damned tournament and the lie I was embroiled in, and I definitely didn't want to be thinking about that right now.
He kept that hand at my throat, unaware of my thoughts, his thumb stroking over my skin. "You don't need my bite to come so hard you see stars, my little halfling," he promised, that mesmerizing, all-consuming magic sneaking back into his voice again. His other hand moved from my waist, lifting to cup my breast and pinch my hard nipple through my shirt, while he pressed his impressive erection against my ass. "Tell me you want that, Rina. Beg me to make you come."
I swallowed hard, an enthusiastic, full-body yes singing through my veins. But what came out was a whimper.
Adder pinched my nipple harder, the bite of pain just adding to my overwrought state. "What was that?" he purred. "I didn't quite hear you."
I ground back against his hardness, my body begging for what it wanted before I could even form words. "Please," I whispered. "Lord, Adder, please make me come." I was blushing so hard it was a wonder that I didn't catch fire, but who would see, here in the moon-drenched woods? None of that mattered. All that mattered was that I needed some relief from the tension inside of me and the wild urges flowing through my veins.
"Good girl," Adder said, magic flowing through his voice again, making me want to do anything he said. The praise sent a pulse of pleasure through me and made my core clench with need.
Then Adder's long, strong fingers were sliding beneath my waistband, finding my dripping folds, and stroking me. I nearly sobbed in relief as he circled my clit, stoking the fires, pushing me closer to release. But he didn't tip me over that edge just yet, his fingers moving lower, slipping inside me to curl and press, the heel of his hand grinding against my clit with each thrust.
I bucked against his hand, but his grip at my throat kept me from moving too much. His lips and his forked tongue caressed my neck, teasing, promising more pleasures to be had, if I ever got the man on his knees and really put that mouth to work.
And all the while, the magic in his voice whispered to me, told me of all the filthy things he'd like to do to me, of all the ways he could take me apart. The tension of the moon magic and the lust inside me rose higher and higher, but all I could do was focus on the deep voice that commanded my very soul.
My hands clutched desperately at the muscular thighs of the man behind me, and I made a desperate sound in my throat as he added another finger, twisting his wrist so his thumb pressed against my clit as his fingers thrust inside me.
"Come for me, little halfling," he commanded in that mesmerizing voice. "Lose yourself in the magic and scream for me."
And I did exactly what that compelling voice told me to do. My body spasmed, my core clenched, and pleasure lit through me like a wildfire. Every nerve ending sang as I climaxed against his fingers, a high, clear sound of euphoria spilling from my lips to join the sounds of wild revelry in the forest around us.
I collapsed against Adder's chest, feeling boneless as the euphoria faded. He withdrew his hand from my breeches and released his hold on my throat, but didn't let me turn around to face him as he drew his lips up the side of my neck again. "Beautiful," he breathed, more emotion in that one word than I had ever heard him express.
He was still rock hard against my ass, and his breathing was a bit elevated. But like the others, he refused to let me turn to him and give him release in return. Instead, he just held me there, breathing me in, until I could stand on my own.
"Adder—" I said when he finally released me, turning to him with no idea what I wanted to say. But he cut me off, stepping aside to retrieve the pot and flasks of water.
"Here you are," he said evenly, as if he hadn't just held me in his arms while I came. "Let's get back to camp before you starve. You did say you were hungry."
I took the flasks he held out and looped the straps around my neck. "Yes," I said, struggling to make my voice work. "Starving."
And it was true. I was hungry for actual food. But I was also famished now for something that was apparently off limits tonight. I had a feeling that indulging with these men, even in this limited capacity, was only going to make that hunger worse. But I had done this to myself. I had lied to everyone about my identity, and I couldn't speak up to fix it. So, I supposed this was my punishment.
Sighing, I followed Adder back toward camp on unsteady legs.
Chapter 36
You would think that, given the circumstances, our little group would spend the night in a state of awkwardness over unsaid things. But dinner was a relatively comfortable affair. No one made any mention of what I'd gotten up to with Adder. Or with the others, for that matter. With the addition of a few herbs from Fife's collection, and the things Mirri and I had gathered earlier, we concocted a fairly good vegetable stew. We supplemented it with fresh berries and roasted blue chestnuts, leaving a bit of the less perishable nuts and berries for tomorrow's breakfast. Then we all gathered round the fire and ate from whatever shared bowl or bit of bark we could scrounge up, sharing sips of the cool, crystal clear spring water Adder and I had gathered.
It was no grand ballroom at the palace, no formal dinner over stewardship business, but I preferred this to any of that stately nonsense. The moon and a few determined stars shone down through the opening in the canopy over our little clearing. Fireflies and pixies danced in the shadows, and the sounds of the Untamed Wood around us were heightened by the moon's influence. The wild urges of the moon stayed at a tolerable level in my blood as I ate, but as I looked around the campfire, I saw the men of Raven team with new eyes.
They all looked wilder, more obviously animalistic. More obviously fae. Eyes glowed faintly, lit from within. Fangs flashed when they laughed, and every angle of their beautiful faces seemed sharper, thrown into stark relief by the shifting shadows cast by the moon and the fire, heightened by the loss of their glamour as the wild magic took over.
I wondered if I looked different to them as well. My blood was too mixed to give me physical features that I blurred with glamor to appear more civilized. I simply was what I was, a mix of human, brownie, and highborn. My round ears and plump body were my true form, and my eyes didn't glow. My magic was faint, so even if I lost control of it under the moon's influence, I wasn't likely to raise any eyebrows. But that didn't mean I didn't look different to them now, when they were viewing me with heightened fae senses. Did their glowing eyes see more acutely? Did they smell the tang of rising excitement and wanton lust I must be putting off right now? Did my hair seem more lustrous, my curves more fertile and desirable, when seen through the eyes of the beast?
I shook myself from my strange thoughts, drawing my eyes away from the dancing flames as if coming out of a trance. The moon magic. It had to be. Every moment seemed more and more like a waking dream as the night progressed. Time slowed. It was as if I was drugged, operating under the influence of special mushrooms or satyr wine. I blinked slowly, my eyes meeting Bach's blue gaze across the fire, and it was like time slowed even further, almost at a standstill as I got lost in his gaze.
Everyone had finished eating, and Mirri went around picking things up and putting them away. He seemed the caregiving type, but then again, maybe he just needed to move. The men around me had indulged me in delicious distractions to keep me from going mad under the influence of the moon, but they hadn't really had the same…release. I had no idea how they were holding up as well as they were, or why they weren't all ravening madmen right now. Maybe it had something to do with their strong personal magic. Maybe they were just that good at controlling themselves in trying situations. Or maybe…maybe they weren't as calm and controlled as they appeared.
Mirri's hand touched mine as he took the small cooking pot I'd been using as a bowl, and a shock of heat went through me. His gold eyes met mine, and the male shuddered, then cleared his throat, turning away a bit too swiftly. Maybe they were just forcing themselves to behave. To be civilized. To hold to whatever shred of honor they thought they could cling to if they only dabbled in my pleasure without going further or making a big fuss of it.
It was nonsense.
But I couldn't blame them. I fought against the wild thing inside me that insisted we should all be fucking right now, writhing under the full moon as one body as we chased our pleasure. One of the biggest reasons that I liked these men so much was that they had shown me how considerate they were. Of course they wouldn't jump into this madness without a thought or care for the future or the impact it might have on not only their own group, but the Prize and myself as well. It was who they were—to try to walk that line between easing me through this night with my mind intact while still retaining their honor.
