Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 242728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1214(@200wpm)___ 971(@250wpm)___ 809(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 242728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1214(@200wpm)___ 971(@250wpm)___ 809(@300wpm)
That’d been the beginning of our fall. The unravelling of everything.
He stopped by the wall where a wolf pelt lay on the stony ground.
That wasn’t here the last time...
Was it new? Had Darro killed a trespasser and claimed another pelt, or was it part of the male that Salak had dispatched—the wolf who Darro wore and the fang he carried.
The fang I’d used to cut him while he slept.
The fang that I’d clutched close and begged to give me my heart’s desire by binding us together and overriding the sickening promise with Aktor.
Aktor...
He was back at the camp.
Yet, I was here.
How far apart could we be before our hearts started failing?
Arousal clenched my belly as Darro strode onto the wolf pelt and tugged me to join him. I shuddered as our feet sank into the soft, warm fur. The faintest pulse of its spirit tingled in my toes.
Our eyes met in the muted gloom.
Light barely reached us back here and the autumn sun didn’t offer much warmth as Darro finally let me go. His jaw worked as he stepped closer. His hands went to the sinew knots holding my calfskin in place.
He didn’t speak as he pulled at the knots, loosening them with one yank. The tightness of Hyath’s creation gaped open and his nostrils flared as he reached inside, sending shockwaves of heat through my system.
His fingers slid over my skin, pushing the dress off my shoulders.
It fell to the ground.
I raised my chin as I stood before him naked.
He inhaled sharply.
I knew I should stop this and tell him what I’d seen. Ask him about the carnage Solin said I’d reap. Demand to know what happened after the lightning had struck us when our blood had blended.
But...I couldn’t.
My nipples pebbled as Darro drank me in. He swallowed a groan as his silver-burning gaze dropped to my chest then between my legs. “You’re far too perfect.” With a possessive hand, he cupped my breast. “I know I shouldn’t do what I’m about to do...” He squeezed. “But I can’t stop myself.”
I gasped and arched in his hold.
Sucking in a strangled breath, he ran a thumb over my nipple.
I swayed on the spot.
“Ask me to stop, Runa.” He bowed from his tall height.
I cried out as his mouth captured my nipple. The heat of his tongue. The wetness of his lick. It corrupted me, broke me, shattered me apart and the heartlink blazed bright as I tumbled into it.
I flung myself into the tumbling heady sensation of him.
His feelings tripped into mine.
He wanted me.
Violently.
He wanted to hurt me.
Miserably.
He wanted to mount me like Salak had the morning we woke and claim me all for his own.
My eyes snapped closed at the imagery.
At the feral desperation bleeding from him to me.
It lit me up.
It made me liquify.
I shivered as my skin began to glow.
He groaned quietly as he raised his head and let me go. Cool air licked around my wet nipple. His hands dropped to his wolf pelt, yanking at the folds keeping it in place. His smoke-silver gaze met mine. “You finally sense me.”
I struggled to talk as he unwrapped his pelt and tossed it to the side.
His skin pulsed sterling, etching his powerful stomach with ridges and valleys. His thighs were spread and his length hung achingly hard between his legs. I choked on my own desire, glowing brighter the more I melted. My heart raced as raw longing ebbed off him, tangling with my own, blending into one seamless need.
Fisting himself, he groaned as he drank in my bareness. “I’ve sensed you all along,” he spoke into my heart. “Every night you couldn’t sleep. Every day you wanted to come to me but didn’t.”
Letting himself go, he stepped angrily into me. “Every time you decided to keep a secret, I sensed you. Every time you dealt with something painful yet refused to share it with me, I knew. And that’s the worst sort of agony because you didn’t trust me to keep you safe. You refuse to let me fight whatever it is that you’re afraid of.”
I sucked in a breath as his hand landed in my hair, tugging my head back, keeping me prone and at his mercy. “I promise you don’t have to be afraid of me, Runa.” His lips landed on my throat, followed by the scrape of his teeth. “But I’m not going to be gentle. I can’t.”
I couldn’t breathe as every part of me turned to fire.
My skin beamed a golden gleam.
With a sharp nip, Darro guided me down to the fur.
My legs bent and my heart raced as he forced me to my knees.
“I’m going to take you how I’ve wanted to take you since we found each other.”
I shivered at his growl.
I obeyed his pressure and fell backward, trusting him, proving that I did trust him.