Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 115860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
“Does Bram know?”
“He would only be a hindrance.”
“What if Lucan attacks you?”
She smiles sadly. “That’s why you’re here.”
I bite back a scream. I want no part of this, but I can’t be a coward in the face of Sabelle’s noble courage. “How can I help?”
“Keep to the farthest corner of the room. If he smells you…”
Sabelle doesn’t have to elaborate. I’ve seen for myself how violent Lucan can be in this state.
“Of course.” I shut the door and lean against it, waiting and watching my brother. I pray I don’t have to use brute force to restrain him.
Then Sabelle shimmies off her robe. She isn’t wearing a stitch. My jaw drops.
The witch isn’t just a pretty face; she has curves stacked everywhere, long legs, a lush backside, a sleek torso with a flat belly. Her breasts are the stuff of wet dreams. Yet I have zero urge to touch her.
Because of the danger…or my inexplicable feelings for Sydney?
After kicking the robe away, Sabelle edges onto the bed and lies beside Lucan. Immediately, he lunges for her, his eyes wide and frenetic yet sightless. He sniffs at her, growls, then rolls her beneath him, flattening her against the mattress under his taut body.
“Sabelle?” I question, grateful in that moment that my brother can’t hear me.
“I’m all right. Stay back.”
“Female,” Lucan purrs as he buries his face in her neck. His lips skim her skin as he pants, his chest rumbling with sounds of approval. Then he roams her body with his nose, taking advantage of the slack in his chains to squeeze her breast before he cups between her legs. “Anka?”
When Lucan pants and bites at her neck, she shudders. Her eyes slide shut. Is she repelled? Aroused? I can’t tell. But watching them is horrifying. Not only that, I’m invading my brother’s privacy. He’d be furious if he was in his right mind. But I can’t abandon Sabelle.
Instead, I stare vigilantly, digging my fingers into the wood as I resist the nearly overwhelming urge to rescue her.
I was against magical mating before, but witnessing this nightmare seals the deal.
Sabelle wraps her arms around him and strokes his shoulders, filtering her gentle fingers through his hair. Like a lover would.
Wait. Is she pretending to be Anka…or does she have feelings for Lucan?
“That’s it,” she whispers. “More.”
Lucan can’t hear, so he doesn’t respond. Sabelle urges him even closer by gliding one palm down my brother’s back while she spreads her legs and arches closer.
With his hands roaming her pale flesh, Lucan tries to claim her mouth. I hold my breath as Sabelle dodges him, offering her neck.
Finally, Lucan gives up, then drops his mouth to her breasts and ravishes them, all but inhaling her nipples, sucking, nipping, biting…
This is fucking uncomfortable to watch.
“Anka,” my brother breathes against Sabelle’s skin, fisting his hand in her damp hair. “My Anka!”
Lucan’s inner beast begins to come free from its chain. He writhes, thrusting his hips at her. I recoil, but for Sabelle’s safety I can’t turn away. I need this to work. Even so, every instinct tells me to protect her. And watching my brother take from Sabelle without a thought or care utterly guts me.
“Stop,” I demand. “You don’t have to do this.”
Sabelle turns to meet my stare. “I do, but if you can’t stay, I understand.”
Is she mad? “Who will be your safety net?”
“He’s chained. Go on. I’m all right.”
“I won’t leave you to face this alone. We don’t know what he’s truly capable of.”
Her expression is akin to a shrug as she strips away Lucan’s briefs, leaving them both naked.
With an animal growl, my brother covers her greedily, his much bigger body all but swallowing her up. Chains rattling, he grips her hips and lunges for her mouth. Again, she dodges him before he can fuse their lips together.
Still gripping the door frame as I watch this unfolding horror, my fingers turn numb.
“Give me!” Lucan roars.
“That’s enough.” I lunge for the bed again
An imploring glance from Sabelle stops me. “No. He thinks I’m her. That’s all that matters now. I’m so close to—”
Lucan clutches her face and forces her mouth under his. My heart jumps in my throat, and I curse myself for distracting Sabelle, even for a moment.
My brother overpowers her as he lowers his head to seize her mouth. Sabelle has no choice but to press her lips together, wriggle her body against his, and try to distract him.
But I see her beginning to panic.
Frustration and fear gnaw at my gut. “Will kissing him turn him more feral?”
Sabelle raises her head over Lucan’s shoulder, dodging his questing mouth again. “If he tastes me, he’ll know I’m not Anka.”
Of course. Every wizard knows his mate instinctively by taste. Their kiss, their tears, their cream—whatever he tastes, it carries the flavor of his mate. Lucan will sense it—or rather its absence—in Sabelle.