Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 125179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
She collapsed onto her elbows, breathing hard, shaking like a leaf. A hot tongue lapped at her bite, and a pleased rumble vibrated against her back. Then the tight hold on her hips gentled, and a kiss was pressed to the spot between her shoulder blades.
“Cain?”
“I’m here.” He slipped his arms beneath her, holding her to him. “My monster was content to retreat, now that you’re marked.” He nuzzled her. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Your creature was rough but not too rough.”
“I reminded it that you likely wouldn’t let it have you again if it wasn’t mindful of its strength. I didn’t expect it to listen to me, but it did.” He kissed the hollow beneath her ear. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“If what you’re really asking is if I’m freaking out about getting fucked by your monster and having its venom inside me, no, I’m not. Does that make me weird?”
“No.” He pressed a lingering kiss to her neck. “It makes you a fucking miracle. My miracle.”
She felt a smile tug at her mouth, adding that comment to her mental “best stuff Cain says” file. “Dude, I am totally sucking your dick later.” Even deflating, said dick twitched inside her.
“I’ll hold you to that.”
“I figured you would.”
Cain carefully pulled out of her and then flipped her onto her back. His gaze went straight to her throbbing bite, satisfaction glimmering in those dark orbs. “My creature is feeling rather smug right now.”
“Just your creature?”
“Fine, maybe we both very much like that its venom will forever live in your blood, just as we like that you wear your acceptance of my monster’s claim to you on your skin.”
“By the way, that whole ‘the venom burns a little’ was a bunch of bullshit. My neck felt like it was on fire. You know, it doesn’t surprise me that you’d smile right now.”
He shrugged. “I like it when you hurt for me. You know that.”
“You like seeing me all frustrated.”
“That too,” he admitted. “I didn’t lie when I said that the burning sensation would fade quickly, though, did I?”
“Actually, no, you didn’t. But I would bet my life that you wished it hadn’t dimmed so fast.”
“That is a bet you would win. I like seeing my gorgeous witch cry.”
Having absolutely no idea how to respond to that, she looked away from him, shaking her head. Goddamn sadist.
Chapter Fifteen
Standing in her backyard a week later, Wynter sighed. “Really, you don’t have to come with me.”
Looking up from the flower bed, Delilah pointed her spade at her. “We’re all going, and that’s that.”
“There’s no need.”
“Thanks to the price on your head, there’s every need,” Anabel insisted, leaning back against an old oak. “You shouldn’t be going anywhere alone.”
Wynter didn’t fear that anyone would try kidnapping her again anytime soon. People were still a little cowed after what the Ancients did to Shelia. Her screams had apparently been heard far and wide throughout the city, and the story of how she met her end had circulated wildly. No one had even so much as looked at Wynter wrong since then.
She wasn’t worried that Adam would strike again soon either, considering he’d caused a thunderstorm just two nights ago. There’d been some damage to the town but not a lot, thanks to the quick intervention of the Ancients. Wynter hadn’t witnessed any of it, since she’d been at the cottage when it all kicked off.
“You can’t afford to get complacent, Wyn,” said Xavier, lounging in the gently swaying hammock.
She frowned. “I’m not. I just figured you might all want to stay home rather than wait for me in what I noticed through the salon window was a very small reception area. Plus, you all planned to spend your day off work relaxing.”
Sat at the patio table, Hattie briefly peeked up from her book. “And we’ll get back to that once your trip to the salon is over and done with.”
In truth, Wynter hadn’t thought they’d choose to stay behind. But, thanks to the latest attempt to hand her over to Adam, it had been days since her coven had looked this relaxed. Though they weren’t wound quite as tight, they still hadn’t gotten over the incident. Mostly because she’d been missing for several hours and they’d failed to find her themselves—that failure seemed to sit heavy on their chests, despite her assurances that it shouldn’t.
It was no doubt why they’d insisted on a few precautions. Delilah had magickly boobytrapped the cottage. Anabel was creating—and hopefully not testing on herself—all kinds of offensive potions. Hattie had whipped up some of her special deadly teas to force-drink to intruders. And Xavier stood guard inside the shed while Wynter worked—something she’d allowed, since Cain had threatened to otherwise post Maxim inside, and she didn’t want Cain to be short of an aide.
Much like when the threat of Saul had hung over her head, Cain now checked on her a few times a day. Which she might have protested to if she didn’t know he needed to reassure himself that she hadn’t been taken again. He still hadn’t quite moved past that yet.