Page 45 of Tender Thorns
There is something he said that does give me pause though—until now. Those words imply a significant change in how he feels. Deep down, I hope I’m the catalyst for the change.
His next words give me the confirmation I would never be bold enough to ask for. “Now the only thing I care about is your survival, little flower, and I will do anything to ensure it.”
“Can’t we just leave?” I whisper, as if voicing the words out loud is enough to get me in trouble.
Ziv’s lips twist in a frown. “No. Syrinx and the institute have a claim on you that the gods would honor, even over our bond.” He strokes my hair away from my face, tenderly dragging his knuckles over my cheek. “I won’t risk them taking you from me, which is what would happen if you stepped foot off this mountain.”
“How would they know?” A kernel of dread worms its way into my heart before he even has a chance to answer.
“The wards around the school alert them anytime they are crossed. Even I can’t come and go without detection.”
“Then someone knew I was walking up the mountain the day I arrived?”
Ziv’s eyes narrow and grow distant as if he’s thinking. “That’s a good question. You may be the exception, considering you’re unaffected by magic. I’m not ready to test that theory now though.”
It takes Ziv stroking his thumb along my bottom lip for me to realize I’m scowling. “You will be fine. I will make sure of it.” I wish I had as much faith in that as he does. I haven’t succeeded at much, other than barely surviving, but then again, I’ve never had anyone to help me either and Ziv isn’t just anyone—he’s a god.
“When I can’t be there, the demon will be,” he reassures me as he runs his thumb over my lips again, even softer this time, and my stomach clenches. How can a simple touch elicit such a response? Tentatively, I reach up and touch his face before mimicking the same movement with my thumb along his bottom lip. His eyelids lower, and I know my touch affects him just as much as his affects me. There’s power in that knowledge, along with a heady dose of confidence, giving me the courage to continue exploring his skin.
“Does he know that?” I question, entranced by the feeling of his skin under mine. As someone who has never experienced magic, this certainly feels like it. My heart is beating fast for no reason other than he is close to me, and my skin feels overly sensitive in the best way. I can even feel his breath brushing over me, tingling individual hairs and stirring a hunger low in my belly that I don’t quite understand, yet I know he can make it better.
“Careful, Briar. By design, I’m made to give you what you need, even if you don’t recognize that need yourself.”
“Then why should I be careful?”
He reaches up, stopping my fingers from delving into his silver hair. “Just because your body is ready doesn’t mean your mind is.”
“Ready for what exactly?” Asking him to spell it out makes me feel woefully inexperienced, but I am.
“To complete our bond.”
“Through sex?” I’m whispering again.
He nods, but the sweet smell of dark cherries grows stronger.
“Okay.” I lick my lips, feeling eager, but I’m not sure it’s for all the right reasons. Is my body screaming for his? Yes. I want things from him I don’t understand, but there’s something darker, needier, driving the desire to complete the bond now. I’m afraid he will change his mind or come to the realization that he’s wrong, and I’ll have missed my chance.
It’s selfish and probably means I don’t deserve him, but it’s the truth.
“Are you certain? Once we start, there’s no stopping. The demand to claim you is almost too much, even now.”
“I’m certain.” I pull myself higher on his chest and kiss him before either of us can think any more. I want to be lost where only he can find me.
ZIV
Iwould be lying if I said I didn’t know fear. Before I fell, it was a concept that eluded me, but since then, I’ve come to understand the meaning of the word, yet until this moment, I can say I’ve never been gripped by the notion. Even when I allowed myself to realize what Briar is to me, fear didn’t quicken the beat of my heart or give me pause, but I feel it now, festering in my thoughts like a lethal poison, corroding everything it touches…until she leans forward and places her lips over mine.
Any fear is immediately eclipsed by my need to protect her, give her exactly what she desires, and claim her. I force myself to loosen the grip I have on the back of her neck, holding herin place, but it only allows her more movement to throw her leg over my waist and straddle my hips. All sense of decency I thought I possessed evaporates in an instant, and only the drive to sink into her in every way possible remains.
When a tearing sound tries to register in my thoughts, I shove it aside, and I’m rewarded with the slick feeling of her cunt low on my belly. There’s a murmur of sound, but I have no concept of the words. I’m too far gone for that. Briar is nearly mine.
BRIAR
There’s a moment when I think maybe I was too hasty and should have listened to Ziv’s warning. That moment comes when Ziv manages to rip my pants off while I’m straddling his waist. It shouldn’t even be possible, but it is. Even my undergarments are gone, leaving me naked, other than my socks. There’s so much going on, I feel as if I’m in sensory overload as my mind tries to process all the sensations. There’s the burn at my hip, where the material was ripped away, the cool air on my thighs, the smoothness of his stomach under me, and the heat, but I think that’s coming from me. We’re no longer kissing, and I’m not even sure when we stopped. Our mouths are still close, and it feels intimate, but there’s no way I could have concentrated on kissing with everything else that is going on.
Ziv runs the hand on the nape of my neck down my back, making me squirm into his touch. It’s almost embarrassing how much he affects me, but the thought evaporates when he slides his fingers all the way down my ass and slips them between my legs from behind.
I jolt forward from the unexpected touch, making our noses bump. “Sorry,” I mumble, but the word ends on a moan when he finds my clit and circles it with the tip of his finger. I’m not going to pretend I never touched myself, but it never felt like this, not that I risked it often. I was too worried about getting caught and what might happen if I did.
