Page 44 of Whispers of Ruin
He hadn’t bothered to put a shirt back on, and chiseled muscle etchedeveryinch of his lithe build. She didn’t think he had an ounce of fat on him, something his eight-pack abs stood testimony toward.
His pants hung low on his hips, showing off a perfect V, pointing straight toward what lay below his pants. She’d bet his cock was as enticing as the rest of him.
In the dark, his dark fae ciphers nearly blended into the night, but she could make out some of the sharp edges and gentle waves of the markings running across his shoulders and down to his wrists. Those marks indicated his power; the more a dark fae possessed, the stronger they were.
She suspected, as did most immortals, that the dark fae kept at least some of their markings hidden to mask how much power they possessed. That rumor had never been substantiated. Judging by the number of ciphers and the energy he exuded, she’d be willing to bet that rumor was very true.
Despite the shadows concealing him, Brokk’s aqua eyes stood out starkly against the night. And as those eyes roamed down her, her skin prickled everywhere they touched.
He emanated an impossible-to-ignore sexuality as the awakening she experienced earlier returned. If he touched her, she might tear his pants off and pounce before having any thought of doing so.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Her eyes fell to his full lips before darting away. “Fine.”
He hesitated before speaking again. “We should head back.”
Not trusting herself to speak, Kaylia could only nod in response. When he turned away from her, she spotted the ciphers running down his back to his waist. She couldn’t help admiring how they flexed and bunched as he strode toward their hut.
CHAPTERFORTY-TWO
Brokk triedto shut out the picture of Kaylia sitting on the ground with her arms wrapped around her legs and her chin resting on her knees. He’d hated the anguish radiating from her but knew it wasn’t his place to get closer to comfort her.
However, he couldn’t leave her there, not in this place. The first couple of times he’d called her name, she hadn’t heard him, but he’d gotten through the third time.
Interfering in her suffering had been the right thing. If something somehow managed to slip past the witches’ defenses, she was so lost in her thoughts she might not have heard it coming.
He didn’t understand why she’d gone from hedonistic abandon to such misery so fast. When he first came upon her, lying on the ground with her arms and legs spread wide, she’d been reveling in pleasure.
The vision of her, so beautiful and ripe for fucking, had stopped him in his tracks. His dick instantly hardened as his fangs elongated. The overwhelming compulsion to sink his shaft and fangs into her had nearly propelled him toward her, but he’d been too enraptured with her to move.
As a dark fae, he’d seen and experienced many erotic things in his life, but none had turned him on as much as Kaylia reveling in nature and herself. He shouldn’t have been there, but his feet remained planted as she arched off the ground, and her head fell to the side.
She was so exquisite and held him captive, and he swore he was about to come in his pants from watching her. Then, she’d suddenly stopped, sat upright, and drew her knees against her chest.
He didn’t understand the abrupt change, but the sadness exuding from her doused his lust, and his fangs retracted as his erection softened. Inexplicably, it felt more wrong watching this, and he had to stop it, even if he couldn’t comfort her.
Retreating noiselessly through the trees, he took some time to compose himself before calling to her again. This time, when he approached, he made sure to make more noise, but it had still taken her a while to realize he was there.
But though the image of her sorrow haunted him, so did the memory of her body. It had been at least a week or two since he last fed on sex; he could go longer without any consequences and had planned to do so, buteverypart of him thrummed with awareness for this woman.
He pushed past the drape covering the doorway of their hut and entered. Before, the small space had seemed like a good place to shelter; it was safe and protected from the elements. Now, as Kaylia entered behind him, it felt far too cramped.
The scent of the stream and nature clinging to her permeated the small space and made it impossible for him to ignore her presence.This is going to be a long night.
He should go sleep outside. He could remain close to ensure she stayed safe while also giving himself the space he required, but no matter how much the walls closed in on him, he couldn’t part from her.
He set his pack and sword on the ground as he tried to ignore the hunger coursing through his veins. Both the dark fae and vampire halves of him craved her… badly.
Bracing himself to face her again, he turned and edged around her toward the blankets bundled near the curtain. He was almost past her when her hand fluttered up. He stopped as her palm seared into his flesh.
“What happened here?” she asked.
Brokk froze as she stroked his chest, and his shaft stirred again. He was so focused on her touch and nearness that he didn’t respond to her question.
Her sweeping lashes fluttered up to reveal her translucent, pewter eyes. Her lips parted a little as their gazes held, and the air between them crackled.
When her fingers twitched on his chest, they drew his attention to where they rested over his heart. The scar beneath them had faded to a white starburst.
