Page 60 of Whispers of Ruin
Nothing she did would ease it, not even her own hand. The second she came, a gulf of discontent opened inside her. She swore that moment of release only made things worse as her body craved the touch of another.
No, it cravedBrokk.
With a sigh, she flipped onto her stomach and peered out the front of her small shelter to the clearing beyond. The fire had been doused, but a couple of torches remained burning beneath some trees.
Their firelight barely illuminated the guards watching over them. Brokk was out there now; she’d seen him relieve one of the other guards, but his shift would end soon… and then what?
And then nothing. Nothing more can happen between you. Once is forgivable. Twice is intentional.
But as she told herself this, her body rebelled against her brain, and her skin prickled with the need for his touch. She couldn’t stand this aching that made her skin feel too tight.
What has he done to me?
She definitely hadn’t been shadow kissed by him and never would be. She knew how to resist having a dark fae turn her into one of their mindless sex slaves, but if she didn’t know better, she’d almost think Brokk was half warlock instead of dark fae and vampire.
Unable to stand it anymore, she slipped out the back of her structure and walked to the edge of the protective barrier. She stood there with her hands fisted and shoulders heaving as she tried to calm the acute sexual frustration hammering her.
It didn’t work.
What is wrong with me?
She had no answer for that, but she couldn’t rid herself of the sensation that her growing feelings for Brokk would tear her in two. Maybe she’d spent too much time locked away from the world.
She’d been out of the crone realm for a while but hadn’t really gotten the chance to think about her life, men, or anything else. She’d been a little too preoccupied with the Lord, war, preparing for Lexi’s wedding, and now the possibility of Lexi’s demise.
Doomed Valley and the mirror realm had changed the rapid pace of her life. Here, while death lurked around every corner and kept rearing its ugly head, there were also moments of peace when she woke to find herself in the arms of a man who made her feel alive again.
When she first woke to find herself in Brokk’s embrace that morning in the mirror realm, something shifted inside her. Since then, she’d gotten to know more about him.
He was so different than his remaining brothers. Orin was a complete asshole, and Cole was harsher, more distant, and intense. Varo was reserved and wounded, but Brokk… Brokk had a smile meant to disarm, and he was charming and open in a way few others ever were.
Yet, a steel rod of strength, determination, and viciousness ran through him. He was loyal and loving but also willing to kill when necessary, and he refused to take anyone’s shit.
And she liked it. Not all the men she’d been with were like that. Some were too weak for her, and she quickly moved on from them.
Even Fabian, when she first met him, had come across as too proper. He didn’t like to get his hands dirty with blood or earth. They were so different in that way; she was a creature of nature and loved sinking her fingers into the soil to feel the worms, trees, plants, and all the other insects teeming with a life that nourished her.
She didn’t like killing but had done so a couple of times before to save herself. During the war against the Lord, she killed many, but she would do whatever was necessary to survive. Fabian would do the same but often had others do the killing for him if he could.
As she got to know Fabian more, while he never displayed an ability to let his guard down and enjoy life like she did, she’d grown to like and eventually love the differences between them. Instead of their opposites working against each other, they somehow combined into a perfect team.
Brokk was nothing like Fabian. Maybe he didn’t plunge his hands into the earth and relish it as Kaylia did, but he embraced the wilderness and beauty of it. She’d seen that when she caught him trying to touch the stars in the mirror realm. The awe on his face had enchanted her.
Maybe that’s why she was so attracted to him. He was nothing like Fabian, and therefore, when she was in his arms, she could forget the anguish of losing her love because she was with a man who was his exact opposite.
With her mind focused on Fabian, the tide of passion she’d been unable to control earlier, faded away. She should be happy to finally have a reprieve from it, but as she stared into the darkness, all she felt was a sense of loss.
While that inescapable need for Brokk had been too extreme, it also made her feel alive. Now, emptiness rushed in to fill veins once teeming with life, and her heart slowed to a dull rhythm.
CHAPTERFIFTY-SEVEN
She turned awayfrom the edge of the protective barrier and started back toward the camp. She was almost there when the whispers began.
Kaylia froze as that first indiscernible whisper pierced the silence. It was then she realized how abnormally hushed the jungle was tonight. Nothing screamed as it hunted or died, and the insects didn’t sing their endless songs.
At first, the words remained as unintelligible as always, but then she caught her name. As more whispers joined the first, she made out a few more names, and someone hissed, “Hungry.”
The hair on Kaylia’s nape rose as that hunger beat against her skin. She didn’t want to look but refused to let these things think they frightened her.
