Page 156 of Black Willow Witch
‘You wouldn’t have if you’d known what was really going on.’ She rinsed off the soap. ‘Regrettably, I don’t think that the entire faction is gone. No way did it have only eight members.’
He let out a grunt of agreement. ‘Maybe they decided to act alone because the others didn’t back their play. Or maybe they were sent here like sacrificial pawns to “test” you.’
She hummed, thoughtful. ‘Well, I’m quite sure the coven will claim that the faction has now been eradicated – believing that will bring them the most comfort. But it will also enable the rest of the faction to operate from the shadows in peace, and I don’t know if we can trust that they’ll abandon their plans to knock Reena off her metaphorical throne.’
Personally, Ripper considered that Reena’s problem . . . providing it didn’t touch his witch. ‘Why didn’t you call me when you knew the faction was outside? Why call on those damn goblins instead?’
Her face softening, she turned off the shower now that they were done. ‘Powerful though you are, it wasn’t a battle of muscle and fangs and claws. It was a battle ofmagick. You wouldn’t want me involved in a werewolf skirmish.’
Unable to deny that, he moodily frowned as he followed her out of the stall. ‘I might not be able to wield magick, but I could still have helped you.’
‘Yes, you and your wolves could have done plenty of damage,’ she allowed, passing him a towel before wrapping one around herself. ‘But I had two very good reasons for not contacting you.’
‘Oh, do tell,’ he said as he curled a towel around his waist, his voice dry. ‘I’d love to know what you could possibly considergoodreasons.’ In his view, there weren’t any.
Rolling her eyes at his tone, she padded out of the bathroom. ‘You have to understand, Ripper. I had ahugescore to settle. I’ve been blamed for those bastards’ deeds for years. They’ve usedme as their fall person for as long as I can remember.Youwould have ensured it was over with fast. That was not in my plans. I wanted them to suffer.’
His cock went ahead and twitched at the bloodthirst in her voice. ‘And your second reason?’
At the dresser, she swiped a tee from a drawer. ‘I didn’t want my first night as your clan’s Alpha female to be one in which I dragged them into a fight – a fight during which some of them woulddefinitelyhave been injured and possibly even forced to kill some of the Rabid because, let’s face it, the faction would have made them attack you.’
‘You don’t know that they would have – wait, back the fuck up. Alpha female?’
‘Yeah.’
The implications of her words settling in, Ripper slowly crossed to her, his heart starting to beat like crazy. ‘You’re saying yes? You’re going to let me claim you?’
She sighed. ‘It’d be easy to let all that’s happened throughout my life make me hold back from you, from what you’re asking of me. Whenever I’ve given people a lot of myself in the past, they’ve thrown it back in my face. But you’re not them. I know down to my bones that you wouldn’t hurt me that way. And fuck if I’ll let those assholes in my past ruin this for me, for us.’
His chest warming and tightening, he brushed the tip of his nose along the side of her own. ‘You’re sure about this?’
‘Positive.’
He took the tee from her and threw it aside. ‘This is gonna happen right here, right now. You could have been killed out there tonight. I’m not waiting another fucking second to claim you unless it’s what you need from me.’
‘I don’t need you to wait,’ she assured him. ‘Do it. Make me yours.’
The wave of sexual hunger that swept Ripper under was like nothing he’d felt before. The sheer intensity of it rocked him. His pulse quickened, his blood heated and his cock went rock hard. Not even on his first full moon had his body felt so fuckingalive. Because this witch, who’d somehow come to mean everything to him, would from this night onward be officially his.
Her pupils dilated as her breaths came a little faster. Her magick rose up to mist the air, ramping up the tension, almost imprinting itself on him.
Ripper palmed the side of her face. ‘Let me at that mouth.’
She parted her lips for him, and he instantly plunged his tongue inside. The kiss was slow but deep and greedy. She made him want to gorge on her. Bite her. Mark her with his come. Take her hard and fast and rough.
The latter wouldn’t happen just yet, though. He wasn’t going to rush this. He was going to savor every damn moment of making herhis.
Moaning into his mouth, she threaded her fingers through his damp hair and scratched at his scalp.
He whipped off her towel and backed her into the bed. Breaking the kiss, he lifted her and gently lay her flat on the mattress. The moonlight streaming through the window danced along her iridescent hair and made her dewy skin gleam. ‘Perfect.’
Arousal was clearly riding her as hard as it was him. Her eyes were dazed, her nipples were tight and her pussy glistened. The scent of her need gripped his dick tight.
Ripper removed his towel and lowered his body onto hers, giving her most of his weight. Dropping his mouth on those lips already swollen from his kiss, he ate at it once more. He explored her body with his hands, smoothing his scent over her, feeling her arch into his touch. He wanted his scent to sink so deep into her that it became embedded in every cell. A part of her.
He spread kisses down the side of her face, her slim throat, her breast and over to her nipple. He circled the bud with his tongue and then latched onto it tight.
She dug her nails into his shoulders as he went on to lavish the taut bud with sucks, licks and nibbles. All the while, he molded her neglected breast, thumbing the nipple there.
