Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 49459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 247(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 247(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
I spilled myself inside her as waves of pleasure crashed over me. The sensation of my cum slipping out of where we were connected and soaking the sheets beneath us turned me on even more and made me come even harder.
My orgasm went on and on, stealing my fucking sanity. I saw lights in front of me. The room went in and out of focus. And I let myself surrender to it. I latched my blunt teeth onto the side of her throat, biting hard but not enough to break the skin.
Gods, I needed to pierce her throat and swallow her blood, taking a part of her inside of me. Then I’d lick the twin puncture wounds I left behind and stare at the marks on her flesh, ones that would forever be there and let all others know she was claimed.
For a moment, all we could do was breathe, our bodies still connected. Then I rolled onto my back, pulling her with me so she was sprawled across my chest. Her fingers traced the scars on my skin as we lay there in silence.
“Lennox,” she breathed, lifting her head to look at me.
“Hmm?” I murmured, stroking her back. This amazement coursed through me that I was holding my lush… mate.
She hesitated for a moment before speaking. “What happens now?”
I stared at the ceiling, thinking about those words because they meant so much more than she even realized.
What does happen now?
Everything had shifted. Changed. And right now, I didn’t know if it was for the best or the worst.
I glanced down at her, the firelight flickering across her flushed face, her body still pressed against mine like it belonged there. And it did. Gods, it did.
I let out a slow breath, my fingers gently pressed to her damp, warm spine. “We prepare,” I finally said, voice low and grave. “For everything that’s coming.”
She stilled against me. I hadn’t told her about the threat we’d found. She just knew danger was close. But she needed to know the truth.
“The Therabus.” The tenseness in her body magnified, and the scent of her anxiety rose, its smell like acid in my nose. “That’s the threat. They’ve been sniffing around the property making their presence known without attacking. Yet.”
Aisling stayed silent, but she shifted up so she was resting against the headboard, the sheet pulled up to her chest as she silently watched me, waiting for me to continue.
“The Guard has been digging intae the old texts, trying tae piece together how and why they’ve returned.” I stared into her blue eyes. “We donna kno’ how long they’ve been here, biding their time and waiting for this moment.”
“And the vampires?” she asked softly. “They’re coming here, tae help fight?”
“Aye. Da called Adryan and the others in.”
She was quiet, her fingers trailing slowly over a scar on my ribs.
“And your wolf?” she asked softly. “Still silent?”
Pain throbbed under my skin. “Aye. Still silent,” I said gruffly. “But… something shifted tonight. It’s faint, like a whisper in the back of my mind. No’ him. No’ yet. But maybe a piece of him is stirring.” I smiled, feeling this warmth move through me. I was here with my wee thing, my pretty mate who made me feel things I never thought possible. Even without my Lycan, this–Aisling–was perfection.
“Even with everything happening, all the things we learned about being mates,” she murmured, her voice sweet and her cheeks flushing, “even with the threat… I’ve never been happier or felt safer.”
Gods… wasn’t that the truth. “But whether my wolf returns or no’, I feel what this is, Aisling. I’ll no’ let anything touch ye. I’ll never let ye go. Ye’re mine now. Fully. And nothing—Therabus, vampires, or hell, fate itself—will take ye from me.”
Her lips parted slightly, her eyes shining with emotion, with belief, and with the same fierce devotion I felt beating in my chest.
I leaned in and kissed her again—slowly this time, savoring this moment. Whatever war was looming, this would be a moment in time I’d cling to in order to keep my sanity.
When I pulled back, I groaned against her mouth. “At the end of all of this, my sweet girl, even if the world is about tae burn down, I’ll protect ye with my life.”
A fierceness washed over her face, and my cock got hard at how strong she was. “And I’ll protect ye with my life, Lennox.”
I smiled. “My perfect girl,” I murmured. “So strong. So gorgeous.”
I held her for the rest of the night because I knew sooner rather than later I’d have to let her go in order to protect her and everyone I cared for.
18
LENNOX
The fire still burned low in the hearth, casting lazy golden shadows across Aisling’s bare back. She was curled on her side, tangled in the blankets, her breathing soft and even.