Embraced (The Eternal Balance #2)(26)

Malphi. The female was Malphi.

Knowing this, I should have pulled away, but the need grew stronger. Undeniable.

Azirak lowered my lips to Sam’s stomach, planting a trail of hungry kisses southward. She gasped and arched off the bed. The sound was like fire, consuming everything and mingling with the darkest parts of me, the parts that lay hidden in the deepest corners of my soul.

The parts that belonged to the demon.

My vision swam. The impassioned sounds she made were carnal in the rawest sense—and wrong. One moment it was Sam, the next, Malphi. Azirak reveled in it, the semblance of complete freedom overtaking me. I’d never felt anything like it. Powerful and limitless, in that moment I could do anything without consequence. Control the world and take the things I desired. And there was only one thing I wanted.

Sam…

Malphi.

Sammy…

Malphi.

The need grew until it exploded, like a bomb going off in a confined space. It jolted me, and I knew this was wrong. Dangerous in so many ways. I struggled for control, and Azi fought like it never had before.

Strange words echoed inside my head, threatening to break my skull in half. I didn’t understand them, but Azirak did.

We can be whole again… Feast on the human as my essence looms, lay claim to her power then come to me, my lord…

I jerked away, stumbling over the edge of the bed and falling back against my own. My heart pounded, a thunderous beat drowning out everything else in the room. The thoughts in my mind tore me apart, then put me back together only to do it again. The darkness. The violence. The willingness to submit…

Sam knelt in front of me, taking my face in her hands. Her lips moved, but I couldn’t hear her voice. I gripped the edge of the bed until my fingers went numb. Azi had settled, but I still felt it—how it had wanted to do as Malphi asked, was overcome by the need to possess.

“Jax, please. Tell me what happened.”

“Pain,” I lied. “I guess that’s why Heckle told us not to test the limits.”

“Jesus.” Her expression was all concern, and I felt guilty for lying.

I climbed to my feet as she did the same. “It was like someone set off an atomic bomb inside my head.”

“Sounds painful.”

“I don’t recommend it,” I responded, keeping my eyes down. The T-shirt she had on came just below her waist, leaving a thin scrap of lacy black peeking out. One look and I was in an entirely new world of hell. If we started again, I knew there’d be no stopping it.

“Why didn’t it happen right away, though?” I heard her sigh. “We, um, got kind of far…”

“I guess there’s a limit.” I turned away, unable to look her in the eyes. “Heckle said a kiss wouldn’t do it, but much more than that would cross the line. I guess we found our trigger.”

Sam was in front of me, tipping my face up to meet hers. She opened her mouth, then closed it again, shaking her head slowly. “He’s right, Jax. I mean, obviously I want to be with you on my own, but Heckle is right. I can feel how much you want me, and it’s making me careless. Right now, I can feel the urge you have to—”

A million X-rated images unfolded before my eyes. “Do not finish that sentence, Sammy. Please.”

“You’ve never been good with impulse control,” she said, voice dropping. “And if I really was riding your…bad vibes…I might suggest that, since we now know our limit, we should—”

I covered her mouth with my hand. If she kept going, I would cave. If I caved, who knew what would happen? “Go. Take a shower.”

“Are you sure?” She tugged at the collar of her shirt. “I could—”

I gripped the edge of the bed harder and squeezed my eyes closed. “Please, Sammy. Get the hell away from me.”





Chapter Ten


Sam


The water had been hot and the pressure just right. Still, it hadn’t alleviated the tension in my muscles. I’d been standing right next to Jax when Heckle gave his warning. We didn’t know if it pertained to me or him, but it’d been clear. Break the rules and pay the price. We both knew…and neither one of us had cared. Even now, after knowing it had hurt him, I wanted to slide from the bed and make him kiss me again.

That was the drawback to Jax and me. It’d been that way for as far back as I could remember. We ignored everything and lived to keep each other sane and safe. Then when things between us changed, nothing else mattered. It was all about us. Screw the world.

I rolled over and pulled the covers with me, burrowing deep. They smelled of cigarettes and stale beer, but I didn’t care. I was too tired, both mentally and physically exhausted. Thoughts of Jax, of the pain he was in, and the danger that hung over our heads, played on repeat inside my head. The lingering memory of what we’d almost done, coupled with the fact that he was laying a few feet away, made my pulse quicken and my skin warm.

The cuff was heavy and growing tighter with each moment that passed. When I’d slid into bed, it was just past three in the morning. I’d been wearing this thing for almost twenty-four hours now. One day down. Only two left.

I looked down at the cuff and it contracted as if responding to my scrutiny. I’d actually forgotten about it for a while. Jax had that effect on me. Even when we were kids, he had a way of making my problems and fears fade until they were nothing more than harmless shadows on the wall. I wanted to be that for him, too. To be the thing that grounded him. But instead I’d instigated an act that had caused him pain. The skin beneath the black metal band twitched and I fought a shiver. An act that, despite what had happened as a result, I wanted to instigate again.