Reborn (Shadow Beast Shifter, #3)(53)

There was no time, as he’d already stated, for anything in depth, but he couldn’t start this and not end it. He slapped me again, and at the same time pumped those fingers in my pussy harder and faster. I was screaming before the first swirls of my orgasm hit, his hands giving me a pleasurable pain that tipped me over in an instant.

“You like that, Sunshine?” he murmured.

I wanted to say no because this arrogant asshole was already too sure of his sexual prowess, but I also wouldn’t lie to him. Whatever he was doing felt so amazing that I couldn’t feel my legs, or my lungs, my breathing shallow and unstable. Not to mention my heart was slamming into my chest with enough force for a heart attack.

“Whom do you belong to, Sunshine?”

I sobbed and his fingers slowed. “You!” I burst out. “I belong to you.”

The tilt of his lips indicated that was the right answer. His fingers moved again as he used them to fuck me harder than ever, and this time, the swirls exploded and I came with enough force that I managed to bite through my lip, drawing blood in my excitement.

“Who is your true mate, Sunshine?”

“You.” There was no hesitation in my voice. Shadow owned every part of me, and I would take whatever Dannie put us through just to have these moments with him.

“You are my true mate,” he confirmed as he kissed me, the slight copper of my blood between us. “You’re mine in all ways, and for that, Torin is dead when I have some time to waste. I’m already anticipating the day we never speak about that bastard again.”

“Yes,” I moaned, still riding the final swirls of my orgasm. “You possessive beast.”

He didn’t deny it, just slowly removed his fingers from inside me before he lifted them to his mouth and tasted each one. Swear to fuck I almost came again just seeing that.

“Come on,” Shadow said, his magic returning my clothing and cleaning me up in the process. “We can collect your creatures once we know there’s a need for them.”

I’d completely forgotten that was the reason we’d stopped in this hallway in the first place, but with that statement, Shadow brought us back to our reality.

He moved toward the library entrance, and it took me a moment to catch up since my legs were firing on half their normal cylinders. It was only the thought of Angel and Midnight that had me pulling myself together as fast as I could.

Interlude or not, it was time to focus on finding my friends and pulling our pack together. We’d need every member to have a chance at defeating Dannie in this final battle.





29





My legs remained wobbly and weak even after we entered the library. Seeing it all whole and unbroken was a great boost, though, restoring my equilibrium. Full shelves and the small army of goblins were a few of my favorite things, and I had to take a moment to appreciate it all.

“Mera?” Shadow called back, noticing my pause. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah—” My voice broke, and he narrowed his eyes, concern filling his face. I waved him off. “Seriously, I’m fine. Just really happy.”

The furrow in his brow smoothed. “Ah, I understand. I promise to look after your libraries,” he said, knowing now what had me a hot mess. “No matter what happens, they’ll be protected as long as I live.”

I threw myself at him, finally able to trust that he’d catch me. “Thank you,” I murmured, pulling away. “I’ll let you in on a secret, though. They’re in my top ten favorite things, but they’re not number one.”

He kissed me, like he couldn’t help himself, and I was kind of falling in love with these random bursts of affection. “It’s no secret,” he murmured.

Is that right? “What or who do you think is number one?”

I mean, no one was going to say themselves, right?

“Me.”

Okay, sure, no one other than an arrogant Shadow Bastard. And while he wasn’t wrong, he could at least fake some humility.

“You’re definitely in the top ten,” I said, forcing my voice to remain even. “Along with Simone, Angel, Midnight, Inky, the library, and the lair. All the shadow creatures as well, along with the five morons you call best friends. And Gaster. And Sam—”

He cut me off with a sardonic burst of laughter. “Math isn’t your strong suit, is it?”

I smiled sweetly. “Some of you occupy the same spot in the top ten, so my math is actually quite correct.”

He shook his head at me. “I’m not sure my math and your math are the same sort of math.”

I thought on this. “You’re probably right, but that doesn’t mean my math is wrong.”

I was fairly certain he muttered actually, that’s exactly what it means, but there was no time to confirm and chastise him because he had started to lead me through the library, stopping only when we reached Angel’s door.

“How will we find her?” I asked as he reached out to swing the door open. “And what happens if I need to pee?”

Because honestly, I’d drunk a lot of water at lunch, and my bladder was feeling decidedly uncomfortable. Shadow really should learn to check that no one needed the bathroom before we set off to another world.

“We’ll go to Angel’s family land first,” he said, somehow not managing to sound annoyed with me. “Thanks to your bond with her, it should allow you entry again. And if you hurry your ass up, you can use the bathroom right now before we leave.”