Reclaimed (Shadow Beast Shifters, #2)(69)

For some reason, he slowed, his thrusts no softer, but he drew each one out, his cock almost completely out of me before he slammed it back in, over and over again, and this time, the buildup was slower. I could already tell the intensity was possibly going to kill me.

“Don’t come yet,” Shadow warned, and I didn’t, even if my head was spinning, the pleasure in my stomach spiraling from my toes up to my gut. His fire burst to life across the both of us, bringing more energy and pleasure.

I tried so hard not to come, but it was too much. I wouldn’t survive it.

Thankfully, just when I was about to explode, Shadow let out a low groan. “Come now, Sunshine. Come with me. Together.”

I screamed. A guttural, beyond-my-control sound, and it was so much that when the dark spots danced before my eyes, I embraced them and might have passed out for a few minutes. Shadow didn’t stop even as he came, each thrust continuing to draw out the pleasure for both of us.

What felt like hours later, he stopped moving, his weight solid and comforting against me, as we both breathed heavily. I was pretty sure the wall at my back was the only thing holding us up.

“Fuck,” he rumbled. “That shouldn’t have happened here.”

Like an ice-cold bucket of water had been thrown over me, clarity returned with force, and I wanted to scratch his face off. Somehow, I managed to keep my shit together.

“Let me down, Shadow,” I said softly, not releasing my fury yet.

For once, he didn’t argue, and when I was set on my feet, I swallowed another groan at the pain in my body. Pleasure and pain mingled together. My freaking jam, apparently.

As I slipped out from under him, Shadow dropped his head toward the wall for a second, like he was pulling himself together. He straightened not a few seconds later, so maybe it had been something else.

“Meet me in the dining hall in ten minutes,” he bit out before he left the room in a flurry of energy, his coat flying out behind him, and for all I knew, his dick flapping in the icy breeze. Stupidly impressive dick.

On weak legs, I made my way back into the bath, and as I sank down, my body continued trembling from the aftershocks of the sex. I wondered if maybe that was the actual last time we’d ever be together like that.

He hadn’t even gotten naked, so desperate, he’d only had his cock out and nothing else. There had been an urgency in his actions, like he couldn’t help himself.

A darker thought followed.

At no point did he kiss me.

Not like he had the last time when he’d devoured my mouth, unable to get enough. There was a void between us that hadn’t been there yesterday. A void I feared would only grow with time.

We’ve arrived and wait with Shadow.

I felt Midnight’s presence the moment before it spoke, and that jolted me from the bath.

Meet you there. Give me five minutes to dress.

There was nothing to dry myself with, but that was proven redundant when I stepped into the center of the room, and a whirl of icy air all but spun me around. I hadn’t been prepared for it, but the moment it hit me, the moisture on my skin and hair faded, leaving me feeling refreshed and clean, if not a touch frozen. And again, that drain on my power hit me briefly before I regrouped and got shit done.

Once I was dressed in the newly provided clothing, I noticed a small bag of toiletries that must have gone flying with Birdy. I was relieved to be able to brush my teeth and hair, which I then braided back to keep it out of the way.

I felt better approaching this day clean and ready for battle.

Walking through the solid wall, which was as weird as it sounded, I used the wall guides to find my way back to the main dining room. Shadow and Ixana were the first people I saw, in deep discussion, and what do you know… there was food between them.

Looked like they did eat on occasion.

My view was cut off by Angel, half-running and half-gliding across the wide space. She’d clearly been waiting on me, zooming over the moment I’d appeared. When her arms wrapped around me in a tight hold, I found more of my natural quirky disposition returning.

“I’ll kill him,” she murmured in my ear, her hold almost to the point of painful. “How dare he parade her in front of you!”

I had to chuckle at her ferocious nature. Since my father’s death, I hadn’t been able to trust new people, but Angel had blown through those barriers, and now I couldn’t imagine my life without her.

This friendship might be the true love story here.

“It’s fine,” I said, not quietly, because why the hell was I protecting anyone else in this situation? “It’s no secret that I was always just a side-chick until the frontrunner showed up.”

I had no idea if Ixana heard me—she didn’t stop chatting animatedly to Shadow—but he sure as fuck heard. The fire in his gaze drilled into me as he watched every step I took across the room, Angel at my side, and my confidence exactly where it should have been yesterday.

I’d had a moment of weakness in my room, fucking him again, but that was all it would ever be. A moment. I could never settle for the mistress position, while someone else held his heart and soul. I deserved better.

For the first time, I didn’t let my eyes remain locked with his. I turned away.

Angel, the smartest and most observant being I knew, wrapped one arm around me as we walked toward the table.

“Never let him see he’s getting to you,” she murmured.