Death Wish (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #5)(72)

If I was sorry for any of it, it was only that the death of his sire had hurt Arys. Of course, his little trip down memory lane with Harley hadn’t been so easy on me. Catching the two of them in bed bleeding a naked woman was one image I’d rather not have burned into my memory forever. Still, the image of Shaz and Bianca was worse, much worse.

As I stared into Arys’s inhuman eyes, I was faced with a choice. I could lose my temper and give him the fight he was seeking, or I could find another way around it. I’d had more than enough conflict for one week; that wasn’t what I needed from him right now.

No, what I needed was a brief reprieve from all of it. I kissed him without thought or hesitation. Pouring the raw emotions into it, I devoured him. Arys didn’t miss a beat. Kissing me back hungrily, he slipped his tongue between my lips. He tasted faintly of blood. Shaz’s blood.

I groaned, but it wasn’t because I didn’t like it. Tasting Shaz on Arys sparked a fire low in my core. Sliding my hands into his disheveled hair, I pulled him against me with a ravenous need.

The frenzy driving me caught Arys up in its pull. I needed a release, some kind of rapture to chase the pain into the shadows if just for a moment. Arys was quick to comply with my demand for him to satisfy my need. His hands were on my hips, and his lips found the ticklish spot on my neck.

I tugged at his robe, peeling it off him like I was unwrapping candy. I couldn’t get to what was inside fast enough. Running my hands over the hard expanse of Arys’s chest down to his stomach, I captured his shaft in one hand. Eliciting a moan from him brought a smile to my lips.

Dropping to my knees before him, I took him into my mouth with an eager flick of my tongue. He said my name like it was both a curse and a blessing.

Arys threaded a hand into my hair, grasping my head with a demanding affection. Heat raced to my groin. I took great joy in his response to my careful manipulations. The power and control I had over him was intoxicating. Only when his hand tightened painfully in my hair did I stop.

I backed him up against the couch so he was forced to sit. While he watched, I stripped off my clothes then wasted no time climbing onto his lap. His arms went around me, clutching me tightly to him. He buried his face in my neck as I slid down his hard length. A sigh of relief escaped me.

I set the pace atop him. I hungered for control, something I didn’t feel I’d had a lot of lately. This man was mine, and I was going to take from him what I needed. That kind of control was dizzying, erotic.

“Think you can shut me up, huh?” Arys murmured, his mouth hot against my skin.

“It’s working so far, isn’t it?” I silenced him with a bruising kiss. Arys was a smooth talker who could talk his way out of or into anything. He was used to being in charge. But, not this time.

A growl rumbled low in his throat, and I laughed in delight. I could feel the wolf creeping around inside him, unable to break free. It wasn’t real, merely an echo of my own wolf. Still, it was as dangerous as any caged beast.

He gripped my hips in an attempt to guide my rhythm. I shoved his hands away, pinning them at his sides. With a shake of my head, I smiled wickedly. Having him inside me didn’t free me from the emotional turmoil I carried, but it did lift me up on a wave of euphoric, glorious ignorance.

The sound of our moans and cries filled the room. I pushed Arys to the limit. He brought me to climax again and again before finding his own release.

The sexual energy surrounding us was potent and spicy. I leaned forward to rest my head on his shoulder while I savored it. He said nothing for a long time. He just held me.

Finally, he whispered, “Let’s just stay in tonight. You should rest. Take some time to think.”

“Sounds like a great idea. I just need to do something first.”

“Does it involve being wolf? Because I can feel your beast inside me in a desperate way.”

“It does.” Reluctantly, I got to my feet and gathered my clothing. I didn’t want our tryst to be over because it meant going back to reality. The wolf wouldn’t wait though. I’d had my moment of bliss, and she demanded hers.

The short trip across town to Kylarai’s was all it took for everything to come crashing back. I just couldn’t shake it. The loss of Kale, my sister’s betrayal, Shaz and Bianca, it all ate at me.

I followed the small town streets to Ky’s. The wolf within sought the forest and the relief it provided from the human world. Such bittersweet freedom.

Leaving my car in the driveway, I ran around the house to the backyard. I pulled my clothes off as I went, dropping my keys near the steps leading up to the patio. If Kylarai saw me streaking through the early dusk like a bat out of hell, she would know something was up.

I leaped into the air, coming down on all fours as wolf. The shift was fast and fluid. It felt, for just a moment, like true liberation. Everything was so much simpler as wolf.

I ran as if I could escape, but there was no escape, only acceptance.

Speeding across the stretch of field separating Kylarai’s backyard from the forest beyond, I was accompanied by the fading sunset. It did not cease in its beauty for my heartbreak. Its color never dimmed. The world would go on regardless of my place within it. For the first time I began to feel like I belonged in the dark.

Weaving in between trees, leaping fallen logs and brush, I pushed my body as hard as possible. My muscles burned and my lungs heaved. I ran blindly, having no destination. I couldn’t flee the truth; it clung to me.