September Moon (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #8)(36)

“Why can’t it be like this all the time?” I sighed. I could feel him inside me as well as beneath me. The supernatural force that flowed through us was intense but subtle, like a low burning flame. “It seems like the only time we’re not fighting each other is when we’re fighting someone else or making love.”

“It’s always been like that. Besides, how boring would it be if we were one of those long walks on the beach, holding hands in the moonlight kind of couples?” Arys pressed his face to the side of my neck, breathing deeply of my scent. He bit me, a pinch of fangs that stung but didn’t break skin. “I love that look you get in your eyes when you’re fuming mad. It gives me a raging—”

“Arys,” I admonished with a blush. “Cut it out. Be serious.”

“I am serious.”

It wasn’t the first time Arys had admitted to getting a hard on at the rush of my anger. To be fair, I’d responded with the same desire to his violent emotional outbursts. From sorrow to frenzied bloodlust and everything in between, we thrived on all of it.

“You know we have to see this through.” The words almost stuck in my throat. I feared starting another fight, but we had to talk about this before it was too late. “You will have to kill me. There has to be a reason for it.”

“Aww, Alexa, don’t go there. Please.”

I clasped his face in my hands and forced him to see how serious I was. “Arys, I need to know I can trust you to do what has to be done.”

“How can that be something that has to be done? I just can’t wrap my mind around it.” He shook his head and dropped his gaze to avoid meeting my eyes.

“That’s because you want it, and you’re ashamed of that. It scares me too.” With a hand under his chin, I forced his head up. “But I can honestly say that I would rather die in your arms than however Shya plans to do it.”

Arys groaned. “Fuck.”

“It’s going to be ok. I’m sure of it.” Saying it didn’t convince me. My words were false, lacking conviction.

“Liar.”

He kissed me again, and I gave myself over to it. Fear was debilitating and useless. I would not be ruled by it.

I adjusted myself atop him, excited by the way he felt between my legs. “Let’s not live in that moment. I want to enjoy this one.”

The sensation of Arys’s hands on my body swept the worries from my mind. He touched me with a hunger that elicited a small quiver from me. The man oozed sensuality. I longed to get drunk on that potent elixir.

I clung to him, simply reveling in the way he felt. It was hard to keep my thoughts from straying to what was to come. I did believe deep down that our purpose had yet to be realized. However, the old witch Arys had spoken with had told him that the day he killed me, we would destroy one another. I could only assume it meant that the yin yang balance between us would be ruined. The darkness would consume me, and the light would fade. Unless someone sacrificed themselves for me, willingly taking my darkness. It was something I could never ask another to do.

I had only recently learned that was even a possibility. It was best kept quiet. Nobody needed to know. It was ultimately irrelevant.

Misery threatened to overwhelm me, so I kissed Arys with an undying passion to beat it back. The bedside lamp flickered in response. I reached down between our bodies to find him ready for me.

As I guided him to the inviting entrance between my thighs, I stared intently into him. I wanted to watch his face as I took him inside me. His expression changed from one of pensive anticipation to sheer pleasure. Having Arys deep within me was as tormenting as it was satisfying. How much longer would we have this? Would things change when I no longer belonged to the light?

“Stop thinking,” Arys whispered, sliding a hand up into my hair. “Just be here with me.”

I nodded, speechless, though words were not necessary. I set the pace, taking him into me again and again. His fingers tightened in my pale tresses, and his gaze dropped to where our bodies joined.

Known for his impatience, Arys rolled us over so that I lay beneath him. He nudged my legs farther apart and thrust deep. We moved together, a smooth rhythm that we perfected a little more every time we did this dance.

The sound of our moans and cries filled the room. The lamp flickered again and went out. The power expanded, filling the room with a warm breeze. It caressed my naked flesh even as it flowed through me. It seemed to be everywhere. I was empowered, feeling like I could take on the world with such a supernatural force thrumming through me. Riding the high like I was, victory felt possible. Hell, it felt inevitable. Tapped into Arys and all that we shared, I felt in my core that Shya didn’t know who he was dealing with. Perhaps neither did I.

“I love you, Alexa.” Arys’s mouth was warm on my skin. “If I could trade places with you in all of this, I would.”

He sought out that sensitive place beneath my ear, the one that made me purr like a kitten. A tickle raced down my spine at the touch of his tongue. There was a desperation to his touch that startled me. I knew what he wanted though he was reluctant to feed that hunger.

“I know you would,” I murmured. I clasped a handful of his hair and turned my head to offer him my neck. “Don’t hold back with me, Arys. I trust you.”

He shook his head and made a strangled sound that was both a moan and a curse. “You can’t. I don’t even trust myself.”