Page 36 of Warrior Witch
“Fuck!” I screamed, enjoying the bite of pain as he released his hold and reached between us to rub my clit.
“I’m close, and there’s no way in hell I’m going without you. Now tell me what you need to get there.”
“More,” I whimpered, having no clue what I meant by it. But Bruin seemed to.
He bit down on my clavicle, sucking hard. “You’re wearing my mark now. Everyone will see it and know what a dirty little whore you’ve been for the man who is going to kill you. Your mutt will know that you may be his mate, but you’ll always belong to me.”
I hated the words, but my body seemed to disagree as overwhelming pleasure exploded through me. A keening cry left my lips as my back bowed, and I dug my nails deep into his shoulders to ground myself. With a deep grunt, Bruin stilled above me, his breath stuttering as he followed me into bliss. As awareness returned, I felt the itch of the grass beneath me, and the weight of a man I was supposed to hate above. A slippery stickiness slid down my leg from the place we remained joined.
What had I just done?
I’d heard of hate sex before, but this was ridiculous. And worse than the knowledge that I shouldn’t have done what we just did was the sense of rightness that settled in my bones. My power buzzed contentedly beneath my skin, stronger at all the points our bodies touched, like a dog waiting for its master’s attention. As my brain started to work overtime with all the new anxieties that came with hooking up with another man, Bruin’s phone began to vibrate in his pocket.
“Don’t you need to get that?” I didn’t even care if it was his MC telling him to end me. It would give me the excuse to get away from him and process what just happened.
“Not even a little bit.” His voice was muffled from where he lay half smothered in my boobs.
When he showed no sign of moving, I slid out from under him, grimacing at the mess he’d left between my thighs, and began to dress.
A small chuckle burst out of Bruin where he lay motionless on the grass, and it wasn’t until I lost patience and kicked him that he slowly turned over, revealing a huge grin splitting his face. The expression startled me, seeing this always-surly guy grinning. Not smirking, not sarcastic, but genuinely amused.
“What?” I asked, fidgeting with my shirt.
“You have a hate kink.”
I huffed, rolling my eyes as I finished straightening my clothing.
“No, no. I’m here for it. Honestly, it was fucking beautiful seeing you come undone like that. In fact, I can’t wait to do it again.”
I wanted to face palm. Maybe find a time machine and go back to tell my past self it wasn’t worth the hassle. Instead, I retrieved Melisande’s journal from the ground and straightened to my full height.
“That is never happening again.”
His sliced eyebrow rose as I turned on my heel, heading back toward town. I pretended not to hear his parting comment. “We both know that’s a lie.”
It was totally a lie.
Dammit.
Hendrix
Coming into town was a bad idea.
I knew the witch and her growing merry band of men were still sniffing around, but everything in me screamed that the treasure I hunted was in town, and there was no way of knowing if they’d discover it first. Things could get messy when people got between a gryphon and their treasure.
The vibrations pulling at my chest took me the long way around the town, partly to keep my presence hidden from those who might exploit my ability, but mostly because… ugh. People.
I trekked along the river and came out on a grass clearing that overlooked the ocean. It would have been a lovely spot to get some sun in my gryphon form if it wasn’t already occupied.
The witch—Harlow, she’d told the dog—stood toe to toe with yet another man. I couldn’t make out their words, but she seemed irritated. When she slapped him for kissing her, I had a moment of confused vindication before they came together in an explosion of lust I swore I could feel from where I stood. It was raw and borderline violent, and the longer I watched, the lower my mood dropped. Still, I couldn’t look away as they shed their clothes and rutted like animals out in the open for anyone to see. I pointedly ignored the fact that I was the anyone in this case.
The polite thing to do would be to leave them to it, appreciate their distraction, and continue with my hunt. Instead, I stood transfixed as her supple body moved under him. My mind conveniently overlaid the soundtrack I’d heard the night before with her current state of undress, sending bolts of arousal straight to my dick. I’d used my hand to take the edge off before, but I refused to repeat the pathetic act and turned away as the sound of her completion drifted to me on the breeze.
Without much thought to direction, except to escape the scene behind me, I barreled into the woods. The woman kept showing up. Taunting me. I raked a hand through my hair, grimacing as my fingers caught in the unruly curls. I’d thought about cutting them more times than I could count, but…well… I liked my hair. It made me feel like I could keep my mane, even in human form. The twittering of birds and a low murmur of voices nearby kept me company as I moved without purpose, trying to use momentum to puzzle out the unwelcome feelings inside of me.
“Take care, if you’re heading that way.”
Startled from my thoughts, I swung around to find a dirty blonde man elbow deep in moss at the base of a nearby tree.