Page 61 of Beastly Armory
She stands about five feet away from me, cautiously fidgeting with her fingers as if she doesn’t know what to do with herself. Swallowing, she ever-so slowly takes a step in my direction, her hips swaying with each one until she is directly in front of me. “I-I heard about the ring.”
My breathing slows to almost non-existent. Some hair falls in my face as I nod my reply, unable to form words. That signature amber scent fills my nostrils, and desire overtakes me, filling me with primal need. If I inhale, I’ll taste her, and I won’t be stopping this time. My cock jumps in my shorts.
Batting her lashes, she says softly, “Thank you, Max. You didn’t have to do that.”
The urge to touch her face makes my fingertips tingle, but I hold back. “I did. I didn’t want—I wouldn’t let him take your memories from you.”
Her long fingers reach out and smooth over my bare chest. Everywhere she touches feels like wildfire spreading along the skin. My heart stops beating. Crawling up my neck until her hands thread through my hair, her voluptuous breasts mold into me, soft against my hardness. Dare I use my arms to circle her back?
Livia’s face rests inches from my own once I lean down to her, maybe to embrace her fully or just the hope that I could. She tugs on the back of my head and lightly brushes her pert pink lips to mine, and I savor her flavor with a swallow. All the traumas that have been locked deep inside me begin to feel like they happened to someone else as she deepens her connection with my mouth, the taste of her intoxicating me until I can’t hold back any longer.
Snatching her by the waist, I thrust my tongue inside her, desperate to have her saliva mix with mine. I need our mouths to blend into one. It’s vital that we collide. I can’t live without this, the unadulterated hunger for hercausing a frenzied panic in my lungs. One hand runs through her silky dark hair, the other gripping her firm ass as she pulls me closer. When my tongue meets hers again, a whimper sounds in her throat, divulging how much she needs me.
Lifting her by her thighs, I push her against the nearest wall as those long legs surround my waist with a tight grip. Only thin athletic shorts shield my cock, and it’s dying to escape deep inside her cave, to fucking maul her. Nails embed in each other’s skin. Our tongues slow from their raging battle and begin soothing each other’s wounds with gentle caresses.
Pulling back from me, she places her forehead against mine as we pant heavy breaths onto the other’s lips. “I want you,” she whispers in between huffs.
“I want you,” I repeat back to her. Removing one hand from her leg, I start to tug down my shorts and expose myself.
Her little hand touches mine to stop its movement. “But you shouldn’t, Max. I can’t—” She bites her lip and her voice cracks with strain. Those golden eyes fill with tears until they sparkle like rain on a sunny day. “I can’t. You shouldn’t want me.”
Straightening up, my burning skin turns ice cold. All the heat I built up morphs into rage. As I take a step back, I drop her to the ground, and she stills, leaning against the wall, barely able to look me in the eye. “What in the actual fuck, Livia? Do you enjoy torturing me? Torturing my dick?” Grasping my full erection, I give it a shake.Those bleary champagne eyes glance at it, then flinch away as her cheeks flame pink.
“No, I wanted to thank you for what you did for me,” she cries out, tears now freely streaming down her face. “Nothing more.” Wiping her nose with the back of her hand, she tries to hide her face by looking down, but I tip her chin up, so she has to meet my fierce gaze.
“Nothing?”
She shakes her head rapidly, but keeps her lips tightly sealed. Her reluctance to open up to me after everything pisses me off more than anything.
“Why in the fuck are youcrying? Why shouldn’t I want you, Livia? Answer me.”
Swiping her wet cheeks with her thumbs, she sticks her chin up and glares at me. “You’d just get attached to my pussy, and I don’t have time for your clinginess, Freidenberg.” The weepy damsel in distress tone is gone from her voice, replaced by bratty bitchiness.
With my hands on my hips, I stare her down for a full minute, contemplating any sort of reply. God, it fuckinghurts, whatever kind of game she’s playing with me. I can’t take this rejection anymore. My chest is tight from the pain as I manage to squeeze out, “Get the fuck out of my house.” Snapping my thumb and finger together forcefully, I point to the stairs, my hand shaking with fury. “I’ll just go to the Crimson Angel. They don’t have cockteasers there.”
She gasps with an audible click in the back of her throat, the harpy having the audacity to look hurt. Then she spins on her heel and leaves.
Sixteen
LIVIA
Try to show a little affection to a man and all he wants is to take it all the way. I only wanted to thank Max for what he did for me. That’s it. Really. Instead, he tried to turn that into something more.
It doesn’t matter that Iwanthis cock. I know that if I use it, there’ll be no going back. That kiss was enough. Despite him doing a noble thing for me, I still cannot trust him. Not completely. Not in the way royalty from Gnarled Pine should trust a mate. He’s a man... My mother put her faith in my father, and it got her killed. And she was even able to play the perfect wife. She wasn’t damaged like me.
Goes to show you can’t trust anyone to protect you, to not hurt you. Everyone is out for themselves. It’s better to be alone; it’s safer. And I wouldn’t be if I kept kissing Max. At least my heart wouldn’t be. I’d want more.
Maybe I should give in to him and just fuck him once, then be done with it. Could I do that? No, there’sno way. I need to be honest with myself. I can’t let us be together. It would break us both.
We still have to work together to get the rest of the weapons, and I can’t be getting distracted by his perfect dick. Oh, and what a perfect cock it is. Smooth, thick, long, straight, round head… I have no right to be as jealous as I am, but if he heads to the Crimson Angel, I should get with someone else, too. Maybe it’ll help me get over him.
Only a week after the run-in with the grouchy bear in his home gym, winter has set in our city. The biting air mauls my skin, causing my fingers to stiffen when I grip my leather jacket tightly as I maneuver myself out of the Barracuda. Max insisted on driving again. We rode in silence during the entire three-hour journey to our latest meeting spot. Just the two of us, because Derichs is still babysitting Arianna while Jakob recovers.
Poor guy apparently got clipped in the leg during a firefight with Ace’s guys. Ari said it happened while he was trying to sneak something to her from Wyatt under the guise of delivering her bike parts. Their relationship was already causing issues, but our rendezvous at the casino seemed to have some dire consequences. It’s getting more dangerous to walk on the streets.
Stretching my neck with a sigh, I remember my promise to the younger Freidenberg that I would speak with her brother about letting her go to the motorcycle shop. However, now is most definitely not the time. Max and I haven’t spoken in complete sentences to each other since our kiss. Well, “kiss” implies something simple, likemouths combining, but that was something far beyond anything I’d ever experienced. Transformative… and dangerous.
Echoes informed me he went to the Crimson Angel a couple of times. Then snapped her mouth shut, saying she was instructed not to tell me anything further. Just thinking about him with someone else makes me want to vomit. Or kick his shins in.