Page 73 of Jackal's Pride

His perfect, unmasked pleasure in me did damage to my heart.

“His weapon of mass destruction is spearing me with no concern for how I’ll walk tomorrow.”

He stopped moving inside me. “You make me…” he murmured.

My heart skipped a beat. “What?”

“You make me good. You make me want to live when I never saw any point in it. You help me understand humans.” He kissed my shoulder. “You make me whole.” I could feel him inhaling deeply, breathing me in like a fine fragrance—his preferred scent.

“What do I smell like?”

His lips curved on my shoulder. “Mine. You smell like mine, my little monster who can be so violent and vigilant. You amaze me with how you fight for others and think you have to take care of yourself.”

“Jack, I am everlasting… It’s my family’s duty to keep the balance. Most of the time, it’s not fair. We can’t right every wrong, and if bad things are meant to happen, we’re supposed to let them happen.” I whispered and closed my eyes, burrowing deeper beneath him and finding a strange comfort I’d never known before. “The Grim Reaper was bound by those rules. They were made into him, but then Mom came and she wasn’t. Then she had seven of us, also not bound by those rules. Sometimes we step in and help when we aren’t supposed to.” Fear iced my veins. “Maybe we’re being punished, Jack. Maybe the humans are suffering because we’ve intervened when we shouldn’t.”

He cupped my cheek, and I opened my eyes. “You’re not being punished.” He pulled out of me, cold air replaced the hot press of his skin as he moved off me and sat on his ass beside me.

I frowned. “Jack?”

“Come here,” he beckoned me onto his lap.

Splaying my legs across him, I burrowed myself into his chest. He hugged me that way. His cock was still rock hard and throbbing against my clit. I kind of felt bad that I started this conversation. I was fine with getting lost in him, but he wanted to keep talking—something that made me uncomfortable.

“I know whatever happened started because of Harvest, right?” I nodded. “I would think these things happen. We can’t always know what fate has in store. But when it comes to you and me, I know we were meant to meet. I will help you. I won’t let you die. If it means stopping the Devil’s rise, so be it.”

I didn’t know what to say, but he didn’t leave me time to say anything before he stood. “Come.” He materialized clothes on me and then himself. “Let’s go to the human world.”

“You’ll be exhausted afterward,” I warned.

“And they’ll be that many more that we’ve prevented from dying.”

“Can’t I have this with you? Can I enjoy what we have for a day before we go back to exhausting your body?”

He smirked and chucked off his shirt. “My cock is still burning for you. It only makes sense that we finish what we started.” He closed in on me. “Then we go to the human world.”

Nodding, I dematerialized my clothes and stood before him naked once more. He ran his hand down my back until goose bumps broke out. “I’ve been rough enough. How do you want me? I’ll bend to your every desire.”

I walked backward and fell onto the bed. “Come to me however you want.” I opened my legs wantonly before him, and he came to me.

I palmed my mark on his chest as he crawled above me. “Mine,” I hummed happily.

“All parts of me begin and end with you. Maybe I don’t have my own heart, or maybe it’s too little for me to know that it’s there but if I had one—it would be yours.”

I shook my head and smirked. “Nothing about you is little.”

He arched a brow at me and then laughed. “You depraved little monster, you know what I meant.”

I laughed too. “Says the one that’s been fucking me the last few hours like a truly depraved monster.”

Our laughter died out just as he filled me completely. There was no pain. No resistance. Nothing but sweet surrender.

Chapter 26

Jackal

Dark strands of hair fluttered across the pillow. Maureen could tempt an angel to stay in bed with her. She was deep asleep thanks to my taking her body again. Streaks of dried blood coated her neck evidence of my biting. I was too rough. I knew I was capable of making love to her soft and sweet because I just did, but sometimes it couldn’t be helped. Just viewing her asleep aroused me again.

Chill bumps broke out across her bare flesh as my hand caressed her shoulder. Even asleep, she responded to me. I pulled the cover up to her chin.