Page 41 of Shattered Trinket
Without warning, he drags me higher up his body until our faces are inches apart and his intense gaze pierces through my very being. Swallowing hard, I feel my fingers twitching on his shoulders, a physical manifestation of the emotions coursing through me.
“With everything I am until my last breath.”
With no hesitation, I press my lips against his, feeling an electric connection as he responds to my kiss, causing my eyes to flutter shut. His left hand clutches my hip, while the other firmly presses against the small of my back, creating a protective and intimate connection between us. With his lips pressed againstmine, a serene stillness washes over my mind and heart, and I feel a deep peace in my soul as he holds me tight, as though afraid I might slip away.
When I pull back, I rest my forehead against his, and I can feel my breaths escaping in short, panting bursts. I gently cradle his face with both of my hands, feeling the warmth of his cheeks against my palms, holding him in place as I lock eyes with him.
He thinks he’s a monster, his soul a black void and hands permanently stained, but he’s wrong. He’s so very wrong.
Jeremiah’s soul is brilliant, a light shining its beacon in the dark.
Sometimes, good people do bad things. It doesn’t mean they’re inherently bad.
All I see in him is the reflection of a once lonely and starving child who managed to find his own path to survival. Although I don’t support his choices, I choose not to judge him solely based on his past.
“I think I love you, Ghost,” I whisper, feeling incredibly vulnerable as I lay my heart out for him.
But when he grins, I can’t help the way my lips curl upwards as well.
“Thank fuck, because I’ve loved you since the moment I laid eyes on you, Dove.”
As I try to get up, a giggle escapes me, but I raise an eyebrow when he refuses to release his grip. He raises his back at me in response, and I let out an exasperated sigh.
“Come on, silly Alpha.”
As I gracefully slide off of him and the bed, I reach out my hand with a beaming smile as soon as my feet touch the ground. He takes it, towering over me when he stands at his full height, and grabs the bat plush he’s spent all day cuddling. When I reach for it, he playfully holds it high above his head, way out of myreach, and I huff in response, ignoring the urge to stomp my foot.
“I think I might keep him. He’s a pretty decent cuddle buddy,” he jokes and I gasp in outrage, jumping up and down to reach the plush despite knowing it’s impossible because of how much taller than me he is.
“Absolutely not! Gimme!”
On my next jump, he catches me, wrapping his free arm around my back and tugging me to him. My hands land on his chest as he bends to press his nose against mine, rubbing them together with a grin.
“Say please.”
I pinch my lips together and narrow my eyes, but he simply chuckles in response. Realizing the need for a different approach, I resort to widening my eyes and poking out my bottom lip, pouting at him and feeling a mix of emotions as the surrounding air seems to crackle with electricity.
“Please,” I breathe out, his lips just barely brushing against mine.
I watch the way his eyes seem to grow darker at that one word and my breath catches in my chest as the arm he had raised above his head slowly comes back down until the bat is within reach. Jeremiah’s chest vibrates against me, that rugged purr of his coming out, making my body grow warmer and the space between my thighs tingle as a shiver rolls down my spine.
“I’m gonna put you down before I do something I know you’re not ready for,” he groans before gently placing me back on my feet and handing me the bat.
I swallow, hugging the bat to my chest as I squeeze my thighs together as inconspicuously as I can. I want to ask him what he wants to do to me, but I clamp my lips shut and instead shove my face against the bat, taking a sniff as I continue to look up at him, nearly moaning when his scent hits me full force.
He wasn’t lying when he said this thing would come back to me completely doused in his scent. And oh, my gods, I’m not mad about it at all.
Now I want to give them all a plush to take home and cuddle, in hopes that the others will bring them back completely covered in their scents as well, so I can hide them in my nest.
Is that weird?
Would they do it?
I pull back when I catch myself perfuming at the thought, noting the way Jeremiah’s nostrils flare as he groans, swiping a hand down his face.
Whoops.
When I finally lead him through my closet, he has to duck slightly to avoid knocking himself out with the door frame. In front of the door to the nest, I pause and inhale deeply, the anticipation making the air feel charged.