Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-Eight

RELIC

I slid my hand up and down Fern’s back, still catching my breath, while my little female lapped at the bite she’d given me while she’d ridden my cock. She lifted her head, looking down at me, her pretty peridot eyes heavy-lidded and soft with satisfaction.

My blood stained her lower lip, and I loved that so much that my heart fucking clenched when I reached up and wiped away the little bit that had trailed down her chin.

Her cheeks darkened, and she smiled in a shy, sexy-as-fuck way that had me curling my fingers around the back of her head and pulling her down for a kiss.

Feeding her somehow satisfied the beast even more than fucking her. Knowing I could sustain her in that way—knowing that no matter what, she would never go hungry, that she would always be full—provided me with the kind of peace and fulfillment I hadn’t known was possible.

“Have you had enough?” I said against her perfect lips.

“I have,” she said back. “Thank you.”

“Told you, Tink, you don’t ever thank your male for feeding you.” I nuzzled her jaw. “I also fucking love it.”

She was warm and soft, relaxed in a way that I knew she had never been before, and I fucking loved that as well.

We’d been holed up in my den for the past few days, and I never wanted to leave this room or this bed.

She wriggled so she was on her side, facing me. She rested her head on one hand while the other stayed on my chest, where I liked it, idly tracing my Tinker Bell tattoo. “So, I’m going to suggest something, and I’d like you to hear me out before you get all growly and possessive and say no—because then I’ll have to do something you won’t like, we’ll argue, you’ll lock me up in your room, and I’ll get super pissed and give you the silent treatment until you let me out. Do you want that?”

I fought back my grin. “It’s not like we’ve been doing much talking anyway. Maybe we should jump straight to the silent treatment, and I’ll eat your pussy while you get over it.”

Her eyes widened, and she bit her lips together in that way I had quickly learned meant she was amused, turned the fuck on, or both.

“Stop trying to distract me from this very important conversation,” she said as she slid her thigh over mine.

I couldn’t hold back my dirty-as-fuck laugh. “You’re thinking about it.”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course, I’m thinking about it. You’re good with your mouth, hound, and your fingers … okay, fine, you play my body like an instrument you’ve been studiously practicing for centuries, but we do need to talk about a couple of things before we get back to making more beautiful music together,” she said with a cute grin.

“But I love making you hit those high notes, baby.” I smirked.

“No more talking, only listening.” She pressed her finger against my lips.

I grabbed it and nipped the tip. “Are you sure you want to talk right now?” Because now, I had my heart set on eating out my mate’s fucking delicious pussy.

“I’m sure.” Some of the teasing had left her eyes.

I didn’t like that. “Okay, talk to me.”

“You promise to be reasonable?”

“I’m always reasonable, Tink.”

“We’ll have to agree to disagree on that one. Though mating my hellhound stalker has been the highlight of my entire life and an excellent title for a romance novel, I can’t just stay in this bed for the rest of my life, having mind-blowing orgasms and feeding from you—”

“Why not?”

Her gaze slid to my mouth, and she sighed, her lips going all pouty and making me want to kiss her again. “Because I have a business to run and clients who rely on me.”

She was right; I was going to say no.

“You know why you can’t do that. It’s too dangerous for you to leave the den.”

“I know, but this isn’t a permanent solution. I can’t live down here like a mole person for the rest of my life.”

“A mole person?”

“Relic—”

“You don’t like it here?” I swallowed thickly.

She leaned over me, cupping the side of my face. “I love it here, but I still need sunlight and contact with other people. I love my store, and I have new friends. Maybe it’s selfish of me, but I want it all. I want to be here with you, and I want my store back, and I want to spend time with my new coven. I want to live.”

If anyone deserved it all, it was Fern, and I wanted to give it to her more than anything. “I promise I’ll find him, and when I do, I’ll put him down screaming. Then, when I know you’re safe, you can have it all.”

“I know you want to do that for me.” She pressed a gentle kiss to my lips. “But without me, you won’t find him.” She lifted her head and held my eyes. “You have to let me help. I want to help.”

Everything in me rejected the idea. “Fern—”

“Which is why I need you to take me to see Agatheena.”