Chapter 28

28

Birds chirped overhead, their individual calls crisp and clear, singing in the background of Lilis’ deep breaths and the blood pounding through her veins. But not just hers. She could feel Simon’s heartbeat as though it were her own, and his short breaths on her skin tickled her ear, making her shiver.

And that scent . Sandalwood, musk, and cinnamon. Entirely masculine.

She inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with the heady combination, her eyes rolling back into her head.

She needed him to fill her , shook with the force of it.

“Lilis?”

Mate .

Her mind repeated that one word, remembering over and over the feeling of him sliding in and out of her. She tilted her face up and ran her lips over his, her entire body firing at the shudder that wracked his strong frame and the hardness of his?—

A twig snapped, and another scent invaded her. Fear. Anger. Campfire smoke and smoldering pine.

Enemy.

The one who called himself Kas watched them. He was close. Too close to her mate.

Another growl started low in her throat as she rose to her feet, facing her adversary. It was time to finish this. Time to finish him.

She started forward.

Her mate jumped in front of her, hands up. “Don’t.”

Move. Protecting mate.

“No, you’re not.” He responded to her with his voice instead of thinking the words back to her. She narrowed her eyes in reproach. “Lilis, stop.”

Lilis inspected her mate carefully. He breathed heavily through his mouth, bared abs and the muscles of his chest rippling with his movements. His pupils were dilated, and his eyes roved over her entire body.

Wanting her. Needing her.

Eliminate threat first.

She tried to push past him again, and again, he stood in her path.

“He’s not a threat. Remember? He swore he wouldn’t hurt us.”

His words sounded muffled, like he was talking to her from inside a blanket. Lilis could process only fear and lust.

Danger.

“No.” He spread his hands, showing her his body. “I’m okay, Lilis. Confused, but alive.”

She squeezed her eyes shut. Animal instincts warred with human reasoning that dimmed with each passing moment.

“She can’t hear you. You need to…”

The rest of her enemy’s words faded as a roar slowly built in her ears. She couldn’t think. Couldn’t process anything. Could only feel and need .

The enemy disappeared in a flash of light without warning, and her mate stepped in front of her, filling her field of vision, blocking out the world around her.

Not safe .

“He left, Lilis.” He bent his head to her mouth, kissing her as he nudged her backward. “It’s just you and me now.”

Her back pressed against the bark of a tree, and his thigh nudged her legs apart. His mouth never left hers, and Lilis kissed him back with a desperation she’d never known before.

Yes. No. Still not safe.

Tearing her mouth from his, she slipped into her true form with ease and snorted with approval as her mate leapt onto her back.

She took off at a run.

His legs squeezed her as they darted through the trees, moving with the preternatural speed of her kind. The trees parted, revealing the crumbling remains of a stone building, and Lilis leapt into the air, skimming just under the top of the canopy. Her mate shouted something at her, but she couldn’t hear him over the rush of the wind in her face, the high of flying with him on her back.

One beat of her wings, and she zipped around branches and leaves. Felt him lean closer to her, pressing his front against her as he wrapped his arms around her neck.

Two beats. She moved faster now, heading east toward the ocean and leaving behind the town filled with firefighting teams, demons, and endirim. A startled hawk launched into the air, and she dodged it, turning southward.

Her mate’s breath along her neck mingled with the wind around them, his weight on her back distracting her, making her ache to land there in the clearing and let him claim her fully.

Lilis pulled her thoughts away from the man above her and pushed herself farther and harder, seeking safety. Protection. Isolation.

In the distance, a small field came into view. A lone road led into it, and long, narrow buildings with large bright-blue doors grew like crops in the middle.

She landed on top of one, and practically tumbled to the ground—all of her usual grace completely vanished with her need. She shrank rapidly into her other shape and punched a code into the keypad next to one large door.

It beeped, and Lilis hauled the door up, nearly ripping it off its hinges in her haste. Her mate pressed against her from behind, the little hairs that dotted his broad chest tickling her bare back. He nudged her forward, his hands coming up to cup her breasts and his mouth trailing scorching licks down her neck while his erection pressed firmly through his jeans into her rear.

Lilis whimpered and reached up, blindly feeling for the pull string that would turn on the single bulb and illuminate the space. One of his hands left her breast, and the door crashed down behind them both.

His hand immediately found her breast again, rolling her pebbled nipple in between his fingers. All thoughts fled her mind. There was nothing but the feel of him, his strong arms around her, his assured hands and nimble fingers playing her like a finely tuned instrument.

She wanted him, needed him to fill her, but she was so far gone she couldn’t form the words. She reached behind her back and squeezed the enormous bulge in his jeans she found waiting for her, and he responded with a grunt.

They stumbled forward through her piles of treasure, her gems, kicking them aside. She would have fallen, but he kept her upright, maneuvering her deeper into the small chamber, pressing her against the far wall, and pinning her in place with his powerful body.

One hand left her again, and this time, Lilis found her voice long enough to cry out the only word her tongue could form.

He laughed darkly. “I’m right here.” A zipper lowered, and something hot, thick, and velvety probed her entrance.

He entered her with one sure thrust, letting out a groan as he nestled to the hilt. Every one of her nerve endings buzzed with pleasure, but he didn’t move. He held his hips perfectly, tortuously still as her body continued to climb higher, pushed by the feeling of his steel muscles surrounding her and his hardness filling her completely. She whimpered, teetering on the edge. He scraped his nails down the nipples of both breasts, and she came forcefully on him.

He began thrusting immediately, enhancing her pleasure, and she screamed as another orgasm ripped through her body. His hips never stopped as he brought her hands up and spread them, palms open, next to her head.

She tried to lower them to get more leverage to push back, but her mate moved them back into place again.

He nipped her ear, his hot breath making her shiver, the vibrations of her body traveling down to where he moved in and out of her. “I can reach you better this way.” His hands demonstrated as they slid along the curve of her ass, up her waist to cup her breasts and pinch her nipples again before dropping back down to her sides. “But I don’t want to reach everywhere. Do you have any idea how hot it is watching you sway ? Any idea what you do to me?”

Lilis could only whimper as his cock pistoned in and out of her, pushing her higher, faster. Without his hands holding her breasts, her nipples brushed against the cool wall in front of her, stimulating her sensitive skin. One of his hands skimmed down her side and gripped the back of her knee, lifting it and opening her more fully to his thrusts.

He kept up his pace, and Lilis held still, letting him possess her totally.

His other hand reached down to tease her swollen nub, trapping her between two sources of pleasure, and she screamed as he roared and his thrusts finally slowed.

He eased out of her, and Lilis tipped her head back to rest on his shoulder. Sliding her to the side, he placed tender kisses on her lips, her nose, and her closed eyes. He lifted her into his arms and lowered them both to the floor.

And there, in the heart of her lair, she cuddled up to her mate amongst her heaps of treasures.