18. Mari

Chapter eighteen

Mari

A creaking in the floorboards outside the room jostles me out of my sleep. We built a nest for ourselves in the middle of the triplets' bedroom, and the limbs of three ogre children are flung in all directions.

It was the best way to keep them from arguing about whose bed I would sleep in that night.

I gently pick up and move the hand that cups my arm. A sleepy sound escapes Violet, but her eyes don't open.

My feet pad to the door, and I open it silently.

Soren is standing close to the door, too close to be just passing by. He looks shocked to see me.

"What are you doing?" I whisper, stepping outside and shutting the door silently behind me.

"Nothing, just going to my room." He has fresh clothes, revealing he's already been to his room. I narrow my eyes. He nervously runs his thick fingers through his chestnut hair.

"Why were you creeping outside my door?"

"I wasn't." He shifts his eyes back and forth, as if seeking an excuse. This guy is a garbage liar.

"What the fuck do you want?" I feign annoyance. But standing in the dark hall with his massive form towering over me does something to me. I take a step closer, standing my ground.

He steps closer, fire lighting the rims of his eyes. "I wanted to check on you. You were half-frozen earlier. Sorry if my concern is bothersome." He's so close I can feel his breath brush my skin. Holding firm to this little game, I straighten and decide I enjoy playing with him.

"I'm fine, as you can clearly see. You can go back to your room now," I whisper back, conveying the annoyance I'm trying to project.

He holds an arm out above me, propping it on the wall. Then he leans his head down, tilting slightly like a predator would. I'm caged in, but I don't care. He locks that roguish gaze on me and eyes me from top to toe. A charge in the air lights my skin on fire, and I don't want it to stop. I don't want him to stop.

"How about you ask me nicely, and I might?" he purrs.

"How about you go fuck yourself?" I spit. But he smiles down at me, and there is nothing kind in it. Just desire and menace. It's thrilling.

"Is that what you want to think about tonight, My Warrior?" He pauses, leaning even closer, grazing his lips with the shell of my ear. "Me…fucking myself to the thought of you."

Holy shit. My eyes go wide. My heart rate picks up speed, pounding so loud in my chest that there is no way he can't hear. I don't know what to say. I'm so caught off guard that the words die in my throat.

"That's not—" My mind is a jumbled mess, and I struggle for coherent thought. "That's not what—" Before I can finish my garbled sentence, he throws the weight of his body up against mine—pressing me hard to the door. He looks down at me, his breathing ragged. "What are you—" Before I can ask, his mouth is on mine. His full, soft lips claim mine with an intensity I've never experienced.

His hand goes to the back of my head, tangling in my hair. I tilt my face up to give him better access. He wraps his other arm around the back of my waist.

His lips move in languid, sensual motions, and my mouth parts for him. He sucks my bottom lip between his teeth, and I let out a breathy noise despite myself. I wrap my arms around his neck, reaching for any way to be closer to him. My nipples graze his hard chest, filling my core with heat.

Our tongues twine with one another, and I can't help but imagine what that mouth would feel like in other places.

His hands roam my body, squeezing into the flesh on my ass and hips while his mouth and tongue plunder mine.

We're both panting and grappling with each other. This intense need has struck us like a lightning bolt, and we are helpless against it. In a swift motion, he takes both massive hands and lifts me. My legs wrap around his waist in answer.

Without thinking for once, I just feel. Giving into a desire that I have never felt burn so hot and untamed. His hands are all over me. In my hair, on my jaw, on my ass. As if this is his one opportunity to touch me, and he refuses to squander it .

I rock my hips a bit, feeling his length between my thighs. The sweet friction of it lets a small moan escape my lips.

I see his eyes fly open at the noise, looking like a man possessed… An ogre possessed, I should say. He pulls me tighter to him, kissing me hard. Our mouths grapple and crash with such ferocity. Ihave no doubt my lips will be swollen in the morning. He pumps his hips again, grinding into me. I moan into his mouth again.

His fingers tighten where they grip my ass, and he props me against to the wall so he can press into me harder. Oh fuck, why does that feel so good? He rocks into me again, and his name leaves my lips.

He goes feral. Sucking and biting at my ear, my neck, my lips, all the while dragging his cock between my thighs. I want these clothes gone! I want to feel him inside me. He lifts me higher, adjusting our position on the wall, but he slips, slamming into the triplets' bedroom door.

Fuck.

The door shakes, causing all the metal components, from the hinges to the knob and latch, to make a ringing sound in the peaceful house.

Shit, fuck, that was too loud. I break the kiss, pushing out of his grasp. Panicked that I may have woken one of the children up, I hold my ear to the door.

Quiet. It's still silent. I loose a long breath when I don't hear any movement.

He's standing across from me in the hallway, holding his arms behind his back as if to restrain himself.

He steps forward, inciting excitement and panic. I don't know what I'll do if he kisses me again. But he doesn't. He just looms over me. Then he reaches for my hand, bringing my knuckles to his lips and kissing them softly.

Then, still holding his mouth to my skin, he says, "Goodnight, My Warrior. I'll see you in the morning."

He drops my hand, and my arm goes limp at my side. I watch him disappear down the hall.

He only looks back once to shoot me a devilish smirk. What have I gotten myself into?