36

IVY

A shiver raced down my spine at his claimingwords. The flesh where his bite lived tingled, as if it responded to his commands and reminded me that he was mine.

And that I was his.

My eyes fluttered shut as his desire and need flooded the bond, and another image of his hard cock filled my vision. I couldn’t forget the taste of him, the feel of him between my lips as he jerked with release. I wanted so badly for him to be lying beside me, to feel the weight of his hands on my body, taste his lips on mine. My cheeks heated as I tried to clamp down on the feeling, but I grew wetter with each thought.

Thea would be calling me a needy bitch, and I would have had to agree with her.

Never mind the magic currently begging for him, for release, for his claim so that it could be freed safely through him.

Nope, that didn’t matter at all.

Angel…His voice came through on a growl, like he’d caught those last thoughts unwillingly. Are you still touching yourself?

My fingers had been toying with my clit lightly, not doing much but circling the bud, teasing the nerve as I awaited his next words. Instead of responding, I opened my eyes and caught sight of myself in the mirror. I let him see what I did: my wet hair splayed across the cushions of the bed, my breasts pushed up with one arm as I played with my nipple, while my other hand curved over my stomach to rest between the apex of my thighs, which I spread wide just for him.

You’re going to do exactly as I say, Angel, he said, his desire spiking. Tell me you understand. Use your words.

Yes, I understand. My fingers twitched, eager to dip into my soaking entrance, but I forced myself to wait.

Good girl. A new image jumped into my mind, of his veiny, scarred hands, clamped around the base of his thick length. I want you to fuck yourself with two fingers now, Angel.

Shuddering, I took my fingers away from my clit and trailed them down to my opening. Is this what you want? I asked, making sure to send him the moment I plunged two fingers inside myself. I didn’t feel nearly as full as I would have if it were his fingers fucking me, but I moaned at the friction, nonetheless.

His growl reverberated through the bond, making me tighten around the digits. I moaned as it went straight to my pussy, and I couldn’t stop myself from moving my palm over my throbbing clit as I sought release.

No touching your clit, Angel. Slow pumps only, he said. Like he guided my fingers with his hand, I did as he said. Good. Just like that. You can’t come yet.

I bit my bottom lip as I did what he said. The rush of desire from his end, paired with his commands, had me so wet, so ready, I could have come then and there. His voice alone sent another shock of pleasure through me.

But I didn’t, so I sent him another image of myself, of the slow thrusts he demanded.

Fuck, his voice sounded rough through the bond. I want you to taste yourself, Angel. Take those wet fingers and lick them clean for me.

Another shiver raced through me. I was a little hesitant, but I slipped my fingers free of my core and lifted them in front of my face. They glistened with my desire; I sent him an image of that, then another as I trailed my tongue over each digit, licking each clean.

I’d never done that before. It was strange, tasting myself like that, and yet I felt a flare of warmth through the bond. I knew if he asked, I would do it again in a heartbeat. I felt myself getting wetter as he sent me an image of his throbbing cock.

Good girl, he said. You make me so hard, Angel. My cock belongs to you.

I stifled a moan as I tightened around my fingers. I wish it was you inside me, Elias.

I know, Angel. Curl those fingers up like I would. Take that other hand of yours and give your clit some attention.

My fingers curled as I dragged my other hand down my body. At the first touch of my clit, my core tightened around my fingers, warning me of my impending climax, dragging me closer to that moment.

Not yet. His voice forced me to slow and edge away from my release, and I groaned at the sudden loss of pressure. I want you to come with me. Do you have any idea what you do to me?

I’m so close, Elias, please, I begged, arching as I neared the edge again.

My cock is throbbing for you, Angel. It wants that sweet cunt of yours. Are you tight? Are you strangling your fingers like you do my dick?

I bit down on my lip to stop myself from moaning. His words plunged me into fire, awakening my magic and moulding into something docile. Yes. I’m so tight. Please, Elias.

His groan filtered down the bond. Fuck, Angel. I love it when you beg. That’s it. Keep fucking your fingers. Pinch your clit for me like a good girl.

I heeded his command. His name crossed my lips in a silent prayer.

Now you can come, Angel.

The edge of my climax appeared a moment later and with his command, I fell over the edge. My legs clamped around my arm as my pussy fluttered and tightened with the waves of my release. My whimpers were drowned out as I heard Elias’s growl, and in the next moment, he was sending me one last image of his cum painting a white-tiled wall and dripping down the head of his cock.

As the final wave of my climax washed away, my legs slackened, and I finally pulled my fingers free. Everything in my mind was quiet, the magic finally relaxed, and once again slumbered beneath my skin.

Elias? I asked, blinking tiredly up at the ceiling as exhaustion washed through me. Thank you.

You never have to thank me, my love, he murmured, gruff voice caressing me through the bond. It was my pleasure.

I could almost see his smirk in my mind. You should rest, I replied instead. I’m sorry if I kept you up.

He snorted, the sound strange through the bond, but it made it feel like he was right here beside me, and not miles away somewhere I couldn’t reach him. I am the one who propositioned you, Angel. This was good for both of us—for our bond. Sex isn’t just sex for us, so stop thinking like it is.

My cheeks flushed red. Hard not to sometimes.

I wanted to feel his hands on me, his kiss against my forehead, but I settled for the warmth of our bond tying us together. I love you, Ivy. And I will see you soon. Sleep now. The girls and Thea are safe. I’ll take care of them.

Instead of fighting it, I let the darkness creep at the edges of my vision. I sent him one last impression, this one of my feelings for him before I slipped beneath the heavy duvet and drifted into a calm sleep.

~

“You’ve been ignoring me…”

Darkness surrounded me, thick and plush like a blanket, wrapping me in a strange warmth I’d never gotten from my dreams. A spicy scent tickled my nose, familiar in its warmth, yet I couldn’t place where I’d smelled it before.

I knew I was in my dreams the moment my eyes opened. The room I’d chosen at the new safe house was gone, replaced with an unfamiliar one that screamed danger. Through the sludge of shadows, I could barely make out anything other than the cocoon of warmth surrounding me.

My heart raced as I searched for the voice. I recognised it immediately.

The voice in my head. The one that had shown me how to kill and get my family back.

The one belonging to my mystery mate.

I blew out an unsteady breath. My magic purred under my skin, like it had been waiting for him to return to us, but I couldn’t help but feel his distance like a rejection, a slap in the face of our ‘bond’. Even my magic didn’t reach out to him like it did with Adrian and Elias, like it, too, knew there was something deeply wrong between my first mate and me.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked. “Why ignore me, my flower?”

I gritted my teeth to keep from snapping the obvious answer, and instead closed my eyes. If I willed it hard enough, maybe I could return to my own dreams. Hell, I’d take a nightmare right about now. Fleshy blood-lake monster? Come get me, please!

He chuckled darkly from somewhere behind me. I wanted to curse him and potentially break his nose, but I also didn’t want to see his stupid face.

The face he’d hidden from me while I’d cared for him.

Fingers whispered against my skin, sending bolts of electricity through me. The caress was soft…inviting…and I knew I’d fall into him if I opened my eyes.

I drew away from his touch and hid myself in the darkness surrounding me. “What do you want?” I finally asked through gritted teeth, clenching my hands into fists at my sides.

I felt his breath against my cheek as he sighed. “This is the only way, my flower.” His fingers gripped my chin, and he forced me to face him, but still, I couldn’t see his face because of the shadows. “Stop ignoring me now.”

I snorted and shook free of his grip. “You’re really not selling it, you know that, right? Seriously, what did you think was going to happen?”

“Ivy…”

“Release me from this dream—whatever it is. I want out. I’m not interested in whatever this is.” Anger burned like a fever inside me. How dare he demand I stop ignoring him? Like he hadn’t had every chance under the sun to come find me. Like he couldn’t have reached out sooner.

“You know I couldn’t,” he murmured, cupping my cheeks. He rested his forehead against mine. He’d done this when—

I shook myself free of the memory and his hold once more. “If this is about me being the Daughter of Nyx, then save it. How long have you known about the bond? Was it after you fucked and abandoned me, or was it later?”

He made a sound in the back of his throat, a mix of frustration and anger that should not have turned me on the way it did. I tampered down that arousal, shoved it into a box, and pushed it so far into the back of my mind a detective would need to find it.

“See?” I said, shaking my head. “You can’t—or won’t—answer my questions. Either way, it tells me everything I need to know. So, I’ll ask you again: what do you want from me?”

When he said nothing, I scoffed. But his next words sent a chill down my spine. “Keep the bond closed,” he growled, long fingers moving from my chin to circle my throat. It wasn’t a loving caress this time. It was a warning. “Ignore me all you want, little flower. You don’t want to know the monster I became. For you.”

I gasped as a rush of icy air shot through me. Then I was falling, crashing through my dreams, until there was nothing but his last words to me filling my ears.