Chapter 10
Ada
"You think it's safe?" I asked skeptically as I stared at the small pool of crystal-clear water that was fed by the twenty-foot-high waterfall that cascaded off the rocky outcropping above.
"In this fucking place?"
I glanced at Sebastian after he spoke and couldn't help but laugh.
"Not likely. But it looks nice, yeah?"
I gave a dreamy sigh at how nice "it" actually looked as I stared at my big, burly mate.
After shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I focused on the water again. But after a second I felt a tingling on the back of my neck and lifted my hand to rub the sensation away. I glanced around the small clearing, but I saw nothing but thick trees. I heard nothing but the distant cry of strange creatures on this plane. Yet I couldn't shake the feeling we were being watched, and that thought had the hair on my arms standing on end.
When I looked at Sebastian to see if he felt it too, any worry was whisked away as I took in the state of him before glancing down at myself.
We both had creature gunk all over us, and even if the water wasn't safe, I was desperate enough to wash this shit off.
It was drying into my hair, making me feel crusty all over. Not to mention it smelled horrendous, like a mixture between rotting fruit and spoiled meat.
I gripped the edge of my shirt, about to lift it up when Sebastian placed his hand on mine and stopped me, shaking his head.
"For the love of everything holy, female. Let me do the heavy lifting."
I remembered when he said that exact phrase earlier, and the fact that this male wanted to keep me safe in any and all ways—even risking his own life to ensure that—had my heart softening.
It was hard to pretend like I was more focused on getting out of here than being close to Sebastian.
Because with each passing moment all I wanted was to throw myself into his arms, especially when he showed me this devoted side.
"Heavy lifting, huh?"
He scowled at me, and gods did that make my heart beat a little bit faster.
He exhaled harshly and walked toward the pool of water. It was maybe fifteen feet across on all sides and looked like a damn oasis. The water was crystal clear and blue, and I could see the rocky ground below.
The fact that it wasn't very deep was also a plus, which made me feel a little bit better that there probably weren't any strange-ass creatures slithering around down there.
I was busy staring at the water and listening to it splash into the basin from the waterfall when I heard the sound of clothes rustling beside me. I glanced over just as Sebastian peeled off his shirt and dropped it to the ground beside him.
My eyes widened as I took in all that tanned, hard male vampire flesh that was revealed. And my body instantly reacted.
I clenched my thighs together when I watched his hands go to the button of his pants. I held my breath when I heard the zipper being pulled down. And I swore my heart palpitated when he pushed down his jeans and his hard ass and muscular thighs were revealed.
And then there he was, standing completely naked just feet before me, so much power in his body that I felt so dainty and breakable in comparison.
Where I was pale and freckled all over, he was all olive-toned skin ripped with power. And gods, the vampire was covered in tattoos, shapes and designs, lines and artwork that was permanently etched into his skin and hidden beneath his clothing.
He lifted his arm and ran his hand through his hair, mussing the short black strands until they stood on end, which I realized was because, despite the fact he didn't have clothes on, he still had that creature's goo all over him.
Same as me.
But my brain once again got its wires crossed as I stared at his bicep and how it bunched and flexed, how big it got from just that small motion.
"Ada," he growled and I felt the vibrations in his voice all the way from a distance.
My spine snapped and I glanced up from his bulging, too attractive bicep to his face, only to see him already staring at me.
His eyes flashed red, and he turned to face me fully, showing off all that rippling, defined male power and a massively hard?—
"Come here and get a better look, Ada," he all but taunted in that deep, harsh voice that turned my insides to liquid.
I realized very quickly I was a lush for anything that had to do with Sebastian.
The sight of him hit me in all the right places.
His touch started this fire in my body that I knew only he'd be able to tame.
The way he looked at me was like I was the air in his lungs, the blood in his veins… the very thing that gave him sanity.
I wanted to be selfish and ignore everything else around us. I wanted to just strip naked, present my primed, ready body to him, and let all that dark and delicious deviance I felt pouring off him corrupt me.
Gods, I want him to corrupt me.
I could play off what I felt for Sebastian as nothing more than the connection mates had between each other, that we had this undeniable bond that pulled us together. It was only fate, destiny, whatever you wanted to call it, making sure we were ultimately attracted to each other because we were meant to be in the other's life.
But it was something more. Yes, the attraction was undeniable and all-consuming, but there were things about Sebastian that enticed me and had nothing to do with sexual attraction.
He was intelligent and witty. And his snarkiness matched mine. We butted heads and had this love-to-hate vibe going on.
I got under his skin, but it seemed to attract him even more, and in turn that aroused me.
We were so different, and it was clear that we were opposite ends of a magnet, meant to be pulled closer together until we were one.
I took another step closer, and one more until I was only a foot from where he stood. I looked up at him, saw that his eyes were hooded, the clear desire in his expression reflected back at me so that I felt like it was an actual touch, a physical presence that held me down and told me not to fight this.
After a prolonged moment he exhaled and ran a hand over his jaw, his palms scraping over the days' worth of scruff covering his cheeks.
I watched as his black claws shifted back to blunt nails, and saw his red eyes bleed out so they were normal once more. And I did everything in my power not to look down there to see if he was still just as long and hard.
He didn't say anything else as he turned from me and walked toward the edge of the pool before he dived in.
Water splashed up and toward me, and as the seconds ticked by and he stayed underwater, my worry rose. I moved closer to the edge and crouched down, trying to see past the rippling current his big body had caused.
"Sebastian?" I called his name softly at first, and as the water cleared, and I still couldn't see him, I shouted his name louder.
He emerged so suddenly I squealed and fell back on my ass. Water cascaded down all that bronze skin of his as he grinned at me.
He lifted his hands and rubbed the beads of water away from his face before slicking his fingers through his hair.
I felt my heart do something funny when his smile faded and I realized his gaze was latched on to my chest. My belly tightened because I knew what he was looking at, what he could see.
And when I glanced down, I saw the shirt plastered to my chest. I saw my braless chest in obscene display, my nipples hard points that stabbed through the fabric. I made a choking sound.
I grabbed the material and pulled it away from my chest, but it was too late. The creature gunk and water made the shirt stick to my chest so obviously that my damn areolas had been on clear display.
He slowly swam backward a few feet, and I swallowed as I stood and said screw it. It wasn't like he hadn't done very intimate things with me already.
I curled my hands around the edge of my shirt and peeled it up and off my body before letting it fall to the ground.
Sebastian didn't move, just stayed where he was and watched me like I imagined a predator watched its prey.
I forced myself not to cover my chest with my arms even though I felt shy. "What if the sun starts to rise?" I glanced at the horizon, my worry over making sure Sebastian was safe riding me hard and helping to wash away the bashfulness I was feeling.
"There's a cave we passed," he said slowly. Deliberately. "Close enough to where we are now that I'm not worried."
I looked at him when I heard that strange tone in his voice. He stared at me, his forehead furrowed, which in turn had mine doing the same because gone was his immediate desire and in its place was something… else.
"What? What's wrong?"
He shook his head, a tic jumping under his scruffed jaw. "You wanting to make sure I'm safe makes me feel a certain kind of way." He glanced down, that muscle still working under his cheek.
Be still, my heart. My big, bad vampire wasn't used to people wanting to take care of him.
He looked back and eyed my body. Gone was any kind of softness I'd felt… or he'd felt in that quick moment.
Back was his desire like a living entity.
"Take it all off and come in here, sweetheart," he murmured and lowered himself farther into the water, only his nose and up visible now.
And oh was that a sexy sight as he swam closer to where I stood.
He tightened his big hands around the edge, his nails digging into the earth. "Go on, Ada. Don't make me ask you again."
The growl in his voice had my inner muscles clenching, and I found myself obeying without hesitation. When I stood before him naked, I felt no bashfulness, no shame.
He was the first male… the first anyone to see me completely nude, and I found it liberating in a sense. My nipples puckered, and my pussy became completely soaked.
My thighs were pressed together in hopes that he didn't see how slick my inner thighs were just from the way he looked at me, just from the things he said.
There was something dangerous about Sebastian, something lethal that told me I needed to tread lightly but also push back and see how far I could take it with him.
I was about to slowly lower myself in when, faster than I could anticipate, Sebastian stood to his full height, gripped my waist, and yanked me forward.
I became off-balance and fell, but he had a firm grip on me as we both crashed back into the water.
We were submerged instantly, and I opened my eyes to see him already staring at me. His hands cupped either side of my face, and he pulled me in and slammed his mouth onto mine. He plunged his tongue past the seam of my lips and forced me to take the kiss.
I could have moaned in pleasure from that dominance alone.
He slowly thrust his tongue in and out of my mouth, mimicking the act I desperately wanted him to do to me, the experience I wanted to have for the very first time.
For long drugging moments we just kissed and kissed and kissed some more until he pulled us to the surface and our lips parted. I sucked in a lungful of air, but that's all he gave me before his mouth was right back on mine.
He used his body to move us toward the edge of the pool, and I curled my hands around his shoulders, holding him tightly.
"Touch me," he demanded, and I bit my bottom lip, which drew his focus. "Fucking touch me before I do something you won't be ready for."
I blinked back into focus, or tried to, but this hazy fog was blinding me so nothing else mattered than doing what he said. Because I'd surely die if I didn't.
"And what won't I be ready for?" Had I said that out loud?
He moved closer until only an inch separated our bodies.
"All the dark, fucking depraved things I want desperately to do to your body, Ada."
There I went again, biting my damn lip hard enough the skin broke like the last time and the coppery tang of blood covered the tip of my tongue.
"Hmmm," he hummed and reached out, smoothing his thumb over the corner of my mouth so the blood no doubt smeared across my cheek.
"Sebastian," I whispered and watched enraptured as he brought his thumb to his mouth and sucked the blood off while staring into my eyes.
"Depraved things, baby. Things that would scare the fuck out of you," he said around his thumb. I knew there couldn't be any more blood on the pad, but he kept sucking on it as if he wished there was.
"Like what?" My chest was now pressed to his.
He gave the digit one more lick, really dragging his tongue along it in a show of lewd enjoyment. "Things like licking you from your mouth to your toes as I drag my claws along your exposed skin and break open that porcelain flesh."
Breathing was becoming harder the more he spoke.
"Then I'd drag my tongue up those scratches, lapping at that blood because it's what I need to survive and you taste so fucking sweet."
He reached out and curved his palm around my throat and added pressure. The truth was I liked the threat of my air getting cut off in this erotic way.
"Or how I want to push into your tight little pussy until I'm balls-deep, wrap my hand around your throat, and slowly squeeze until you can barely breathe but don't want me to stop fucking you."
I closed my eyes just as he added a bit more pressure. Gods, why did it feel so good to hear him say these things?
"Or what about making you kneel in front of me, sweetheart?" I opened my eyes and blinked rapidly to clear my fuzzy view, my desire making me feel almost drunk.
"And then what?" I was a masochist for this erotic torture his words caused within me.
He bent forward and leaned in so close his mouth was almost touching mine again as he spoke. "I'll make you take every single thick inch of my cock until it hits the back of your throat and you gag."
We were both panting hard and heavy, and all I wanted to do was kiss him again and let my mate finally fuck me.
When he pulled away too soon, I was left feeling bereft and chilled. He stared at me, his shoulders rising and falling as it was clear he tried to garner his self-control.
"Wrap your legs around me, baby."
I did so instantly, let my head fall back, and closed my eyes at the feel of his hard cock nestled right between my slit.
"How ready are you for me?"
"So ready," I moaned, realizing I said those words so easily. So, so easily.
He thrust his hips forward, grinding all that huge male flesh against me. Sparks of ecstasy consumed me, and I dug my nails into his shoulders, hearing him hiss.
"That's it, my sweet girl. Mark me up just like I'm going to mark you."
He ground himself against me over and over again, rolling his hips so that the motion caused slight waves in the water all around us. I was gasping for breath, completely delirious with the sensations moving through me.
He latched his mouth on to the side of my neck and started biting the flesh, soft at first, but soon his teeth really dug into my skin, his fangs driving deeper until I knew he broke the skin.
He groaned and started thrusting harder against me at the same time he dragged his tongue up and down my throat.
"Fuck. More addicting than anything I've ever had."
I could smell the coppery tang of my blood coating the air between us, and my pussy clenched, my virgin inner muscles wanting that big, thick cock between Sebastian's legs.
I didn't need to get to know him further. I didn't need for time to pass for me to be comfortable with what was happening.
I just wanted him. And now.
"Sebastian…"
He lifted his head just as I lifted mine, our gazes clashing. Blood was smeared along his lips, and I leaned in and dragged my tongue over them, tasting the coppery flavor of my blood.
I pushed my tongue past the seam of his lips, and he sucked on the muscle, drawing it in deeply and gently biting on it. His fangs were so sharp that my pussy clenched, tightened, and a rush of wetness spilled from me.
"I want you." My words were a moan against his mouth, and a second later he had me turned around.
I felt Sebastian's hand in the center of my back, pushing me forward until my ass popped out and my legs were spread so he could be wedged between them.
"And you'll have me. Every fucking inch."
I was so consumed with my desire that I didn't realize he'd gone still behind me. It was then I understood why.
I rested my forehead on the grassy patch in front of me and closed my eyes, hating that we'd have to have this conversation right now.
It completely took away from the moment.
I felt the softest touch of his fingers against the scars that were over each of my shoulder blades.
I didn't know what they looked like, had never seen them myself, but I remembered the excruciating pain of how I'd gotten them and could assume they were hideous.
"What are these?" His voice was low. Too low. But also controlled. He ran his finger over my left shoulder blade, then did the same to the right.
I shivered from his touch.
"Scars." I wanted to turn around and hide myself, shame over the ugly marks making me humiliated.
"How did you get them?" His voice sounded tighter, and I wanted to look at his expression to gauge his mood, but I stayed where I was and let him explore me.
When I stayed silent, he made a rough noise behind me slid his hand between me and the ground to lay his palm flat on my belly, pulling me back so I was flush with him.
Sebastian nosed my hair away from my ear, and said in a dominant voice, "Tell me how you got these."
"Someone bad gave them to me." I felt tears prick at my eyes.
"Your nightmares…"
I took in a hard breath at hearing him say that, remembering that night in the cave when he heard me dreaming, when I'd been stuck in that past, in my own head.
I slowly nodded, not trusting my voice.
"Who did this to you?"
"The Assembly. They took my wings." I squeezed my eyes shut. "He cut them from me and laughed as he tossed them aside." I opened my eyes and stared at the darkened forest in front of me. "I remember how wet my back felt, how much it burned." I choked on the last word. "I remember the way my vision was blurry from the tears. And all the laughing. So much…" I closed my eyes again and felt a single tear slip down. I angrily wiped it away.
I wouldn't give those bastards my sadness.
Sebastian didn't speak, didn't even move. He had placed both palms flat on my back, right over my shoulder blades.
"A Fae's wings are everything to them. Without them we are stripped of the very essence that makes us… us." I could no longer fly. I could no longer feel the silky touch of them wrapped protectively against me.
That was a worse pain than having them sliced clean free from my back.
"I'll kill him. I'll hunt down the one who hurt you and flay the skin from his bones."
When I felt his forehead touch my back, I did look over my shoulder then, his big body hunched over, his breathing ragged.
"I'll make the one who hurt you pay so painfully, Ada."
I turned around, and Sebastian lifted his head just as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and pressed myself close to him.
We stared at each other, and I felt all the worry of what was happening, all the horrors of the past, just fade away until there was nothing.
At that moment I was feeling vulnerable and stripped bare, and all I wanted to do was be somewhere else. Be someone else.
I tangled my hands in the wet strands of his hair at the base of the skull, pulled him closer, and dragged my tongue over his bottom lip over and over again before sucking the flesh into my mouth.
He growled and held still, as if he knew I needed this moment to have control, to feel like I had power once more.
He had his hands on the earth on either side of me, and I could hear him digging up the ground, his hands pushing deep into the dirt as if to grapple for stability.
I plunged my tongue into his mouth and retreated. Did it over and over again. I might be inexperienced in anything sexual, but being a novice was clearly turning him on more with each passing second.
I was painfully aware that I wouldn't stop how this moment progressed. I wanted to go all the way. I wanted Sebastian to help wash away all the horrors both of us had faced.
When I pulled back, he slid his hands over my arms, across my shoulders, and covered either side of my neck, tilting my head back. He was the one to drag his tongue over the column of my throat, along my jawline, and finally kissed me deeply.
I murmured in a desperate voice, "Claim your mate."