13. Livana

Chapter 13

Livana

R unning is hard .

Every step makes my muscles scream, calling me a traitorous bitch for pushing myself this hard when I'm so exhausted.

But it's also fun .

I'm only seconds into fleeing, but my mind is whirling and an excited buzz simmers beneath my skin. I may be weak, but I have all the power here.

How Zev catches me will tell me everything I need to know about him.

Because, yes, he will catch me. I know he will. I'm too weak to outrun him. I'm not even sure I could outrun him at full strength. The stubborn bastard is determined.

I dodge through the trees, zigzagging between the thick trunks that grow closer together the deeper I run into the forest. Ancient tree roots lift and stretch from the ground, creating a slew of obstacles I have to leap over. Thank Goddess for my enhanced vision in the dark, lest I trip and break my neck over a game .

Heavy footfalls sound behind me, sending fire soaring through my blood.

Zev wants me to hear him, otherwise I'd never have known he'd given chase. And fuck me, he's close.

My breaths are rapid as I take a sharp left, pushing my body to the breaking point as I try and give him a better chase. The air is icy and crisp despite the dense trees, the smell of wet vegetation and soil soaking every lungful I breathe in.

I leap over a fallen tree trunk, a bolt of pain snapping up both my legs as I land. Goddess, I'm tired. Blood loss is the worst.

But this is too much fun. Plus, Zev would never fully give me the information I need. I have to earn it. Have to wring it out of him this way.

And sure, we only have a couple more weeks on the road to Lingate, but after all the trouble we've run into in such a short amount of time, I need to know if I can count of him.

Count on him to let me use him just as much as he's using me.

Jagger has already earned my trust in that regard.

Now I want to see about Zev.

Another crash of boots hitting the ground sounds behind me, and I gasp at how close he is. I hurry to the left again, hoping the zigzag pattern will at least throw him off.

It doesn't.

Damn, he's good.

Tiny beads of sweat pepper my brow despite the cold air, my body temperature rising the longer I run. I take another left, then hurry to the right, ducking under an outward slope of earth, tucking myself beneath the covering.

I go silent, willing my breathing to slow as I listen to the area surrounding me. Luckily, my heart is only racing thanks to the chase, not because of my condition.

Slow and deliberate footfalls sound above my head.

" Tsk, tsk, " Zev sucks his teeth. "You're cheating."

His scent permeates the thick night air, and need pulses in my core as his desire hits my tongue. Goddess, it's not as bittersweet as usual. It's…spicy and melty and a little sharp. Damn. He wants me.

Badly.

I smirk, pride and confidence making my core clench. I knew Zev would be into the chase, but I didn't realize just how much.

He moves farther along the outcropping over my head, moving past where I'm tucked beneath it.

I grin, celebrating my triumph silently. Guess I'm one monster the drifter can't track.

Slowly, carefully, I move away from the outcropping, peeking to make sure that he's gone. There's no sign of him, so I push off with my feet, bounding into a run again?—

I'm slammed into a tree trunk next to me, Zev's muscular body securing me there so quickly I don't even have time to dodge.

My chest heaves against the bark of the tree as he pins my wrists behind my back, dipping his head over my shoulder, golden eyes gleaming in the darkness.

"Caught you," he says, the deep tenor of his voice making me tremble.

He breathes heavily behind me, our bodies matched in exertion…well, mine clearly more than his.

I struggle in his grasp, which only makes him press me harder against the tree. Desire pools in my core, and my fangs distend, aching.

"Fine," I relent. "You win."

He smirks, something so close to a smile I part my lips in shock as I study him over my shoulder.

"I'll feed," I say. "Fair is fair. You can take me to Jagger?—"

He spins me around, cutting off my words, his body locking mine against the tree, only now I'm facing him.

"To Jagger?" he growls. "Is that what you want?"

My eyes widen, noticing his pupils are nearly blown out, the black almost overtaking all the gold. He moves against me, almost like he can't help but get closer until our bodies are flush.

"I promised if you caught me, I'd feed?—"

He slants his mouth over mine in a kiss that is almost punishing.

I whimper, shock and desire stealing my breath. I don't fight it. Not with how damn good it feels. His kiss is sharp and broken, just like him.

And dominating. Goddess, he's so damn possessive.

I love it.

He jerks back, glaring down at me like I'm the one who broke the distance between us. His hands are rough as they trail the length of my body, like he's searching for weapons. It makes me laugh.

"You afraid I'm going to stab you?"

"I wouldn't be surprised," he says, finishing his search.

"You didn't look everywhere," I say, arching a brow.

A flicker of that smirk is back on those punishing lips. "Where did I miss?" he asks, running his hands over me again, this time lingering over my inner thigh. "Here?" he asks, voice low and gravelly.

My pulse skitters beneath my skin as he inches closer to where I'm aching for him.

"Or here?" he asks, shifting his powerful hand between my thighs.

I instinctively move into the touch, sighing with relief at the contact. "Yes," I whisper.

"Hmm," he groans, that low growling sound that's his usual response to everything.

He toys with me there, over my trousers, and I shamelessly rock into his hand, inhaling deeply as I drink in his desire.

It's delicious.

Addictive.

The sharp bite sparks an intense need inside me I've never felt before.

My eyes flicker up to his as he continues to stroke me with his fingers, making me completely liquid without ever breeching the fabric between us.

The bastard grins . Nothing but pure male pride shifting along his edged features.

"You're almost glowing," he says, eyes trailing over my skin. "Does a little desire feed you that much?"

I groan, rocking against his hand, both hating and loving how easily he's feeding me, spinning me right up to the edge of release.

"Not as much as…other things," I sigh, barely able to form a coherent sentence.

I want him. I want his punishing kiss. I want nothing between us. The need thrashes beneath my skin in a desperate ache.

"Ah," he says, stroking me harder. "What…other things?"

I bare my fangs up at him, loving the way his eyes catch on them, intrigue churning behind the dark.

I can't answer. Can't think around the way he's touching me. It's like he knows my body, knows where to touch and how hard and how long?—

My orgasm sneaks up on me, ripping through me in a sharp snap that has me gasping for breath.

"Now who's the one to finish things quickly?" he growls, his flavor mounting on the back of my tongue. He liked doing that to me. "I barely touched you."

I swear the drifter's chest puffs out a bit.

I smile at him seductively, pure mischief behind my eyes. "Doesn't mean I like you."

"Doesn't mean you're not a bounty." He returns my smirk.

"Fair enough," I say, then use the strength I've gained from his desire to spin him around so his back is against the tree.

He growls, but I'm on my knees and dragging down his leathers before he can stop me.

"Fuck," he snaps as I take his hardened length into my mouth.

I moan around the feel of him, driven wild by the need prowling inside me. Once isn't enough. I need more. I need all of him.

I'm starved.

I don't know how, but I'm fucking starved for him. My captor. A male I want to throttle as much as I want to fuck.

Goddess, he's big.

" Succubus ," he says the name like a curse, but his head falls back, and I smile around him, my eyes flickering up to his.

I pull away enough to speak. "Drifter," I mimic him before getting back to it, taking him in as much as I'm able.

He tastes like his desire—dark and spicy with a bittersweet note on the end. I lick up and down his shaft, gripping his base in one hand and moving my free one along the inside of his massive thigh.

The male truly is a glorious specimen, even if he makes me want to scream half the time.

"And you said I'd choke on you," I tease, flicking my tongue over his thick head before sucking him back into my mouth.

He growls, reaching for my hair and tangling his fingers in it before thrusting into my mouth. Hard .

I moan around the move, around the primal dominance in it as he does it again.

And again.

Bolts of pleasure zing along my nerves every time he pumps into me, using my mouth like it belongs to him.

Goddess damn him, it's hot. It's dangerous and hot. He's playing with fire, submitting to his desire and feeding it all to me. I can feel the power in it, the way it's energizing me, strengthening me. Driving me mad with need.

I dig my nails into his thigh, gripping him as he thrusts into my mouth, relaxing my jaw as he loses complete control of himself. It's enthralling to watch. To be a part of. To be the center of.

"Admit it," he growls. "You love choking on my cock."

I moan at his words, pleasure teasing down my spine as he continues to pump into my mouth.

I flick my tongue, swirling it around him as he pumps, and I feel him harden another degree inside my mouth.

"You're going to take it all." His pace increases. " Fuck ," he groans, spilling into me as he comes.

I swallow him down before immediately pulling him out of my mouth and sinking my fangs into his thigh.

He hisses but doesn't dare move. Not while my fangs are sunk into his flesh, his hot blood spilling into my mouth. I drink him down, moaning around his flavor.

I drink and drink and drink.

Until I'm drunk on him.

His anger, his power, his need. Goddess, he wasn't lying when he said he was more than a drifter, that he was half fae, his blood is searing with ancient power that goes straight to my head.

I pour my own power into the bite, giving him just a taste of what I could actually do to him—which is turn him into a simpering puddle if I wished, but I happen to enjoy the grumpy fuck the way he is.

He groans at the pleasure I pour into the bite, and I smile as I withdraw my fangs, licking his wounds closed before I lick the rest of his blood off my lips.

I'm vibrating with need, both his and mine, and I feel like I've had several swallows of whiskey.

"More," he growls, his eyes dark and heady. He uses his grip on my hair to tug me to my feet, the slight sting sending a wave of warmth crashing over my already sensitive body.

In seconds, we're tearing at each other's clothes like the animals we are, him nearly shredding my trousers as he spins me around and presses my back against the tree again.

"Hurry," I demand, agitated as I struggle with his leathers. They're hard to get over those massive muscles of his.

A growl is all I'm given before he spreads my legs and thrusts into me so quickly I gasp.

" Yes ," I whisper as he slams home, my body driven mad with need.

He fills me so much I'm shocked it doesn't hurt when he pulls out and slams home again, but with what he's already done to me tonight, I'm more than ready.

"Fuck," he groans. "You're so fucking slick." He pounds into me with an angry rhythm that matches my frantic energy as I claw at his back. We might as well be sparring.

I can't speak.

I can't think.

I can only feel him as he glides into me, filling me in a way I've needed for months. It's been too long. I've forgotten how amazing sex is, but it's never felt this good before. Usually it's fast, a means to an end. But this…it's more. I don't know how, but damn , it's more.

Zev slams into me, his mouth slanting over mine at the same time. It's punishing—the kiss, the sex, all of it. It's sharp and angry and demanding.

And I can't get enough of it.

I'm drunk on his power, his blood, his body. Drunk on being the sole focus of the male who captured me. Who hates me.

His body doesn't.

His body can't resist mine.

Mine can't resist his.

And I fucking love it. It's carnal and primal. An undeniable need that neither of us can deny.

It's raw and honest and more than I could've hoped for.

I lock my ankles behind his back, squeezing my thighs. "Harder," I demand.

"You can't handle harder," he growls against my mouth.

"Try me," I breathe the words.

For once, he listens to me. Does as I tell him, slamming into me just the way I need it.

My lips part, letting him in as we kiss, his tongue thrusting against mine just as needy as mine is for his. And Goddess damn him, he tastes just as good as his blood.

I gasp, my body tightening with the pleasure he's ramping up again. I can feel my release coiling in a white-hot knot inside me.

Gripping his chin, I jerk out of our kiss, locking eyes with him as he continues to fuck me. "This can't happen again," I breathe the words.

He shakes his head. "Never. Again." He accentuates the words with his thrusts, and my entire body shakes as my release builds and builds like a gathering storm.

I nod, happy we're on the same page.

Then I claim his mouth again because I just can't resist it.

"Drifter," I moan between his lips, my breath hitching as my body careens toward the edge.

"Succubus," he groans, upping his pace as I hold on?—

And fall.

Fall so fucking hard as I burst apart in a wave of pleasure that has me seeing stars.

His own release follows, and his pumps slow as we ride the aftershocks until we're catching our breath and looking at the other like we've never seen each other before.

Gently—something I never knew he could be—he pulls out of me, helping me back into my now partially ripped trousers before he tugs on his leathers.

His silver hair hangs in messy waves over his shoulders, his golden eyes now clear of any black as he arches a brow at me.

"Never again," I repeat, almost more to myself than him.

Because it can't happen again.

It was too good. Too satisfying. Too exhilarating.

Too tempting to do it again and again…and that way leads nothing but danger and heartbreak and madness.

"Never again," he agrees.