14. Zev

Chapter 14

Zev

A comforting weight leans against my chest as I slowly pull myself from a deep sleep. I'm trying to get my eyes open when I notice the left side of my body feels like it's on fire, which is in direct contrast to the cold hard ground beneath me.

The smell of honeysuckle and jasmine and red currants drenches the air I inhale, my own scent mixed with it.

Memories of sinking into her over and over again, her fangs biting into my flesh as my essence filled her mouth, runs through me like a sword strike.

My eyes bolt open, my heart pounding furiously against my chest.

The first thing I see is her mess of blond hair draped over my arm, her head laying on my chest. I blink a few times, noting our surroundings.

The thick of the forest that lines the beach, bits of sunlight breaking through the tight, frost tipped canopy above us.

The memories of chasing her come back to me slowly. I acted on pure, undeniable instinct last night when I saw her stumble away from our camp, and we'd passed out not long after we'd consumed each other like our lives depended on it.

I sigh, dropping my head back, and see Jagger standing right above us. I jolt before growling at him.

He flashes me a smug, chiding look as the succubus blinks, stretching dramatically before clarity dawns in her beautiful green eyes. She immediately shoves against my chest, putting at least three feet between us, glaring at me like I was the one who cuddled close to her in the middle of the night.

Shit, had I? I can't remember.

"Naughty, naughty," Jagger says, clucking his tongue at us as he walks around my outstretched legs, crouching to meet the succubus's eyes as she sits up. He smooths some of her tangled hair back. "You let this one have all of you," he says, nodding to me. "Why?"

I can tell he's more curious than jealous, but it draws up more questions for me than answers. I thought he'd slept with her at The Garden of Flame , but I'd never asked.

"I didn't plan it," she answers, her eyes softening to an almost apologetic look. But why? She doesn't owe him—or me —anything. "Trust me."

Jagger smiles down at her, taking her hand to help her to her feet.

I stand on my own.

"I believe you," he says. "I'm glad you fed."

"You're not angry?" she blurts out, almost like she doesn't mean to.

Jagger leans in closer to her. "Not at all," he says. "Am I sad I didn't get an invite? Sure. But we have time."

"Two weeks at the most," I add, even though I'm not really a part of this conversation. If he wants to seduce her or vice versa, they need to do it quickly.

The succubus looks at me, her eyes trailing the length of my body as I brush off the dirt and grass we slept in. Goddess, we were like animals last night.

"That spot by the water you found me at last night?" she asks me, and I nod. "I'm going to take a very quick, very cold bath." She dares either of us to follow her before disappearing from view, her speed making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

She's so damn powerful.

I felt it the moment I laid eyes on her, but after spending time with her, tasting her, fucking her…I know it without a doubt. And it's not just succubus power. There's more she's not telling us, but I don't know if I want to dig deeper. Not when I'll be using her as a trade in two weeks.

A pulsing need vibrates through me, flashes of last night bursting in my mind.

Her fangs. Her bite. Her kiss. Her body .

The way she bolted, triggering my instinct to chase her, to hunt her down like the monster she is.

The way I caught her and showed her the monster I was.

The way she slickened and purred at my touch.

Fuck, I want more.

Need more.

I rake my hands through my hair, shaking my head as I suck in a lungful of thick, crisp air.

"So," Jagger says, dragging out the word. "How was your night?"

I shoot him a warning glare, moving past him as I stomp back toward the camp.

"Oh, come on," he says, keeping pace with me. "It had to have been good," he continues. "More than good."

"What makes you say that?" I ask, despite myself.

"You just let her walk away," he says matter-of-factly. "And you didn't tell her that if she ran off, you'd have her heart on a platter."

I part my lips.

Shut them.

Grunt.

And keep walking.

"Damn," he says, almost giddy. "I only got a brief glimpse of what it would be like, but I knew she'd be incredible."

I couldn't argue with him even if I wanted to.

No, I didn't want to, I knew I should .

I should deny it. Say it was a mistake. We've captured our fair share of beautiful monsters, but I've never crossed lines with a bounty before. This was different. She was different.

And I hated her for it.

Hated that I felt…

Complete.

I haven't felt like this in a long time. A sated sort of calm I knew made me stronger than anything else in the world.

Fuck .

"Zev," Jagger says as we clear through a thick cropping of trees and find camp. Rain nickers at me and tosses his head, and I give him an apologetic look for being away so long as I approach him. He's a good horse, but he worries too much.

"Are you okay?" Jagger asks, studying my face a little harder than usual.

"Fine." I pat Rain's neck as he leans his head against me.

"You're lying."

"I'm fine," I say in a warning tone. Jagger is by far the closet thing I have to a brother, but I'm not the sharing type.

It never stops him from prying though.

"She's gotten to you," he says, eyes wide with shock.

"She hasn't," I argue. I pat Rain a few more times, then move away from him in an attempt to get away from Jagger's knowing gaze.

"She has," he says, following me.

I cock a brow at him as I sit near the dead fire, digging in my satchel for the dried meat I saved from last week. I tear a hunk of meat off, aggressively chewing it like it will stop Jagger from seeing right through me.

He settles across from me, his guitar in his lap. "It's not a weakness to be fond of someone, you know," he says after plucking some strings. At least his focus is on the instrument and not me.

"Isn't it?" I ask. "Being fond of something only makes it hurt worse when it's ripped away."

Jagger stops playing, looking at me with too knowing eyes. I wave him off, silently ending that conversation.

I feel like I can finally breathe, even though I know he's worried about me. Feeling this way… any kind of way about a bounty, is a weakness.

I can't afford to grow attached to the succubus. Not when she's the cost of righting a wrong that has haunted me for years.

"She's something different," Jagger says, strumming his guitar again in a melody of notes that feel out of place against the setting we're in. "You feel that too. Right?"

I nod as he looks over at me.

"Any idea what she's hiding?"

I shake my head.

Jagger continues to play, looking down at his guitar again.

"Aren't you curious?" he asks after a while.

I swallow the bite of dried meat a little too hard and clear my throat. "No," I answer, even though it's a lie.

I'm more than curious what she's hiding.

I need to know.

"It doesn't matter," I continue, telling myself as much as him. "She doesn't matter."

The melody stops. Jagger's eyes are on me, and for the first time in the years since I've known him, he looks…disappointed.

"She's a bounty," I continue, my voice sounding like it's been scraped raw. "Nothing more."