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I only have seconds to decide how I want to spend what’s left of my life—do I keep trying to crack this blasted lock or do I give Laura a hug and a message for Annie before it’s too late? Is it better to take everything I feel for her to the grave or to tell her how much I wished I could have loved her?
How much a part of me did love her…
My heart aching like a black hole sucking the light from the world, I turn to Laura. But before I can speak, the door opens behind me and a small, but fierce, hand grips me by the sleeve and drags me into the catacombs.
I stumble into the dry warmth, bracing my hands on my knees as I suck in air and choke on the smoke still seeping from my skin. I hear Laura lumbering inside and the sound of the door slamming shut, but it takes several moments for the fumes to clear and my eyes to stop stinging enough to see who I have to thank for the rescue.
But deep down, a part of me already knows.
It’s the same woman who’s been trying to save my life since she stumbled into my swamp.
It’s Annie, in her nightgown and an old plaid coat with untied snow boots on her feet and her hair in a wild tangle around her shoulders.
Annie, with fire in her eyes as she props her hands on her hips. “Don’t ever do that again, Baron Blackmore. The vision came so late I barely made it in time and you’re not allowed to die. Not on my watch. Do you understand me?”
She’s so angry, so beautiful, so dear, in those mismatched clothes she must have thrown on as she dashed across town to save me, that for a moment I forget all the reasons why I can’t reach for her. I forget that I’m a monster who’s unworthy of her sweetness. I forget that I vowed to push her away and live the rest of my long life alone. I forget everything but how perfect it felt to have her in my arms and how desperate I am to have her there again.
She pulls in a breath but before she can speak, I close the distance between us, cupping her face in my hands and drawing her mouth to mine.
Chapter 9
Baron
The moment our lips touch, heat and healing race across my skin in equal measure. Annie doesn’t have her sister’s restorative power, but it doesn’t matter.
Annie doesn’t need magic.
Annie is magic.
She’s passion and beautiful, terrifying possibilities, making my head spin as she sheds her coat and wraps her arms around my neck, pressing closer to my chest.
“Laura, go lie down by Bethshapet, I’ll come for you later,” I mumble against Annie’s lips as we sway closer to the wall.
The moment her boots bump against the cool stone, I reach down, cupping her thighs in my hands and guiding her legs around my waist. Her boots fall off with a sharp—thump, thump—that echoes the hammering of my heart.
With a long, low groan that makes it clear she’s had enough drama for one night, Laura shuffles off, the sound of her claws clicking on the floor fading until there’s nothing but the harsh rasp of my breath and Annie’s soft moans as I push her nightgown up and cup her bottom in my hands.
Her bare bottom…
“No panties,” I rumble against her lips, my cock already straining the fly of my jeans.
“No bra, either,” she pants back, tangling her fingers in my hair as her legs tighten around me.
I glance down, groaning as I make out the faint pink of her nipples through the thin fabric. “Fucking hell, woman. You’re indecent.”
“I was in a little bit of a hurry. This guy I’m mad about was about to die.”
“This is mad,” I murmur in between kisses, my head spinning as her tongue dances with mine, sending the sweet, earthy taste of Annie flooding through my mouth. “I told you to forget that night. To forget me.”
“Sadly, you’re not my boss,” she says, pulling back to pin me with a pained look as I glide a single finger over her clit. “But you could be. We could make a deal. You get to be the boss on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I take the other days of the week, all major holidays, and both of our birthdays, because I’m better at fun than you are.” She bites her lip, moaning softly as I begin to fuck her with two fingers, the feel of her arousal coating my hand making me desperate to replace my fingers with my tongue. “But you’re really good at that. Goddess, so good at that. Okay, you can be boss Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and whenever we’re naked. How about that? I’m willing to compromise. It’s one of my best traits.”
“This isn’t a joke,” I say, careful not to nick her pale skin with my fully descended fangs as I kiss my way down her throat. “I will only bring you pain, Annie.”
“I’m not in pain right now,” she says, gasping as I suck her nipple through the filmy cotton of her gown. She arches closer to my mouth, her nails digging into the skin at the back of my neck. “All right, maybe a little bit of pain, but it’s good pain, sweet pain, because I know you’re going to make it go away.”
Her head falls back as I transfer my attentions to her other breast. She shifts restlessly in my arms, her squirming making me even more desperate to free my cock and take her against the wall. I can practically feel the way her slick heat will welcome me in and grip me tight, the way she’ll grind into every thrust with that innocent enthusiasm that drives me out of my damned mind.
“Please,” she begs, a soft whimper escaping her parted lips. “I need you inside me. Need you so much. I dream about you all the time, even when I’m awake. Especially when I’m awake.”
