AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Who else do you think I’d let needle my skin?” He chuckled, the sound so light she was caught in its thrall.
“It’s beautiful. What about the snake on your ribs?”
He shrugged. “That one, too. If you’re good, maybe you’ll earn some ink, too.”
Rolling over so that he’d trapped her beneath him, his mouth descended on her neck. His teeth scraped lightly over her sensitive skin, a shiver quivering through her in response. Every nerve ending on fire, Ava’s arms coiled around his waist, yanking him onto her with all the subtlety of a steam train.
When his lips slanted over hers, they dove once more into the intimacy of their most recent day together. Once they’d bonded, it’d been like her world had re-aligned, refocused to center on their incessant need for each other.
Indescribable. Enthralling. And she couldn’t imagine it with any other person.
Fisting a hand in his shoulder-length strands, Ava pulled him back from her lips before sinking her teeth into the sensitive spot between his shoulder and neck. It was an unconditional sign, marking him as hers in the most primal way.
Mine, her wolf howled.
The beast was positively salivating with her need to connect with Remmus following their mating, and soon, she’d give in to the urge. But here, now, she thirsted for him like the desert thirsted for water.
***
Biting her lip, Ava fiddled with the hem of her sweater. Remmus had finally left their bed to take a shower, and she’d been rolling their next conversation around in her mind.
When he emerged from the bath with water sluicing off his gorgeous body and steam frothing behind him, she nearly forgot her intent.
It was a wonder she didn’t jump him all over again.
Down, girl.
Ava couldn’t refrain from smirking at her naughty daydreams, and Remmus caught it right away. He lobbed her a sexy smile and asked, “What are you grinning at over there?”
“The fact that my mate is hands-down the finest looking man ever to walk the earth.”
“You actually believe that?”
“Of course I do. Why do you ask?”
A shadow passed over his features before he shrugged it away. “No reason.”
Then Ava remembered the question she needed to ask and sobered. “When we first met, Remmus, why did you say your name was Ciru?”
Pain flooded their bond. “My mother was a Siren, gifted in coercion. She forbade me from telling my name to anyone other than my family. Fortunately, that particular compulsion broke when she took her last breath. As I’m sure you know, Ciru was slang for boy, something my parents called me often.”
“They were monsters.”
“Among other things,” he confirmed in a whisper. He stared aimlessly at the floor while he pulled on pants.
Reaching out to grab his hand, Ava implored, “We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. I understand if things are too volatile.”
Forgiveness and hope were evident in his eyes. “My parents, Trax and Mithelda, were both born of destruction into opposing clans. They mated young. Their matehood was a rarity within the Raeth community, because only a few Raeths are born of Destruction to begin with, and when they mate at all, it’s overwhelmingly with those of creation.”
A shuddering breath before he continued. “My parents believed their union would create the pinnacle of destruction: the ultimate weapon against the world. When they realized I was of born of creation, all bets on a functional upbringing were off.”
“When did they realize you were creation?”
“When I first communicated with them via telepathy.” When she frowned, Remmus clarified. “Six or seven months old. I’m not sure how they knew, but they did.”
Ava rested her head on his shoulder, loosening her hand from his grip to nestle into his side. “I hate to tell you this, but they were horrible people.”
“Don’t I know it.”
