AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My skin itches from the fight, from the unsettled feeling of it not being complete. Not because I wanted to kill those men, but because there was no closure, and I can’t shake the feeling that they’ll be the first in a long line of obstacles to arrive before we make it to Lingate.
“Nothing worth it is ever easy.”My father’s voice filters through my mind, the sound so close he could be sitting right next to me. And he’d love it too, here on the soft sand, the sound of a crackling fire next to us. A midnight sky filled with stars above.
I swallow the lump in my throat, stretching my anxious muscles only to catch Zev staring at me.
“What?” I don’t mean to snap, but his stare isso…something. It’s filled with too many conflicting emotions to pin one down—disappointment is always there, but there’s also intrigue, confusion, and something else I can’t figure out.
He doesn’t answer right away.
On one hand, I can appreciate the way he’s always slow to react, gauging his reactions and analyzing the situation, but on the other, it can be annoying as shit when I’m trying to figure out what’s going on inside his head.
Usually, I have a talent for reading people. Mostly because people’s desire can tell a lot about who they are at their core, but with Zev it’s difficult because he keeps everything locked up so damn tight.
I give up, shifting to my knees, stretching one leg behind me and the other in front of me, grateful for the borrowed clothes from Quest that easily allows the movement while also keeping me warm. I arch my back, giving my body the full stretch it needs.
“You could’ve run,” Zev says, and I snap my eyes to him across the fire.
I move to a sitting position again and shrug.
“But you haven’t.” He rests his muscled forearms on his knees where he sits before the flames.
I raise my brows.
What does he want from me?
He growls, a muscle in his jaw ticking as he stands up.
I match his movement, not wanting to be at a disadvantage if he’s about to draw his sword.
“I want to know why,” he says as he stops before me, so close I can feel the heat from his body radiate onto mine.
“I’m not so eager to be knocked unconscious by your magic again,” I say, looking up to meet his eyes. Not a total lie. His powerhurt. “And you keep saying you’ll chase me. What would be the point?”
“That’s not it,” he grumbles. “There’s more to it. You’re hiding something.”
Fear spikes my blood, followed by an icy chill as he treads too damn close. My magic vibrates beneath my skin, almost purring at the chance to be acknowledged by someone other than myself. I lock it down, swallowing hard.
“Why would I tell you anything?” I snap, feeding off my anger like the crutch it always is. “Because you’ve been such a gracious captor?”
A small twitch of a smile plays at the corner of his mouth, and I hate that my eyes catch the move, savor it. He leans down, drawing closer.
“Do you have a scratch on you, little succubus?” he asks, his voice shifting from rough and low to amused. “You’re fed?—”
“Because of Jagger,” I cut him off. “Not you.”
Never him. From the way his brief instances of desire have tasted, from the way he had me salivating the first time we met, when I thought he was nothing more than a warrior wanting a dance, I knew feeding from him would be the worst idea I ever had.
An addictive, tempting, seductively horrible idea.
The mere thought has my mouth watering, has my fangs begging to distend.
I keep them in check and steady my breathing.
“Tell me something,” I say. “Why did you draw blood against your own kind for me? Am I that valuable to you?”
Zev scowls so hard deep grooves form between his brow. I have the most ridiculous urge to reach up and smooth those angry lines.
I put my hands on my hips to keep from giving into that.
