Page 116 of When Ashes Fall

Her jaw clenched before relaxing enough for her to speak. “Yes.”

The beast calmed a little, but it wouldn’t settle down. Once it marked her, once she completely understood she’d never be free of us, it would finally be satisfied.

“Did you find any more gorman in the woods?” she inquired.

“A few. We destroyed them.”

“Good. Will you tell the tribunal about this?”

“Probably not.”

“Why not? She unleashed another attack on Wildwood.”

“Yes, but can you prove it was her? Could it have been another group of night casters or day casters who did it?”

She opened her mouth before snapping it closed again. Her lips flattened into a thin line. “It was my mother and a group of casters that she organized.”

“I know that, but can we prove it was her doing?”

“No,” she reluctantly admitted.

“I’ll talk with Alwin and Petra about it separately, but I think they’ll agree with me.”

“Damn it,” she muttered. “Okay then, have a good night.”

When she turned to leave, I stopped her. “Briar.”

As she shifted back to me, her gaze flashed over my body before she looked away again. Despite her determination to remain indifferent, faint color worked its way up her neck to her cheeks, and her heart beat a faster rhythm in my ears.

She could loathe me, but she’d always desire me.

“What?” she asked in a clipped tone.

“Come here.”

CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE

Knox

Wariness flashed over her delicate features. “Why?”

“I want to make sure your hand has healed.”

She glanced at her palm. “It’s perfectly fine.”

“I’d still like to see for myself.”

“Why?” she asked more sharply.

“Because I gave you a command, and you will obey it.”

Her lips thinned into a flat line as her eyes narrowed. I grinned when fire lit her striking eyes.

“I expect you to stop being an arrogant, overbearing cocksucker; it looks like neither of us will ever get our way.”

I chuckled as my fingers flexed into the bedding. “Just by looking at you, I can tell you’d like to suck my cock. You may not want to desire me, but you do.”

Shock widened her eyes as she stepped back. “I’d prefer to bite it off.”