Page 104 of Anywhere

Rhys shrugged. “There no be an alternative other than I move out, and at da next ritual moon, I will reject da union. Den Elewyen and ya stay together and hopefully be paired again wit Ryland, but I will remain apart from both of ya. Until another second is announced, I will remain celibate. I dinnie wanna hurt either of ya.”

My arms dropped to my side. “You’d do that? You’d sacrifice your own happiness and any kind of normal life or affection for an untold amount of time?”

“Aye, I would. Me life is no’ worth us both dyin’,” Rhys said.

I stomped across the library so fast that Rhys stumbled back, but I grabbed him by the hoodie he was wearing, and with a potent combination of fear and anger riding me, I pushed him up against the bookshelf.

“Don’t you ever fucking say that again. It’s not true, and I won’t hear that bullshit come out of your mouth. Whether I started off wanting to do this is irrelevant. If the spirits put us together, then they knew that this merge thing could happen. So be it. If you died…” I stopped and looked away from his eyes. I couldn’t believe that my emotions had grown so strong that I almost said I loved him. “Just, no. I said I’m in. You said you’re mine.”

In an unusual way this was exactly what I wanted. My possessive nature needed to control and know everything at all times. What better way then to feel it all as if it were my own.

“Aye, and me meant it,” Rhys said.

“Then we’re doing it. There are a million worse things in this world I can think of than my power and the sensations of my body being tied to yours forever.”

Rhys lifted a fist and laid it over his heart. “Ya really have become da number one, Rook. Ya ‘ave me respect, and I promise ta live me life protectin’ ya and Elewyen, if she chooses ta stay. Dis I swear as yer number two.”

The emotion in my chest was clogging my throat, and I hated shit like that. “I’m still punishing you and fucking you in this library, just because I want to. It will be the most excitement it’s seen in years.”

“Wouldn’ expect anythin’ less.”

My heart hammered in my chest. My mouth desperate to taste him. Our lips met with such ferocity and emotion that it should’ve terrified me, but there was no longer any fear about what was to come between us. Breaking the kiss, I pushed away from Rhys, and went to the centre of the room, dragging the heavy desks out of the way.

“Wat ya doin’?”

“We’re completing the first ritual right now,” I growled, as I pulled the last of the desks out of my way. “No more waiting, no random emergencies, no dank, dark catacomb, no robes or anything else.”

Desperation filled me, a carnal need to make this happen while we could. I jogged across the room to the massive chalk boards and gripped the thick white chalk in my hand.

“Ya were serious ‘bout dat? But what about waitin’ ‘til da full moon?” Rhys asked.

“We don’t need the full moon for phase one. We only need the ritual moon for the final union.” Bending over, I began drawing the pentagram on the floor. “I don’t want to wait another second to make this happen.”

“But, Rook, ya just learned about the merge. If we do dis, there is no goin’ back. Ya can’t change yer mind tomorrow. Ya should at least sleep on it.”

It was a valid point, but the thought of putting it off only added to the anxiousness in my chest. Finishing the final touches of the pentagram, I tossed the chalk to the side before fixing my stare on my second. I took a moment to appreciate him. He stood with his hands on his hips like a warrior, ready to defend me from the books if they decided to attack. His chest looked extra wide with the thick tartan he had wrapped over one shoulder and pinned with the massive brooch of a sword. The black kilt stopped at his knees and yet somehow managed to still show off the strong legs and narrow waist that I knew was solid muscle.

“Show me your weapons,” I ordered.

His eyes went wide, but he didn’t hesitate to drop the cloaking spell. I was already hard and dying for a taste, but the sight of him with all the battle leather and weapons strapped to every inch of his body just did something for me that I couldn’t put into words.

Sorry, Devlin, you’re on your own. I want what’s mine.

“Take them off.” My eyes feasted on my number two. I made my way around the pentagram I’d drawn to the man who was unstrapping the sword at his waist. With each step, the air crackled until it felt as if lightning had invaded the library. Rhys removed one piece of weaponry at a time, dropping them to the floor, but kept his eyes trained on me. The air felt heavy and I could feel it pressing on my chest.

Raising my hands in the air, all the candles around the room, lit or unlit, flew forward and hovered in the air. With a snap of my fingers, the wicks roared to life, then the candles dropped to the ground, evenly spaced around the outer ring of the pentagram. Fog seeped under the door from outside as I continued to call upon my power for this moment, while the shadows along the wall moved like they were alive and inched closer to the show.

Rhys straightened from taking the last of his clothing off, and other than the large knife in his hand, he was completely naked. My mouth ran dry at the sight of my second. That may have been what the spirits had designated him as, but I realized that he was truly another number one, and that was why we made sense. All the reasons that we shouldn’t work were the exact reasons why we did.

I would never have respected a male I could push around. If I pushed Rhys, it was because he let me, not because he couldn’t put me flat on my back. I had a vicious streak that wanted to hurt the man I was with sexually and craved the screams of pain as I pushed the limits of what he could take. No one I’d met could handle all that I wanted to give, and yet, I didn’t have a doubt that Rhys would take it and beg for more.

I staggered forward as the desire spiked so high between us that I was almost brought to my knees.

Rhys spun the sharp blade in his hand, then put it between his teeth as he stalked towards me. I stood still as he reached out and unbuttoned the jeans I was wearing, then knelt to undo the boots so I could kick them off.

He rose from his knees before me, and I sucked in a shuddering breath. I’d never seen a more fierce or sexy sight. Taking the knife from Rhys mouth, our eyes locked from inches away.

“Ya sure dis is what ya want? Dis be yer last chance ta go back overseas and be done wit me and all dat is da Faction?”