Page 68 of Before We Burn

Once we’re in bed, Marz looks less let down and more like something is trying to tear out of her. I watch her carefully, noticing when her bottom lip starts quivering. She can’t look at me, so she keeps her eyes down. When the words tear out of her, so does all her pain.

“Alexander is my soul tie. He took me on my eighteenth birthday. Changed me because he knew I would never want him.”

I fight against the blinding fury that nearly cracks the surface. My blood boils, and everything is close to going black. I can’t have that happen—I won’t let it happen. This isn’t about me.

“I remember every last thing. My mother, Ava Popov, and my father, Adonis. My father was sent to prison for something when I was young. So many memories. So much was taken from me. The entire time he was…right there. Three-hundred and eighty-two years of him being just…right there.”

There’s so much pain in her voice. I knew what she was going through; I understood it. Onyx had been right there, claiming he was one of the people who saved me. Even recommended me for honors or benefits when they were available. I looked at him like a father-figure. It feels like everything has been taken from me.

I might not know how to make a werewolf scream, but I do a vampire. If I ever have the chance, I will show Alexander just how vile a human can be.

Marz moves closer to me, her face pressed against my chest. I hold her tight, her warm breaths sending chills down my spine. I wish I didn’t put on a shirt so I could feel her skin against mine. But it’s better this way. I don’t have a tissue to dry her eyes with, so my shirt will suffice.

The sobs which wrack through her body seem to slow down until the only sound we can hear are our deep breaths. We both take time to steady ourselves. Marz pulls her head from my chest, making sure to keep the rest of her body wrapped around mine. The room had gone dark when the steel covered the windows once the sun made its way into the sky. I can still see her, though. Can still make out every curve of her body, every bit of tension and hurt. She tells me everything, she tells me about Michigan and how she saw her mother. I can hear the sobs slowly stop and her breathing slow.

Her hand lifts to my face, touching my beard then my cheekbones. Her thumb brushes against my skin in the same comforting way I did with her.

“I don’t want a soul tie, Everett.”

There’s something in her face, something I can’t place or understand. I listen regardless.

“Not unless it’s you.” Her words come out in a whisper. My body freezes, my mind running in frantic circles. I figure it’s just my imagination running wild. That there is no way she just told me she wants to be tied to me.

She wraps her legs around me tighter, her hips meeting mine. Her warm pussy slowly drags up my dick, the fabric of my briefs being the biggest cockblock of the century. Chills wrack my body, and I can’t help but push into her. I feel her as she becomes warmer, wetter, and so much fucking hornier.

I don’t want her to think this is what I wanted. I don’t care if we do this right now, but I would be a fucking liar if I said I didn’t want her.

I palm her ass, gripping her body closer to mine while grinding into her. Her lips part as her arms wrap around my neck. Our breaths are heavy against each other, and I grind harder into her the harder she breathes.

My body practically shakes with need. I can’t rush this, though. I can’t finish until she has been so thoroughly satiated that we have a soul tie. One that even if she doesn’t come to me to be mine, she’ll come for me.

I move my finger to the first hole I find. She lets out a loud moan as I rub the rim of her back entrance. She thrusts harder into me, grinding down. I meet her at the same pace, my dick rubbing against her clit, sending her head backward. Another moan echoes in the air when I apply more pressure to her hips, pressing her wet heat harder onto my dick.

She kisses me harshly as she rides me on her side, our bodies moving in unison while my briefs get soaked with her arousal. I bite her bottom lip and ease my finger into the hole I had just been playing with.

I didn’t notice at first, but when I bit her lip, blood trickled from it. It tastes just like she smells. Lavender, maybe some citrus. She tastes like a warm, herbal tea.

It makes me harder, and I pump my finger slowly while our bodies move in harmony. I suck on her lip, drawing out more blood, the ecstasy coursing through my veins like nothing I’ve experienced before.

Our bodies clash together harder, the friction becoming too much. I’m about to come in my briefs, and I will gladly do it as long as she comes with me.

My finger moves faster as I let go of her lips. Precum leaks from my tip, and just before I’m about to come, shock crosses Marzana’s face. Her mouth drops open, her eyes unblinking. “Everett—” she gasps heavily, both of our releases happening at the same time.

Her body twitches as my entire front gets soaked in her orgasm and my own. I watch as her body stiffens then slowly relaxes. I’m not done, though.

I look at her one more time, my eyes taking in her perfect body, including the small bundle of manicured hair just above her pussy. It’s wet, and that’s enough to make my dick feel like it’s going to grow legs and walk right into her. I flip her on her back and place myself right between her legs as I kiss my way down to her core.

There are some beings in history said to be so jaw-droppingly beautiful you want to get on your knees and worship them. I’m not smart enough to know who those people were, but I’ve heard the stories. I never thought they were real. Not until I met Marz.

So that’s exactly what I do. I worship her all day—with my tongue, my words, and my dick. Over and over again, until my body gives out.

29

WANTED

MARZANA

Istayed all day. I didn’t try to hide that I was there, or that I watched him as he slept. I didn’t care if people knew I was laid up in bed with a human who saved me from a UV dart a couple of weeks ago. I almost let out a laugh. The idea I might’ve found a person I liked enough to have a relationship with was hilarious. The fact that he was a human made it funnier.