I slam my head down, hitting him hard enough to send him flying. A sickening crunch is accented by his muffled wail of pain. Certain that at least half his bones must be broken, I’m shocked when he crawls back toward me for more. “You’re going down, demon,” he says, coughing up blood as he reaches for his sword.
Kara screams, but I can’t reassure her in my snake form. All I can do is end this.
I bare my fangs this time, letting venom drip freely from them. But my adversary isn’t deterred. He swears at me as he tries to stand on his mangled limbs. Before he can utter any more insults, I snap forward. My teeth pierce into his body as I pump him full of my venom. Regular copperheads aren’t particularly venomous, but I’m no ordinary snake. The wretch in my jaws will feel nothing but searing pain as he succumbs to the toxins. But that’s only if I let him live that long.
With a twitch of my enormous head, I throw the screaming hunter into the underbrush, relishing the dull thud with which he hits the ground. With a flick of my tail, I send his sword skittering after him as well, before opening up a link to Dagon. I arrange for cleanup, and within moments, I hear a little pop and see the faintest shimmer of smoke over the spot where I’d thrown the hunter.
After mere moments and the most minimal efforts on my part, the bastard is well and truly gone from this plane.
I slip back into my preferred form, the one that looks close to human, and let my heart rate start to return to normal. The fight was nothing for me, but the rage I felt during it still lingers. That someone would dare harm my mate like that … I forget how dangerous the world can be for fragile little birds like her. And now she’s seen me, the power I possess and wield, the might I can protect her with. But what if she’s afraid of me?
I finally let myself turn to Kara. Her pretty eyes are wide, her whole body shaking against the ropes that hold her to the tree trunk. I may look human, but now she knows the truth, has seen it with her own eyes. I’m not anything like her. A demon, something that she’s probably been taught to fear and loathe. Will I lose her now? I drop to my knees, ripping the thick ropes away to free her. I expect her to recoil from me, and brace myself for it.
Instead, she whacks me in the shoulder. “What the hell?” she shrieks.
I can’t help but smile and she swats me again. “You’re a demon,” she says.
“A very high ranking one,” I tell her, leaning down to pick her up to take her home.
She shoves me away with surprising strength, her face turning purple with anger. “You’re a demon. And that’s why I got kidnapped. Because that thing thought I was your—” She stops abruptly, sputtering. “And it’s kind of your fault I got fired, too.” She puts her face in her hands, shaking her head and moaning.
“I’m sorry,” I tell her. “I understand if you hate me.” I leave it unsaid that it doesn’t matter. She’s mine. I’ll find a way to make her feelings change.
She shakes her head. “I don’t. You’re probably evil, but I still …”
“What?” I urge, taking her chin and making her look at me. There’s something in her blue eyes that makes my chest ache in that way I like.
“I still have feelings for you.”
“Good ones?” I ask. She twists her chin out of my fingers but there’s a hint of a smile on her face. I rush to tell her first. “Because I have good ones for you, Kara. I’ve never felt this way for anyone before, not in my world or yours. You’re already mine, you just have to agree to it.”
“Are you trying to say you love me?” she asks incredulously.
I want to kiss her so badly, but I only nod. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m trying to say.” I touch my chest, where the feeling blooms stronger every second. “I’m going to take care of you and your grandfather. We’ll always be together, you and I.”
She huffs out a laugh, her smile growing wider and her eyes brighter. She leans forward and wraps her arms around my neck. “Then what are you waiting for? Kiss me.”
“Gladly,” I say, claiming her mouth as I lean back, pulling her on top of me.
We roll in the leaves, her hands tearing at my shirt while mine find her soft skin under her top. As soon as my thumb rolls across her nipple, bringing it to a taut peak, she gasps and presses closer to me.
“I want to see my mate,” I tell her, gently pushing her up so that I can lift her shirt over her head. A pink, lacy bra stands between me and what I want and as her eyes drift shut, I rip it off. “Beautiful” I breathe, fondling her perfect tits, then leaning down to take each one in my mouth. I unzip her jeans and help her slide them down her legs, then snap her panties off with a flick of my wrist.
I can only stare at her naked body as she kneels before me, then grab her close and kiss her until she moans, my cock pressed hard against her bare stomach.
Soon she’s shaking in my arms and climbs on top of me, pushing me backwards. Straddling me, she grinds her soft pussy against my raging cock, her moans driving me wild. I let her rub back and forth as long as I can stand, then grip her hips to stop her frantic movements.
“But I like it,” she sighs. “That big bulge against me. Make me feel good again, Zorion.”
“I intend to,” I assure her, reaching between her thighs and sinking my fingers into her slippery channel. I groan at the feel of her heat. “You’re so tight,” I say, pushing deeper. “Wrapping around my fingers like a vise.”
She tenses and I open my eyes to see her staring at me with a worried expression. “I tried to tell you last night,” she starts, biting her lip.
I ease my fingers in and out, watching her shudder with pleasure. “What’s got you so anxious, Kara?”
“I’m a virgin,” she blurts. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what to do.”
She stares at me as if this news will offend me somehow or make me want to stop. What it does instead is turn me into a feral beast, wanting nothing more than to rut into her ferociously. “Then no one else has ever touched this perfect little pussy of yours?”