Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 121534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 608(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 608(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Cheers. It means cheers.
Chills run down my spine.
I want his mouth to linger just a little bit longer.
Sadly, he backs away. I turn and look inside. The liquid there reeks of strong alcohol—mead, whiskey, and something metallic, copper-sweet. Blood? I gag at the thought, but the crowd’s chanting, and I realize this at least gives me the opportunity to get back into the house and find the rune.
So I tip it back. The mixture burns down my throat, spilling over my chin. The helmet’s weight bows my arms, like it wants to crush me to my knees. Wow, how’s that for symbolism.
The cheering heightens. Aric steadies me with a hand at my back, sending tiny sparks up my body that should be cold but instead only fuel the heat. My knees nearly buckle from his touch. His eyes lock in on my mouth, his tongue swiping his lower lip like he’s imagining it’s mine. I may not survive him tonight.
The crowd surges, chanting his name now. Aric groans but lifts the helmet with one hand. He tips it back, grimacing like he’s drinking molten glass.
“Delicious,” he mutters, wiping his mouth. “Straight from Sigurd’s finest collection of horrors.”
Nice touch.
“Speaking of,” I whisper so only he can hear. Then, louder, “I’m not feeling so well. Beer before liquor and all that. I think I need to go inside.” Just for good measure, I push out just enough with my Aethercall that the crowd collectively moves on to more interesting things.
And nobody even seems to notice as we make our way back to the house.
Once inside, though, Aric stops in the living room. “Hey. C’mere,” he murmurs. We fall back, him into a chair, me into his lap. His hands catch my hips, grip tight, frost blooming under his fingers. My breath escapes in a gasp, his groan low and guttural.
“Wait,” I say. “What about the rune?”
“The rune can fucking wait. This can’t.” He pulls me more firmly against him and his eyes darken as he groans again, low in his throat. I can’t tell if it’s a warning or a promise. Part of me hopes it’s both. The sounds of the party dissolve completely, the noise, the music, the laughter. It’s all meaningless. The only things I register are the iron grip of his hands, the searing heat of his body under mine, and the unmistakable hunger in his eyes as they drag over my mouth like he’s already tasting me in his mind, over and over again.
My chest heaves and I resist the urge to squirm as his grip loosens, his fingers trailing slowly and deliberately from my hips, over the bare skin beneath my shirt, sliding across my ribs, and coming to a maddening stop just under my breasts. Heart hammering, I hold my breath as he leans in, exhaling frost across my chest as he snakes his other hand around my neck, digging his fingers into my hair. “Tell me I shouldn’t take you right here. Right now.”
The demand sends a jolt of thrill straight through me. “Where anyone could walk in?” I taunt, out of breath. “Even your brother?”
“Fuck Reeve. I’ll claim you in front of everyone.”
He can’t possibly mean that. But it’s heady. It’s so unbelievably tempting to think that he’d choose me above everything else.
With a grin that says dare me to, he strokes his thumb in a lazy arc over my breast, just short of my nipple, and I bite back a groan of frustration.
I glance at the door. If anyone sees us, it would for sure get back to Sigurd and Odin. “Should we stop?” I whisper.
His grip in my hair at the nape of my neck tightens. “Don’t even think about it. I’m done caring what anyone thinks. I’m tired of fighting this…”
“What?”
“Fighting what I feel for you.”
Our foreheads touch. “It’s exhausting.”
“Agreed,” he admits.
“Now can I please…wreck you the way you’ve been wrecking me every night you climb into my bed and cling to me like I’m the only one in the world who makes your heart beat?”
The distance between us is like a single breath as my lips graze his.
“Is that a yes?” He bites down on my lower lip. “Hmm?” The sound vibrates lightly against my mouth, but I feel it like it’s strumming throughout my body. I can barely think straight.
“Don’t.” I can barely speak. “Stop.”
“Stop or don’t stop? I’ve already made up my mind, Rey. And I’m staking my claim. Last chance…”
This time, the warm pad of his thumb strokes over my lacy bra across my aching nipple. I don’t even try to fight back my groan. “Yes.”
His mouth crashes against mine, and it’s everything. Everything.
“You taste so good,” I manage to breathe out in between searing kisses.
“Eat your fill, then, because when you’re done, I’m going to fucking devour you.”