“Oh. Good,” I say as my hand drops. My septum practically breathes a little sigh of relief. “Okay, what else?”
“My second one I got while I was training in my Matron’s army,” he says.
Before I can ask, he opens his mouth and slips out his tongue, showing me a black barbell pierced there. I wince a little at how badly that must’ve hurt, even as I lean in to get a better look. As I do, he curls his tongue toward me, so close that he nearly licks me.
“Wanna taste, Snarls?” he teases, though his voice is husky and his mouth so close that I can feel his warm breath against my cheek.
I immediately straighten, and his eyes glint with amusement. I look away, trying to dislodge all the thoughts of our tongues meeting, of him stroking that piercing against my body, licking me in all the best places. I’m supposed to be irritated with him, not thinking about the tongue tango. He outed me. He told his Matron I’m an Annulus for goodness sakes!
Yeah, but he didn’t know it was a secret, my stupid head reminds me.
“Uhh, anywhere else?” I ask, deflecting.
“Yep,” he says, our bodies still right up against each other. “But we’ll have to continue that show and tell later, Snarls.”
“Why?”
“Because the rest of my piercings are in places it’s not polite to whip out in public, like my cock, and as much as I’d love to show you, I’m guessing you’d rather do that in private.”
His words make heat flare to life in my cheeks and between my legs, and I can feel my eyes widen. “Oh,” I squeak.
He grins, a hint of fang showing in his teeth. “Yeah. Oh.”
I need to dislodge this moment between us. Ire throws me off-kilter, makes me feel unsteady. As much as I just want to rant and rave at him, push him away, to not care, I consistently do the opposite. I don’t know enough about beaconing to understand the physical and emotional mechanics of it all, but Ire has a hold on me and it’s a little scary. Like I could fall heart-first into his gravity kind of scary, and I don’t know if he’ll help me float or if I’ll crash down to the ground.
I clear my throat. “How many times have you said that before?” I ask, my tone aiming for snarky but falling short.
He frowns at me, the aroused, mischievous glint in his eyes dimming as the grin slips off his face. “What?”
I know I shouldn’t go there, but I’ve already begun this line of thought, and there’s no stopping now. “Looked like you and Nipple Dress out there were pretty cozy. Has she seen your other piercings?” I challenge.
Ire’s temper flares. “Say it,” he grits out.
“Say what?”
“You want to know if I’ve fucked her, if I’ve asked her to drop to her knees for me, so say it. Say whatever you’re accusing me of,” he snaps.
“Never mind,” I grumble, and then I try to push out from between him and the corner, but his hands come down to my waist and he traps me, showing me a glimpse of just how strong he is, because I can’t move an inch. I scream in my head at how that shouldn’t turn me on, that something must be wrong with me, but my pussy clenches and my pulse races, ignoring my rationale.
“You want to stand here and get pissed? Fine. Get pissed. Get fucking furious that I’ve had my cock in someone who isn’t you,” he growls as he leans forward and lets his scruffy jaw graze against my cheek. “But don’t try to walk away. That’s not going to work with me. You beaconed me, I answered. We’re fucking mates now.”
“Why? Because you found out I’m a special Annulus?” I challenge, recalling the greedy expression on his Matron’s face.
“It’s not about that.”
“Yeah, right,” I say, rolling my eyes.
“I’m not fucking lying,” he says. “You know what happened when we talked last in that dream of yours? I’ve tried to scour all of Hell to find you even though your Sire was already searching. I’ve been to every fucking Ring personally. Even the Outers. And that was long before I knew you were a damned Annulus. So don’t pull this shit with me, Sable, or try to push me away because you think you have me figured out. You irritated me and intrigued me right from the start. And that? That’s fucking foreplay for