me,” he says, and I shiver from the heated vehemence in his tone. “You stoke my anger and lust like no other, and all I want to do now is bend you over and spank your ass until you beg for me to fill you up and call me your mate.”
Holy. Shit.
I forget how to breathe. All I can do is stare up at him, my knees weak and my body pulsing. I can’t even respond; I’m just caught reeling like a loose fishing line drifting out to sea.
“Now,” Ire begins. “Since we’re on the topic, do you want to tell me about the fact that you have other mates?” he asks, stressing the plural. “Who else did you beacon?”
“No one,” I argue. “It didn’t work like that for the other two.”
“Two,” Ire repeats, like he’s trying to see how he likes the taste of that fact in his mouth. “If you didn’t beacon them, then they’re not Abdicated.”
“No, they’re not. Toreon is a Nihil, I think. He hasn’t exactly said that, but he’s strong, and that would be my best guess. Vudu is his protector. They were sort of a buy one get one deal.” My lips quirk up at the thought, but Ire’s brow furrows, clearly not sharing my amusement.
“And how do you know they’re your mates?”
“Toreon’s people have their ways, but even without that, I can feel it,” I answer, trying to be vague so as not to spill secrets that are not mine to spill. “I have the same pull for both of them that I have for you…”
I clamp my mouth shut. Why did I just admit that?
Ire stares at me intently, as though he’s breathing in my confession and savoring it. “Well, then. I look forward to meeting the mates of my mate when all of this is done,” Ire declares, his voice lower and his blue eyes serious.
Shock goes through me at his easy acceptance of it. I knew that plural mates were common, but I expected Ire to react with more...well, ire.
“I feel the pull too,” he says quietly. Then he brings a hand up and traces the neckline of my dress over my shoulder, slowly inching further down my chest as he brings his other hand to rest against the wall behind me. He has a thing for caging me in, and I realize that I have a thing for being caged in by him.
“I want your face back,” he murmurs, like the admission is too precious to shatter with volume. “Your body, your breasts,” he confesses, his finger tracing even lower down the plunging neckline. “Your wings,” he adds, his soft whisper making another shiver run up my spine.
I breathe through the desire his actions and proximity call out in me. This is not the right time for this. Then again, I macked on Toreon in a dungeon and nearly came on top of Vudu as I healed his wound. I think I can go ahead and just admit that my mate situation isn’t exactly cut and dry. Why not just add in me soaking in desire in the middle of a life and death situation? For some reason, it really gets me going.
Yeah, I might have bigger issues than I realized.
Sure, I don’t see monsters anymore, I mean...I do, but they’re actually real, which means there’s nothing wrong with me seeing them. But I seem to have a penchant for getting all hot and bothered when my life is in danger. That can’t be normal.
Ire nuzzles my cheek, but I get the distinct impression that he’s holding back because I’m not wearing my face. I’m both softened by that and frustrated.
“I had a pretty good ass too,” I mutter, which makes Ire chuckle against me, the vibration of it coming up through his chest.
“Yes, how could I forget that?”
“I’m not sure,” I tease, trying not to sound as breathless as I feel. “I should probably feel offended.”
“Mmm, I should warn you, you’re going to feel lots of things when it comes to me, Snarls.”
I bite on my bottom lip as we look at each other, and I debate asking him to just close his eyes and kiss me anyway, to just picture my real face instead, but all of a sudden, Delta comes barreling over. “I can’t find Medley anywhere!” she hisses.
I jump from her sudden appearance and realize that I’m doing a really crappy job of keeping tabs on things. Ire is a terrible distraction.
Ire finally steps away.