Z cut him off. "Do you remember back in that cave... after you got me out?
You know, that day we sat together waiting for the sun to go down?"
"Yes," he whispered, measuring his twin's back.
"That place smelled like hell, didn't it? Do you remember that? The fish?"
"I remember everything."
"You know, I can still picture you against the cave wall, your hair all matted, your clothes wet and stained with blood. You looked like shit." Z laughed in a short burst. "I looked worse, I'm sure. Anyway... you said you would ease me, if you could."
"I did."
There was a long silence. Then a cold blast came out of Z's body, and he looked over his shoulder. His black eyes were glacial, his face dark as hell's groundless shadows.
"I'm past being eased. Ever. But sure as shit there's hope for you. So you take that female you want so badly.
Take her and talk some sense into her. I'd throw her out of my room if I could, but she just won't leave."
Z strode away, his shitkickers pounding into the ground.
Hours later Bella was walking around the mansion. She'd passed some of the night with Beth and Mary, and their friendship had been appreciated. But now all was quiet, because the Brothers and everyone else had gone to bed. It was only her and Boo roaming the halls as the day passed, the cat at her side as if he knew she needed company.
God, she was exhausted, so tired she could barely stand up, and she was achy, too. Trouble was, there was a restlessness that animated her body; her internal engine refused to go into idle.
As a flush went through her, like someone had put a hair dryer to every inch of her skin, she figured she must be getting sick, although she didn't know how. She'd been with the lessers for six weeks, and it wasn't as if she could pick up a virus from them. And none of the Brothers or their she Hans were ill. Maybe it was just emotional.
Yeah, you think?
She went around a corner and paused, realizing she'd found her way back to the statue corridor. She wondered if Zsadist was in the room now.
And was disappointed when she opened the door and he wasn't.
That male was like an addiction, she realized. Not good for her, but not something she could let go of.
"Time for bed, Boo."
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J R Ward: Lover Awakened
The cat gave her a meow, as if he were relinquishing his escort duties, and then trotted off down the hall, silent as falling snow and just as graceful.
Bella shut the door just as another hot flash tackled her. Yanking off her fleece she went over to open a window, but of course the shutters were down: It was two in the afternoon. Desperate to cool off, she headed for the shower and stood under the cold water for God only knew how long. She felt even worse when she got out, her skin prickly, her head heavy.
Wrapping a towel around herself, she went to the bed and rearranged the messy covers. Before she got in she eyed the phone and thought she should call her brother. They needed to meet face-to-face, and they needed to do it soon, because Wrath's grace period wasn't going to last for long. And as Rehv never slept, he would be up.
Except, as another rolling wave of heat went through her, she knew she could not deal with her brother now.
She'd wait until nightfall, after she got some rest. When the sun went down she would call Rehvenge and meet him somewhere neutral and public. And she would persuade him to cut the crap.
She sat down on the mattress edge and felt an odd pressure between her legs.
The sex with Zsadist, she thought. It had been so long since she'd taken a male inside. And her only other lover hadn't been built like that. Hadn't moved like that.
Images of Zsadist poised over her, his face tight and dark, his body straining and hard, sent a reverberation through her that left her trembling. In a rush, a sharp sensation speared her core exactly as if he were penetrating her again, a combination of honey and acid flooding her veins.
She frowned, dropped the towel, and looked down at her body. Her breasts seemed much larger than normal, the tips a deeper pink. Remnants of Zsadist's mouth? Absolutely.
With a curse, she lay down and pulled a sheet over herself. More heat boiled in