Moon-Kissed (Within the Darkness #1) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,21

raking over the flesh that the drying cloth didn’t conceal. “You can either answer my question, or you can ride my mouth to keep it occupied.”

I glared at him before sliding behind the chair, staring at the marks from battles that had ravished his back. It didn’t take away from his masculinity or the lust that ripped through me at the sight of sharp contours shaping wide shoulder blades that tapered down to the sexiest ass I’d ever seen.

“I made a bad call four years ago. I sent a group off with some men during the full moon without realizing they were incubus demons. Each full moon calls to us, beckoning us to breed new life. It called to me that day, and my need for pleasure overrode my ability to lead my team. I tried to step down as leader, but I’d been raised to take the role since before I even knew how to speak words. That moon call ended up with four of my sisters raped and tortured to death. The Moon Clan refused to allow me to step down and become anything else. They didn’t punish me, and they should have. I failed my team, and in doing so, the cost was their lives, not mine. I sentenced myself to four years of celibacy.” My hand slid over the wounds on Torrin’s back, hearing his sharp intake of breath that hitched in his chest. “I have two weeks left.”

“The call of the moon is undeniable, Lexia. That would leave you in intense pain. From what I understand, the ache is unimaginable and violent if ignored.”

“I find pleasure in pain,” I stated, unembarrassed and as if it weren’t strange.

I felt his entire body jolt from my words. He turned, gazing over his shoulder at me. His eyes looked at me in a new light that sent heat pooling in my belly as everything within me sang with need.

My eyes flicked to the moon, then slowly settling back on him, and I frowned. I knew that once the moon was full, I’d be called to answer its song. I could already feel my body syncing with it, and worse, the need was already festering within me.

“You can fuck but not find fulfillment in the act?” he asked.

“I don’t reach orgasm easily.” I swallowed hard past the heat burning in his gaze at my confession, as if he’d found something unique and challenging. “I’ve never found fulfillment with lovers, not even when the moon was full, and they released within my body. So not completing my need to orgasm is my punishment. I’ve not had a single orgasm in four years, not even by my hand.”

“Moon-mates are rare, and you’d need one for his release to bring you to a full orgasm,” He watched my face, turning impassive.

“That isn’t what I meant. I have no mate, nor do I wish for one. Answering the moon’s call is inevitable, but fucking and searching for the one true love we are promised isn’t my singular purpose. Mating is for the weaker of our species that cannot fight. I drink a tonic to prevent pregnancy the night after I am called, or I did when I was free to find release. We don’t all get called every time. Our bodies have to align with the full moon to be called, so not every full moon has been painful for me.”

“You said you find pleasure in pain,” he rasped, and I paused, running my fingers over his hard muscles, then backing up, moving away from him.

“I meant that I’m okay with the pain I endure during my celibacy.” I exhaled, blinking at the sultry tone that escaped from my tongue like warm honey over bread. I chewed my lip, spinning to escape Torrin and the intensity of his stare.

I went to the bed where he’d placed the bags as my mind replayed the one time I’d enjoyed being with a man. He’d been violent with need. I’d felt wrong, disturbed after we’d been together. It was the closest I’d come to finding release with another person. Nausea swirled through me as memories of his rough treatment sent heat rushing to my cheeks. I’d enjoyed the control he’d held over my body. His biting hands and roughness had more than just excited me. It had unraveled a raw need within me that I’d chased ever since.

His hands slid up my spine, and fingers threaded through my hair. Torrin jerked me around to face him