Oath of the Alpha - Eva Dresden Page 0,54

darkening of Er’it’s purr, a near growl as he jostled her. Fabric coming around her shoulders showed the blanket she’d discarded before. Tears welled along with shame as Aida tried to peer around Er’it’s bulk and the tangled fall of his hair. No more than darker shadows in the night, she knew they all had seen her, watching as she had bared her body and demanded Er’it’s attentions.

“Get them out of here,” Er’it roared at the darkness, clutching Aida tighter, crushing the breath from her as he hid her from the others.

Power crackled through Aida’s veins, a livid wash of the deepest crimson staining her vision and turning the world shades of blood as she whined low in her throat and clawed at Er’it’s back. She wanted nothing so much as to meld with his body, to hide and be as safe as she could be with a man such as him.

“Calm, boy! For once in your life, keep your temper under control,” Tor’en snapped, raising his voice over the wind beginning to howl through the treetops. The gusts of balmy air whipping at the tender limbs scattered the leaves into miniature whirlwinds.

Cool tranquility descended over Aida, beginning in the depths of her soul and spreading out with frigid fingers from her heart on every stammering beat. Er’it’s lips found her temple, the gentle ebb and flow of his words promising things in a language Aida could just understand. Things she didn’t want to believe, couldn’t afford to, worked their brilliant magic of calming the fire burning within her all the same.

“Yes, kou’va,” Er’it whispered, praising her as she went soft in his embrace once more.

Tor’en muttered something as he fell to his backside in the drifts of leaves, eyes narrowed as he looked the pair over. Coming to some decision, his bushy brows rose with a thinning of his lips, bestowing a not-quite smile on Aida as he caught her watching him.

“He’s not a good teacher, is he?” Though Tor’en posed it as a question, it came as more of a statement, his shoulders shaking with a silent laugh that never reached his eyes. Folding his body into some approximation of comfort on the cold ground, the old mage ignored Er’it in favor of Aida.

The attention unnerved her. Unlike Maruk, Tor’en exuded strength and power, his many years honing each to a razor edge that he wielded with precision. It was something she became ever more aware of the longer he stared, the feeling of something shivering along her back becoming more adamant as the moments ticked past. Ducking her head under Er’it’s chin, Aida hid her face against his chest. Knowing he would never allow another to harm her so long as she remained close to him, Aida wrapped her arms tight around him.

“You dare,” Er’it said through an ominous growl. Hands tightening over Aida, he was careless of her bruises, creating more on tender flesh.

“You cannot control yourself. Have you not noticed yet?”

“I see well enough what you are doing!”

“You, boy. Look at your hands if you need better proof than my word.” Tor’en sat back, propped up on his palms as he cocked his head to the side.

Refusing to release Aida, Er’it crushed her against his chest to slide a hand up her back, nudging her head aside to see his splayed fingers upon her shoulder. Unable to see much of anything, Aida strained to view what made him stiffen under her. What could make Er’it of all people catch his breath in a hiss?

The golden glow stretched over Aida’s shoulder, filtering through the ragged length of her hair to illuminate her profile. Warmth enveloping her as the edges of the seeping wave became tinged with the dusky red of sunset, it slid down her back and wrapped around her spine, delving low in the cradle of her hips. A ghost of the sensations she felt when Er’it took her, it was only a glimmer of the raw passion he incited.

She didn’t know she moved until Er’it’s hands caught hold of her hips. Settling her over his thighs, he pressed her against the hard length of him where it pulsed within the tight confines of his breeches, keeping her covered from Tor’en’s gaze yet aiding the slow sway of her hips. Whimper faint, Aida’s lips found his neck, tasting the salty sheen of his sweat as she followed the heavy line to his shoulder.

“What happened out there, Er’it?” Tor’en asked, pitching his voice low.

“Something,” Er’it replied