thigh to spread my legs wider. She releases my mouth long enough to nip my neck, sending a delicious frisson of desire through me. “Make yourself come. Use me.”
She kisses me again before I can respond, but what is there to say? I want this. Her command just makes it easier to take what I need. I grind on her leg like a horny teenager, chasing the pleasure sparking through my body.
Gods, the woman can kiss.
Malone maintains control, even in this. It’s perfect and precise and hot enough to set me aflame. She kisses me like she’s memorizing me. I shouldn’t like it as much as I do. I shouldn’t like it at all.
My orgasm overwhelms me between one breath and the next. I moan, and she drinks the sound. I could almost swear that she shivers in response, but it must be my imagination. Malone’s too distant to ever react to something as simple as a little grinding orgasm.
Finally, a small eternity later, she lifts her head and looks down at me. “Do you have something else you want to do to finish your workout?”
I blink. What is she…
My mind clicks into place sluggishly, pleasure making it hard to focus. “Um.” I lick my lips, tasting her there. “I was going to go for a run.”
“Good.” She sits back and pulls me up with her. Only then does she release my hands. I can feel the imprint of her there, too, but that’s no surprise. I can feel her all over my body. Somehow it never registered with the aftercare or her carrying me, but having her body against mine is more intoxicating than any alcohol. I want more, and I want it now. I start to reach for her, but she lightly slaps my hand. “Go finish your workout, Aurora.”
Shock eliminates my verbal breaks. “But what about you?”
“What about me?”
“I came.” I motion vaguely at her hips. “You didn’t.”
Her smile is more like the Malone I’m used to, sharp and icy. “You’ll make it up to me later. Finish your workout,” she repeats. “Then go upstairs and get ready. Cocktail attire, no bra or panties. We leave at seven.” She turns, and I can’t help but watch her walk away. She’s so fucking flawless, it’s almost offensive. Her workout gear shows off her muscle definition with every step, a visual indication of the strength I’ve felt time and time again. Maybe if she was just strong, she wouldn’t have such an effect on me, but Malone is so much more than brute strength. She’s an elegant kind of violence in a beautiful package. The perfect predator, anyone with a hint of intelligence recognizes it the moment she walks into a space.
She seems to take all the air of out of the room with her when she leaves. I press my hands to my chest, my heart racing so hard, I can feel my pulse through my palms. What was that?
I hadn’t meant to show my hand, but the temper I normally have no problem locking down slips its leash more and more the longer I’m around Malone. I want to blame it on being close to my end goal of putting Malone six feet under, on seeing an opportunity for a “sparring accident.” I’m not so sure that’s the case any longer.
One of things living in the Underworld has taught me is to be honest, even if it’s only to myself.
The honest truth is that I desire Malone with a fervor I’ve never felt before. She’s a fire in my blood, and I used to be able to convince myself that it’s purely rage, but now I have to admit that it’s more nuanced than that. I hate her. I want her. A small, unforgivable part of me even admires her for the sheer strength and ruthlessness she exhibits.
I put my shoes and socks back on and drag myself into the other room. Under normal circumstances, I like running. It soothes me in a similar way that a good scene does—an exercise for both body and mind. Right now, I’m too frazzled to do more than a few miles. I keep circling back to the fight.
She’s better than I am. She might even be better than Allecto. I don’t know why part of me thought she’d let herself go over the years. I’ve looked into the place she came from, and though news out of Sabine Valley is scarce, Alaric originally comes from the same city. His information