Ruins of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms #3) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,178

she did. I felt her body quivering, studying her teeth as she exploded into purring vibrations that hit my balls. She forced me to release into her when I was nowhere close to ready.

“Jesus fuck, woman. What the fuck are you?” I whispered as she rattled her approval. Cuddling up against me, she slumbered, oblivious to the fact she’d just forced me to give her what she needed with her sensual fucking purr that undid me. “More evolved, my ass. You’re a unicorn, Aria Karnavious. My unicorn now,” I murmured against her ear, pulling her tiny frame against mine, which dwarfed her. She fit me like a glove, perfectly.

Chapter Forty-Five

Knox

A soft knock sounded on the door, and I turned, glaring at it before pulling the sheet up around Aria. Moving to the broken chest that had been brought in, I chuckled. Lennox was sent over the edge, unable to recognize the soldier’s scent that entered and was near his freshly washed mate. I pulled on sweatpants and cracked the door open to find the men outside, all standing back at a safe distance.

“Is it safe?” Lore asked, peering into the room through my arm.

I growled without warning, struggling against the change as Lennox sensed someone entering his space. He was territorial over his unconscious, fertile mate who had continued to refuse to mark him or open her womb to him. Lore paused, knowing I’d win the battle with Lennox, having been pounced on by Aria endlessly for days.

“We have a problem that’s bigger than your mate not giving you her womb,” Brander snapped, entering and walking toward Aria, which caused a rattle to escape. Brander turned, rattling back as his beast answered mine. “Stow it, asshole. Aine’s body is gone.”

“How is that possible?” I asked, narrowing my eyes on Aria’s form that was wrapped in bedsheets she’d insisted on piling over the bed before lying down. She’d even forced me into the damn thing, clamping down on my cock like she owned it. Or worse, she feared I was too stupid to live and was protecting me from Ember.

She irked me.

She drove me insane.

I was perfectly content without ever leaving her heat.

Fuck!

“Yeah, even if it wasn’t hemlock within the fountain, Aine would need more time to heal. The problem is that our supposedly loyal witches switched sides, Knox. Siobhan and Soraya are both missing. Bekkah is singing that Aria set it all up,” Killian grunted, moving over to Aria and peering down at her neck. “She didn’t return the mark?”

“No,” I grunted, moving toward the table to sit, before pouring a goblet full of whiskey.

Brander lowered the sheets, which caused a deadly rattle to escape, forcing him to cover Aria’s naked form back up. “Is this a nest?” Brander narrowed his gaze on the mess of sheets she had piled on the bed.

“No. It’s sheets, asshole,” I snapped.

All three men turned toward me, and I glared at each one, pointedly. I scrubbed my hand down my face, sitting back to look at the sheets she’d fashioned into a pile. Frowning, I rose from my seat to loom over her tiny form.

Aria had rearranged the bedding around her body. She had built a nest, but it was a rather crude one at best. It was something the females of old would make or use when trying to conceive offspring. Liliana had never used anything to nest, not even when we’d conceived Sven.

“I told you she was a phoenix,” Killian muttered.

“That doesn’t mean shit, Killian. Shifters nest, or at least several of them do. Let’s get back to the issue. Report what is happening outside.” I sat on the bed beside Aria, and she rolled over, presenting her ass to me.

Her hand moved, and I prevented her ass from exposure, rattling to let her know I didn’t need her yet. She purred, diving deeper into the sheets while continuing her sweet noises. I frowned as my men started purring with her, each wanting to assure her they were here to protect her. Fuckers.

“You assholes planning on purring at Aria all day, or you got something important to discuss?” I glared at them, rubbing Aria’s spine as the object beneath her skin shifted.

“Did she feel your need to fuck? Because that’s hot! So hot. Daddy really wants one.” Lore pushed his knuckles into his mouth, biting them as he continued staring at Aria. “She smells different today…” He inhaled deeply, scrunching up his nose as I smirked.

“I forget how young you are, Lore.”