Page 51 of The Witch Queen of Halloween (Immortals After Dark 20)

“Meneither.”Wemight not have as long as we’d hoped.Timeto go out with a bang? “Iwant more.Ineed all of you.”

“Forgood?”

Shecast him a saucy look. “Fornow.Earnit, demon.”

Eyeslively, he said, “Oh, fuck me, witch.Ilike these challenges.”

Iknow.Sheleaned forward and nipped his bottom lip.

SIXTEEN

Rökgroaned whenPoppyreleased his lip, but he couldn’t ?quite settle in.

Witheach flare of lightning, the draped statues seemed to creep closer.Thefaces in the portraits appeared to sneer before shifting back to grim disapproval. “Forour first time,Iimagined taking you to a nicer place.”

Sheremoved her bag and jacket. “Oh, really?Youwould’ve screwed me in that restaurant parking lot, and don’t you deny it.”Hehad to grin. “Besides,I’ma witch, you’re a demon, and it’sHalloween.Iftwo mercs like us were ever going to get it on, itshouldbe in a place with flickering chandeliers, wandering-eye portraits, andCasper-like dust covers.Thesetting isn’t romantic.Butitfits.”

Hismate had a point. “Neverdull with you,Poppy.Thoughshouldn’t we be searching for the castle’s battery so we can get the hell out?”

“Itmight not even be here, but gateways to other realms could be.Whatif we stumble across one?Imean,somethinghappened to the previous explorers.”

Anothergood point.ThoseLoreanshad been strong and skilled, yet some circumstance or enemy had bested them.

Shechecked her watch. “Ivote we stay here until closer to moonset, then exit the castle the way we entered.”

Atleast here they had a clear vantage.

“Whichgives us some time.”Shemade short work of her boots and jeans.Whenshe peeled off her top, all his protests were forgotten.

Thisis the vantageIwant,he thought as she removed her bra to uncover a bounty: pert, creamy flesh tipped with coral-hued nipples.Fondlingand kissing those breasts in the attic had been just a tease.Hereached forward to cup her, learn her.Heleaned in to bury his face between the mounds, inhaling her scent.

Poppy.Breatheher in.

Neanderthalian?Hefelt like it.Hewanted to pin her down on furs before a fire and rut her like an animal.

Yetat the same time he needed to cherish her.Hefaced her again. “Poppy. . .”

“Youreyes are ablaze.”

Assmoke drifted from his skin, he admitted, “Lustis about to overwhelm me, and yet my feelings for you are infinitely stronger.”Whenthe visitors had captured him, he’d had no thoughts of self-preservation, only fear for her.Suddenly, he’d become more than himself.Rökhad assumed that would happen as he claimed his mate; instead, it’d happened as he’d been about to lose her. “I’venever experienced anything like this.”

Shetenderly cupped his cheek. “Beingwith your mate is so different?”

“Ohyeah.Notonly because you’re my fated one.”Heexhaled a breath. “Ijust . . .Ilikeyou,Red.Alwayshave.”

“Ilike you too,Rök.”Theyshared a grin until she slid out of her panties, stupefying him. “Ifyou don’t hold back with me,Iwon’t hold back with you.”

Transfixedby her lush sex, he rubbed his tongue over a fang.

“Thiswill probably work best if you remove your clothes too.Rök?”

“Huh?Ah!Onit.”Heunbuckled, yanked, and tugged.Strippedbefore her, that same electrical anticipation before battle hit him—not because his life was on the line but because his future was.Thiswoman was his future.Afterendless eternities of waiting . . .

Nothinghad ever mattered more than what they were about to do.Nojob.Noinsurrection.Nobattle.

“Areyou planning to bite me?” she asked.

“Upto you.”He’dgone for casual, but his gaze was rapt on her neck and his voice rumbled, his very vocal cords changing as he grew demonic. “It’llmark you forever.Youready for forever?”

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