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"Harder," she demanded, breathless and trembling. "I'm a shifter, Ru. You don't have to be so careful."

That gave me pause. I didn't want to hurt her. But I could certainly appreciate the desire for more. So, I did my best to give it to her. I pressed my fingers in deeper and harder, faster, curling and pressing upward. She groaned. "Yes, like that. Oh, goddess, Ru."

Then I leaned in and sucked hard on her clit, sending her rocketing over the edge into orgasm. She cried out, clenching around my fingers, her grip on my hair nearly painful. I loved every second of it. My hand was drenched, and I gently withdrew my fingers to slowly, gently lick her with the flat of my tongue, drawing it out, bringing her down the way the others liked to do for me. It was glorious being on this side of things, knowing the pleasure I could give.

Her fingers in my hair gentled, as she clumsily petted my head. "Come up here," she urged.

I planted one last kiss to her inner thigh, then crawled up to lie beside her, my own body flushed and wanting. I wiped my mouth on the back of my hand, but Martina stopped me, rolling on her side to face me as she captured my lips, apparently unbothered by where they'd just been. "Are you sure you've never done that before?" she murmured when we finally came up for breath.

I huffed a laugh. "Fairly certain, yes. But I have had quite a few practical demonstrations performed on me by others. Believe me, I've had good teachers."

She chuckled. "Remind me to write them all thank you notes and glowing recommendations."

She stroked a hand down my side, pressing another kiss to my lips, deeper this time, hungrier, stoking my desire back up as I wondered what came next. She pressed a lingering kiss to my neck, and I tilted my head in invitation. "Do you want to feed?" I breathed out, both excited and a little scared. Would it hurt when her teeth sliced into my skin? And why didn't the idea frighten me more?

She chuckled and pressed a kiss to my jaw as her caressing hand moved to my breast in a teasing dance. "We'll save the biting for another time. When you're more comfortable. This time I want to focus on what feels good."

"Oh. Okay." I tried not to let the surprising burst of disappointment that I felt show in my voice.

Martina stroked my hair back from my face, and I reveled in the brush of her alpha aura against my own. "How about we take care of you, sweetheart. Do you still have that box of toys?"

I pressed my thighs together as desire coursed through me once more. "I do."

"Well then, let's see what fun we can have." She dragged her sharp fangs along the sensitive skin of my neck, teasing, and I shuddered. "Yes please."

Chapter 18

Ruya

"Wow, it feels all better!" the little girl said in a quiet voice of wonder as I lifted my hand from her leg. "Thank you!"

I smiled, happy to use my magic for others. "You are very welcome, Aria," I told her, reaching out until I found her head. I gave her soft curls a pat. "It was a pleasure to meet you. But please be more careful next time," I murmured before she ran off to rejoin the rest of her family somewhere in the lobby area of The Fox.

She wouldn't tell me what she had done that resulted in spraining an ankle and scraping up her knees and hands. But I could guess from her cagey replies that it was something illegal. Probably stealing. The unaligned paranormals who lived in this district were outcasts from both paranorm and human society. They had to do whatever they could to survive.

I might have lived a sheltered life until now, but even I wasn't naive enough to think surviving was a simple matter of black and white. If you were homeless and starving, you did what you had to do. Yet another reason why I should be rejoicing at the thought of eliminating the emperor and destroying the paranormal syndicate at Robin's side. The paranormal world needed a leader—or leaders, since there were several syndicates in the US—who would care for all of them, regardless of their power or potential usefulness, and help make us equals in the eyes of the human government and communities. Not someone who would let their own people starve in the streets because they were deemed unworthy.

I stood and stretched, moving toward the old ticket booth and counters where the food was being passed out. The people Robin and the others had freed from the emperor's mansion were helping out today, before they were shipped off. I would be sad to see them go, but Robin thought it would be a good idea to send them elsewhere, so they didn't get caught up in her war with the emperor. At least in this one instance, she had bent her rule about eliminating everyone associated with the syndicate. And for that, I was eternally grateful. These people hadn't been employees, they'd been slaves. They didn't deserve to die for the sins of their slave master.

As I approached the counter, I heard Sanka chatting with a guest while he handed out food. I waited until they were done, feeling warm inside. My new family might get up to some very questionable activities, some of which I knew they still kept from me in order to shield me from the harsh realities of what they did, but this was the heart of who they were. This was why I loved the rebel court and had decided to stay. The homeless outcasts of the neighborhood would be well fed tonight. And they would sleep in the warm, dry lobby, with their donated cots and bedding. And for a little while, at least, they would find some peace.

"Do you need any help?" I asked when Sanka was done chatting with his guest.

"Nah," he said easily, his deep voice radiating contentment and joy. "We're just about done here. We'll set out the leftovers for latecomers, but we've got it handled. You can head on back." He pressed a kiss to my forehead, and I leaned into his touch briefly before heading toward the stairs that led to the theater area. Sanka was in his element right now. He was a big, tough, scary sorcerer, but he was also a beta. Caring for people and seeing to their needs was what he lived for. I knew he'd have the entire homeless population living in the theater with us, if it was possible. But though it was safe for now, that kind of thing would put the outcasts on the syndicate's radar if they realized Robin and her court were the enemy.

I ran my hand over one of the stone lions that watched over the staircase as I left behind the soft drone of murmured conversation and the sound of children playing tag in what space was left in the lobby. When I reached the top of the stairs, the scent of incense and cinnamon enveloped me, and a strong, fiery aura greeted me. Robin slipped an arm around my waist as she walked with me into the theater area, and I sighed in contentment.

"You seem pleased," she said lightly, slowing us as she nuzzled my hair aside and kissed my neck. "It's a good look on you, darling."

I chuckled softly. "It is, isn't it?" I wrapped my arm around her back at her waist, mirroring the way she held me. "It feels good, helping others. It reminds me why all of the unpleasant things are necessary. It reminds me that you're not just some power-hungry alpha bent on bitter revenge the way you like to pretend. You're going to make a better world for these people, Robin." I squeezed her waist, hoping she could sense my sincerity, feel the love that I couldn't put into simple words. "Thank you."

She huffed. "Sssh. Don't go ruining my terrifying reputation, love." Then she leaned in to whisper in my ear, making me shiver. "I'm sure your current mood has nothing to do with the fact that you smelled like Martina this morning at breakfast. Made another alpha conquest, did you darling?"

"Jealous?" I asked playfully.

She huffed a laugh as she straightened and took my hand, leading me down to the open area where the theater seating had once been. "Absolutely," she muttered. "I've been trying to lure that stubborn woman in to my bed for ages."

I shook my head. I was pretty sure Martina wanted the same thing. But they had known each other much longer than I had known either of them, and I was sure it was more complicated than it seemed on the surface. "It's not my fault you don't have my unique and irresistible mojo," I said with a lift of my chin.

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