Page 47 of The Blood of Gods and Monsters

Slowly, I lower my hands to my side as the remains of my tunic fall to the floor, colliding with the scraps of her clothes. She fights it—I can see the battle waging upon her expression—but inevitably, she can’t help herself. She looks down and then so do I.

I suck in a breath at the sight of blood that greets me. A thin line tracks up the center of my stomach, droplets of red dribbling down to the crotch of my tented trousers. The small wound is already healing, much to my disappointment.

Kiera doesn’t apologize. Instead, she reaches out and presses the pad of one finger into the line. My blood smears across her paler flesh. My hunger for more burns inside me. I want her. Crave her. Need her to hurt me the way I know she wants to.

Only then will it be okay for me to hurt her, I suspect.

If I’ve learned anything from my brothers and our stint here at the Academy, it is that few will ever understand my needs. Fewer still would like them. That never mattered before. Causing pleasure was a side effect of getting what I wanted. She is different.

I’ve never wanted something so much as to wish for another’s enjoyment.

Kiera withdraws her hand and shakes her head. Before she can wipe off the minuscule amount of blood from her thumb, I capture her wrist and bring it up to my face. “Kalix?” My name is a question on her lips.

In response, I bring her hand closer, turning her thumb until it’s right beneath my nose. The smell of my own blood sends arousal pounding through my limbs. Slowly, keeping my gaze locked with hers, I enjoy watching her eyes widen as I part my lips and suck the pad of her thumb into my mouth. Hollowing out my cheeks, I suck and swipe my tongue over the blood still there.

Her breaths come faster, each one attempting to catch up with the other, but inevitably failing to do so. Once wasn’t enough and I doubt many more will make it so. I don’t care if I must share her with my brothers, having her is still making her mine.

My wicked little thief.

Chapter 19

Kiera

Kalix’s hot mouth on the tip of my thumb sends spirals of horror through me, but that horror is not alone. I should not be turned on by his actions, but I am. Licking his own blood off my skin is … disgusting. I should be disgusted.

I’m not.

My insides squirm like a million little spiders are swarming my organs, crawling all over every inch of them. I can’t pull my gaze away. I’m locked upon Kalix’s face like a drowning man upon land. When he finally drops my hand and releases me from his physical grip, I snatch it back and hold it against my chest.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

“Come now, little Thief,” Kalix says, using that stupid nickname yet again, reminding me of our first encounter. “Show me your teeth.”

Keeping my eyes on his, I release my own knife to reach for the front placket of his trousers and undo the laces. Without pulling my gaze away from his face, I let my hand slide against his washboard abs straight down into the front until my fingers collide with the hot, hard length of him. The root of his cock is solid as I free him from the fabric of his pants.

A muscle in his jaw jumps and pulses as I slowly squeeze him against my palm and then stroke him once from base to tip and back again. When I reach the head of him a second time, I pause to let my thumb—the same one that had been coated in his blood—move over the slit there. The pad comes away wet and a low growl erupts from his throat.

There is so much wrong with what I’m doing. So much to be worried about. The Gods. The Council. Caedmon. The Underworld. Should I really be getting distracted by having sex with the Darkhavens? No. Am I going to fuck Kalix anyway?

Yes, I decide a moment later as Kalix tilts his head and crashes his mouth down on mine.

We kiss like we fight. Violence tinging every movement. His teeth sink into my lower lip, drawing blood. A moment later, my mouth is flooded with the taste. It’s raw and enticing. I open my mouth wider, tilting my head as I fist him in my hand.

Harder. More. I want this dangerous man to fuck me until I can’t think.

And as if he can read my mind, Kalix’s hands come up and he lifts me from the floor. My hand falls away from his cock as he steps out of his pants and carries me across the room to the bed. It’s the gentlest he’s ever been and it confuses me a split second before he lays me down and I realize, I’m not on the mattress.

No, I’m on a bed of snakes.

My eyes slam open as he withdraws from my mouth and something slithery creeps over my body. A shudder works through me. I’m alright with spiders, but that’s because I’ve been able to control them for years. I feel myself in the little creatures, learn their thoughts through their emotions, and share my own. I can’t do the same with these animals. They aren’t mine. They’re his.

Hands grip my own pants and shred them down my thighs until they’re completely gone and I’m left naked and vulnerable beneath Kalix’s gaze. I try to reach for him, but a heavy weight moves directly over one arm and then the next. My head snaps to the side as I realize that the serpents decorating Kalix’s bed have pinned me down.

Some of them are larger than the rest, resting across my belly the same thick length of an arm. I hold incredibly still as my legs are pulled apart and then also strapped down with the weight of the snakes holding me in place for Kalix’s perusal. I swallow roughly before lifting my gaze to the man who stands over me.

Kalix looks flushed. His eyes are wild and his thick cock stands at attention between his legs. He fists himself as he continues to look at me.

“I thought you wanted me to show you my teeth?” I ask, trying for a casual tone as I contemplate if I’m in any real danger here. I never know when it comes to him. That note of insanity lingers in his green eyes, glittering with some emotion I can’t quite place. Whatever it is, though, it seems to be designed specifically for him and it sets my senses on edge.

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