Page 78 of The Veil of Blood and Magic

“Horseshit,” I say through my tears. “The one and only person I've ever Linked with tried to slit my throat the second he found out what I was. And he wasn't a drifter.”

A low growl rumbles in Zev’s chest, so powerful I can feel it against my body. I thrash again, screaming, raging at the fact that I cannot move his massive weight. I don't want to die like this.

“You're not going to die,” Zev says from above me, responded to the plea I hadn’t realized I’d said aloud.

My mind is whirling, black leaking into the edges of my vision the harder I try to fight him off, the more I exert myself.

I fuckinghatesilver.

In this moment, I hate silver more than anything else on this goddessdamn planet.

I hate what it does to me. The black is almost all-encompassing now, and the fight goes out of me, and I lay unmoving as tears continue streaming down my cheeks.

“Livana,” Zev says my name, and it's the first time I've ever heard him use it, the plea and command enough to snap my focus to his golden eyes. “Stay with me,” he says, as if he can sense that I'm about to lose consciousness.

He shifts above me, taking something out of Jagger's hand. His hand jerks and the smell of his blood becomes so potent that my pupils dilate and my fangs punch out.

He brings his wrist to my lips, the fresh wound open and gleaming and dripping blood. “Drink, little tress,” he demands.

Instinct drives me, and I open my mouth, letting his blood rush in. I moan at the flavor. He releases my arms to allow me to grip his hand and forearm, holding that wrist to my lips as I drink and drink and drink.

Each swallow is a revelation, a burst of energy to my overworked body.

He moves against me, easing some of his weight so I can fully breathe and know I'm in control. It's a small mercy, and my mind whirls with it. Whirls with the flavor of his blood and the desire I can taste not just from him, but also from Jagger, who watches right next to us.

The fear in me dies. Taken over completely by my baser instincts. I pour my own desire into the bite, and relish the way Zev groans and shifts against me, his hard length pressing between my thighs.

Zev draws me up, and I continue to drink as he moves to have me straddle his lap, Jagger moving behind me, offering soothing caresses down my spine.

Their touches aren’t harsh.

Their touches aren’t meant to harm me.

They don't want to kill me. Theywantme.

I can't even shift through the need pulsing through me in order to logically think that one out. And I don't care. The only thing I can think about is the way Zev feels against me and how Jagger feels behind me.

I lick the wound closed on Zev’s wrist, drawing back and sucking in a sharp breath. His and Jagger's desire are still feeding me, making me buzz with a current of electricity that's making me restless.

“Livana,” Zev says my name again as he smooths back my hair. “Are you all right? Do you want this? Want us in this way? After what Balan almost?—”

“I want you both,” I say, my words almost guttural with the emotions clinging to my throat that he’s asking, checking in with me to make sure I want this even when my instincts are screaming at me to take what I need from them.

I don't think, I onlyact, slanting my mouth over Zev’s and moaning as he opens up for me. His tongue meets mine in a primal dance that we've only done once before.

I reach behind me, welcoming Jagger and his needy mouth onto my neck, arching as his hands come around me from behind and massage my breasts.

Zev's hands are roaming and powerful as he grips my hips and rocks me against the hardness beneath his leathers.

Everywhere they touch is a flame to my skin, consuming and yet somehow not enough. I break Zev’s kiss, arching my head back and finding Jagger’s lips, my heart racing in that delighted way that makes my head absolutely bubbly.

I don't know whose clothes come off first, mine or Jagger’s or Zev’s, but between kisses and touches, these two powerful males are completely bare to me and I to them, and Zev positions me over his lap again, teasing his thick head through my slick slit until I'm shivering.

Jagger kisses up my spine as Zev’s lips trail over my breasts. It's everything I could ask for and more. My entire body narrows to the sensation of their touch, their kisses, the way they feel enveloping me. My body's needs are driving me, making me shiver relentlessly.

“Sit on my cock, little tress,” Zev demands, his hands flexing on my hips where he's been teasing me relentlessly.

I do as I'm told, sinking down, drunk off the way he groans, his muscular chest flexing as I lift myself up and down atop him.

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