Page 25 of The Last Heir of Elsewhere

Scion braced his hand on the wall above me. He hovered his other hand over the arrow shaft, but didn’t yet touch it. We were so close, I could see every silver spec in his eyes. “Are you ready?”

“No,” I blurted out.

Seeming not to care about my answer, Scion gripped the back of my head and pressed my face into the curve of his shoulder. It was the only warning I got before a sharp, burning agony tore through me. My eyes watered involuntarily as the extreme pressure on my chest suddenly released, and I screamed into Scion’s neck.

I’d never hated him as much as when my head swam, and I could feel hot, viscous blood pouring over both of us, soaking our bare skin and the tattered shreds of my tunic top. Distantly, I heard something clatter against the floor, which could only be the broken arrow, but my head was spinning, and I couldn’t think of anything except the pain.

“Now, rebel,” he said in a strangled half-whisper.

Giving in, I closed my eyes and drew a deep breath. Then, trying not to think about what I was doing, I sank my teeth into his pulse point.

The metallic taste of his blood flooded my mouth again, thick and warm, but this time it felt so much more potent. He groaned, and it sounded somewhere between pain and pleasure, and I sucked harder against the wound.

With each pull of blood, I forgot to be revolted or embarrassed, until at some point I realized I was enjoying it. He tasted like salt and iron and something else, something undefinable that sent electricity skating over my skin. Finally, I understood what it must mean to taste of magic.

The pain lessened, and I swallowed desperately, my throat burning with the intense craving for more. The beat of his pulse under my teeth was like a drum, driving me to drink until there was nothing left but crimson stains on my lips.

Scion reached up and wound his hand into my hair, but instead of pulling my head back as I’d expected he pressed my mouth more firmly against his throat.

His skin radiated a comforting musky scent, reminiscent of the forest, and felt surprisingly smooth against my face as I brushed against it with my lips and nose, grazing his collarbone. Without thinking about it, I ran my tongue up the side of his neck to the tip of his pointed ear.

Scion shuddered, and as the last sharp sting of pain faded away, a different kind of warmth spread through my body. I pulled back to look at him. Our gazes met, and this time there was no pain inside me, just a throbbing, aching need.

I ran my tongue over my bottom lip, cleaning off the blood that still lingered there. His eyes snapped down to my mouth and his pupils dilated until only a hint of silver remained around a circle of burning black.

“Rebel…” he breathed, neither a statement nor a question.

Meeting his intense gaze, I could see the hunger there. The magnetic energy between us crackled as our lips collided once again. Everything with Scion was always more intense than I expected. More consuming, more demanding. He craved my complete surrender with every touch.

A mix of anger and overwhelming lust surged through me, wanting to punish his mouth for the pain he caused me while also craving his touch intensely. Feeling almost drunk, I leaned forward and pressed my bloodstained lips to his

A strangled groan came from the back of his throat, and it was as if the tension shattered.

His lips opened against mine, his tongue sweeping in to savagely claim my mouth. I could taste the anger on his lips, the hunger and need, and the magic that buzzed in the blood that still coated both our mouths. Our hands tore at what was left of our ruined and bloodstained clothing, and all rational thought fled.

I felt my feet leave the floor as Scion picked me up and slammed my back against the wall. I gasped, expecting it to hurt, but there was no pain left in my shoulder. His hard length pressed into my core, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. Shadows sprung out of nowhere, and wrapped themselves around my body, holding me against the wall and leaving Scion’s hands free to roam down my sides, over the curves of my breasts.

A low growl escaped from him as he reached down and slid his fingers between my thighs, dragging them through my folds before he thrust two fingers inside me. “Fuck, you’re so wet.”

A shock of arousal hit me, fogging my mind. “Gods…”

He drove his fingers in and out, holding me painfully close to the edge. I wriggled in an attempt to urge him to move faster. Just when I was about to scream, Scion pulled his fingers away and brought them to his lips. “I thought I’d imagined how fucking sweet your cunt is. You taste like magic, rebel.”

I burned at those words, the heat around us seeming to actually rise as he brought his mouth to one nipple, and then the other, sucking hard enough that I could feel it all the way down in my core.

A soft hiss escaped my lips as he bit down on the top of my breast with just enough force to cause a mix of pleasure and pain. The shadows wound tighter around my arms, my waist, and pulled taught around my throat. I arched my back, pressing closer. He nipped at the pebbled flesh, not taking care to be gentle, and each pull from his mouth and graze of his teeth sent sparks of pleasure straight to my clit.

He moved his mouth up the column of my neck back to my lips. He bit down on my bottom lip, sucking it into his mouth as I reached between us, and traced my fingers along his chiseled chest, savoring every ridge of muscle beneath my touch. I reached the belt of his trousers, and I shoved them down. My hand wrapped around his shaft and I moved my fingers up and down, slow and teasing.

He hissed, and pulled his head back to look me in the eye. “Do you want this?”

The answer came immediately to my lips. “Yes.”

Scion licked his lips, and his gaze widened, burning with some combination of lust, and something else impossible to name. Like he was almost hoping I would be the one to put a stop to whatever this was, and give him a reason to close himself off again.

“I won’t be gentle,” he warned.

“Don’t be,” I leaned in, and ran my tongue over the still visible bite mark on his neck. “Fuck me like you hate me.”

---