Page 153 of Black Bird

He guessed there was no use in trying to talk her out of it, but the cautious side of him wished she would hang back … at least until they figured out what the aftermath of Sarah turning herself in would be like. In the end, she didn’t hang out long. They had walked into an unnecessary mess in his apartment. Nothing was broken, but there was shiteverywhere. Every one of their phones had been taken from the drawer. Wren had decided that was enough to piss her off, and they’d had to talk her out of storming up to the precinct to get hers, otherwise they’d know they’d come home. She left right after, and Sarah spent almost two hours helping him get his place back in order. He was glad that he’d given her his journal before this happened. The junk drawer would have been incriminating with what he’d written in that book. Thankfully, they hadn’t seen it as anything else.

“I shudder to think what mine looks like after seeing this,” Sarah said, brushing a knuckle to Poe’s breast while he cheerfully ate in his roomy cage.

“We’ll fix it. We’ll fix everything,” Athan soothed, kissing the back of her neck. “Go get your shower. I’ll finish up in here.”

“You sure?” she asked, looking around.

“Mmhmm … I’m gonna call Rhaena on the burner and see if she wants me to run next door and check the apartment. Let her know we’re safe. She should probably know that Wren isn’t staying, either. And that she’s got her truck.”

“Okay.” She smirked, turning and walking toward the bedroom. “If you hurry, you could join me.”

He groaned and watched her peel that shirt off as she walked, craning his neck as she winked at him before disappearing around the corner. He had a plan. One he’d thought about in very careful detail. Joining her in that shower, while tempting, would throw it off. For some reason, he felt nervous. Now that they were alone … it all seemed so … limitless. He just hoped it would go smoothly—for both their sakes. Hoped that it would satisfy her need, at least enough so that she wouldn’t ask him to change her, the way Rhaena had decided to change. He would give her whatever she wanted. But maybe if she chose immortality, it could be put off at least for a while.

The phone call had only lasted a few minutes, as he’d clearly interrupted something between Rhaena and Jenkins. She’d told him not to worry about her apartment right now, and that she’d catch up with Wren when they got back tomorrow night. He did go look next door anyway, finding it just as much a disaster as his own. Sarah’s small space probably looked so much worse. It pissed him the fuck off.

He found her in a towel, laying on her side with his journal open and her back facing his bedroom door. Those damp legs bent, and her knees up almost high enough to see the bottom of her ass.

“You did that on purpose.” He scoffed, stepping in and curling behind her, smoothing a hand down her thigh.

“I sure did.” She snickered, turning her chin over her shoulder and raising the journal up to his face. “What is this part about? I meant to ask you that the other day. I’ve read over it a dozen times. I’m kind of obsessed.”

He pretended to look at it and lightly trailed a finger back up to the edge of where the towel stopped. “That … is about an overnight guest that I had.” He leaned in, nipping at her shoulder. “We were rudely interrupted when some asshole called me in the middle of the night. From my rooftop, no less. Can you imagine?” Sarah snorted and rolled her eyes.

“You’re not gonna let that go, are you?”

He smiled against her bare skin. “I might … if you tell me exactly what it was that you did to yourself in that bed,” he lowered his voice into a purr and her skin stippled.

“You saw me?” she asked, her breathing picking up.

“No … but I scented it. When I left you that book.”

“Stalker.”

“What did you do, Sarah?” He trailed his mouth up her shoulder … her neck, kissing behind her ear.

“I would think it’d be obvious what I did, detective.” Her eyes fluttered closed and she leaned her head back against him, allowing him better access.

“Show me,” he whispered, licking her earlobe and taking it in his teeth. She breathed a little heavier when he lifted her knee off of the other one and raised her leg, spreading them open. He didn’t touch the spot he wanted to … not yet. Instead, he pulled the book from her hand, tossing it behind him and taking her hand. He pressed her palm against the towel and slowly guided it down her middle, stopping it to rest between her legs. She bit down on her lip, and he pressed himself against her, kissing her neck again and lowering his eyes to watch their fingers slide along her slit. He took his hand from hers and gripped her knee while she continued to touch herself. “Good girl,” he breathed.

“I did more,” she whispered, circling her clit with her fingers. His grip on her knee tightened and his cock strained against his jeans.

“Did you?” He smiled, finding the scar on her neck and running his tongue over it. She took in a sharp breath and arched her back against him. “What were you thinking about?”

“You …” she choked, sliding her fingers into herself.

He sucked on her neck, unbuckling his belt, and popping his button open. “Oh? And where was I?”

Her hips started moving in time with her hand, and she moaned slightly when he gently closed his teeth on her scar. “Between my legs.”

He couldn’t stand it anymore. Her scent was strong, and her body was heated. He had to taste her.Now.He rolled her onto her back and raised himself from the bed, lifting his shirt off and dropping his jeans to the floor. “Don’t stop, Sarah … open your towel.” She did, and he took his cock in his hand, slowly stroking it while he watched her plunge those tattooed fingers in and out of her beautiful body. Athan bent down, crawling between her thighs, and pulling her hand away. He sucked her fingers clean and lowered his mouth to her inner thigh, grazing her skin with his teeth. “Nobody but us tonight, love. When I make you scream … remind me what my name is …” he purred, listening to her ragged breathing.

“Fuck …”Sarah whispered, writhing under him when he slid his canines out and dragged them lightly up her inner thigh. He finally found his way to her dripping cunt and slipped his tongue inside her, taking every bit of her into his mouth and sucking her gently. His fangs lightly scraped the outer edges, and she grabbed a fistful of his hair. How many times had he thought about this? About how incredible she’d taste, or how perfect she’d fit his mouth? In all his long years, he couldn’t fathom a single word to describe it. His tongue slithered through the folds of that soft skin, spreading her slick arousal along with it. Sarah’s body tensed and he heard a breathy moan leave her when he rolled his tongue over her swollen clit.

“You never asked me …” Athan whispered, teasing around that spot. She gripped him harder by the hair.

“Asked you what?” Her voice was strained and breathless.

“Why I didn’t bite you that night.” When she stilled, he smiled against her and raised his eyes. She slowly lowered her chin, as if she knewexactlywhere this was going. He let his eyes darken and sucked her back into his mouth, relishing in the way those hazel irises nearly crossed when he did.

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