Page 47 of Bound By Roses

I stroke harder, but keep as much of my concentration on her as I can. If she wanted to make me work for it, mission fucking accomplished.‘What a waste…it would be…if we both…came like this.’Now I’m the one having trouble forming words.

For a long moment, or quite possibly half a second, she doesn’t answer and I’m just about ready to hand her the victory. But then her breath catches and her legs jerk. She’s far too close, and with her pleasure, I feel her desperation.

“You win,” she says, though it’s barely audible through her rapid breathing.

I’m inside her before she can even say my name, thrusting hard and fast in the way we both need. What started as a silly game became torture, and with it finally finished, our orgasms come quick. “Gods, Abby!” I say her name loud enough that, if anyone was within a mile, they could probably hear it.

I collapse beside her, breathing harder than I ever have for any workout. I pull her against me so that her head rests on my chest. I want her to hear what she does to me.

“I win,” I say as soon as I’m able, an impossibly wide grin spreading across my face.

“Actually,” she pants, sounding just as exhausted as I am. “I’m pretty sure you were the one screaming my name.”

My eyes fly open and meet only darkness. The fire must have gone out, but I can sense in the air that the sunrise is not far off. I just need to keep calm until then. There’s nothing out here. No wraiths, no enemies. Just Abby and I.

I must have rolled away from her in the night, so I reach out to her. My hand finds the empty space where her body should be, and I shoot straight up, whipping my head in every direction in search of her. I can see well enough in the dark, but even with my enhanced vision, there’s no trace of her.

I’m on my feet in a heartbeat and rushing to the edge of the cliff. We slept far enough away from it, but Gods, what if she woke up in the night and fell? There’s no sign of her on the rock below, and if something happened to her, surely I would feel it.

“Abby?!” I call out to her, but by only answer is the crashing of waves below.‘Abby?!’Even through the bond, no answer comes.

The panic in me grows as I pace along the cliff-side, muttering to myself like insanity has finally found me. “You’d know if she was dead. She’s alive. She’s fine. She’ll be back.”

A muffled thud sounds from behind me and I spin around to face the source. Anger flares as my eyes fall upon Jade. His once black wings are veined with molten red just as the rest of his body, and the scales on his arms seemed to have changed colour to match the new markings on his human skin. “Where the fuck is she?” I say, throttling the words at him.

“What makes you think I know?”

“Abby disappears and you just happen to show up? I don’t buy it.”

“I heard you shouting and was in the mood for some entertainment. The look on your face when you realize she’s left you is going to be priceless.”

I take a swing for his face, but he just manages to dodge the blow.

“Unless you want to lose a limb, I suggest keeping your hands to yourself.”

“Is that a threat?” I ask, not in the mood to play this game with him. Not while Abby could be in trouble. Why can’t I sense anything?

“It’s a warning. As much as I’d like to see you go up in flames, I’m trying very hard to keep that from happening.”

I sigh and rub the lingering sleep from an eye. “Just tell me the truth. Did you take her?”

“No.” He doesn’t so much as blink, and despite the very real threat he poses to her, I believe him.

“Do you know where she is?”

“No, but I saw her walking that way.” He points away from the water. The only thing in that direction is the forest and the thought of her going there makes the blood in my veins turn to ice.

“Was she alone?” I have to work extra hard to keep the panic from invading my words.

“She was. She seemed perfectly content too, as if she were relieved to be able to get away from you.”

I bite my tongue to keep my anger in check as I stride off in the direction he pointed out.

“How about a thank you?” he says when I pass him.

“She should have just let you die,” I growl under my breath before stripping off my clothes and becoming the form I still hate so much.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

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