Page 86 of The Secrets of Roan Island

“It’ll fit.” He stalks me with his eyes, tracking my movement as I sit up on the bed, his hand wrapped around the base of his massive cock. “You’re Mavarri now. You can take it.”

I’m Mavarri. My grin widens as the truth of that sinks deeper into my consciousness.

I’m Mavarri. A predator. A huntress. Powerful. Strong. Able to take his power. Equals.

A wicked thought crosses my mind. Primal hunger roots itself in my belly. I track Noah’s movement as he starts around the bed, eyes taking in every inch of my body. Arching my back to accentuate my breasts, I spread my legs to show him my glistening center.

He growls.

“I read somewhere during my studies,” I say, stretching my arms over my head, “that lionesses pursue the male of their species and demand sex twenty to forty times a day during their heats.” With that eager thought, my fangs lengthen and my lips lift. “They bite their mate's balls if they don't comply.”

Noah stops in front of me with an arrogant grin. “Are you saying you want to bite my balls,ta’ari? Because I’d be more than happy to agree to that if I get to fuck you into oblivion.” He starts across the mattress toward me, and I spring away, there one moment, off the other side of the bed the next.

His eyes widen, and his grin shifts to something more feral.

I lean forward, hands on the mattress as I face him. His eyes dip to my breasts, his head tilting as if it will help him see more.

“I’m saying I want you to fuck me hard, Noah. Over and over until we’re both boneless. No holding back. But first…” I run my tongue over the sharp tips of my fangs. My claws extend, and I dig them into the bedding, crouching, ready to pounce. “I want you to run.”

I lunge straight over the massive bed.

He moves in a blur, dodging me with a shout of joy, running from the room in all his naked splendor.

With a growl, not wanting anyone to see what’s mine, I give chase, tracking his movement, my senses more attuned and enhanced. My eyes can see him move where they couldn’t before. The scent of him—that distinctly amber note and something muskier, his arousal—is more pronounced, leaving a trail in his wake for me to follow.

And even though he must be well down the hall by now, I can still hear him as if he’s next to me when he says, “I’ll run for you,ta’ari. I’ll let you play your little game, but don’t mistake who’s in charge here.”

I chase him, wild with lust.

He avoids the other heartbeats in the house, leading me through hallways I’ve never seen as if he’s giving me a tour. When I eventually corner him in the green house, I realize this is where I first saw his teeth sharpen and his eyes turn black, though I didn’t acknowledge it to myself then. The deeper I move into the room, the less prominent his scent becomes amidst the lush flowers and plants overwhelming my senses.

“Are you done with your games,ta’ari?” His voice sounds like it’s coming from everywhere at once.

“I haven’t caught you yet, have I?”

A solid mass slams into me, knocking the air from my lungs. We twist, momentum slowing, and Noah pushes me up against the paneled window, my bare back and ass pressed to the cold glass.

“No. I’ve caught you.” His kiss sears my soul, and I kiss him back with everything I have to give.

Then he gets to his knees and drapes my legs over his shoulders. “I need to taste what’s mine.” His mouth claims my core, his tongue lapping at my clit. I cry out at the pleasure, the tables turned from hunter to hunted.

“Noah,” I pant, my hands gripping his damp hair. “Noah!”

I’m climbing the steep incline to an orgasm, my voice a fevered pitch of ecstasy when he stops abruptly, stands, kisses me, and is gone.

“Fuck,” I shout and give chase once more. “When I get my hands on you,” I call.

His laughter leaves a trail for me to follow until it disappears behind the painting of Zarah down into the Gate House. I burst through the painting, half expecting Noah to grab me there on the stairs. But it’s empty and cast in absolute darkness.

Whereas once the darkness terrified me, that fear is far away now. I can see better than I ever could. I’m stronger than I’veever been. There are no lingering ghosts haunting me. Instead, it’s only Noah, and I’m his Mavarrita’ari.

I run down the steps, ignoring the twist in my stomach as the stairs flip upwards, and stop when I emerge from the painting. The dim hallway stretches out before me in muted blue-gray light. Using the rest of my senses, I listen and sniff the air. My prey is close. The library, I decide. He’s waiting for me there. I get as far as the hall that leads into the library when I’m suddenly pressed up against the wall, my body between the stone and a very hard man.

It’s the mirror image of the place where we stopped in the hallway my first full day here. When I chased after him with raised skirts. When his knuckles grazed the back of my hand, so controlled and restrained, but so full of heat.

There’s nothing controlled about him now. He grips my wrists and hauls them over my head. “What are you going to do when you get your hands on me?” he taunts and rubs his hard cock against my belly.

I growl, lifting my legs and wrapping them around his hips to line us up. “This,” I say and sink my fangs into his shoulder, releasing my venom.

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