Page 36 of Wrath

Once done, he gently brushed his lips against mine and tried to lure me towards the desk.

“Wait,” I said, resisting. “I don’t have undies,” I added, casting an embarrassed look at my thong, curled up on the floor near my bed.

A strange look fleeted over Wrath’s handsome face before settling in a mulish expression.

“You don’t need any,” he said, matter-of-factly.

My jaw dropped, and I stared at him in disbelief. “You want me to walk around commando?”

“Yes,” he deadpanned.

I gaped at him, speechless. “Who are you?” I asked at last. “What happened to sweet, prim and proper Wrath?”

“He’s still there,” Wrath mumbled with a shrug, although his scales slightly darkened.

“You mean ‘naughty and scandalous’ Wrath had been hiding this whole time behind that mask of virtue and innocence?” I asked teasingly.

I almost burst out laughing when my man’s golden scales further darkened, taking on an almost bronze color, loudly broadcasting his embarrassment at having his salacious side thus revealed. This was beyond adorable. And yet, he shamelessly soldiered on.

“You have no one but yourself to blame, you wicked temptress,” Wrath said, pulling me into his embrace. “You didn’t simply awaken that side of me; you set it ablaze.”

I gladly accepted that blame and melted against him. This odd mix of naughtiness and innocence in him was beyond sexy. Being with Wrath felt so natural. The way he looked at me like nothing else in the world mattered, like a single smile from me could erase even the greatest sorrow in the universe made me feel beyond special. I could easily fall in love with that man.

Kevin, too, had made me feel special and unique.

I waited for the pain and guilt to come crashing down on me. While my heart did pinch at the thought of my late fiancé, the crushing wave of sadness I’d grown used to didn’t rush me. I smiled and rubbed my nose against Wrath’s.

“I will call that a job well done on my part then,” I said teasingly.

“I agree with that conclusion,” he said before kissing my lips. “Enough distraction from you, young lady. We have work to do.”

He settled on the chair of my computer desk and pulled me onto his lap. I loved what a cuddler Wrath was turning out to be. Snuggling with my boyfriend, watching a movie, wearing his oversized shirt that he had given up trying to claim back from me was my definition of a great time. I could totally picture myself doing plenty of that with Wrath on our way back to Khepri after we’d sorted out this entire mess.

“Aye, aye, Sir,” I replied, doing a formal salute.

He chuckled and gently slapped my behind. It was nowhere near hard enough to sting, but I still yelped, and rubbed my butt cheek while glaring at him in false outrage.

“Your kinks know no bounds,” I mumbled before waking my computer.

“You have no idea, my love,” Wrath whispered in my right ear before kissing it.

And now, I wanted to know…

I had not expected that this much heat lurked beneath Wrath’s sweet and compassionate veneer. Peeling his mask, layer by layer, was promising to be a lot of fun. Silencing the naughty thoughts lingering in my mind, I turned my focus to the research I had done.

“Any luck so far?” Wrath asked, sobering.

I nodded. “I think so. If all our assumptions about the state of the base are correct, this mission should be relatively safe for you,” I said.

Wrath’s brows shot up in surprise. “Well, that would be a nice change! Do tell.”

I chuckled, seeing the sincere hope on his face. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what it was like for a Xian or a Dragon. Even with the almost guaranteed rebirth that awaited them should the worst occur, it had to be dreadful knowing that every time they went out on a mission, chances are they would experience the trauma of death. They were the Vanguard for a reason. It fell onto them to go where no one could and repeatedly sacrifice themselves for the greater good.

I chased that dark thought from my mind. I wasn’t ready to witness his passing again. One day, when I was emotionally stronger, I would ask him what dying felt like.

“My entire plan is based on the assumption that there is no more oxygen inside the base and that all the creatures are essentially unconscious,” I explained. “As I mentioned previously, there is a third ventilation system, the last one currently intact. We can safely go through it to enter the storage room it opens into. The great news is that reinforced doors seal the storage room’s access. That means, the plan would be for you and Dread to get in through the air shaft, which we would close off behind you guys. You would need a full suit in order to breathe down there and deplete the oxygen reserves that would have entered the room with you.”

“And only then open or pierce through the doors,” Wrath said, guessing where this was headed.

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