Page 65 of Promised in Blood

The look on Axl’s and Xavier’s face tells me they feel it too.

Ophelia!

Yeah?

Relief washes over all three of us.Where are you, sweet girl?

Her musical laugh fills my head.Why would I tell you that?

But we felt you,Xavier says. We could track your scent, and then it disappeared like you fell off a cliff.

She laughs again.Oh, yeah. A little trick I read about in a spell book. Do you know witches who can channel air can mask their scent by manipulating the air around them? It works on emotions too. Like a forcefield. Cool, huh?

I suppress a smile. That’s my clever fucking girl.

Axl growls and yanks off his shirt.You just earned yourself the spanking of your life, princess.

You’ll have to catch me firstcomes her giggling reply.

“Fuck me, I’m gonna blow my load before I even get to her,” Xavier says with a chuckle before he pulls off his shirt too.

I do the same. “Looks like we have a hunt on our hands, boys.”

The crackingof a twig has my head spinning to the left of me, but an animal scurries off into the distance. We’ve been tracking Ophelia for over half an hour now, and despite our many underhanded tactics to get her to drop whatever magic shield she has in place, including some of the dirtiest promises to fuck her senseless, she has refused to yield.

But now I’ve found a set of footprints in the mud, and I’m onto her. As smart as she is and as difficult as it is to track her with no scent, we are far more familiar with these woods than she is. And there are other ways to track prey.

I get close enough to hear her soft breathing and the frantic hammering of her heart. I fist-pump the air as the sweet triumph of victory grows nearer.

I can hear you, baby. I’m gaining on you.

Not close enough, Kai. She giggles.

Don’t you want to come tonight? Because the longer you make us chase you, the less likely that is to happen.

But you guys wanted to chase me. And now you’re sore because I didn’t make it as easy as you thought I would.

Yes, I am sore. My dick is fucking aching.

I trail my fingertips over the bark of the tree, squinting into dim light and waiting for a glimpse of her. A flash of pink directly ahead makes the beast inside me ravenous. I lick my lips andsprint ahead, and two seconds later, she’s in my arms. I throw her to the ground and cover her body with mine.

She shrieks, and her scent fills my nostrils once more. Her fear and excitement slam into me, nearly knocking me sideways, but there’s no chance in hell I’m relinquishing my prize after working so hard to win her.

You found her, Kai?Xavier asks.

Yeah, you can track her scent now.

And yours, Axl growls.We’re on our way.

Ophelia looks up at me, her blue eyes wide and her heart thumping in her chest. “I got you.”

She bites on her lip. “But it took you way longer than you thought it would, right?”

“Yeah. I’m proud of you, baby.” I’m already tugging open my jeans, and once I’m done, I push her thighs apart with my knee and press my mouth to her ear. “So fucking proud. I respect you so much, sweet girl. Remember that”—I flip her over and hold her down by the back of her neck before driving my cock inside her with one smooth motion—“when I’m fucking you like I don’t.”

She moans my name, calling out into the darkness as I thrust into her, feral with the need to claim her right here in the dirt. “Your pussy is too fucking sweet.”

“Kai, please?”

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