Page 56 of Jackal's Pride

Dragging my eyes over to Jackal, I saw him hunched over his plate, but he wasn’t eating. He stared at me. No. His gaze devoured me. Like he was a giant monster, and I was the poor hapless creature on a platter.

Needing something to do, I gathered my dark hair and tied it into a messy knot on top of my head. It was a bad move. Now his eyes ate away at more of me, straying to the mark on my neck. He swallowed, set his fork down, and then stood abruptly. “We should go to the human world.”

“Are you rested enough?” I didn’t recognize my voice. The quality was too soft, too gentle.

His eyes seemed to twinkle at me. “Would you care if I wasn’t?”

“The better rested you are, the more you can get done in a day.” The words didn’t feel honest.

His shoulders fell as he turned to the side. “Lead the way.”

________

“Jack. Jack.Jack.”

With every guttural groan from him, his name sounded desperate on my lips. All his weight rested against me, this time there was no help on his part. He’d exerted his power more than ever before. We knocked out eight cities today. It was a great feat that I didn’t take for granted. But the human world was a vast place, much bigger than the Underworld. There were so many cities and towns, and every day symptoms from new diseases popped up.

Jackal was the beautiful exception to this new sickness mutating every minute of every hour. He could squash an invisible enemy on the inside without moving, but in return it took all of his strength. But there was only one him and so many humans still needing to be saved.

I didn’t know why he pushed himself so much today. He blatantly ignored my demand that we leave when he began to sway on his feet. His bronzed godly physique was ashen and beads of sweat coated his skin. A pang of guilt slid through my gut, but I snuffed it out immediately. Without a doubt, if any of us could do what he could, we would be there to catch each other afterward, much like I was trying to do for Jackal now.

But he was fucking huge, and I needed help. He was out cold in the human world. Letting myself fall to my knees with his arm draped around me, there was no way I could stand, so I faded with him to my bedroom.

Now that I had him there, I had no clue how to get him back to wherever he’d been staying. Getting Jackal on the sofa or the bed wasn’t possible. It wasn’t fair. My dad, all three brothers, even Mom and Kitty had a bit of inhuman strength. Me? Nada. Why the hell did Kitty have all that strength and not me? What was she going to do wrangle the buffalo before she ate it? What I got instead was the ability to see the strings of fate. It was a great skill to have, nothing to complain about.

But still…

I stared down at Jackal sleeping on my bedroom floor. I didn’t want to leave him there, but I didn’t want to call Barron either.Bleh.I had yet to tell him about the whole ordeal with Gavin. I had yet to tell any of them despite the numerous text messages and phone calls from each of them.

“Guess you’re stuck on the floor.”

I gathered a pillow and tucked it under Jackal’s head. For some reason, I thought I could roll his big ass over to place a blanket beneath him. Yeah, right. I gave up that maneuver and dropped it on top of Jackal. The guy probably wasn’t used to comfort, anyway. Another wave of guilt hit me. He really might not. I’d only ever offered him my sofa, which was in no way big enough for him.

Stop it.

I didn’t care. I was pride. I didn’t care about anyone but myself.

Usually.

_________

Smothering sweat covered me when I awakened. Did someone turn up my thermostat? Then I felt it—a massive weight pinning me to the bed. I glanced beside me and saw the mammoth-sized arm draped around my middle. I tensed as a million questions swirled through my head. Was Jackal asleep? When did he move up here? Did I really fall asleep so deeply that I didn’t sense him get into bed with me? Raising my head, I glanced at the clock. Only a couple of hours had passed since I’d covered him up, showered, and went to bed.

His labored breathing told me he was asleep, but his face was pressed against the nape of my neck. Every hot breath was tantalizing. I’d spent my entire adult life alone. Cuddling with someone was a foreign gesture—too personal and too intimate. Everything in me screamed to wake him up and force him to leave.

But something was stronger than that instinct. A rapid fire burned in my heart and blood rushed to my ears. Every part of me tingled. Not only was I filled with lust that nervous energy was inside me again. I nudged into him slightly and then paused to see if he’d wake up. His only response was to hold me tighter. The curve of my ass fit perfectly into his crotch. He wascomfortable.

My tension eased, but I was still a bundled web of desire. It took a while to relax. I spent most of the time trying to convince myself to wake him until my eyes began to drift. I slid my hand down to the one palming my stomach—and I didn’t know why I did, but I brought his hand up to my chest and rested it with mine there.

I spent so long wondering why I didn’t wake him up, or at least get up that I never bothered to wonder why he crawled into bed with me in the first place.

_________

When I awakened this time, I felt like I had a clogged artery. I was panting, squirming, unable to breathe as I gulped for air. I was hot again. Hot in a very different,deliciousway. One giant paw of a hand was inside my shorts rubbing against my opening and missing my needy clit. Jackal’s other hand was beneath my shirt, pinching a nipple. His stiff dick dug into my ass as he ground his crotch against me. Making matters worse were my soaking panties. How long had he been awake? His fingers moved lower and then he slipped two of them inside me. A moan escaped when his teeth raked across my shoulder.

His body shook. I was painfully aware of how desperate he was for me because I felt the same way long before I even woke up to him pawing at me.

He gripped one of my breasts painfully, then loosened it only to grind into me some more. His fingers were just as rough, giving away his inexperience. He never once gave any attention to my clit, instead he was completely enthralled by the hole he sought to fill.

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