Page 46 of All Hallows Trick

I groaned, dropping my head onto Death’s shoulder, my face burning.

“You don’t need our permission,” Death said as if Madde hadn’t spoken, “but you have our approval.”

“You’re sure? Really sure?”

“Really sure.”

A strange flutter of nerves replaced the coil of guilt in my belly, intensifying when Death stepped back and winked. My face must have been a picture because he laughed, caressing a knuckle down my cheek before he stepped back around the bent in the hallway, leaving me standing there.

“Psssst,” Madde whispered behind me, bringing an instant smile to my face. “I’m still over here.”

“Really?” I turned, raising an eyebrow. “I thought you’d mysteriously vanished into thin air.”

“I can do that.” Dark smoke burst up from the floor, stealing him from view, and I might have been outraged or offended that he was running awaynowif he hadn’t materialised two feet in front of me. “See.”

My stomach exploded into a riot of nerves, my heart quickening. “Remember what you said a few minutes ago, over there?” I pointed to the spot in front of the window.

He contemplated. “About having my fingernails ripped off?”

Fury devoured my nerves until a growl shook my chest, bringing a bright smile to Madde’s face. “Not that.”

“About the blowtor—”

I respect your boundaries but I would like to note that I want to kiss you so badly my lips are going to die.

“Madness.” I tried to hook my fingers in his shirt, failed because it was so tight, then just grabbed his shoulder and dragged him closer. “Kiss me.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CAT

The groan that came from Madde’s throat made my skin tingle. My breath caught when his hands found my waist, squeezing like he was trying to press his fingerprints into my skin. My back hit the wall, then his mouth was on mine, hot and desperate and sweet like honey. Our hips aligned, his pinning me to the wall; the hard length of his cock grinding into my clit until my eyes hooded. His tongue surged deeper, obsessive in tasting me.

It was an unleashing of tension that had been building all day, or if I was really being honest, since the night on the balcony. I carded my fingers through his red hair and tightened them into a fist, angling his mouth so I could take control of the kiss, owning him the way he’d owned me since I discovered my darkness had a form. Arousal poured through me in a delicious rush, liquid heat dripping from my core. I wanted my thighs around his hips, needed him to sink inside me with a ferocitythat made me moan against his lips, bruising his mouth in my intensity.

“Cat,” he moaned against me, his lips glossy, blue eyes wide, pupils blown. “My Cat, my lioness, my light. I can’t believe I’m kissing you. You taste like coffee and chocolate. My new fucking favourite.”

I meant to reply, but he ground his cock harder against my clit and cupped my face between both hands, kissing me so deeply that his taste overrode every sense in my body. Honey and vanilla, so damn addictive. I matched his hunger, almost feral for more. My underwear was thoroughly ruined at this point.

“Tell me to stop kissing you or I don’t think I ever will,” he confessed, husky with need. One hand remained on my cheek, his thumb stroking with such gentleness that butterflies careened through my belly in a wild spiral. His other hand glided over my shoulder and down my back, exploring the arch of my spine before it settled on my ass, squeezing a handful of myothercheek. “Tell me to stop right now, lioness.”

I tightened my grip on his hair, wrenching his mouth closer. My lips moved across his as I spoke. “I don’t want to stop, Madde.”

His eyes fell shut, a deep groan shaking his chest, my nipples sensitive to the vibration. “You’re playing with fire, Cat.”

“Playing with darkness,” I corrected, and gasped when he kissed me so suddenly and forcefully that my back slammed into the wall. My heart hammered. Blood pounded between my ears, between my legs.

“I have loved you,” he groaned, eyes shut tight, “for almost four years. This can’t be real.”

“If it wasn’t real,” I gasped, kissing him once, twice, not quite able to stop, “I probably wouldn’t be wearing a duck onesie.”

“Blanket hoodie,” he corrected, grinding against my pussy again, the angle so perfect that my head fell back against the wall. “Do you like it?”

“Love it,” I panted, meaning both the gift and the way he touched me, kissed me. With Death’s words, the guilt had vanished, removing the barrier between me and how much I frantically needed Madde, my darkness. I stroked my fingers across his scalp and whispered, “I want you to fuck me in it, Madde.”

Madness’s answering growl was deep, throaty, and not remotely human. The sound alone was enough to make my clit ache, but then he dragged his bottom lip between his teeth andgod-fucking-damn.“You give me butterflies in my belly and my cock.”

“I don’t think that’s possible, love.”

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