Page 84 of Beneath the Cursed Veil

A whine built in my chest, threatening to pass my lips. I bit down hard, tasting blood. “I wanted you.”

“I know, but that’s not what I asked you.” A calloused hand wrapped around my shoulder, bending me forward so he could wash my back.

“I don’t know.” My voice didn’t sound like me. It was deeper, sultry, and breathless. “When I woke up and saw you . . . I was embarrassed.”

Vareck paused. “Why would you ever be embarrassed?”

A brief laugh escaped me. “I’d just met you and was sleeping in your bed.”

“And?” He didn’t get it. “It’s not like you were the only one turned on. I just woke up first.” Strong fingers skated down my back, then curved around my hip.

“You also left the bed,” I pointed out.

The washcloth left my skin, and I glanced back to see Vareck washing his chest.

“I didn’t think I was dreaming,” he said quietly. “I tried to wake you up, but you insisted you were awake.”

My mouth went dry. “I’m awake in all our dreams.”

“But you’ve never said my name before.” The vein in hisneck stood out, and he shook his head. “I got up because my control was fraying, and you were still asleep. Before I met you, I’d convinced myself I’d be fine if I could just meet you and get answers.” Vareck snorted self-deprecatingly. “I’m a fucking liar. One look was all it took. We were a hundred feet apart, and you wore a mask, but the second I laid eyes on you, I wanted you.”

My lips parted, and I shifted around so I was on my knees facing him. “I didn’t think I was dreaming either.” His eyes flashed, something savage peeking out. Something primal. “I remember you trying to wake me, but you were so warm and solid andreal.” I swallowed hard. “I felt how hard you were, and I couldn’t help myself. When I woke up, you weren’t there.” I dropped my eyes to his chest, struggling to look him in the eye when I was being so honest. “I thought I woke you and after I laid down all those rules about not touching, I was embarrassed. It was pretty obvious from your body language you knew what I was dreaming about, but it didn’t occur to me that we were having the same dream.”

Vareck tipped my chin up, forcing me to meet his gaze. “I wondered if we were sharing the same one or simply dreaming of each other. That means all the other nights you’ve been at the castle . . .”

“Even when I was pissed at you, I couldn’t stay away,” I whispered.

His hand tunneled through my tangled hair, pulling me to him. Our lips met; our tongues instantly intertwined. It was a dance we’d done a thousand times, and yet it was all so brand new. I ran my hands up his chest, feeling the muscles contract beneath my touch.

Vareck groaned, pulling me toward him, but while the tub was large, it wasn’t big enough for me to straddle hislap. Vareck wasn’t a small man and my thighs were thick. When it became clear we weren’t going to be able to make that position work in here, he released my mouth, forehead falling to mine. We both were breathing hard.

“You’re going to turn back around and let me wash your hair. Then, when you’re clean, you’re going to take your sweet ass into the bedroom and wait for me.”

“This is torture,” I whined. One of my hands snaked down his chest to wrap around his cock. My fingertips didn’t touch when I fisted him.

A violent jerk ran through Vareck’s body before he cursed. “Godsdamnit, Meera. As much as I am dying to be inside you, one of us has to hold it together and get this fucking pixie dust off us.” I opened my mouth to argue but paused as his eyes bled to black. When high fae used their powers, their eyes glowed. Confusion made me tilt my head, before it occurred to me what it meant.

Vareck wasn’t just a high fae. He was a fury too.

Their kind didn’t originate from Faerie. They came from one of the hell realms.

“Your eyes are black.” Apprehension should have made me back away, but that was the furthest thing from my mind. “Does that happen often?”

“No. It’s because I’mthisfucking close to losing control.” His voice was impossibly deeper. Darker. A week ago I might have been scared. Now? I knew he wouldn’t hurt me, not in a way I wouldn’t like. “Now turn the fuck around and hold still.”

Chapter 28

Vareck

Anticipation hummed in my blood.

Meera waited in the bedroom while I finished washing myself. The distance between us was the only thing keeping me from losing my fucking mind. I needed a moment to think beyond the unbearable ache in my cock. My body reacted to every little sound she made, every breathy moan, every scrape of her nails against my chest.

I stepped out of the tub, water sluicing down every inch of my skin. I snagged the folded towel to dry myself off.

Meera thought I wasn’t affected. If I wasn’t so fucking desperate for her, I might have laughed. What the little vixen didn’t realize, is that I had been on pixie dust before. Only a handful of times, but not once had I ever felt this level of burning need.

It spoke volumes that my eyes had changed, my fury this close to the surface when we hadn’t done much more than kiss. Kaia was the only one alive that had seen the shift in me before. Ever since my father’s demise, I worked hard to gain control of myself, andit.

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