Page 95 of Elora and the Crow

Through the thick branches surrounding them, she could hear someone calling her name, calling Briggs’ name, but it was muffled and unimportant. Nothing mattered but getting Briggs’ cock into her immediately.

Fresh hot lust with just the tiniest hint of fear pulsed through her when he grabbed her hand and pressed it against the thick ridge of his cock.

“Gonna fuck your sweet little pussy,” he growled into her ear. “Gonna fill you up with my cock, make you scream my name when you come, make your magic change the fucking world.”

Yes.

Oh,fuckyes.

He growled again and shoved his hand inside her panties. She would fuck him right here, surrounded by Mother Earth as it was meant to be. She would fuck him, and when he came, when he gave her his seed, the seductive magic that flowed in her veins would finally do what she was born to do.

Elora is dying.

The errant thought flashed through her brain, and that heady rush of lust and magic disappeared in an instant. The light blinked out, and Briggs’ eyes cleared. He stared at her as the tree groaned and creaked, and the branches that sheltered and cocooned them eased back, shrinking to their former size and leaving Cece and Briggs standing exposed and silent beneath the pine tree.

“Holy fuck.” Hudson stood only a few feet away, Elora still in his arms. “What the fuck was that?”

Cece stared at Bren, who was standing beside Hudson. He had a look on his face that she couldn’t decipher, and while his gun wasn’t out, his leather jacket was pushed back, and his hand rested on the butt of his gun. “Cece,” he said, his voice carefully neutral, “step away from Briggs, please.”

She blinked at the slight tremor of nerves she heard in Bren’s voice before turning her gaze to Briggs. He stared at her before their gazes dropped simultaneously to where his hand was shoved deep into her pants. His fingers cupped her bare pussy, and she stumbled back as he muttered a curse and yanked his hand out of her pants.

She was mortified to see the wetness that coated his fingers and hurriedly zipped up her pants as,oh thank you, sweet Jesus, Briggs thrust his hand into his jacket pocket, hiding the evidence of Cece’s arousal from the others.

“Cece, what did you do?” Bren asked with that cautious tone still in his voice.

“I - I didn’t do anything,” she said. “That wasn’t… I mean, I don’t think… my magic isn’t that strong, Bren. I couldn’t have done this.”

He studied her before flipping his gaze to Briggs. “You good?”

“Fine,” Briggs growled. Giving Cece a wide berth, he moved past her and joined Hudson, buckling his belt and adjusting the prominent bulge at his crotch.

“We need to get her to the bird,” Hudson said to Bren. “I don’t think she has much time left.”

“I know,” Bren said.

“Why are they taking Elora?” Cece said, fresh fear overriding her shame. “Bren, she’s dying.”

“She is,” he said grimly. “But I can help her. We can save her, Cece. But I need to take her right now, and… you can’t come with us. I need you to trust that I’ll save her, okay?”

She swallowed hard, her gaze flickering to Elora’s too pale face and then back to Bren. “Do you promise?”

“I promise,” Bren said.

She nodded and folded her arms across her torso as Bren dropped his hand from his gun. “Go home, Cece. Come to Jonah’s place in a few hours, okay? I promise she’ll be there, and she’ll be… good.”

CHAPTER30

Jonah smoothed Elora’s hair back from her face, hating how pale she looked. He pulled the quilt up to cover her shoulders and kissed her forehead before standing.

Ronin stood in the bedroom with them, and he studied Elora for a moment before saying, “She’s healed. But when someone is that close to death, the pain from healing is intense, and the brain forces them into a sleep like state to help cope with it.”

Jonah nodded, his body shuddering at the memory of an unconscious Elora screaming when Ronin’s tears landed on her.

Ronin gripped his uninjured shoulder. “She will wake, Jonah. I promise.”

“Thank you,” Jonah said hoarsely. “I can never repay you for what you’ve done, Ronin, but if there’s anything you need from me, I -”

Ronin shook his head. “You don’t need to repay me. Elora is a good person. I like her a lot, and I’m glad I could help her. Now, let’s get your shoulder healed.”

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