Page 302 of Sigils & Spells

She didn’t deserve that. Not from him and certainly not with what she’d lived through.

She wound her arms around him and thrust her fingers into his hair. “Don’t stop.”

“I don’t want to. But if we do this a moment longer, I’m afraid I’ll be in danger of either being arrested or embarrassing myself utterly.”

This was neither the time nor place to explore their attraction to one another. Not with the crime scene but a few feet behind him. But there was an overwhelming attraction. Hot, heavy and one that would lead him into trouble if he wasn’t careful.

Fuck. He’dbeencareful and look where that had gotten him? Since he’d met the enigmatic young woman, no other female came close. He dreamt of her and that made him question his sanity. Was he that imbued with the sickness of his Queen that he fantasied about a girl who had nearly died in his arms?

But she wasn’t dead, was she?

Mari stood in front of him, the same desire mirrored in the red of her eyes and he bet if he slipped his hand beneath that very elegant dress, he’d find her wet.

“Come with me.” She pressed her lips against his and urged him forward. “There’s an alcove.”

“Lead on.” He brought her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her soft, rose petal skin.

She slipped her hand through his arm and they walked along the sidewalk, her eyes scanning the booths and activities that made up the Psychic Fair. Witches, both real and self-created sold their wares and he sensed her desire to be among them.

“This is what you came out here for.”

She nodded, a smile turning up her lips. “It was. In part.”

“What else?”

Mari smiled secretly and tugged him into a side alley and into what resembled a faery garden, if such a thing existed in an old church yard. It was as if they had stepped out of Salem and stepped back in time.

Brambles and vines covered the high stone fence and the ruins of the old church sprawled out into the open. A lone stone bench sat amongst the trees and she led him to it.

She turned to him, her eyes aglow in the half light. “This. This is what else.”

CHAPTER3

Mari’s heartbeat inside of her chest as she gazed up at Fenris. She hadn’t expected to see him out here on the streets but now that she had, she wasn’t letting him go. Not without once and for all letting him know how she felt. Bringing him here to her hidden alcove had been a risk but one she was willing to take.

He’d seemed just as happy to see her as she had to encounter him and that in itself gave her stomach a few more butterflies.

She leaned in closer and he gripped her arms, the erection straining against the front of his pants digging into her stomach. Mari wanted him like she had wanted no other man, the spicy scent of him invading all of her senses.

“I…” She swayed, lifting her face to his and he claimed her mouth with a ragged groan. His tongue parted her lips and he pulled her even closer, her breasts spilling out over the confines of the bodice.

“You are so lovely.” He bent his head down and pressed a kiss on the tip of her left breast, then drew it into his mouth. The stabbing sensation of ecstasy made her knees weak and she let go a soft cry as he steadied her, a swift rush of heat rushing between her thighs.

She slid her shaking hand down the front of his pants, cupping him, then taking a chance, tightened her hold until he let out an audible hiss.

“You’re playing with fire, girl.”

Mari met his gaze with one of her own. “I’m not agirl. Not for a long time now.”

“Then don’t play the coquette with me.” He gripped her wrist, his teeth clenched as if he were straining.

He was dangerous. Not like a vampire, but different somehow. Like he could drink in her soul and leave her writhing beneath him. His golden green eyes seared into hers and she trembled.

“I’m not.” Mari swallowed. She had to end this…this distraction that boiled her blood. Was he the mate Roark had told her of? It infuriated her that her body would call the shots this way. It also scared her. She hungered for him and no other. This had been building, at least for her, since she’d seen him and tonight she had to push herself-and him to see where it would lead.

“I can smell your fear.” Fenris’s voice was raw and he buried his face at the base of her neck, licking and sucking on her earlobe. Her nipples hardened to fine points and every brush of his blazer and button down shirt made her want to climb him like a fucking tree.

He craved her just as much as she desired him. She read it in his eyes.

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