Page 40 of Shadows of Fate

I knew these trees like I knew the back of my hand. I could live here, never to be found by another being again. Between my knowledge of the land, and my ability to find her scent anywhere she went at this point, it took me no time at all to end up on her trail.

She was a sneaky talented little thing, though, she didn’t run in a straight line like an amateur would. No, she was ducking and diving between trees and fallen branches. Her survival instincts were sharp and used more often than any female I’d ever met.

“Remember, my darling, if I catch you, you’re mine!” I shouted through the thick trees.

My fangs ached as I thought about catching her and sinking my teeth into her beautiful ivory skin. I couldn’t wait.

She started to circle back around, and I rapidly ran to cut her off. Finally catching her in my line of sight, I felt as my smile grew. This was truly the most fun I’d had in ages—maybe my entire existence.

I pushed myself a little harder, getting closer and closer to my target. Before I knew it, I dove and wrapped my hand around her ankle.

She fell to the ground, landing hard, the fall knocking the air from her lungs. I knelt on the moss-covered forest floor and pulled her by the ankle toward me. She tried to kick me off and scoot away, breathlessly. All I could think was how stunning she was in that light.

“I told you I’d always catch you, darling,” I said, just as breathless as she was.

She growled with a smile on her face. “Fuck you.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the words. “Oh, I have full intentions of it.”

I could smell her arousal, as I had since we were in my chambers prior, and it had my fangs aching at an all-new level. She stopped kicking, and looked up at me through hooded lids, her eyes filled with desire. Lying on her back, her arms above her head, she bit her bottom lip.

“Every time you do that, I go a little feral inside, Silvana,” I quietly growled.

“Do what, My Lord? This?” She bit her lip again, slowly releasing it as a smirk lit up her face.

“Yes, you uncontrollable female, yes.” I let my shadows loose, knowing they wouldn’t hurt her. “Pick a word, Silvana. A word and it all stops.”

Her eyes widened slightly at my statement. “Isstopnot enough for you, My Lord?” she asked, her voice dropping slightly as her arousal grew.

I grinned. “Absolutely not, although I’ll always respect it if you want or need to stop. I do foresee the phrase ‘don’t stop’ falling uncontrollably from your mouth very soon.” My shadows slowly pushed up her top, revealing the expanse of her navel. “I’d hate to get confused, thinking you didn’t want me to continue.”

I leaned down and ran my tongue up the divot above her navel and her breath hitched. “A word, Silvana. Pick one,” I growled, growing impatient. I needed to taste every inch of her skin before I went mad.

“Roses,” she whispered, her eyes still closed.

“Roses and it all stops.” She nodded in confirmation. It’s all I needed.

My shadows rose until they were wrapped around her wrists, holding them together. She gasped. “Raiden, please,” she pleaded.

“Tell me what you need, my little ice queen.”

“You,” she whimpered.

I reached down and pulled one of her daggers from her boot. Smirking, I started at the bottom of her sweater and sliced it up until it was completely cut in half. She had a cloth band wrapped around her breasts, so I pushed her sweater off to the sides, quickly deciding to have my fun first.

I ran the shadow stone blade below her breasts and across her rib cage. Not enough to hurt her, yet. Just enough to leave a faint line behind. She watched me—those ice-blue eyes never leaving my movements.

“Harder,” she groaned as she dropped her head back to the ground, her eyes closing. Happy to oblige, I pressed down enough to draw a thin line of blood. She let out a small gasp.

“Eyes on me, darling,” I growled, as I leaned down and licked the blood from her stomach. I groaned as the taste of her hit my tongue. “You taste like pure sin and sunshine.”

“Fuck, Raiden, yes, please.” I could feel my cock leaking in my pants. Between the taste of her and the sounds of her begging, it was already too much. Part of me knew this was wrong, that she should have all the facts first. The other part of me was just pushing me to claim her. To make this real. Untouchable. Unbreakable.

I pulled my shirt off and tossed it to the side. Picking the dagger back up, I used it to slice open the cloth band, revealing her breasts. I sat between her spread thighs, her arms wrapped tightly in my shadows, her eyes dilated and filled with lust, her pert pink nipples begging to be tasted. She was everything I ever dreamed of, yet nothing like what I expected.

My control slipped like snow in an avalanche, and I leaned down. Running my fingertips along her exposed skin, I watched it pebble beneath my gentle caress. I pulled one of her nipples into my mouth, flicking my tongue over it. She arched her back up and off the forest floor. I used the opportunity to wrap my arm behind her back, keeping her pulled up tight against my body so she could feel every inch of me that she was cruelly affecting.

“Bite me, please,” she whimpered. Before I could think better of it, I did just that. I sank my fangs in just above her nipple, and she let out a moan. The full force of her blood hit my tongue and I was done for. She tasted like sinful desire smothered in chocolate. I pulled away to look down at her face. The bite mark bleeding slowly down her chest, she looked magnificent.

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