Page 77 of Never Run from an Immortal

With the hand fisted in her hair, he eased her off him, yanking her head back to angle her mouth up to meet his, canines grazing her lips. Rae whimpered into his mouth, his fingers working faster, so close to what she wanted, what she craved, every muscle in her body tightening, breaths quickening, and then—Aidan pulled his hand away. Shoved her back onto the bed. His shirt went first. Then his trousers. He crawled over her, hooded eyes taking her in from her head to her feet and back up again.

“Part of me thinks it’s a fucking crime no one else has seen how beautiful you truly are in years, but the other part,” he told her, threading his fingers through the strands of her hair and twirling a lock between finger and thumb, “the selfish, possessive asshole part of me revels in the fact that this is all for me.” He trailed his knuckles from her jaw down her throat, his hand resting over her heart. “I should have known you were a fucking queen the moment I met you.”

She should have snapped back, but her heart was doing that stupid thing again. That thing it had no business doing. Dangerous, dangerous territory. Because he was right. She could have changed her hair and eye colour before he returned to his room, but she’d wanted him to see her. Really see her. Even though she knew he already did. Knew that perhaps he was the only one to have ever truly seen her and not turn away.

Rae’s heart was like a caged bird in her chest—desire, excitement, anger, fear, all warring with each other, thick and all-consuming. Her body was alight from how close he’d brought her, aching, throbbing with the need for release.

The twitch of his lips let her know he felt it all, knew what she needed, what she sought as he came to rest over her, pressing himself over her wet core before pausing at her entrance. Something settled over his face for a moment, so quick and thenit was gone, and then he thrust into her, pinning her hands above her head, his mouth coming over one of her breasts.

Rae couldn’t help her moan as he moved, rough and hard and punishing. She was too far gone, too close to—Aidan slowed, his thrusts turning shallow, so slow Rae wrapped her legs around his waist to push him into her. His laugh hummed against her breast, but he took his precious time going slow, building up their rhythm again as he explored her body with his tongue, her hands still pinned above her.

His teeth grazed her flesh as he moved faster, fingers pressing firmly into the softness of her skin as her muscles coiled tight, tighter, and then he slowed again. Slid his hands around her thighs to readjust her. Aidan leaned back to look down at where their bodies joined, his hand trailing over her soft stomach, between her breasts, and settling over her heart again. “Rae...” He breathed her name like a prayer falling from his lips, his expression more tender than she’d ever seen it. “Do you have any idea how much I’ve fucking craved this? How much I want—”

“Don’t,” she murmured. Because she couldn’t—wouldn’t—let herself lose the too-brittle lid she had on her emotions. Rae dug her heels into him with a needy groan, hips rising to meet his. She knew exactly what he was doing. Denying her what she wanted. Punishing her. And Goddess, it was torture of the best kind.

This time he moved a hand between them as his hips quickened, fingers moving circles over her centre, driving her crazy. The need for release was almost painful, but she knew he wouldn’t let her have it, not yet, and she wondered if it was for the same stupid reason she didn’t want to, because she wasn’t ready for any part of this to be over.

Aidan’s mouth trailed between her breasts, along her collarbone, up to her neck, his canines dragging against her skin;Rae’s back bowed off the bed with how much her body needed what he was denying it. She wanted to come so badly, to feel his teeth sink into her flesh. Needed to.Vale, please,she begged. His teeth grazed her throat, right against her pulse. “Aidan,” she rasped.

The growl that came from him was nothing short of savage. He fisted her hair, her head pulled back, his teeth sinking into her throat, and Rae lost herself in him. In the strength of his thrusts, the way his fingers moved over her clit, the feeling of his mouth at her throat, the heat of his tongue, and the sting of his teeth as he drank from her vein.

Euphoric was the word humans used to describe how it felt to be fed on, but euphoric was far too inadequate to describe the way Aidan felt inside her, drinking from her, drawing out her pleasure, and pouring it back in all at once. Every part of her lit up, her body convulsing with the force of her orgasm, and Aidan’s release quickly followed.

He held onto her until the haze began to clear and she registered the weight of his body again, one hand tangled in her hair, the other splayed over her heart, his mouth hot as he panted against her throat. He didn’t move away until her trembling ceased.

His teeth eased from her flesh first, his hot tongue lapping over the wound as if he couldn’t help himself, and a quiet voice in the back of Rae’s mind knew that this was different than what the humans had described. That this was true torture, this thing between them. This need, this connection, no matter how much she wanted to hate him. Because how could she hate him if all she wanted was to have him do that to her again and again? To have him inside her, drinking from her, working every last bit of pleasure from her body until she was limp in his arms?

“Rae,” he breathed again, dragging his eyes up to meet hers, molten silver staring back at her, every inch of bliss she feltreflected in his face. Too many words were on the tip of her tongue, too many feelings hammering against her chest, dangerously close to a male who could read every last one of them.

Thiswas the true torture. The bond they shared. And this was why she couldn’t stay. He opened his mouth to speak, but Rae cut him off, moving her hips, her breath catching when he twitched inside her, still achingly hard.

“Don’t ask me, Aidan, please,” she murmured against his mouth, hips rolling, already needing to chase the high before it slipped away.

He kissed her softly at first, and then exactly how she needed, tears pressing at the corners of her eyes as he gave in to whatever thought he seemed to be warring with. His hips moved in time with hers, and there was nothing measured or slow about the way they moved. No teasing. Her body was a question, and Aidan answered, giving her everything without hesitation.

Chapter thirty-eight

Rae missed Nim’s funeral. Witch tradition dictated that their body be burned as soon after death as possible, to ensure the soul didn’t become too attached to the body instead of returning to the Goddess.

Reed had done the right thing: carried out every detail of the funeral rite, and for that, Rae was grateful. Still, she brought offerings as she made her way down to the pergola at the bottom of the manor gardens, where Nim’s ashes rested in a silver urn Rae had engraved with her friend’s name and dates, an amber stone set in the centre the same shade as the Witch’s eyes.

The spot had been chosen because it faced the setting sun, another tradition Reed had upheld. Soft beams of light hit the pergola as Rae approached and she imagined Nim waiting there, face tilted towards what remained of the day, a sweet smile on her face, the same smile she’d given Rae so many times before.

Rae arranged her gifts beside Nim’s urn. Honey for the Maiden, milk for the Mother, wine for the Crone. A string offresh flowers just for her friend that she looped over the pot. The fucking concert tickets she hadn’t had the chance to give. And a promise that she would fix this, somehow. That she would make things right.

The facility raid hadn’t entirely been a bust. Torrin was dead, and the tally of hybrid fatalities was high, but Baxter was still out there somewhere with the remaining hybrids, and that meant Demesia wasn’t safe yet, not with how many of those things remained and whatever Bax had planned for them.

He’d been the one manipulating the silver prices all along as well as the base metals, and every resource needed for anything important. Because his hybrids possessed magic and had Thaumas abilities, it was clear now that he intended to use them to take control of the city, and Rae refused to let that happen.

She kneeled before her friend’s urn, hands in her lap. Rae knew what she needed to do. What she’d been born to do. Even though every part of her rioted at the thought. What she wanted had never mattered. Couldn’t matter. Not when so much was at stake.

“I’m sorry I didn’t find you in time,” Rae whispered, a tear slipping down her face. “That the last days of your life were—were spent in the dark. That you were scared and alone.” She wiped at her face and tried to steady her breaths. “I hope you knew we were looking for you. That we did everything—” A choked gasp cut her words short as she heard the lie in them. She hadn’t done enough. She’d failed her friend. Her only friend. And Nim had suffered for it. “I’m sorry,” she breathed. “Maybe one day you’ll forgive me. Maybe one day I’ll forgive myself, but from now on, I want you to know that I’m going to do what’s right. What I should have done, years ago. I want you to be proud of me, Nim. The way I was proud of you. Am proud of you.”

Rae stayed until the sun sank below the horizon, until darkness fell and a hand rested on her shoulder. Reed.

“Time to go,” he told her softly and helped her rise on aching limbs, quiet as he led the way to the cars.

They were all headed to Cormac’s place to help with the survivors, to speak with the remaining council members, and to plan their next move against the hybrids. Rae had been eager to go, to help wherever she could before she left. There had been casualties, she’d been informed, prisoners like Nim who hadn’t been able to withstand the effects of the testing, and Rae couldn’t help but wonder if it was a mercy. Then she thought of Bax, of how normal he’d seemed despite being a hybrid. Her stomach dropped as she realised he might have always been, ever since she’d known him. And what if there were hybrids who didn’t buy into his bullshit? She was too tired to think about it anymore; her decision had already been made.

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