Page 55 of Burning Star

“Yes, I know,” I tell Ghost, threading my fingers through his fur, relief flooding my body at the fact that he’s back where he belongs—with me. “We have work to do.”

“Next stop—making sure the Winter Court doesn’t freeze over with your father’s madness.” Sapphire steps back from me, her hand lingering in mine.

“And then,” I add, “we defeat the Night Court, and we save Zoey.”

ZOEY

“I swear,you taste better and better each time I have you,” Aerix murmurs against my skin, his breath cool against the heat of my neck, a feverish glint in his dark eyes.

“Guess that makes me your finest vintage,” I say with a mischievous smile, forcing a teasing edge to my voice despite the quickening of my pulse.

“You’re not just a vintage. You’re the addiction I’ll never recover from,” he says, and then his mouth crashes onto mine, wild and demanding.

My lips part at his unspoken command, and I taste my own blood mingled with the cold, sharp essence of him—winter storms, pine forests, and danger.

I want to crawl inside him, feel him under my skin, and let him consume me completely. The thought sends a bolt of adrenaline through my veins, and I arch closer, desperate to lose myself in him.

“Take this off,” he demands, tugging on the strap of my chemise. His voice is low, a dark purr that leaves no room for argument.

I sit up, slipping it over my head and tossing it aside. But instead of pushing me back down on the bed, he sits back on his heels, his gaze devouring every inch of my bare skin. His eyes are nearly black now, molten with hunger.

“What?” I ask, holding my breath, ready for anything.

“I want to see how it’s healing,” he says, his fingertips trailing slowly, torturously, down my body. He pauses at my hip, brushing over the red, angry mark where his name is carved into me.

The wound is still fresh, but it makes me feel alive in a way nothing else ever has as he traces each letter with his thumb, his eyes wild, his breaths coming faster. There’s a dark pride in his expression, something possessive and predatory that makes my stomach flutter.

“It’ll scar,” he declares. “You’ll carry me with you forever.”

I shiver beneath his touch, tilting my hips toward his hand.

“I love it,” I whisper, and he exhales slowly, as if I’ve undone him with three words.

Then he leans down, pressing a soft, worshipful kiss to the wound.

“You’re mine. Forever,” he says against my skin, and I tug him back up to me, needing him closer.

His wings curve forward, enveloping us in a cocoon of darkness and feathers as he kisses me again, deeper this time, more demanding.

“I should have done this sooner,” he says, almost to himself. “Claimed you in every way. Made it impossible for them to even think about touching you.”

At the mention of “them,” I hesitate, and Aerix pulls back just enough to search my face, his expression dark and dangerous.

“What is it?” he asks in the sort of tone that makes it clear there’s no point in trying to lie to him.

“I was just thinking about Victoria and Sophia,” I admit, and his magic crackles, cold enough to sting my skin.

“They’ve been hostile,” he says, seeming like he already knowing the answer.

I nod.

His body tenses. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

I shift beneath his weight, pulling the sheet over my chest, suddenly feeling exposed in a way that has nothing to do with having torn off my chemise minutes earlier.

His eyes narrow, catching the movement, displeasure crossing his face at my attempt to cover myself.

“Victoria thinks I’m just your latest obsession,” I confess, the last words sticking in my throat. “That when you get bored, I’ll end up in the barns.”

---