Page 218 of Red Ruin

I feel the need rattling between his scrambled thoughts.

He wants to mark.

A shiver flows like custard down my spine.

Breathing through the feeling, I grip his hair to yank him off. His fang holds on with a stubborn pinch. His aura fucking sparkles, begging me tomake himlet go.

I snap my teeth to stop a groan.

“Did I give you permission to bite?” I try to sound stern but end with a breathy growl.

Vhex’s hot chuckle hits my shoulder.

Instead of letting go, helicksmy fang-pinched skin.

“Enough,” I straight-up snarl. Shifting my grip, I dig my nails into the base of his horn, at that sensitive spot where its hardness melts into skin.

Vhex’s body trembles so wildly that his jaw pulses like a hinge.

Losing the grip of his teeth, he sags against my shoulder. “Fuuuuuuuck.”

Fuckis right.

It’s my fault.

He’s not trained well enough.

“Focus,” I say a little softer. “I need you ready to fight.” I loosen my nails and gently tease the horn-skin I just scratched. “Didn’t you want to earn a reward?”

“Please.Iris.”

His soul-silks divide, splitting finer and finer, desperate to cling to me tighter and tighter, touching me in as many places and ways as they can.

At this point, I kind of have to admit.

I am clinging back.

Shadows tug, blocking Vhex from taking more than his share. Remy’s growl sounds deceptively soft as he licks the other side of my throat.

While they un-subtly fight for territory in my body and soul, I finally catch the view straight ahead.

Simms leans over Tan’s shoulders. Tan holds onto the Sentinel’s forearms, but the way he’s watching us fool around, he may as well be clutching a popcorn bucket.

I shrug the guys off. “Start digging.”

While they drag their feet, I jerk my chin at Tan.

He and Simms trade quick kisses and whispers. Then Tan follows me to stand against the wall.

With Simms draped all over him, Tan had a lazy posture. Now he stands fully alert. He wears a thin sword at his hip and dagger hilts peek from underneath his cape.

The sloped tunnel isn’t very wide, but when Tan and I step off to the side, the Sentinels’ brains mostly come back online.

They communicate in glares and pulses of psychic chatter that I canfeelbut can’t hear.

Tan chuckles and drops his voice to a surly impersonation. “Crazy bastards. Stay the fuck out of my way and let me get this shit drilled.”

I choke.

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