Page 37 of Venomous Heart
“Don’t do this.” That voice again, male, and threatening to take away what mattered most to him. The only thing that mattered.
Murderous intent flashed inside Arlen, clear and potent. Images of blood and gore, of his year of constant fighting at the Frontier. It would be so easy to kill this one. He was young and brash, foolish to approach even when Arlen gave him all the warnings to stay away.
Don’t. This is your brother. This is Khal.
Arlen took a step back, cradling Ava’s limp body even closer.
“You’re going to hurt her.” Khal spoke, and this time, the words reached his consciousness. “Don’t do this. She can’t take a feral rut.”
Khal was right. Arlen was lost so completely, he risked rutting her in the old, primitive ways of the Eok warriors. And that would injure Ava in more ways than one. That would break her mind as well as her body.
“Stay away.” His voice was barely coherent, the words half-lost in a vicious growl, but he was able to talk. “I won’t hurt Ava. But I need to take her to my rooms now. Keep all other males away.”
Khal stopped, holding his gaze for a long moment, until he finally nodded. There was nothing the younger Eok could do to prevent Arlen from sealing the Mating by claiming Ava’s body. But at least he wasn’t lost to the madness of the Mating Venom anymore.
As Arlen walked into the mansion, carrying his bloodmate in his arms, he was aware of two golden eyes, fixed on him with horror. Then he was in his rooms and as the door locked behind them, he was alone with Ava. He looked down at the female in his arms.
And two striking purple eyes stared back at him.
Ava moved within his hold and he reluctantly allowed her to stand, but didn’t open his arms to free her. There was no more freedom, not for him, and not for her.
Midnight God, I am truly lost.
Ava’s violet eyes were a soft color under the fiery light of the setting sun. Shadows played over the curves of her face, making the lovely shape of her full lips irresistible.
Just a taste. A taste, and then I’ll stop.
It was a lie, but a lie he couldn’t avoid. He couldn’t stop, not anymore. Whether he admitted it or not, the Mating Venom would push him to the limit and beyond, into an abyss he wouldn’t return from.
Arlen closed the distance between Ava’s lips and his. Her mouth yielded with a delectable ease, opening to his demand as his tongue slid inside and over her own. The Mating Venom spread inside her mouth, renewing her arousal.
She squirmed and moaned at the kiss. He could smell it on her, that tangy scent of female arousal, the liquid honey between her legs spreading and mixing with that already spilled.
It made his desire imperious and his seed stem ached, straining against the restraint of his pants. He couldn’t wait anymore. He didn’t want to wait anymore.
He reached beneath her knees, lifting her with ease, her legs parting on each side of his hips. As she moved, her smell became stronger, filling the room, giving no respite to his senses. He kissed her again, needing the surrender of her mouth as she gave in so easily, so utterly deliciously.
He walked her blindly toward the bed, then laid her down on the mattress before pulling back. He wanted to see her, draped in red, her hair cascading wild and free around her head, spreading like flames. Never had he seen anything more beautiful in his life.
Ava stared at him in silence, her delicate features expectant, arousal making her lips redder and her cheeks flushed. Her scent filled his nostrils and his seed stem pulsed with need but he ignored it.
He wanted to savor every inch of her. Engrave this moment in his memory so it was there whenever he closed his eyes.
His hand reached between her small breasts and a talon pushed out. Ava froze, eying the deadly weapon that was as inherent to his body as his fangs or his skin, but she didn’t protest. He slid it slowly, careful not to mar the perfect, almost translucent skin, from the pulsing base of her throat down to where the dress compressed her small breasts.
He sliced through the shimmering, ludicrously expensive fabric in one clean, easy motion, then opened the sides of the dress to reveal the treasure inside.
“So beautiful.” His talon brushed the tip of a pink, erect nipple and smiled when Ava moaned. “So responsive.”
His eyes raked her curves, from her small, round breasts to her narrow waist and the fullness of her hips, then to the soft naked skin between her legs that was the origin of that entrancing smell.
“You are a wonder.”
Ava didn’t answer, but as his hand closed around the inside of her knee, she parted her legs eagerly. More of her smell filled the air; sweet and tangy, feminine and aroused.
“Touch me.” Ava’s voice was a plea, and it made him smile. She was his bloodmate. She should crave his touch as much as he craved hers. “Please, I need it.”
He locked gazes with her, then ran his hand along the inside of her silky thigh up to the center. His thumb brushed the needy wetness hidden between the folds of sensitive skin, and Ava moaned, deep and long.
