Page 31 of Eternal Sacrifice
Birds woke under the crashing noise and the shaking of the trees, cawing angrily as they left their bed, searching for some place more peaceful to sleep.
I laughed, leaning against the tree Jace pinned me against. I looked up into the dark night sky, a shade lighter than the twisted, forking branches of the trees.
Jace’s palm cupped my cheek, and my eyes flitted to his. Bright white iris shined back, peering through the ink-black strands of hair that had fallen in his face. Twin fangs peeked out from the seam of his smiling lips; the ends curled as mischievous thoughts raced in his mind. This time, when he pressed his lips to mine, they displayed a sharp point of control. He forced the pace, slowing the tempo no matter how badly I wanted to plunge back in.
He controlled me with the kiss, lulling my body and mind into a slow simmer rather than a pressure pot. His cool hands wandered my body, taking his time to tease every inch. Every time I tried to hurry the pace and convince him to touch me where I really needed him, he slowed to an agonizing crawl.
It was fucking maddening.
“Are you getting frustrated, Love?” Jace said, pulling back to whisper the words against my lips. “Do you want to take control?”
“I want you to touch me already,” I huffed.
Jace laughed before placing a purposeful kiss on my forehead. “Make me.”
I stood cold and alone against the massive tree trunk a moment later. The surrounding air was empty, silent, and still.
“I’m not running around the woods naked,” I said into the trees.
“Not even if we asked, Fox?” Justice said, stepping between two trunks. “You’ve been fun to watch.”
“The two of you planned this, didn’t you?” I narrowed my eyes. “You’re working together.”
“You want a challenge, Love,” Jace said, forming next to Justice from shadow. “That’s why the universe gave you four of us. But I bet it only takes two.”
“Two?” I laughed. “Two is a teaser.” I raised my hand, sticking a finger in my mouth to suck on. While holding their attention, I sent a ball of fire at Justice. It promptly burned his clothes from his body.
“Fox!” Justice yelled, patting his hands against his body to ensure he wasn’t on fire.
“One of these days, you are either going to learn how to get your damn clothes off faster or just preemptively strip,” I said, imagining all the fun we could have if he greeted me with nudity.
Jace disappeared, and I turned to shadow, knowing that the race had officially started.
Despite what they might have thought when they made up this plan, I had no intention of letting them win. I still planned to fuck them both in these woods tonight, but only once I proved a point. I found a shadowed recess high inside a tree trunk and used it to hide while sending my mind to the nearest animal.
I jumped from branch to branch, powering the body of a chubby squirrel. It was likely the most exercise the poor thing had done in its entire life. I searched for Justice, knowing that tracking a shadow-shifting vampire with an out-of-shape bundle of fur was impossible. On the other hand, Justice nearly shined against the dark of the night. He stalked through the forest with one hand cupping his royal jewels.
Once I knew Justice’s location, I pulled back into myself and traveled as a shadow toward him.
He marched forward, taking his time and pausing at every noise. His head tilted in the way a wild animal would.
The best way to catch a wild animal is to lure it into a trap.
I combined my vampire and demon natures, shifting into a close resemblance to an orange fox. While it was fun to see how far I could push the boundaries of nature, I had gotten pretty good at foxes. Maybe a little less hair still. I puffed out a blast of air to move a strand of fur from my vision, but my snout was too long. My paw came up to brush it to the side.
“I know my fox.” Justice’s voice sounded next to me, and I scrambled into a run.
I could hear the thud of his feet as he chased after me.
I weaved through the trees, and the rest of my shadow form raced along with me. There were moments when it felt like Justice was inches away from grabbing me. I would turn to shadow and zip a few feet away before turning into another variation of a fox. All I cared about was getting the hair out of my face.
“Just fucking grab her,” Jace snipped, and his body appeared.
My fox paws slid across the dirt as I turned sharply to run toward Jace. He bent down, opening his arms as if he could simply catch me. I lunged toward him, turning to shadow mid-leap, only to reform in my natural body. I crashed into him, sending him back to the cold hard ground, and I landed on top.
Justice covered my back a moment later. “We win,” he announced.
I turned to shadow, and Justice fell onto Jace’s chest. I reformed a foot away, laughing as Jace turned to shadow and Justice fell to the ground with a grunt.
