Page 11 of Lycan and Lark
Lark’s gaze burned into her. He moved forward, pressing his hands to the wall on either side of her shoulders. His body caged hers in and her heart set a wild rhythm. Heat radiated off his skin as he towered over her. He leaned close and his lips ghosted just above the shell of her ear. “Maybe I tried to stay away and couldn’t.”
His words drove heat between her thighs. “Why would you try to stay away from me?” Her voice came out breathier than she meant it to.
A low growl rumbled from him as he traced the line of her throat with his nose. He inhaled deeply and a soft moan slipped from Aria’s lips. “Because I’m no good for you.” He pressed in closer to her and she pushed her body up to meet him. She breathed in more of his delicious scent and wondered what she smelled like to him.
“Pine trees and freshly fallen snow.” He nuzzled her neck as he answered the unspoken question. Aria raised her hands, pressing them against the hard planes of his chest. The muscles flexed beneath her touch and she ached to feel him with no barriers between them. “I think someone might notice if I take my clothes off in the middle of town.” He chuckled darkly as he read her thoughts once again.
“Stop doing that,” she hissed, and pushed him away from her. Or at least she meant to push him away. Somehow she ended up with her hands wrapped around the soft fabric of his shirt as she pulled him down to her face. Their lips crashed together and it felt like a bolt of lightning shot straight through her body. His mouth was softer than she expected and she opened up to him. His tongue delved between her parted lips and she gasped when she felt something hard and smooth slide against her own tongue.
“Tongue piercing,” he exhaled, never leaving her mouth. Holy hell. She immediately began dreaming of all the things he could do with that hard metal bar along her needy and wanting skin. Lark growled against her mouth. “Anything you want, baby.”
“Aria?” Laurie’s voice cut through the thick fog of lust and she pulled back sharply.
Lark gave her a wicked grin. “I’ll see you soon.” By the time Laurie rounded the corner, he had vanished. Aria stood there, breathing heavily. Her face was flushed and her whole body shuddered with electricity.
“Everything okay, honey?” Laurie stopped, looking at her warily. Aria cleared her throat. She pushed away from the wall and brushed a hand across her tingling lips.
“Fine. I just needed to check on something. Ready?” She scooped Laurie’s arm back into her own and tried to act casual. It was a good thing her friend wasn’t a lycan because Aria probably smelled like a pheromone overload right about now. The two headed back to breakfast and though Laurie eyed Aria suspiciously, she didn’t pry any further.
Aria managed to glance back only once, despite the overwhelming desire to see if Lark was following them. She didn’t catch sight of any glamours and the disappointment made her shoulders droop. “I’ll see you soon.”The words sent a tingle of anticipation up her spine. That sounded like a promise of good things to come and she couldn’t wait to see what he had in store for her.
* * *
Lark teleported back to the apartment with a hard-on that pressed painfully against his jeans. He really had intended to keep some distance from Aria. His wolf was unpredictable and it made him dangerous to be around. He couldn’t deny the burst of satisfaction when she recognized him through the glamour. It was powerful enough to disguise him from her brother and all the lycans currently hunting him. The fact that she could see through it had to mean something. His wolf roared again and he doubled down the effort to restrain it. He couldn’t let it out. Wouldn’t let it hurt Aria.
The memory of Aria’s mouth on his warmed his lips. Damn, the dirty thoughts she was having made him unbearably hard. He headed to the shower, allowing the water to run over his skin. It did nothing to soothe his raging erection. With Aria still freshly on his mind he allowed his hand to slip down to grasp his shaft and he slowly began the familiar rhythm. Aria’s soft moan and clean scent filled his senses and his fist pumped his aching length more firmly.
He thought of that little blue dress, how it had been pushed up nearly to her waist the last time she had been in the cabin. He had only seen it for a moment but that thin pair of lacy black panties never left his thoughts. He was dying to feel the heat between her thighs. He pulled his piercing between his teeth and groaned as he imagined how she would taste with his tongue buried deep inside her.
The desire to make her scream and moan and beg him for more was driving him crazy. He stroked harder as tension coiled at the base of his spine. The warm water caressed his taut muscles, urging him on. He imagined himself buried to the hilt inside her slick little pussy. He knew she would be tight, so fucking tight, and he fantasized about the moment he pressed his thick cock inside her. He pictured her face contorting as he filled her to the point it was painful and then relished the thought of it bringing her pleasure like she had never experienced before.
Every thought swirled with the overwhelming need to please her and ruin her all at once. He wanted her to crave him and never be satisfied by any other man. He wanted her desperate for him and him alone, knowing he was the only one who could make her feel that way. His whole body tensed and he groaned loudly as his fist tightened and his release covered the shower wall.
The stream of hot water ran over his face as he tilted his head back and panted heavily. He didn’t know how much longer he could settle for fantasies but what choice did he have? The more aroused he got the more the wolf wanted out.
He toweled off and pulled on a pair of sweatpants. His chest remained bare. He caught sight of his reflection in the mirror. Burnt-orange and midnight-blue eyes leered back at him. An intricate mass of tattoos covered the nightmarish patterns scarred into his flesh. His skin itched the way it did when some kind of fucked-up memory was trying to resurface. He tuned into the sounds around him, trying to find the memory’s trigger.
His gaze landed on the window. A summer storm had rolled in and thunder boomed in the distance. A bright flash of lightning filled the small apartment and Lark winced. Electricity crackled beneath his skin and he squeezed his eyes tightly shut. The next time he opened them he was back in that godforsaken cave.
His eyes swept around the room, already knowing the horror that awaited him. The cage sat in the center of the space. Lark saw himself as a child. He couldn’t be sure now but he thought he had only been twelve or thirteen at the time. He sat huddled inside the cage as Creedin stood on the other side of the bars. He stalked toward Lark and his younger self cowered in fear. Irritation boiled over in his master’s dark eyes.
“You will learn to control this,” Creedin spat through gritted teeth. Lark had taken the power of a Chosen with the ability to control electrical currents, but in the two months since the poor boy had given his life, Lark had been unable to channel the ability. Creedin assumed he needed the proper motivation and had built the cage. “The metal in this cage will become electrified when I flip the switch. Little by little the entire space will be consumed by the powerful energy. You have until I finish activating the entire cage to figure out how your powers work. Once you do, the electrical currents will no longer hurt you.”
He went to the switchboard and flipped the first switch. The right side of the cage immediately became electrified and the metal crackled and bit into his skin. Lark slid to the left side, drawing in his body as tight as he could. He focused, trying to channel the Chosen power, but fear clouded his mind. Creedin let out a frustrated sigh and flipped the second switch. The left side of the cage was activated and Lark’s muscles jerked and spasmed as he crawled to the center. Only the smallest strip was left inactive. He pulled his body tight but the electricity from either side sizzled and burned his outer arms and legs as he touched it. “Focus, Lark!” Creedin screamed at him over the noisy machinery.
“I’m trying!” Tears poured down his face as he focused all of his energy on tapping into the Chosen gifts. He held his breath as he fought to control the energy, but the relief never came. He opened his eyes. Creedin’s gaze spewed venom toward him.
“Pity,” Creedin murmured and flipped the final switch. The entire cage became electrified. Lark screamed as he crawled around the cage, desperately seeking relief from the searing pain tearing through his muscles. He screamed and screamed until his throat was raw and hoarse.
He did not know how much time passed, but eventually he gave up. The electricity tore through him and a numb feeling ripped at his heart. He lay down, curling into a ball, accepting his fate. “Learned hopelessness,” is what Creedin called it. He’d gotten the idea from a psychology experiment involving some poor dog in a lab. Eventually the cage was turned off and Lark was left inside it. He didn’t gain control over those powers that year, or the next. It wouldn’t be until he was older that the electrical currents would awaken in him. Until then Creedin had used his own type of shocks as a form of punishment.
Lark ground his teeth together until his jaw burned. He opened his eyes and looked around the apartment. He wasn’t in that filthy cave any longer and Creedin no longer controlled him. A sharp sting of fear drove deep within his heart. He didn’t know where Creedin was and the idea that he would come for him again made Lark feel as small and frail as the little boy in that metal cage.
His heartbeat quickened and his blood pressure continued to rise. His wolf sensed the vulnerability and surged forward.No, not now. He fought for control of his body, biting his cheek until it bled. The metallic taste that filled his mouth intensified as fangs began to drop through his gums.
The sink cracked as he gripped it until his knuckles were white. Claws drove forward from his fingertips and his hands twisted and bent. He looked in the mirror. Both eyes had settled on that horrible shade of crimson.
When the bones in his face began to rearrange, he finally released the scream he’d been holding inside. His vision darkened as the wolf stripped the last of his humanity away. He lost himself to the darkness and prayed the damage wouldn’t be too severe when his wolf allowed him to return. He thought of Aria’s sapphire eyes as he dissolved away and the beast took complete control.
