Page 125 of Unraveled
I stumble onto a long, secluded balcony on the eastern side of the castle, where I’ve never been before. The night air brushes against my flushed cheeks, and I move away from the glass doors but freeze when I see a woman standing alone, leaning over the baluster. I recognize her voice, though unlike before, it’s soft and rushed as she speaks to the shadows.
“Nera?” My voice wavers, and I forget everything as I step closer to my friend.
She gasps and straightens to her full height. She didn’t hear me coming, which is odd for her.
“Mia, you scared me,” she says, placing her hand over her chest as she breathes deeply. “I’m just staying out of sight of the guests.”
How did I sneak up on her when I’m still breathing harshly from my run here? I raise my brows. “Are you well?”
She wrings her hands together, glancing at the shadows in the corner before turning back to face the castle grounds. The red moon overhead bathes us with its magical light. I don’t thinkNera wants me here. I take a step back and know I’ll have to find a new hiding spot.
“How are you liking your first blood moon with the fae?” she murmurs.
Nera doesn’t like to be coddled, much like me. So instead of asking her what’s happening, again, I look around, trying to find pools of magic that might tell me if she’s in trouble.
There’s something odd about the shadows in the corner that reminds me of how it feels right before Naheli materializes, like something is between spaces. I squint at the darkness but find nothing there, no threads of magic or makings of a spell.
The hairs on the back of my neck rise and my heart doubles its beats as I feel Ash getting closer.
“He’s hunting you, isn’t he?” Nera chuckles, though she scrunches her nose at me. “There are things a sister doesn’t need to know.”
I swallow deeply. “I swear something’s wrong with you all on these three nights. You aren’t yourselves during the blood moon. It’s like it makes you all crazy.”
“Something has made us crazy, but it’s better that we let loose on our grounds and in our cities than pour into the human ones and wreak havoc there. Isn’t it?” She pauses, glancing at the door. “If you don’t want him to catch you so soon, you better go. I can feel him coming.”
These fae siblings are weird. If I didn’t know better, I’d think they’re twins.
I turn to leave. There’s no way in hell I’m going to let Ash catch me so fast. Not after he gloated that it would be so easy he could do it in the dark. The cocky bastard.
I slip back into the halls, and the lanterns flicker with a wave of golden magic. His enchantment bathes the entire place in darkness, and it takes all my concentration to undo it before I trip over something. His next spell freezes me in place, andI undo it almost immediately, but the distraction gives him enough time to put out the lights entirely. Unlike him, I don’t know where each lamp is located, so casting a flame to relight them is nearly impossible.
I call on the revealing spell, and light leaves my extended fingers. I hear his chuckle before I see him. I try to jump away from the sound, but arms wrap around my waist in an ironclad hold and whirl me around.
“Monster, you’re mine.” His voice is velvet as he pulls me into an alcove, where I’m tucked between the immovable wall of my mate and a statue of a fae that could be a lunargyre from my nightmares. Ash presses me firmly against the cool stone wall. Before I can cry out, his lips claim mine in a searing kiss that burns away my resolution to escape.
I melt into him as he leans over me, and the heady taste of his tongue on mine feeds the mix of adrenaline and excitement rushing through my body and pooling in my core. Ash’s kiss turns fierce. A silent promise of what’s coming if I let him—if I don’t escape him.
I’ve been chased by shadows and bathed in the light of the red moon, and now I’m about to be devoured by the fae I love. I’m happy—even if my ego claims otherwise—that he caught me. This time, and the first time.
Ash’s breath is hot against my skin, a stark contrast to the unyielding cold stone at my back. His hands roam from my waist, grazing my ribs, before he cups one of my breasts. A shiver runs down my spine, and I scrunch the collar of his white shirt with one hand, lifting to my tiptoes so I can get more of him.
“Better,” he growls softly, his lips trailing a path from the hollow of my throat to the sensitive flesh in the crook of my neck. “You’re driving me crazy.” His voice shakes with the intensity of his desire, and my core flutters in response.
With his front pressed to mine, the hard edge of his cock digs into my stomach. He nips at my collarbone before slipping a hand lower, lifting the layers of my dress to expose my legs to the night’s air.
His taunting goes unheeded, as if the very notion of being caught only adds to the thrill of tonight. He meets my gaze, and mischief flickers in those golden eyes, right before he kneels in front of me. He pulls my skirt up and leans in to plant a kiss on the sensitive skin of my thigh.
“Ash—” My voice is a plea, half warning, half wanting more. “We’re still... in the hallway.”
His low chuckle vibrates against my skin, and when he lifts his head, his lids are heavy with desire.
The wordsI don’t care, come through my mind even though he doesn’t say them out loud. “Then you better be quiet.”
My blood boils, and he trails his tongue closer to my throbbing heat. I’m shivering with need as he gets closer and closer to where I want him, and I gasp as his mouth finds the bundle of nerves at the apex of my thighs. He pulls the lace of my undergarment aside and traces his tongue over my sensitive flesh. Pleasure travels through me. Grasping his hair, I try to stifle a moan, but I don’t think I succeed.
I hold him in place as his tongue slides inside me, and I tremble where I stand, trying to not move for fear he’ll stop or I’ll call attention to what we’re doing.
His fingers glide to my entrance, and he pushes one into me, his lazy movements feeding the flame building inside me but not quite pushing me over the edge. I arch my back as he pushes a second finger into me and pumps faster, curling them to find the spot inside me that drives me insane.
