Page 157 of Ruthless Scoundrel
He nods eagerly. “It’s been warded around the boundaries. A good few miles.”
“Well, what are we waiting for?”
The space between his brows wrinkles in frustration. “Sunset is…tradition.”
“Then you’ll just have to wait,” I say, sitting back in my chair.
He sighs and sits back to watch the ongoing fight. Two women exchange swift blows between bouts of magic, bright flashes of light that attempt to disorient and surges of silver waves that confuse.
Jasper leans forward, his eyes locked on the bit of sunlight filtering through the open doorway as it changes from yellow to orange. I’ve been watching it, too. He shoots up from his chair and offers me his hand with a feral smile when the light begins to fade.
I take his offer and the dining hall devolves into wild cheers, whistles, and whoops. Tension ratchets in my gut as he leads me down the steps of our raised table and through the blood-splattered center of the brawling ring.
Scarlett, Zane, Lily, Alastair, Alyse, and Kazimir all follow behind us. When we reach the door, Lily steps in front of me with a mischievous expression.
“Wear this. You’ll need it.” She holds out her hand, a plain black ring in her palm. “Unless, of course, youwantto freeze your naked little arse off in the Fynish mountains.”
I slip the band on my thumb, the only finger it’ll fit, and chuckle. “I’d rather not.”
She pats my shoulder. “We’ll be keeping an eye on things, so don’t worry about our bitch mother interrupting.”
I smile, my heart warmed. She remained sober on my wedding day so she could protect me. I look back at my family gathered behind us. They’re all sober, eyes sharp and watchful.
“Thank you,” I say, reaching out for my sisters. They descend on me at once, wrapping me in a tight, safe embrace, our heads leaned against one another.
“I want all the details after,” Lily whispers.
I laugh. “Absolutely not.”
“Oh, come on! I’ll tell you all about Alastair’s monster co—”
“Lilianna!” Alastair snarls in a demonic voice that makes me jump.
“—conquering techniques!” Lily finishes with an impish grin.
Alastair grabs her by the back of the neck and pulls her into his chest, his eyes glowing red. He whispers something in her ear that makes her blush.
That makesherblush…
Scarlett settles under Zane’s arm and Alyse folds back against Kazimir as he wraps both arms around her shoulders. Jasper grabs my hand and I look at him standing in the open door.
The fading light of the sun casts an orange halo around his dark, curly hair, turning it golden. He smiles at me, and I leave the others behind without a backward glance.
Outside, Jasper’s shape contorts, wrapped in black lines of zipping power until he’s the wolf beast, standing on all fours beside me. He lowers his front half and looks at me expectantly.
I reach out tentatively, watching his black fur jump and skip, like lightning moving from cloud to cloud. I run my hand across him and static ripples down my arm, raising my hairs. But he’s soft, like the warm waters and fine sands of the beaches in the south.
I grip a fistful of his fur and mount his shoulders. My wedding dress pools around my legs and my bare cunt—courtesy of Lily removing my underthings when she was transfiguring my dress—zings with electricity as I settle on him.
He takes off at a trot and I adjust my grip on him, squeezing my thighs and bending closer to his neck. People jump out of the way as Jasper picks up speed, hastening us to the place where we’ll perform his people’s ceremony.
The way the bumps of his spine rub against my clit pulls a gasp from me. I’m so tightly wound by the idea of what’s to come, I could burst from this little bit of friction. Jasper snorts and growls, the vibration of his voice heightening the tension and anticipation in my lower belly.
Houses disappear and the forest opens before us, but the chill of the air can’t penetrate the excited heat glowing inside me. I fist his fur harder, leaning into him as I urge him on. “Hurry, Jasper, I’m so needy for you.”
He whines in a cute, pathetic puppy-dog way, and then lunges forward. Crimson leaves crunch under his beating paws as he dashes through a newly worn trail into the mountains. With the sun’s light disappearing, and our altitude climbing, the chilly airturns positively frigid in my lungs as I breathe, but there’s a shell of heat around my body that keeps me warm.
Magus lights glow in the distance between the trees. My heart flutters at the sight, fear and eagerness winding through me. Jasper slows and then the black fur is whispering past my skin, disappearing. I wrap my arms around his shoulder as he stands upright and walks as a human the rest of the way toward the clearing.
