Page 125 of Just One Bite
I shake my head, not pulling away. I don’t want to. Because I need him. It’s agony when he falls away, and he must know because he presses in again.
I’m thinking of the future. How we’ll never get another night in bed together. How he’s going to marry someone else. How we’re going to be separated and there’s nothing I can do about it.
He’s kissing everywhere but my mouth in a desperate cadence, and it’s working. Every brush of his skin heals the ache in my heart. A tear falls and I sniffle, then he’s there wiping it. Holding me.
“Kiss me.” It comes out in a breath. My heart is bleeding the words.Don’t give up on me. Stay.
The next second, his lips are on mine in a wash of dizziness and pressure, and we fall into the brush.
I’m on top, fevered and hurried, grasping desperately. His fingers brush through my hair, and my waist. I’m his. He takes my bottom lip between his teeth, and I’m suddenly aware of how good he tastes. Itiswhat I need. There’s never been anything in my life like this, and I know once my lips leave his, I’ll never have it again.
He rolls me onto my back into the tall grass, and I think we’ll stay like this forever. Our kisses are doing all the talking—hot breaths and sighs of comfort. We both need it.
Parker fingers the buttons on my collar to snap it open and gain access to my neck, then kisses his mark. The sensation jolts me. It’s a reminder of his commitment. His mark on display.
My phone chimes, and I quickly separate myself. A picture of Parker and I kissing in the grass is posted at the top of the feed.
It’s captioned.Broken Up?
There are already two comments.
Doesn’t look like it.
He deserves better.
My phone chimes again. This time an anonymous text:Bad girl. What will your new suitors think?
He doesn’t know the worst of it yet. The thing I’m about to do.
“You need to stay away from me.” I gather myself, dusting off my skirt and the dirt in my socks.
“Do you really think he’ll want you after you agree to be someone else's mate?”
Parker will disappear when he knows what I’ve agreed to.
“We can’t do this again. It’s over.”
I don’t look to see his reaction, and I can’t stop the tears as I run away.
Chapter Forty
Parker
“How?” I whisper, watching her walk away.
How am I supposed to stay away from her? That’s virtually impossible; I warned her.
I shift to clear my head—and because I’m on the verge of doing something that will get me expelled. I know it’s one of those fuckers on the council. And gutting any of them won’t free Olivia from her vow, but it would send a satisfying shiver down my spine when I tear into them with my teeth. The same satisfaction I get in a Rage match when someone mouths off and underestimates me.
Vows made to the stone can only be fulfilled when the agreement is settled and the agreed upon condition is met. I made one once when my team captain got into a fight with a rival team, and they retaliated by painting the outside of the stadium.
I remember being questioned by the dean, unable to move my mouth to tell her that he started it. I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone until the semester ended. Olivia’s made a deal she can’t get out of, and there’s nothing I can do about it.
If I go to the dean, it won’t absolve her of her vow. I also have no evidence, and I’m not so sure the dean is interested in helping with an issue that might affect her funding. I’m on my own with this one.
“You’re looking murderous this evening,” Darien says from close by.
He appears a few feet away in the brush. I’ve shifted back to my human form and am still shrugging on my pants.
