Page 89 of Wolf Queen Ruin
But also found.Seen.Heard.
Protected.
Damien groaned when his fingertips found me wet and pulsing.My breathing turned ragged as he thumbed my nipple into a hard, aching peak.
“Are you trying to distract me?”I asked, breathless.
“That depends.Is it working?”Damien growled, pumping his fingers faster.
I moaned, my hips rolling feverishly against him while I angled my head up for a kiss.
He obliged, but only for a second.In a blur, he pulled away, his whole body vibrating with tension.
“Fucking Marcel,” he growled, the words filled with such menace it hardly sounded human.“I can smell him.”
I spun around, scanning the darkness.“How close?”
“Too close,” Damien said, already moving to gather our supplies.“We need to move.Now.”
FuckingMarcel.
Chapter twenty-eight
Luna
Wewalkedtheentirenight and into the next morning without stopping.At this point, my aches had aches, and I all but dragged myself forward.
Damien, however, never stopped once.It was as though we’d switched roles from our trek to the Wolf Queen’s Crypt.Instead of him lagging behind, his strength magically sapped, now I could hardly keep myself upright.
And our pace was too slow.Fucking Marcel and his team were gaining on us.
Damien halted, his head tilted in that distinctive predator pose that indicated he was listening to something beyond my perception.His entire body went rigid with tension.
He whirled to face me.“I’m going to have to carry you, Luna.We have to—“
“Go faster.”I nodded and stepped toward him, more than ready for a breather.“I can’t do all-nighters.I might as well be ninety years old.”
“I’m 360,” he said, wrapping one arm beneath my knees and the other around my back before lifting me effortlessly.The coolness of his skin was a balm against my overheated flesh.“And you’re pretty spry for a ninety-year-old.”
“Yeah, yeah, Mr.Renaissance.So glad you could clear your busy schedule of lute recitals and plague avoidance to carry me through a jungle.”
“My schedule is flexible,” he said dryly.“And I haven’t played the lute in a while.I switched to the pianoforte when it became fashionable in Vienna.Mozart was insufferable about it.”
“Of course you did,” I muttered.“Name-dropping Mozart.Totally casual.”
With a heart-stopping grin aimed at me, the kind that transformed his handsome features into something dangerously appealing, he gripped the strap of my pack with the Shadow Fang piece inside to ensure we didn’t lose it and took off at an impossible speed.
I rested my cheek against his chest.“This is so much better than dragging my ass around.”
He moved his arm down and squeezed said ass, making me gasp.“Just making sure this particular ninety-year-old artifact is being properly preserved for future generations.”His eyes darkened as they met mine.“Still amazing.”
I threw back my head and laughed.
Since I didn’t have to concentrate so hard on each of my steps, I focused on the jungle blurring around me.Birds called, insects buzzed, and colors flashed as wildlife darted through the undergrowth.Under different circumstances, I would have liked to appreciate the raw beauty of the Darién Gap, one of the few truly wild places left on earth, even more.
After about two miles, give or take, Damien stopped again.His entire body coiled with tension, and his arms tightened protectively around me before he’d even spoken.
“What is it?”I whispered, checking for the Shadow Fang.
