Page 35 of The Star's Sword

I was suspended at a couple feet above his head level, so that he could probably walk up and look me right in the eyes if he was at full rogue height.

His red gaze held mine, and he shifted into his incubus form, long, dark red hair replacing his short golden curls, his skin turning a porcelain touched with pink. But as he kept changing, and I heard his black training outfit tear, I realized he wasn’t just turning into his demon form.

He was turning into his full demon form. His rogue.

Claws sprouted from his lengthening hands, sharp and lethal. His ears were lengthened, sharper and pointier than usual. His hands were redder, with red spreading up his arms. He had more pink and red markings than normal, and his muscles were cut and bulging.

His fangs were extended enough to show when his mouth was closed, and as he stalked toward me, a larger, monstrous version of himself, I had to admit he was still so beautiful.

“Well hey,” I said, trying to keep it playful. “Haven’t seen you since the rafters.”

“Shut up,” he said harshly.

I blinked, reminding myself it was still him. Still the same beautiful face, if slightly more hardened and demonic and slightly less human.

But the eyes, huge and red, were all Sam.

He was still wearing boots, but all of his other clothing had torn, leaving him shirtless and only with shreds of pants, which he pulled away, while kicking off his boots.

He was wearing only shredded black boxer briefs as he walked around me, studying me from every angle.

As he walked behind me, and paused, it was hard not to get wet, just feeling his attention.

No matter what form he was in, or what mood he was in, he was Samael. My love and my mate. And I would do anything to pay for scaring him.

I knew he would never truly hurt me.

“Are you scared, Morningstar?” Sam asked in a very low, almost unreal voice, as I felt a sharp claw hook under my boot and pull it off, then move to the other to do the same. My socks followed, and then I felt a sharp poke over the top of my jeans, at the ankle.

His claw broke through the fabric, making me gasp as it came dangerously close to my skin, dragging along and literally slicing my pants off one inch at a time.

The fabric fell aside, bearing my skin to the cool air of Samael’s bedroom, first on my lower leg, then the whole leg, as Samael cut my waist band and then made another ominous journey with his claw down the other leg, scraping me all the way just hard enough to scare me, to send my whole body into instant alert at the danger, but never enough to hurt.

Maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad.

“Don’t relax, yet, Morningstar,” Sam said, as my jeans fell away. I thought he’d remove my underwear next, but he merely dragged a claw lightly over my center, touching my clit as I jerked and let out a tiny scream at how sensitive that was, when I was just hanging helplessly like this.

He let out a low hum. “That’s nice, Morningstar, but I’m still going to punish you first. You must know you can’t put yourself in danger like that.”

“I know,” I said, letting my head hang. “Because I have to save the world.”

“No,” he said harshly, moving to my head in a moment and grabbing my face in one large hand, forcing me to look at him. “Because you’remyworld. If anything happened to you, I’d want to die.”

I was quiet at that, touched by his words, and it was hard not to nuzzle in against his hand, even with his sharp claws so close to digging into my cheeks.

I knew he’d never hurt me.

He released my face then stepped back, and then extended a claw to my belly, teasing me and making my skin jerk away from him with a jolt to my insides before he hooked his claw into the fabric and cut it in half, leaving me bare down the center.

Next, he flicked up and cut the center of my bra, making it fall open as well.

“I need you available to me for punishment, Morningstar,” he said, flicking a claw gently over one nipple but miraculously not cutting me. I gasped, writhing, my body swaying as the ropes allowed very little movement.

He used his claws to cut the sleeves and shoulders off, and pull my bra aside, and then I was left with only panties.

He walked under me and put a claw up on the waistband, drawing it across the skin there, so sharp I was sure it could cut me in half.

I knew I had nothing to fear from him, but the more he studied me with this serious, furious look, and the more he ran those dangerous claws around me, the more my body was reacting with fear despite itself.

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