Page 13 of Payne's Envy

A whimpering sound drifted through the room. It wasn’t until I yanked myself away from her pussy that I realized the pathetic noise came from me. I didn’t want to stop licking, exploring,devouring,but that damned cloak covered too much of me. How could I mate her with all those clothes on?

“Joy?” The voice waswrong.It didn’t belong in that moment with my—

I froze as the fog lifted. Pure, uncontrollable fear unleashed inside my chest as I recalled the last few minutes. Oh, no, no. Did I hurt Joy?Again.

Please, Hades—I leaned over a fitful Joy, my head getting woozy once more as the need to just be one with her intensified. How could I still… Did I severely burn her body like I did before? Careful not to touch her, I glimpsed at her.Fuck, fuck, fuck.Blood rushed to my cock. I desired Joy so much I ached. The throbbing was painful, but God, she was so… Something so wrong shouldn’t make me feel so fucking good.She’s asleep. Still in the throes of an erotic dream. One I wished to be a part of.

“I heard a growl.” Kitty hesitated as she spoke again by the door, but there was also mirth in the way she said ‘growl’, which made me wonder if the youngest sibling knewIwas there.

Joy can’t see me.

I reached for the portal chip as Joy’s body seemed to stall… Like maybe she was waking. Besides having a drenched cunt, Joy was okay. A tiny light grew inside me as I pondered.

Maybe—

The burning inside me would grow and set flames to her once more.

With that thought in mind, I remembered what I was supposed to do so I could get thatpiece of happiness sprawled out before me. I hit the portal chip and staggered into several mops and brooms. Wrong place. I pressed the chip again and fell on my ass in one of Grim’s showers.

I couldn’t leave. I had to stick close to Prudence, so I couldn’t escape Joy’s scent. I smelled her on my lips. Tasted her sweetness on my tongue. If possible, I would have escaped and went into seclusion so that I could have savored her scent until it wore off. As it was, I had to wash her away. Her smell distracted me, beckoned me back to her when it was nearly impossible to stay away already.

So, I stood and twisted the knob until cold water seeped into the front of my opened cloak. The material was waterproof, so I chucked it.

“I’m tired, Joy,” my voice echoed through the stream of water.

And I was tired. A bone-deep misery that clung to me for too many years. Knowing Joy had a marked mate out there was too much. I was no closer to learning how to protect her from the burning inside me than I was when it happened from our first and only kiss.

When the tingling within my nose and throat traveled to my eyes, I held them under the water and wiped them. And wiped them.

But sadness couldn’t be washed away.

I wanted my girl.

Chapter Eight

Joy

The arousal from my dreams still hadn’t gone away. I carried the unwanted lust with me throughout the following day during my Reaper work.

“Joy!” Prudence jerked her palm away from me quickly and frowned. “You’re hot as a flame. My skin would have blistered if I touched you a second longer.”

I didn’t know which was worse. Derrick’s flirty, annoying remarks or having another sister telling me I was too hot or too unlike myself because the proxy ran his mouth! Of course, I was warm. I was horny as hell because I’d been hexed or something. I adored my sisters, but I’d never talk about sex with them like Maureen was comfortable doing. Not that I had anything to talk about.

Payne wasn’t even with Prudence, which was disappointing, and the reason Derrick and I were with her. I wondered where he was.

“I’m fine.” I walked away from Prudence.

“Don’t turn away from me. You’re not fine.” My skin prickled as I heard the click of my sister’s boots behind me.

“I’m a healer, Prudence,” I muttered. “I know my body.”

“Might I suggest leaving her alone?” Derrick said. “She looks prettyheatedright now.”

I envisioned sinking my teeth into Derrick’s throat just as Prudence yanked me by my cloak. “Joy,please.Talk to me. Let’s go to the castle. You need Mom or Melinda to look at you.”

The anger within me seemed to deflate when I saw the worry in Prudence’s expression.

I exhaled loudly and mumbled, “I just need to rest.”

---