Page 31 of Dark & Dreadful Brutes

My lips wrapped around his fingers, and his cock throbbed against me. When I released him, he dragged his teeth over my earlobe. “Sleep now, Laeli.”

I bit my lip and closed my eyes as he rolled us both, so my back was cradled against his front. His erection was rock hard against my ass, but I’d grown to love feeling that. It was evidence of his desire for me that he couldn’t hide, and it made me feel desirable.

It took time but eventually, I fell asleep.

My dreams were full of wicked fingers and a low, husky voice that sounded suspiciously like Ravv’s.

Chapter 7

Laeli

I woke up wet in every way.

The shelter was dripping on us again, but it was far less annoying than the slickness and ache between my thighs. My undergarments were still around my knees, and somehow his touch had only made me more interested in sex, not less. My bruises were gone, at least.

“Damn, you want me.” Ravv’s words mimicked my own from that first night I’d felt his erection. His lips were against my ear, and his hardness had made its way between my thighs, straining against the fabric of his shorts.

“I don’t,” I whispered.

He gave me a low, rumbly chuckle. “Lie to me and I’ll be forced to prove it.”

My eyes squeezed shut as the memory of his fingers stroking my core warmed me further. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

“It means you want me.” He squeezed my thigh, where I hadn’t noticed he was holding me. “And you already know I’m willing to take care of you.”

As much as I wanted to agree, I couldn’t let him continue making the power dynamic between us any less even. And I wasn’t about to offer to take his cock in my hand; my inexperience would be obvious the first time I touched him.

If he realized I was a virgin before we had sex, he would take that power and use it against me even more.

“No thanks.” I eased my ass away from him, sliding his erection out from between my thighs as I moved.

“Laeli.” His eyes were narrowed at me as I stood. Our shelter had shrunk to its usual size at some point during the night, so there was nowhere for me to go.

“Ravv.” I mimicked his tone, giving him a flat look. “Open the roof.”

“You enjoyed my touch last night,” he said. Though there was no uncertainty in his words, it almost felt like a question.

He probably wasn’t used to women turning him down after he gave them the most erotic experience of their life.

Letting him wonder would be a way to steal back some of that power he’d taken from me… so I met his stare with my own and said nothing.

His eyes flashed with some dark emotion I couldn’t read.

“Let me out, or I will burn my way out,” I finally warned him. He knew I didn’t do well when I felt trapped, so if he didn’t listen, I would know he was being intentionally cruel.

The roof slid open, the way it always did.

I hid my sigh of relief as I stood up, tugged my undergarments back into place, and then strode toward the river.

No way was I getting on Gleam’s back so wet with my own damn desire.

Ravv caught up to me as I reached the water, growling, “Don’t even think about getting in alone.”

Anger was his normal state, but his voice wasn’t as angry as I’d expected. That meant I caught him off guard with my refusal, which was exactly what I’d intended to do.

A feeling of victory washed over me as we waded into the river together.

Ravv could try to control me all he wanted, but I was going to fight back until the bitter end.

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