thrusting bodies to rub her
clit. Finally he broke his mouth away from hers and buried his face in her
throat. “Don’t say anything.”
Then she lay under him, her breasts pressed to his chest.
Zeth covered every inch of her flesh with his lips and tongue. And in all her
life, she’d never felt more loved than she did in that moment. More complete.
She’d never belonged before. Never belonged. Not until now.
“Zeth,” she whispered, teasing his ear with her teeth.
“You…”
“Shhh…” He licked at the pulse point on her throat then
gently ran his incisors over her skin. Raegan hadn’t even noticed his fangs
emerge—or maybe she had but hadn’t noticed. “I want you to remember this,” he
murmured, hissing when her muscles clenched and squeezed his cock. “I want you
to remember right now. When this is over, I want you to remember everything.
How good I make you feel.”
Understatement of the year. “Can’t forget,” she said,
hugging him close to her. “Never.”
“Promise me.”
Hadn’t she told him that this wouldn’t be over? Had she? The
past few hours were such a blur. She’d had so many conversations with him—both
in her head and aloud—but she felt sure she’d made that point clear. He’d done
things to her mind and body that she’d only read about. And if he thought that
he could walk away once the guise of a spell no longer protected them, he had
another think coming.
Zeth split her in two. Every drive into her pussy, every
stroke of his mouth against her skin, every gentle caress of his surprisingly
loving hands. She felt divided and burning. He set her on fire and eased her
with his cold body, and she shuddered with ecstasy.
“Tell me again,” Raegan gasped as her orgasm washed over
her. “Tell me.”
He didn’t even hesitate. “I love you,” he whispered,
trembling hard as he came. “I love you, Raegan. I love you so much.”
Now. Now she should tell him he wasn’t alone. That the night
had changed her too. She needed him to know.
“Zeth,” she gasped as he collapsed against her, panting
harshly. “Zeth, I—”
Words lingered on the tip of her tongue, held back by fear
and encouraged by something she didn’t realize she had. She wanted to tell him
what he’d done to her, what he’d given her. She wanted to tell him everything
he deserved to hear, for things had changed since they entered this room, and
they could never change back.
Only the burn sizzling her skin began to fade. The need, the
drive, the sense of absolute isolation—of timelessness—fell to the quiet. Her
gut knotted and a gasp seized her chest. Just as quickly as it had started, the
world around them fell silent.
Raegan didn’t know how she knew the spell had ended in that
moment. Ostensibly, there was no difference. She didn’t burn any less for him,
her body didn’t suddenly unwind and demand his eviction. If anything, her
muscles tightened around him, desperate to hold on.
She didn’t feel any different—didn’t feel any more or less
in control of herself. Nothing triggered except a keen awareness that the power
of choice and decision had been restored. And just as quickly, the realities
she’d decided to check at the door began pounding against her temples,
demanding reentry. Things she’d fought to remember, the things that made up her
armor, began patching together again.
A cold rush of panic flushed her burning body. Raegan knew
Zeth sensed it, as well. Their eyes remained locked, their bodies rocking, and
even as they approached orgasm in each other’s arms, no further words breached
the silence.
The world belonged to them again.
For the first time in hours, she didn’t know what to say.
She hated it. She hated the drop in her stomach, the sink in her heart, the
steady sense of awareness creeping through her veins and seizing her better
senses.
The spell had ended, and Zeth loved her.
She knew nothing anymore.
Chapter Nine
She couldn’t find her
Gemma Halliday
Deborah Smith
A.S. Byatt
Charles Sheffield
John Lanchester
Larry Niven
Andrew Klavan
Jessica Gray
CHRISTOPHER M. COLAVITO
Elliott Kay