โNo to which, Baby Girl?โ He growled against my cheek but I for the life of me I couldnโt remember what we were talking about.โStop calling me that.โ I muttered weakly.โNo.โ He shook his head. โNever.โโWhy do you always do this?โ I said desperately. Awash with emotion.Something I hated.โWhat?โโMake-make me feelโฆWhy canโt you-โ My desperate voice cracked, and I gave up.โMake you feel vulnerable?โ He queried knowingly. His flat voice devoid of any hint of emotion. Though I knew he basked in mine.โWhy canโt you just get it over with like the rest?โโBecause Iโm nothing like them.โ He said darkly. His face written with disdain as he put an arm along the edge of the bin to lean into me as his other hand found my entrance. Slipping one long, slim finger deep into my channel.I gasped and my eyelids fluttered at the pure pleasure of the gentle touch. The coaxing fingers working in and out of me to create slow building.I hated it.And I loved it.Which made me hate him even more.โAn
Following his motions, I worked him more vigorously. Determined to not let him do it.Not this time.He tipped his head, waiting.I shook my head in answer. But in that same moment a lightning streak burned through my spine sending my back curving forward until it almost bent in half. My knees shoving down into the bottom of the washbin. My wrists straining at the ropes as my body jerked in tiny tremors. Emerging from where the inside of my body gripped him and stroked along his length. Before bursting through me in white-hot heat.My head fell back, and I was racked with the violence of my climax. Something I hadnโt had in months.He held me down against him, piercing deep as I reached my peak and then subsided from the dizzying heights.Only then did I realize heโd entirely stopped moving.โDamn you.โ I said angrily. Knowing heโd caught himself before sating his pleasure. Leaving me feeling strangely unfinished.And even more like he won.He proved, yet again, that he was strong.Wh
โSparkโฆโ Cravenโs voice made me tense in my sleep.I could feel his presence closing in. Winding through time and darkness to reach me.The incubus could always find me when I slept.I felt him drawing nearer and I couldnโt fight my way out of the peace of slumber. Another of Cravenโs talents.I was suddenly flipped onto my back. I opened panicked eyes. Straining to get out of the dream state and confront him. Feeling the usual terror because I knew I wouldnโt be able to see him or touch him.Or fight him off.I was exhausted and could think of no way to fight him off right now. Just as I felt his weight climbing over me I opened my mouth to scream but couldnโt get any words out. Only the merest croaking emerging. But the moment that weight drew up to my torso and prepared to settle into my crevice, Grayโs arm snatched out and caught at air. Dragging something down to his face.โIโve told you, Craven.โโIโm sorry. Iโm sorry, Gray. I forgets!โโBest not.โ Gray sat up enough to do an ex
She nodded. Unnerved by the fact that the two men were so unison that their voices sounded like one. Yet, both their mouths had moved.โGive us the coin.โ The brown eyed one said.โAnd weโll find your woman.โ The other supplied. Speaking as the other stopped as if perfectly orchestrated.Like they have one mind.She pulled the coins from the pocket of her scanty overdress. Holding her hand out over theirs.Greedy light filled their gazes and as they reached, she withdrew the coins to clutch them near her chest.Leaving their outstretched palms empty.โI want her brought back unsullied.โโSheโll be suitable to work.โ They responded together.Kareni was clever enough to notice their evasive answer but knew how hard itโd been to find these two to hunt her down.No one else can promise me theyโll even find her.The girl had proven particularly elusive thus far.Kareni was somewhat skeptical that even these two would, but she had enough spies and assassins at her disposal that she was conf
His long look told me he wasnโt kidding.He never is.And we both knew how likely it was Iโd travel with a woman. All Iโd ever met did not want to be my friend. Far from.And despite that I wasnโt his, and he was the only man that could seem to willingly let me go, he seemed even more possessive than the others when it came to me keeping male company.Or he tries to be.Now, I wanted to surround myself with male Skins just to defy him.Certainly not male monsters though!I could control the Skins.โOh.โ He popped his head back into the door. โIs this you escaping me again?โMy eyes narrowed on him. โYou do know your particular manner of humor, isnโt actually funny, right?โThose dimples flashed again. Though I saw no hint of those flat square teeth he so often nipped me with.Never a real smile.Odd.I hated that Iโd even thought that. Physically shaking myself, I slid on my shoes and peeked out to make sure he was gone.And this wasnโt a trap.He couldโve had the Pyre Army moving all
One ripped my bodice to roughly roll my breast. Gripping it while I writhed, trying to get away from the harsh touch.His other hand lifted my skirts while two others forced my thighs apart.I flailed but he managed to wedge himself between my legs.I considered calling to Lionel for help, but I knew that with my cruel response this afternoon, heโd be trailing far enough behind now, not to hear me.For awhile.The goblinโs dark skin shined with a pearlescent hue, blooming red and then returning as he flushed with arousal. His long thick member began stretching. Lengthening into the size of a small arm. Stretching like a tentacle as I fought to close my legs. I felt the spiked tip brushing through my lips and forcing between as it strained my entrance, ready to slam in until reaching my womb.Heโd barely have to thrust to spill his vile seed.I needed help. Or this was going to hurt.It would take me weeks, if not months to heal.If I live.Nearby I saw a puddle.Still gasping for brea
Craven favored having a foot amid both planes. Making him impossible to fight off. Physically able to touch.But not be touched.Or hit.Or kicked.My skirt was folded into a wide roll draping my belly. My feet were pushed further apart yet, revealing indents in the mud where his toes pressed in for leverage. Dislodging leaves as they slid sideways.His weight dropped over me. Flattening the tops of my thighs, while simultaneously indenting the insides of them from where his pointed hips pressed in. Then I felt the thickened knob of his piece wiggling my inner lips apart.I braced myself expecting pain, but heโd already healed the damage the goblin had done. So, I felt only the rough intrusion as he slipped in and seated himself.I tried to wake enough to escape him but filtering through the layers of sleep was like swimming out of a pile of endless pillows. Getting through one only made three others tumble down on me.He inserted himself and my back lifted with the pressure inside.H
His words gave me an idea.I leaned up and sunk teeth into his thigh. Biting.Just like a cornered squirrel.He caught my hair and pulled my head back enough I had to look up at him. His pants slightly ripped where Iโd shoved my teeth threw.It was no love bite.โIs that the best you can do? Youโve caused me a lot more pain than that.โ He said through gritted teeth. Blue eyes flashing.But there was danger written all over him.โArenโt you the tough one?โ I said sarcastically.He smirked. Dropping my hair and letting his forearm rest on his knee.I dropped my head back to the ground but knew better than to press him further. Fighting him harder now would only incite him. โItโs funny how youโre always haunting my steps, Gray. Yet your army can never catch up.โโTold you.โ He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. โThey canโt travel as fast as me.โโCourse not.โ I glared at him. โDay Dog.โโWhat do you get out of calling me that?โ He frowned.โMerely the vast pleasure of annoying you.โโHmm.โ He
I put my faith in John Thomas.I put my faith in the Captain of the Blaze.And I climbed onboard.Ready to go to Haven Island.The Blaze was a massive ship. The wood was polished darkly but had been worn in some places, to a lighter color, by the sun. Making it seem even more striking. The words along the front were done in emblazoned orange lettering with flecks of blue emerging as though it were afire.The figure head was a flame.Well-done.It was certainly unique.Making it easy for those seeking sanctuary to find.Yet, Dock Patrol had no excuse to stop the ship. For despite all the rumors that it harbored fugitives, they were unable to come up with a proper reason to stop it.Or so the lore tells.It was a formidable ship.The mast was tall and it was sleekly built with high rails.Making it both beautiful and fierce.I was duly intimidated and impressed.
I couldnโt believe it. Weโre truly here. A part of me, had thought that I would never make it to Center City, much less to The Blaze. Iโd had to stop my horse and stare down the hill, at the city. Looming so long before us. Gray huts stretched far into the distance. Their stone structures worn from the pummeling of sea splashing. Thatched rooves showed much patching from constant repair. The sea was hard on residentsโ and shops in the areas. People were moving in every direction pushing carts of wares. Booths began at the bottom of the hill and stretched as far as I could see along the main path. It was an impressive sight. It reminded me of how Pyre had once looked. Before Gray destroyed my world. Mist wafted up from the sea and lingered over the length of it. Filling my nostrils with its damp aroma. I could hear children hawking their shells and metal workers offering
The Present I banished all those painful memories. Bringing myself back to the present. Reminding myself that I was just about to escape my daunting past. Nearly a breath away now. I couldnโt believe we were turning onto the road in Center Country, aimed straight for the dock. Finally. Weโre almost there! โNot much further now.โ John Thomas reiterated. โWeโll be there before you know it.โ I looked up at the sun. โWeโve just got to get there before him.โ โWe will.โ But I wasnโt so sure. I knew Gray traveled faster in daylight. Because the others are sleeping. When he had to travel with the whole army it slowed him down. Alone, he races. He was the fastest hound Iโd ever met. And Iโve met many. Gray was relentless. He rarely sleeps. When he has a scent he runs
I moved to walk past him but he caught my arm and turned me about. I was immediately irate. โWhere are you taking me?โ โTo the tavern up the hill. Calm down.โ I was breathing quickly. Wondering if the army would be up there. Expecting to take me to the king. But when I got there, he pulled the hood of his cloak up. Handing me a blue one. โPut this on.โ I did. Reluctantly. When we stepped into the tavern, no one paid us much mind. We walked to the counter and I set my hand on the counter. The tender immediately began staring at it. Reaching slowly toward my fingers. Gray casually brushed my hand off the counter and payed for a cask of wine and a huge lump of cheese. Catching the bottom of two goblets between his fingers as he turned away. We took it and went to a back table. I was frowning at him from beneath the hood. He waited for me to sit and then took the bench across from me.
The next time, Gray would not be so kind. But that was the last thing on my mind today. I was hiding in the abandoned cot of a hayloft. Trying to suffer through the heat of another miserable afternoon. I didnโt dare sneak out to try to steal a bit of food from the main house until after dark. That wonโt be for a while yet. So, sleeping through the afternoon was the best call. But I was finding that rather hard to manage. The heat was making my hair stick to my brow and shoulders in sopping strands. And sweat from my armpits made the oversized tunic Iโd found in the loft stick to me. I could hear the stable boys below working. They had newer quarters built next door and no longer slept up here. So, despite the tremendous heat, Iโd taken sanctuary here in the hopes of having some peace. But Craven had come. In the throes of my sweating sleep, I felt the first groping touch sliding over my belly an
I was at the pivotal point in my life where I now had to make a choice. Hate him as I knew I should, or accept some human kindnessโฆWhich I desperately wanted. โIโm not going to forgive you.โ He nodded. Saying nothing more as he handed me more food. I couldnโt help dropping my head to his shoulder. Letting myself rob some warmth from him to heat my aching bones and banish the chill that had crept in. He didnโt object, nor did he drop his head over mine, as he wouldโve before. He just let me be there. Handing me food. And I took it. He kept it coming until Iโd eaten so much that my belly felt as if it were twisting. I put a hand to it and lifted my head to give him a betrayed look. I slid to the ground. Groaning as I clutched it. โDid you poison me?โ I drew my legs up. I wondered if this was it. Heโs finally ready to kill what remains of the Pyre line. He crouched over me.
Iโd quickly learned that no matter his intention, the moment a manโs hand met my skin, he was aflame for me. Awash with lust and desperate to possess me again. Iโd put together there was something powerful in the pheromones generated by my pores, which could drive a male wild. I didnโt want to see Gray like that. And I didnโt want him pretending to be sweet to me ever again. Not after he killed my family. And betrayed me in every way possible. He was the last one I expected tonight. Having built my fire near the road, in the hope that monsters would stay at bay. But here he was. The cruelest of them all. His metal jangled as he materialized from the darkness to sit on the log across the fire from me. I stiffened. โHowโd you find me?โ โFiere.โ He sighed. Shaking his head wearily as if I were a nuisance child. โIโm always aware where you are.โ There was long silence between he spo
โGray.โ I said dully. A wary way of acknowledging his intrusion into my path. โBaby Girl.โ He dipped his head in greeting. So still, heโd almost appeared a statue before that moment. Just like he might have months ago. Before he destroyed me. โWhat do you want, Gray?โ He frowned. โJackson. Youโve never call me Gray.โ โWell, Iโve learned since then that your heart is as gray as the charred ash in the bottom of a mantle just before a maid takes it out.โ He flinched. โYou would think so.โ He visibly paled. โI didnโt come here to fight with you.โ โNo? Just to kill me?โ I asked acidly. Knowing I was trying to be defiant while barely clad in an oversized chemise stolen from a wealthy matronโs fence. Where her undergarments had been drying. Now they flowed around my small frame. Making plain that she was surely more substantial than I was. Most people are. By now I was half-st
Three Months after Pyre I dutifully opened. Feeling the hard ridges of his rod jamming into my mouth and too far back into my throat. I promptly gagged and pressed back on his thighs to try and get him out of my neck. I canโt breathe! What is he doing! He tasted like ash and smelled unwashed. I felt myself gagging, even when he was barely in my mouth. โMmm.โ His head fell back as I caressed my tongue along the side of him. โI love you, Little Slaveโฆโ I made a fake pleasured sound around him. Making him groan and jerk. Using the distraction, I sunk my teeth into him hard enough I was sure itโd leave scars. He screamed. A pained shout, retracting his hand from my head to wave it helplessly around me. I twisted once for good measure and whirled on my knees. Hoping that blinding pain would keep him from blocking my exit. It did. I ran through that d