MaeveFor a moment, I expect Soren to pull away from the kiss. My body tightens in anticipation for him to shove me away, for his snarl and whatever snide comments await me. But he backs me against a wall, his tongue darting over mine, and kisses me back in a feral, all consuming way that makes heat sizzle to life all over my body, igniting my powers. “Soren,” I whisper, pulling back to take a much needed breath. “Are you hurt? Please–”He shushes me sternly, stepping into me, his body taking up my entire view. I look up into his eyes when his mouth meets mine again, slowly this time, drawing out a wet, hot kiss that makes my knees tremble when his eyes meet mine. His pupils are fully dilated like he’s still riding out his wolf powers, but every touch, every breath, is for me, not battle. “Fuck me,” I command, and he… obliges. Soren pins me to the wall, his fingers wrapped around my throat, and kisses me again, growling under his breath as I nibble his lower lip, refusing to let
MaeveHazy morning sunlight bleeds through dark storm clouds, sending ribbons of light through the fog gathering at my ankles. We’ve been walking for two miles, at least, in what direction… I don’t know, and I honestly don’t care. Soren is several yards ahead of me and hasn’t so much as looked in my direction as he leads me down a narrow, paved road in the middle of Goddess-damned nowhere. There’re no trees here. Just rolling, grassy hills and a single, lonely, fog-soaked road. Rain begins to patter against the top of my head. It’s gentle, thank goodness, but enough to make me pull the hood of my cloak over my hair. I keep thinking about what happened in the hotel only two or so hours ago. I rub my neck, still feeling the pressure of his teeth there, and then relive his moment of shock. Now, I’m watching him favor his arm, the one where he used to wear the silver band. It’s bothering him–itching, I believe. He won’t leave it alone. “Soren,” I shout, coming to a stop. My boots sque
SorenMaeve smells incredible. Like her skin, a touch of perspiration, and that heady magnolia scent that curls through my body with each inhale, rewiring my brain. There’s more to it. Things I hadn’t picked up before–like her scent is suddenly intensified. Traces of amber and vanilla. A soft, evening breeze over the lake in Moonrise. A cool, late autumn rain. She’s delicious. Her skin is soft as silk, and I can’t keep my mouth off her shoulder. I graze my teeth over her skin again, clutching her to me, curling the arm she’s lying on and bending her neck back to give me better access to the soft, tender spot where her pulse is going haywire. My fingers glide over the waistband of her panties before slipping beneath the elastic. It takes all of my strength not to shutter when her soft skin whispers against my fingers and my palm. This is the only place where she’s warm–like she has an internal source of heat and power suddenly radiating from her, mingling with mine. Shifters call
MaeveI… I knew better than this. I knew the second I slipped out of our hotel room, chasing that vibration creeping through every surface in the building, that Soren was going to be absolutely ticked off, but I couldn’t help it. There’s something about my power that’s drawn to sound, as strange as it seems. Like a beacon, the music I heard when I’d been taking a bath wrapped its talons around the traces of magic still left in my system and tugged, hard, begging me to follow, to let go. I remember the night of Brie’s elopement as I side-step through the crowd in Soren’s direction, ignoring the curious hands reaching to graze my sweater before pulling back, like they can’t believe I’m here, their princess, their soon to be queen, and I’d just been dancing like mad on a table for all of them to see. That night after the ceremony, Blake told me something that stuck in my brain like a piece of gum, forever ingrained in my memory. Find something that shuts you off. Music gets me going
SorenI hike a narrow stairwell to the fourth floor of the nicest hotel I’ve ever stayed in, especially for a town as small as this in the Highlands. The rolling mountain view beyond the diamond shaped windows is bleak, totally dark, and socked in by storm clouds still raging through the valleys below this mountain top village. I’ve never been to Juniper Grove, but I’ve been to the Highlands for work. Maeve was right when she mentioned the Highlands weren’t technically considered part of the Kingdom of Eastonia, although I know for a fact several of the more powerful Alphas here throw their support behind the royal family…. Both royal families, that is. The mountains serve as the official border between Eastonia and Crescent Falls. The border itself is only three dozen miles away or so, over a few gnarly mountain peaks and a wide, steep valley where a highway, and most recently, a rail line, connects the two kingdoms. Both King Ryatt and King Sydney keep their borders under lock an
MaeveI’m an idiot. I can’t even look at my reflection in the mirror without blushing so deeply I feel actual heat shimmering across my cheeks. I listen to Soren’s deep, monotone voice as he speaks to Helena, the old witch who owns this house, this clinic deep in the woods, in the other room while I dress. It’s nightfall, but the passage of time today has been nothing but hazy. A storm of epic proportions raged, flooding the forest, swelling every creek and washing out the narrow roadways that connect the smallest, most rural villages to the large towns and cities in the Roguelands. Soren says that’s in our favor, but I’m still not sure why he’s being hunted or how. I destroyed his silver band. The Viper, whoever she is, can’t possibly have a way to track him down now, right? I try to swipe the Viper from my mind, but she works for Hannibal. Soren is a direct link to the most wanted man in the Allied Kingdoms, and I’m… I’m here, with him. I’m… I’m having a hard time not looking at h