3

The sensation of her hand on me, rubbing and massaging, nearly had me losing control. My mind flipped and short-circuited. If we were anywhere else, at any other time, would I be able to stop myself? I imagined how this would go if she were unhurt and acting this way in a quiet secluded area. I imagined her pulling my cock out and taking it into her mouth. Ripping her dress away and pulling her body to mine as I worshipped her nipples with my lips and tongue. The fiery heat of her pussy as I plunged into her. The echo of our moans and screams as we fucked.

“No,” I hissed to myself, shaking my head again. “No.”

It took all I had to ignore her pheromones, her words, her actions, and focus on what needed to be done. The mental images I’d allowed myself filled me with guilt. She was seriously hurt, and here I was, daydreaming about sex. It made me feel like shit.

Kira pounced on me again, but the handle of the knife bumped against my chest. The blade jammed deeper into her, and she screamed. For a moment, the pain seemed to overcome her desire. Grimacing, I took hold of the knife and yanked it out of her flesh, then quickly covered her wound, putting pressure on it as more blood spilled out between my fingers. She looked down and saw my hands.

“Gods,” she whispered. “At least finger me. Give me something.”

Her voice dripped with desperation. It was almost like she was so horny that it was causing her physical pain. Maybe I could help? If she was in pain, and she was begging for it…my cock was rock hard and throbbing. I was caught in a haze of desire, all coherent thoughts impossible to find. I blinked the ideas away again.

“Carter? Douglas? Where the hell are you?” I yelled into my earpiece. “Kira needs medical attention.”

Carter’s voice, heaving with exertion, filtered into my ear a moment later. “We called in a med team. We’re in pursuit of the lion shifter. Med team’s ten minutes out.”

“Ten minutes? Why the fuck will it take that long?” I growled.

“Closest one had a call about an operative who was attacked by a rogue demon. Bad timing and bad luck. They’re on the way, though.”

“Fuck,” I snapped. “Fine.”

I let them go back to their hunt. Kira had sat up and wrapped her arms around me, licking and sucking at my neck. She was not making this any easier on me. I needed to do something, or what semblance of control I had left would crack completely and fall apart. In mere minutes, we’d be screwing our brains out in a restaurant parking lot.

Kira let out a whimper of pain. The heat was causing her physical agony. If I ever got hold of that fucking lion, I would rip his head off and piss down his throat.

Kira climbed into my lap and tore my shirt open. It happened so fast, I couldn’t have stopped it if I tried. She slid her hands across my chest, which was sweaty from the exertion of trying to hold her still. As she did everything she could to have sex with me, tears leaked from her eyes, a combination of pain from her wound and the heat.

Glancing around, I saw we were still alone. Dammit, I needed someone else here so I didn’t give in to Kira’s pleading. A small clutch purse hung crosswise over her chest. I dug into it and yanked her phone out, scrolling through the contacts for Jayson’s number. Maybe hearing her future mate’s voice would help snap Kira out of it.

“Hey, babe, what’s up?” Jayson said as he answered.

“Jayson, it’s Wyatt Rivers. I need you to–”

“Gods, I wanna suck your dick so bad. Please, Wyatt, just for a second?” Kira whispered.

I closed my eyes, wincing at what was coming next.

“What the fuck was that?” Jayson screamed. “Was that Kira?”

“It’s not what you think,” I said, hoping he could hear the honesty in my voice.

“Are you trying to fuck my girl? You piece of shit, I swear to Heline, I’ll kill you if you touch what’s mine.”

“Jayson, there’s no time for this. Kira’s been stabbed and poisoned. I need you to get to the Black Pine Brasserie. It’s a restaurant in Cullman. Hurry.”

Kira whimpered. “Oh, gods. Damn, make me come. Make me come, and it’ll be over. Please, Wyatt.”

Shit. Jayson was screaming curses at me through the phone, completely ignoring the information about Kira. All he cared about was what he heard. The last five minutes had been some of the most stressful and ridiculous minutes of my entire life. I had no more patience. Especially not for Kira’s douchebag of a fated mate.

“Jayson, please shut up and listen. Kira is hurt. She needs you. Get down here now, before I do something to take care of it myself.” I ended the call and tossed the phone on the ground.

With every passing minute that I struggled with Kira, my self-control drained more. When Jayson appeared with a flash, along with Kira’s fae friend Zoe, I was both relieved and irritated. Of course, he’d shown up right as Kira leaned forward and licked my exposed nipple. I would have kept her away, but I was too busy to keep pressure on her stab wound.

Jayson’s eyes flared as his hands curled into fists. Ignoring all the blood and the obvious pain Kira was in, he pointed at me. “You motherfucker!”

Zoe’s face paled at the sight of all the blood Kira had lost, and she ran forward, putting a hand on the wound to staunch the bleeding. Having more people here did help. My own lust and desire were tamped down now that Zoe was helping, and my dislike of Jayson pushed my other emotions to the side. My guilt started to make a resurgence. Kira was my best friend’s sister. Gods, I was a piece of shit for thinking all those things about her.

Jayson was still going on. “I can’t believe this. I’ll make sure my father gets you fired. He knows people. Powerful people. You’ll–”

“Dammit, will you shut up? Here, take her.” I twisted a bit to offer her to him.

Zoe shook her head. “Don’t. She’s losing too much blood.” She turned and snapped at Jayson. “Whatever she’s been poisoned with must be highly toxic. Look at her.”