Semua Bab Alpha Maddox's Mortal Temptation : Bab 121 - Bab 130

I try to use the time on the plane to make sure that the tracker is in place and working remotely, but the Wi-Fi signal is too spotty, and I end up tossing my Raspberry Pi to the side with an angry grunt.Lucien and I don’t exchange more than a couple of perfunctory words on the flight. He pilots in a focused, self-assured way, his thoughts clearly full of concern for Daisy.My heart aches for him.“It started when you left,” Mick explains grimly when he picks us up. “I know, I know,” he immediately adds when he sees Lucien’s expression, “I should have told you, but it was a low fever. I assumed she’d eaten something funny. But then she started shivering and said that her bones hurt. And started to vomit.”Lucien, whose Alpha nature manifests through having to drive every single means of transport he boards, pulls up to the house. “Can she keep liquids down?”“Not much. Juno’s upstairs with her.” He looks about five years older than when we left. And so do Juno and Cal, who are pacin

Not rolling my eyes at Malcolm requires a degree of control over my ocular muscles I didn’t know I had. Normally I wouldn’t bother with civility, but I need my brother to get me some answers.On the plus side, Ludwig is not paying attention to my call. Earlier today, when I found him in the sunroom trimming a rose plant and asked whether I could chat with my brother, he looked at me like I was asking for permission to get a liger tattoo. “I don’t care. Lucien said your movements are not to be restricted. Call whoever you like.” A pause.“Maybe avoid phone sex, but really, it’s up to you.”“Is phone sex even a thing anymore?”“Pretty sure all kinds of sex are a thing, and will be till the sun swallows the Earth.” He went back to pruning, then added, “If you’re ordering pizza, get extra large.”I’m not sure why a Vampyre would order pizza, but I’d love to be on the phone with some bored teenager trying to upsell me some garlic knots. And not at the mercy of a less-than-loving brother’s

The next few hours are sheer, concentrated agony.The mere act of breathing is an ordeal. My stomach hurts like it’s about to digest itself, bruised from the inside out by a thousand wild creatures who are having way too much fun carving their name in its lining with a rusty knife.There are several moments—and then a single one, long, protracted—when I’m sure, just sure, that this is the end. No living being can sustain this level of torment, and I’m going to die.Which is just fine. Nothing can be worse than what I’m experiencing. I welcome the blissful release of nothingness and all that good shit, but just when I’m about to tip into the void, something pulls me back.First there’s someone—okay, Lucien, yes, Lucien—giving orders. Barking orders. Growling orders. Or perhaps not Lucien, because I’ve never seen him any way but in control. He sounds desperate, which makes me want to crawl out of my corner of pain and reassure him that it’ll be okay—maybe not me, but everything else.An

The rest of the room fades. I sink into the doorframe and stare at his familiar face, the dark shadows under his clear eyes and the stubble he hasn’t bothered shaving. He speaks with patience and authority, and I find myself lingering, listening to the rhythm of his deep voice if not to the content, my marrow-deep exhaustion soothed at last.Then he stops. His body tenses as he turns, at once intensely focused on me. Everyone else stares, too, not quite with the thinly veiled distrust I’d expect from them.“You should go,” Lucien commands somberly. “I’ll see you later.”“Oh, yeah.” I flush. I’m acutely aware that I’m half naked and crashing an important pack meeting that’s probably about how to handle their never-ending conflict with my people. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.” But he’s crossing to me, and when the seconds stand, I realize that I’m not the one being dismissed.Lucian is in his usual human form, and I wonder whether I hallucinated my encounter with the white wolf. His seco

It’s a messy kiss. Instantly, stunningly good. I’m cautious, afraid I’ll hurt him, but Lucien’s the unrestrained one. Feral.He’s the one who moves everything along, who nibbles and sucks and bruises. He uses his thumb to tilt my jaw upward, gripping my neck with his large palm once he’s satisfied with my position.It’s very deep, very quickly, and I give myself to it, to the filthy way he angles me as though he wants to know my taste from every side.I pull back to breathe, but he only gives me a second before asking for more. He licks my fangs, and I feel it deep in my core. His desire bursts between us, longing, frustrated. I want to do something about it.For him.“Lucien,” I mumble against his mouth, forcing myself to stand. Warm water sluices over my skin, and he follows the journey of every single drop.He leans forward to press his lips to the soft skin underneath my belly button, then rises to towel me dry.The front of his shirt is wet. My lashes are clumpy, beaded with wate