Page 3 of Moth & Flame
I give her a curious look. “You say that as if it’s a deterrent.”
Leif rolls her eyes, tossing a pretty tendril of ash-blonde hair over a pale shoulder. “You know, I can’t fathom what it is you have against Alister. He’s charming, handsome, rich,passionate?—”
My sardonic laughter cuts off her itemization of my sadistic fiancé’swinsomequalities. Standing abruptly, I usher her to the door. “Leif, if you adore him so much, by all means, go and fuck him. In fact, I implore you. He’s bored of his mistresses—one of them evendied.A tragic accident, I’m sure. He’s no doubt in dire need of your condolences. Do what you will with him, so long as youdecline Payne’s offer.”
Leif’s brows lift with mild surprise as she fails to suppress the ghost of a grin.
I slam the door in her face. My anger is bright and hot, making my fangs ache with the need to tear someone’s throat out, but when my eyes catch on the image of Draven on my screen, the fog of seething rage lifts from me like a cursed veil stolen by the wind and is swiftly replaced by a Draven-shaped duvet of joy and desire.
Tomorrow, my darling.
Because first—there are plans to be made.
My eyes settle on the shelf behind which lies a hidden safe containing the treasure trove of money and priceless jewels I’ve been secretly hoarding since my family forced me to sign my life away to a male who only wants me because I’m the largest shareholder in a company that owns forty percent of the blood bank market.
DRAVEN
As I approach the outskirts of Gothika’s wealthiest neighbourhood, I flick off the headlight of my hydro-bike to conceal myself, no longer able to hide amidst the peppering of traffic as I discretely tail Hella’s posh hydro-carriage.
My appointment with her isn’t supposed to be until tomorrow, but my guts churn at the idea of her being left at the hands of her fiancé. She’s never explicitly told me about his treatment of her, but it’s written all over the scars on her pretty throat. While stalking her isn’t exactly the height of professionalism…
Professional boundaries can get fucked.
So I’ve found myself haunting her every evening, whether or not we’ve had an appointment. Whether it’s after she’s already gone to sleep or just after she’s left work, I don’t go home until I’ve laid my eyes on her to see for myself that she’s ok. Blessedly, her fuckhole fiancé is never anywhere to be found.
Whoever he is.
Yet another thing she insists on being discreet about.
Not that I have any right to complain. I haven’t told her my name yet. I’m going to convince her to leave her godsforsaken fiancé first.
Thick, lush evergreens line the streets, and the mansions in between grow further and further apart. Finally, at the top of the hill that overlooks the city, I watch as Hella’s hydro-carriage turns into an ostentatious driveway. A giant, illuminated fountain featuring half a dozen topless syrens demarcates the gated entrance, boasting curling, sharp, wrought-iron finials.
I park my bike deep within the foliage, waiting for her hydro-carriage to ascend the hilly, winding driveway that leads to a modern, gothic, castle-esque monstrosity that overlooks the city.
I reach the fence, further guarded by a powerful ward, but thanks to one of the many perks of being a Nykanthros, there are few barriers able to hinder my shadow form. I shift partially, slipping through effortlessly.
I’m still some distance from the front entrance of Hella’s home, but with my heightened senses, I hear the shutting of the carriage.
“Thank you, Herman.”
“A lovely evening to you, madame.Akash’sblessings.”
“And to you.”
I reach the tree line nearest the front of her house just as she steps inside. A male servant shuts the door behind her.
Fuck.
My eyes scan the myriad of windows. I hold my breath, waiting for her bedroom light to flick on. Eventually, several windows to the right and up two stories, a set of balcony doors is illuminated. I jump, landing with a soft thud on the stone balcony. And there she is–my beautiful female–shedding her clothes.
She disappears through a doorway, and I follow her across the gigantic balcony to a twin set of doors. They bless me withan unobstructed view as she climbs into the shower. My cock thickens, and my knot throbs as I watch her step beneath her waterfall shower. A distant part of me simmers with a sense of dread at the idea of her fiancé, very uncharacteristically, deciding actually to come home for once and walking in to find her. While I am not an impulsive male, even I have my limits. I can’t say I’d have the self-restraint to stop myself from prying him off of her if he dared.
Thoughts of her betrothed disappear like dust in the wind as Hella begins to tease her breasts, her lips part on a soft moan, vaguely muffled by the windows.
A moment later, she sits on the marble bench of her shower, spreads her legs wide and begins to toy with her clit. The sight makes it painful to keep my steel-hard cock trapped within my trousers. I grip my pinned length, squeezing as if it will do anything to relieve me of the soul-deep ache I have for this female—in all ways. Not merely for her body.
Her hips give tiny thrusts as she teases the hardened, dusky tips of her breasts in tandem with her clit.“Fuck, daddy, yes. Give me your knot.”
