My heart hammered in my chest, pushing the alcohol through my system harder, the haze coaxing anything and everything from my lips. I wanted to tell her everything, tell her how I felt, tell her my wishes.
Tell her what she was to me. “I...”
Her hand rose, her fingers pressing to my lips. “We both...said things we shouldn’t have.”
Thalia’s hand tentatively reached out to mine but halted before she could take hold of me. Something fractured deep within me, the flames dousing at the fear of her rejection, of her once again ignoring what I hoped she felt.
What the fuck was I doing?
Micah brushed his lips along the shell of her ear, his eyes sliding to me as she drew her hand back to her chest. She twisted around to look at him, and he lifted his hand to cup her cheek before pressing a tender kiss to her lips. She looked between us and, for a moment, I wondered if I was imagining at the look of longing in her eyes. Micah reached out to grab my wrist, pulling me closer until Thalia was sandwiched between us, her back to my chest, ass pressed firmly against me. I resisted the urge to slide my hands up her thighs, but then Micah took my hands and placed them on her hips, and my heart threatened to sputter out. The air rushed from Thalia’s lungs, her lips parting as Micah pressed her tighter between us, her body fitting so perfectly against ours.
The flames swayed beneath my skin like a beast relishing in affection—relishing in the feel of her skin against mine. Thalia turned her head as we moved in sync, and she lifted her hand to brush her fingertips against my neck before pulling me closer to her. Micah dragged drunken kisses along her neck, guiding her hips to the beat of the music as we danced, our bodies molding together in perfect, sinful harmony.
The flames swelled, desiring more, to feel her skin, taste her lips, feel her naked body move against mine...
Micah met my heated gaze, his eyes drunk with desire before they slid back to Thalia, whose eyes were closed as she lost herself between us. He took her hand and nodded to me as he started through the crowd to the exit.
I drew a deep breath, her scent of black spruce, of wildwoods that could never be tamed, too much to resist. I wanted to drown myself in her scent, cover myself in it until no other could deny that she was mine and I was hers.
The thought made me hesitate as I found Micah, and he seemed to catch wind of it. A corner of his lip kicked up in a half smile, and he nodded before Thalia met my gaze as well, her hand reaching out to take mine.
And I caved as she dragged me out into the night air.
The walk from Stokers to Micah and Thalia’s house was a blur of stolen kisses and touches: Thalia pressing Micah against the wall as she kissed him while I pressed against her back, lips burning trails of kisses along her shoulder, her neck; Micah’s hands roaming up the back of her shirt as he bit down on her throat while she moaned, head tilting back as her eyes locked with mine, fingers digging into my arms as she pulled me closer.
Fuck, the sight of her bending for him was delicious.
The door creaked open as we entered Micah and Thalia’s home, the darkness welcoming us. Micah kicked the door shut impatiently as Thalia and I stumbled to a stop, one of her hands locked with Micah’s, the other entwined with mine. He crashed into her, his lips capturing hers as he pulled her tighter against him, and he backed her up to me, her ass pressing against the swell of my hard cock. She arched her back, pressing herself tighter against me, silently begging me to touch her more, and I obliged. I couldn’t resist her demands if I wanted to. My hands snaked around her waist, fingers dipping beneath the hem of her shirt as I brushed my lips against her neck, dragging drunken kisses up along her skin before nipping at the shell of her ear.
Her body tensed, thighs pressing tighter together, and I slid my knee between them, forcing them apart as Micah’s hand slipped lower. She whimpered as Micah ran his finger back and forth along her center, his knuckle running against the top of my thigh, and I spread her legs further, encouraging him, wanting to feel her shiver and quake as he drew forth her pleasure. Her scent flooded the room, the sweetness of her arousal filling my nose, and my mouth watered at the thought of how wet she was, how she soaked her lace underwear. He trailed kisses down her opposite collarbone and pulled his hand away from her just as she began to pant and moan. She slumped against me, chest heaving, heated breaths bursting from her swollen, parted lips.
Micah’s hands worked in tandem with mine to lift her shirt, revealing her creamy skin, her black lace bra. I wanted to see more of her, wanted to lose myself in exploring and marveling at every inch of her body, inside and out.
She twisted around to me before pressing tender, hesitant kisses to my lips. Gods, she tasted heavenly. Micah trailed kisses from the back of herneck down her spine, and her lips parted against mine on a silent moan, lower and lower until he reached around and began undoing her jeans to work them down her hips.
I cupped her cheeks, pulling her back to me as Micah worked her jeans off, and she broke our kiss to turn to him, her hands reaching for the button of his shirt as she pulled him in for a kiss. He growled against her lips as she undid his shirt and slid her hands up against his exposed chest, dragging her fingers up to his shoulders to ultimately push it off his shoulders, and he let it slide to the floor.
The flames writhed and slammed against the confinement of my body, hungry to taste her skin, to burn away every scrap of clothing separating us. Her hands slid from Micah’s chest, and I nudged her to the side, guiding her to the wall as Micah and I came together, shoulders brushing as we cornered her. Her attention split between us, one hand ensnaring in Micah’s hair to pull him in to kiss her while her other hand slid up my t-shirt, pushing it up. I helped her in lifting it over my head, giving her all the access to my body she wanted.
I’d let her touch and taste every inch she desired, give in to whatever she wished of me, drag out her pleasure and leave her wanting more. And Gods, I’d give her more if it was what she wanted.
Micah kissed her with a hunger I’d never seen in him, and it sparked something within me, a hunger I had been ignoring for centuries. Thalia’s pale lashes lifted a fraction, her stormy eyes drifting to me, and Micah released her lips, dropping his face to the crook of her neck to bite down on her throat. A moan broke free of her, and her fingers tangled in my hair as she pulled me in for a kiss. I devoured her, her taste everything I ever wanted, everything I needed.
The hunger and desire swelled to an undeniable need that demanded I bend to its will, that I give in and savor her for what she was.
My mate.
Mine.
51
THALIA
Glass shattered, momentarily clearing the drunken haze as Micah pushed me up onto the island countertop, knocking glasses onto the floor. But as he slid between my thighs and bit down on my throat, drawing me into him, I fell into the deep end once more, drowning in a murky abyss I wanted to lose myself in until I never saw the light of day again.
He released my throat and placed his palm against the binding tattoo between my breasts to push me down until my back was pressed against the cool stone. Barrett stalked around to the other side like a beast assessing his prey, waiting for the moment when he could take me for his own, and my heart thrummed at the sight—of his muscles taut and wound so tightly, he looked ready to combust.
I wanted to taste that flame, let it consume me.
