“But… all I could see were these wet, plump lips that the gods made specifically to suck my dick. What I should've been looking at were her razor-sharp teeth.”
Kace gasps in horror. “Oh, no!”
“Oh, yes,” Zander solemnly replies. “That was a Gods Blessed predator if I ever saw one.”
“Shut the fuck up,” I order without removing my gaze from Amara’s. Choosing to accept her advice, if only for a moment, I swallow as if broken glass is trickling down my throat and return my attention to Lena.
Lena lets her arms fall from the counter and slowly pivots to face the unwelcome male. Hands on her hips, she peers up at him as he speaks, saying nothing in response. After watching him for a handful of moments, she swivels only her head and meets my gaze across the pub. Seeing the ice-cold tundra swirling within her eyes, I’m about to say fuck it to Amara’s advice when a brash smile suddenly appears and she winks, right before she grabs the male’s balls and twists.
The male drops to his knees with a yowl, attracting the attention of every patron in the pub.
“Oh, does that hurt? Oh, poor baby, I bet it does,” Lena coos in mock sympathy, bent over him with her fingers gripped tightly around his balls.
He scrabbles at her wrist to remove her hand, but she clenches tighter and he falls to all fours with a strangled yelp.
“No, no, no,” she tsks. “That won't work. I’m quite a bit stronger than I appear.” Crouching beside his drooping head, she raises a single finger of her unoccupied hand. “Now, I believe I said no to your advances, and I assumed it was implied that I didn't want to be touched, but I apologize. I must not have made myself clear.” She lowers her lips to his ear, all but spitting venom. “I don't like to be touched.”
She expels a drawn-out sigh and shakes her head. “Now, I'm going to let go of that little worm you call a cock and hopefully you'll lose the ability to ever harden again. Wouldn't want you to create anymore little assholes.” She crosses her fingers with a wide smile. “Here's hoping! And you will never touch another female without their permission again. If you do…” She twists again and every male in the bar groans. “I'm going to find you. And when I do, I'll remove the appendage that seems to be the source of all your difficulties.” She pauses, allowing her threat to fester before adding, “Lest you forget this unfortunate event…” She pinches her fingers shut around him and he vomits all over the floor. “Let that be a reminder.”
Lena releases the vile male and he slumps to the floor with a groan. Paying him no mind, she stands upright and regally stares down the crowd as if she's the living embodiment of an avenging goddess delivering her wrath. Awestruck, the pub watches her in hushed silence until they break out into applause, Lena laughing and smiling with all her admirers.
“I think I just came a little,” Kace groans.
“Another common reaction to our lovely Lena,” Zander boasts.
Mona smiles at Lena – I didn't think she could smile! – and passes her a tray of full tankards. Lena makes her way back toward us and I'm unable to restrain myself any longer, meeting her halfway and grabbing the tray from her.
“You had me worried there for a moment,” I say, my jaw aching from the smile stretching my cheeks.
“I can take care of myself,” she chides gently.
I laugh. “That's quite apparent.”
Looking up at me, her eyes crinkle and her smile widens. Her expression shifts, softening into something akin to affection.
At the sight, I feel that itch begin to spread, traveling up over my shoulders and down my lower back. Inhaling a deep, calming breath through my nostrils, I attempt to convince myself that my eyes are playing tricks on me, that I’m imagining the emotion behind that look.
Until I’m suddenly smacked in the face by Lena’s intoxicating scent.
I don't know if I missed it earlier because there are too many beings or too many competing scents, but I'm shocked to just now notice the alluring perfume that's all Lena. My dick hardens to stone as I breathe in another long whiff, catching vanilla, cinnamon, and a hint of cherry. The sensual, sweet, and a little tart scent complements the enticing female before me perfectly.
That’s not helping! Would she taste the same if I buried my face between her thighs?
My nostrils flare as I try to wrangle control from my raging cock. But at this point, it's weeping its fury at me and I'm helpless at diminishing its rigidity. That is, until Lena verbally tosses a bucket of ice water over me.
“Did you just sniff me?” she asks, biting her lip to stifle a laugh.
I glare at her. “No.”
My cock hasn't been completely tamed, evidenced by him twitching towards her when she chuckles huskily.
“You definitely did.”
“I'm thirsty,” Kace whines.
“Where's my ale?” Zander demands.
Grateful for once to be surrounded by these half-witted males, I turn my back on Lena and stride towards our table as I debate the quickest way to get her into bed. Because she will be in my bed one way or another, there’s no mistaking that. The only question is when. For if it's not soon, I fear this enchantment she’s cast upon me will forever alter me.
And that, I cannot allow.
Chapter 4Lena
Standing on the porch of The Quiet Harpy, I cradle the hanging lantern within my palm. My thumb brushes along the complex curls of black iron that cages the rippling, orange flames, studying the sparkling strands of gold woven within.
Darkness and Light.
Outlined in a shimmering blue ward, the blaze writhes to a song only it can hear as it reels the hovering ward into a seductive dance. In the ward’s pursuit, they curl, twist, and twine. To and away. Again and again, as they attempt to mold itself to the other. Never stopping, never touching, the Stars-crossed lovers could be mistaken for Uriella and Azazel themselves, pining and desperate for one another, but destined never to be.
Paying homage to the gods in the design of a lantern.
I snort at the thought, only to smother it once I hear the creak of wooden steps. “What is it?” I ask, stilling my gaze on the ill-fated lovers.
Skin crackling with his nearness but hearing no response, I spin away from the peculiar magic, but all I see is black. A black leather vest and black tunic molded to the heavily muscled chest of the Fire immortal currently blocking the light of the two moons.
Darius is huge, abnormally so, compared to the beings of this land. I reluctantly drag my gaze from his chest and follow up… up… up, passing his thickly corded neck to the handsome face even the gods would bow down to. Meeting his square-cut jaw and full lips, it takes a large amount of willpower not to scratch my nails through the scruff along his jaw, imagining the burn it would leave between my thighs. Tilting my head back even more, I pass his straight nose to the burning, glacial blue eyes that bore intently into my amethyst ones. The burn of his gaze sears every place it touches, as well as every place I wish he would touch. The intensity of his gaze alone would intimidate a lesser female, but I hold my stance and try not to squirm in a fruitless effort to lessen the need currently glistening the lips below my waist.
It's not just his eyes that are intense; it's all of him. The sharp mind behind those blue orbs. His severe silence. His tall, muscular build. I’m convinced that if I were to spend enough time with him, I would develop a crick in my neck. His fierce protectiveness makes me squeeze my thighs together in remembrance of his volcanic reaction to the thought of me being touched.
