My legs are doing what they’re told before my mind has a chance to process his words.
Pax follows me, his soggy boots squelching just as much as they are thumping. He takes a long, slow inhale. I know that look – that’s the you’re-wearing-someone-else’s-clothes look.
“You antagonized a mortal mage?” he growls, taking me off guard, and for a moment my surprise evaporates every hope I had of forming words.
“Well,” Seth says, clearing his throat. “I’m going to help with the horses.”
He rushes out into the rain, jumping clean from the top of the stairs down into the puddle at the bottom and striding away.
“You antagonized a mortal mage and you used Allure?!”
I take a step back and find myself flush against the wall. The stairs on my right and the door on my left. Two exits.
Pax kicks the door shut.
One exit.
“I didn’t antagonize anyone.” My mouth starts running, but my mind is busy calculating. Measuring Pax’s level of pissed-off, my body working on maintaining the status-quo.
Him – master.
Me – soot-servant.
A low growl vibrates through his chest and seems to sink into mine. My body responds – my core purring. Which is all kinds of chuckin’ weird. Thank the gods he can’t hear it!
“Don’t. Talk. To. Mortals,” he says.
He leans forward, resting his hand on the wall to my right.
No exits.
Vanilla. His lips taste of it, sweet and delicious, but why can I smell vanilla? I add that puzzle to the purring.
I’ve had a lot of practice being in aggressive situations. Compartmentalizing is one of my few skills. So I tuck away my wandering thoughts, as my body remains frozen in ‘oh-shit’ mode, and my hands begin to wring through the front of my borrowed top.
“I’m a mortal,” I finally say.
Pax wraps his free hand around mine to stop my fidgeting. I scowl at him, completely trapped.
“You’re different. You’re mine.”
I consider headbutting him in the nose, but thankfully my mouth gets in first.
“Not your property,” I snap. “Not your soot-servant or your slav –”
His lips press to mine, cutting off my last word.
Cutting off my everything. Thoughts. Ideas. My ability to stand on my own two legs. He lets go of my hands and grips my hips, pulling me into him, even as he begins to pull away.
Desperately, I chase his kiss, keeping our lips together.
He lets out a low moan, gripping my lip between his teeth. Teeth that sharpen.
Pressure becomes pain. One canine nicks the soft inside of my lower lip – drawing blood.
I might have been going to gasp at the shock, but the noise is more like a whimpering-sigh. If there is such a thing. There is now, I make up new shit all the time. A whigh.
The paper-thin cut leaves a tang on my tongue that’s quickly lost as his canines withdraw and his very human mouth presses into mine again.
We topple back against the wall, the weight of him almost knocking the wind out of me, and the rush of his kiss almost making it impossible to draw in another breath. He grips my ass, lifting me off the ground, and I wrap my legs around his hips.
Static rips through me, my muscles spasming and my back arching. I lose sight of Pax, forced to look up at the ceiling until his power settles over my skin.
I drag my head forward, looking first for his eyes, which are showing the barest amount of control, then for his lips.
Damn. Those lips. Not soft. Not sweet.
Demanding. Controlling. Owning.
Mine.
I move to kiss him again, but he grips my hair and stops me.
“Don’t talk to mortals, and don’t use that word,” he growls – or tries to growl. His voice is lost in the rush of both our breathing and a crack of thunder rolling across the border.
I don’t manage to answer before he’s growling, “That's an order.”
“I’m not your puppet.”
“No, but you are mine. You’re my Saber, I am your commander, and you’re my mate.”
I run my tongue over a sting still on the inside of my lip. He can’t kiss me like that, then in the next breath become my lord.
What am I talking about? This is Pax, of course he can.
His gaze traces down to where I’ve begun chewing on my lip.
“Beautiful,” he growls.
“Pax,” I echo.
“I can’t keep you safe if you’re not following the rules.”
“You didn’t have a rule against talking to mortals, but there is one about kissing,” I say – which isn’t the whole truth.
The rule is about sex, but every now and then my mouth likes to play with fire.
“I was thinking about doing that from the moment we separated. Seems there is a loophole,” he says.
“A what?”
Which he ignores, pulling his fingers free from my hair. They snag on the mess and tangles, making me wince, but he ignores that too.
“Why is your hair full of mud?” he asks, lowering me back to my feet.
I shrug. “I like the feeling. It’s great for your skin.”
“You need a shower,” he says, letting go of me. “Unless you’re in this house, you’re to be next to one of us at all times.”
“Pax, I’m stuck in a bubble – I can’t not be next to one of you,” I joke.
His eyes glow, sudden and hot. “That’s an order!”
And we’re back to this. In true servant fashion, I freeze and eyeball the damn exit again.
He hooks a finger under my chin, turning my gaze back to meet his. “Promise. No mortals, and stay where we can protect you.”
“Protect me from what?” I ask. “Is there something worse than the BeastSeeds hunting us?”
“He’s been dealt with.”
“Then what? What did you find at Tanakan prison?”
“It’s what we didn’t find,” he grumbles. “Promise.”
I nod, managing to say, “I like being protected.”
It’s true, but it’s not a promise. I really don’t like making promises when I don’t have all the facts. But that seems to be enough – he doesn’t hesitate, opening the door and walking straight out into the rain.
“Wait,” I shout, rushing
