Page 34 of Devotion

My pulse fluttered. So did my fanny—thanks for that one, Rosie. Why did everything coming out of this man’s mouth sound like sex? It had to be the accent.

There was no stopping the giggle that escaped.

“What’s so funny?”

“I just can’t believe you were ever a priest.”

His lips quirked. “Me either.”

Caleb’s large palm slipped around the nape of my neck and he pulled me closer to him, dipping his head as he fisted my hair and used it to position me where he would have the best access to my vein. I shuddered when his tongue flicked over my pulse point, fangs scraping the tender flesh.

“Don’t tease me, Daddy.”

A feral growl left him a beat before beautifully painful pleasure rocketed through me. Usually by this point, I wasimpaled on a cock and on the verge of climax. It was almost weird to be fully clothed with our only points of contact being his lips on my neck, hand in my hair, and the other pressed against my lower back. It reminded me of that time I found him in church and he drank from me as part of his communion.

I breathed out a sigh of his name as he continued feeding deeply. A faint flicker of worry sparked to life in the back of my mind. He’d rarely taken so much, but he’d said he was starving. He’d know when to stop. Caleb would never hurt me.

Just as I started to feel lightheaded, he shifted to scoop me into his arms. He was still drinking, but now he was carrying me to the bed.

“Caleb,” I whispered as he finally pulled his fangs from my throat. “Mmm, sleepy.”

“Rest now, darling. You need your sleep.”

There was a faint urge to protest, but then his lips feathered over my forehead, and I was lost to a sea of darkness.

Chapter

Eleven

ALEK

Iwas still reeling over my encounter with my brother as I used the last of Moira’s gift to return home. Suffice it to say, things hadn’t gone according to plan. Wincing, I touched my brow, my fingers wet and stained red when I pulled them away. Tor and I had come to blows, which wasn’t new for us. We’d fought more times than I could count, but never like this. I don’t know what I’d expected to find when finally seeing my twin after all these months, but I hadn’t been prepared for his fury. Or the guilt I’d feel at my unknowing involvement.

Tor had sacrificed everything to give me the life I had now.

Distracted as I was, I didn’t hear the approaching wolves until they surrounded me in the forest. Their low, menacing growls reverberated around me as they stepped close enough I could see the moonlight glowing in their eyes.

I wasn’t fool enough to believe I’d met every member of the Farrell pack, but I didn’t recognize the markings on anyof them, which made it impossible to tell if these were friends or foes.

Lifting my hands, I called out, “It’s just me. Alek. I’m one of Kingston’s new family members.” We really needed to come up with a term to describe our dynamic to other people. Brothers didn’t really work, and I sure as hell wasn’t his husband. Usually he just called us pack, but that didn’t seem like the right choice here. Not with the way they were growling at me.

One lunged, snapping at my heel. I narrowly dodged its teeth as the rest of them tensed, ruffs standing on end.

“Whoa. Down, boy. I don’t want to hurt you,” I warned as I danced away from them.

Part of me still hoped this was just a misunderstanding.

But when two more slunk from the shadows behind me, I saw it for what it was. A trap.

I guess it was too much to hope for a nice homecoming after a less-than-stellar family reunion. So much for that bath I’d been planning on.

Sighing, I reached back and pulled my hair into a bun.

“Fine, you want to fight? Let’s fucking go.”

The last thing I wanted to do was kill any of the Farrell pack, but I would if it meant it was them or me. Getting myself into a fighting stance, I waited, making eye contact with each one in turn, making my challenge known.

With how they encircled me, it was hard to stand in such a way that allowed me to see all of them. I tried to keep moving, never allowing my back to be presented to any of them for long. Not that it helped. Two sprang at me in unison, each coming from opposite directions.

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