Page 26 of Foxin' Around

Krystal stretched in the bed of grass with a tiny sound of pleasure. It was another beautiful day. Somehow each day surpassed the one before ever since Syrix confirmed that the lamia had gone to the ground. Today was the best day yet, as far as she was concerned. The sun’s beams were particularly toasty, drawing out a sigh of contentment from her. Despite the fact that the Mallory place still seemed to lurk in the back of her mind like an unwelcome shadow, and the nightmarish presence of the lamia that haunted the forest around their cabin at night—though she had been quiet as of late—Krystal had nothing to complain about. Syrix was not only protective of her, but he was also an eager companion and always pleased to walk among the gardens and groves with her, or even to lie for a short time in the meadow during the height of the afternoon. He never got tired of the routine, never complained. Nor did he question her request to not take her to the lake again during their daily little strolls.

Perhaps because of that, the Mallory cabin took on an increasingly haunted form in her imagination to torment her at night while she slept. She’d frequently had nightmares about theplace as a child, so that was nothing new, but it was somehow far worse. And that was not even taking into consideration that there was a monstrous predator lurking out there in the woods, hunting her. It was truly remarkable that she could sleep at all at night.

Matter of fact—her original protests aside—she was feeling more and more grateful that Syrix had the gall to claim her family cabin and property. What would have happened if she had settled into the cabin all alone with that thing lurking within the woods just outside her walls? She could try to ignore the cabin, but the lamia was another matter, entirely.

A shiver stole over her with a sharp intake of breath as she bit her bottom lip. Thank fuck that the creature abhorred the sunlight.

“What is running through that intriguing mind of yours?” Syrix murmured from where he was sprawled at her side.

Krystal turned her head toward him. A pair of yellow butterflies clinging to the blades of grass between them took to the air suddenly when he rolled onto his side so that his warm brown eyes were focused entirely on her.

Her lips twitched in her best effort to play off her fear. “Nothing much. Just busy scaring myself again. That’s all.”

His lips curled slightly in response to her terrible attempt at levity, but the compassion in his eyes spoke far louder. He said nothing. He just held her gaze, and she felt what seemed to be a heavy weight created from the terror gathering throughout the night and from the efforts of her overactive imagination slowly unravel and slide off her as if it were a parasite dislodged just by the warm weight of his regard. Her chest rose and fell as she breathed freely and easily for the first time since waking that morning, and her eyes stung with relief. She didn’t understand how that just magically happened every time she was feelingcrushed beneath the weight of everything, but it was a small mercy.

“I can tell,” he finally murmured. He brushed an errant lock of hair from her face, his expression sweet. “I do not enjoy seeing you so distressed.”

She blew out a breath with a chuckle and shook her head as she shifted her gaze to the clouds drifting overhead. “More like stressed. This entire world has been a shit show since the Ravening, with nothing but one terrible possibility after another lurking around every corner in a world crumbling around our ears. I finally get out of all that mess and make my way to what should have been a safe place, only to have some kind of ancient monstrous evil tracking me. Why me? Of all the survivors wandering from place to place trying to survive, why did I draw the unlucky number?”

His fingers cupped her jaw, and he gently turned her head so that their faces were so close that she swore she saw layers of brown in his eyes that seemed to shift over a sea of reddish hue. He was so close now that their noses were just inches away and their breath mingling with every exhale. A vision of kissing beneath the moonlight rose within her mind and her breath caught with the first stir of renewed longing awakening within her. She wanted that again—to feel the silk of his lips against hers and the champagne sweetness of his mouth that was so very addictive.

“Perhaps because the gods who rule over the heavens and the earth saw that, unlike others, you have me to protect you. The lamia was thrown into my path to dispose of. And this in turn would protect a great many children. It is only a terrible cruelty on their part that it also endangers you. But beyond all, it is important to be clear that you are more protected than any others that the lamia would have come upon. No other but you would be so cherished and protected by me. And believe mewhen I say that I will expend my dying breath to keep her from harming you.”

Her brow furrowing, she stared at him, her eyes searching his expression, seeking even a hint of duplicity as he gently stroked her cheek. They had not been together that long and yet he seemed to hold a certainty about everything that shook her.

“How can you be so sure of any of this?”

His gaze softened in sympathy, and she felt pressure around her heart unravel further as if the gentle scrape of his nails against her cheek was tugging away the darkness that was clinging to her.

“Because of what I am,” he whispered, and he rolled to cover her body with his so that they were heart to heart. She felt threads of pleasure pierce her and slide into her from that point of contact, as if entwining them together.

“Are you doing this… making me feel this way?” she replied quietly.

His brows rose in surprise, but his sweet smile deepened with mischief. “Now this is interesting. You are quite sensitive. I wonder what else you might feel.”

She chuckled at the speculative look that gleamed in his eyes and gripped his chin before his head could dip with interest in exploration. He didn’t grope her or even lower his hand from her cheek where his thumb continued to caress in lazy circles. His eyes just glittered with amusement that gave them an even brighter red cast, as if they were sharing some kind of private joke between them. And it felt good.

“How about you tell me what exactly you were doing, instead?” she suggested with a quirk of her eyebrows. “How are you taking away all fear and pain and then making me feel… things.”

A melodramatic sigh tore from him but he grinned impishly, not the least bit discouraged by her demand.

“Perhaps it is because you are meant to be mine,” he whispered.

Kyrstal’s eyebrows rose and her lips twitched mirthfully. “That is a sexist thing to say. Perhaps it is you who are meant to be mine,” she challenged.

His eyelids lowered half-mast over gleaming eyes and his expression heated with that sinful smile on his lips. “Of that much, I have no doubt. Now, allow me to serve my queen and prove the devotion and fealty of my heart.”

Her eyes widened and she could barely breath as his lips descended, but a gasp tore from her at the hot press of them against her mouth and his tongue slipped in, swallowing her little cry of desire between them.

There was no thought of resistance, there was only hunger and need as she clawed her way toward the offered promise of bliss. She was tired of pretending she had no needs or desires of her own for the sake of self-preservation. In this fucked-up world she was going to grasp her bliss with both hands and fuck everyone who tried to stand in her way!

Chapter

Twenty

The softness of Krystal’s lips and sweet taste of her mouth consumed Syrix’s reality. The rest of the world simply could not exist so long as he held her there within his arms, devouring her sweetness and drinking in her every whimper. Her taste, her scent, she teased his senses beyond reason. She was exquisite and so incredibly addictive. A human child of daylight, she tasted of the delicate flavors of mortality and the sunshine she basked in, and her warmth drew him closer to revel in it.

“Syrix.” Her sigh tickled his lips upon their mouths briefly parting between kisses, but he immediately swallowed it and her elated groan as his mouth reclaimed hers, his tongue slipping between her lips and entangling with hers.

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