Page 48 of Essa

My vision clears enough to see her behind me, not even straining to hold me back. That's a little concerning, considering she doesn't look that strong. I know she's powerful, but seeing her not struggle to restrain me with just one arm, well, it's humbling, to say the least. And to think I picked fights with her multiple times, and she didn't hand me my ass.

"There you go," Essa says.

Watching our reflections in the mirror, she lets her eyes fall, drifting over every pink, puckered scar across my torso, down my arms and legs, across my chest. I swallow hard as I try to decipher her expression. She masks it well, though I'm prettysure her tail wrapping around my ankle possessively is her telltale sign of wishing to protect me.

She releases my waist when I stop struggling, and my body relaxes. The anger I felt like a tidal wave attempting to drown me has diminished, and in its place is just a deep, harrowing emptiness. I'd prefer the anger, honestly.

"If you are to break the mirror, use this," Essa says, holding up a decorative metal animal of some sort. Its weight is hefty as she transfers it to my hands. "I'd prefer to use the mirrors to admire one another as we have intercourse, but I understand if you wish to destroy them."

Essa steps away from me, her tail the last part of her touching me before it too reluctantly releases me. It isn't until she's passing through the doorway that I notice that she's still naked. And she just talked about fucking against the mirror, or in front of it, or I don't know, just somewhere where I could watch it all happen from a whole other angle.

"Wait," I call out to her, letting the metal animal crash to the marble floor. "You can't call it intercourse like some detached clinician."

Her snort is enough to have my lips twitching in the corners. Damn, I really, really have gone soft.

I turn toward the countertop against one side of the bathroom, grab a couple of hand towels, and get them damp with water. I should wait for it to warm, but I'm in a rush now that my anger has abated, and I'm more interested in getting inside mine and Seth's Haventh. I may have just come, but my cock is stirring back to life, eager for a chance to go again if it means I can sate some of my desire with her body.

When I exit the bathroom, I'm disappointed by the sight in front of me. Okay, disappointed is a strong word, but it fits, considering neither of my partners has their mouth anywhere on the other.

"What are you doing?" I snap, my voice hard in the silence of the room. Neither Seth nor Essa jumps or startles at the sound. If anything, I think they're mocking me with their not so sly looks at one another.

"I'm getting ready for bed," Essa tells me, sliding a pair of those same short, cotton underwear up her legs and covering herself. I refuse to admit that watching her thread her tail through the little tail hole in the back is amusing or cute or anything. I keep my expression annoyed. "We have many things to do tomorrow in preparation for the wedding. I believe it's to happen in just a few short days."

I growl, and any rallying my cock was doing has officially died out. "You aren't marrying him, Essa," I tell her, ignoring the flash of worry that passes over her features. Instead of soothing those fears, I undoubtedly make them worse. "I'm not allowing you to marry him."

"Allowing me?" Essa rears back like I've slapped her.

It might have more of an effect on me if she weren't still naked from the waist up and if her nipples weren't hard and pebbled, alerting me to the fact that she might not hate the idea of me dictating her actions. Or it could be because it's slightly chilly in here. But I like to think it's the former.

"Yes, allow you." I stomp toward her, tossing the damp washcloths on the bed beside Seth as I pass him. He gives me a small thumbs up that he hides from Essa with his body. He starts wiping his face, the dried spit on his neck and chest, and the smudged paint. I wanted to do that for him, but I need to deal with Essa right now.

She stands taller when I'm near, her nostrils flare, her pupils dilated into little slits. She looks fucking regal with all her little chains and jewels still on, but I have a point to make.

Seth won't turn around until she can calm this down because I'm pretty sure she's wearing what she calls her scary face. Shemight be mad at me, but her tail snaps around me, higher this time, as though this is foreplay for her, just like it is for me. Okay, so maybe my dick can try to rally one more time.

Her tail tightens around my thigh, tugging me closer to her as she snaps her teeth down at me. Her fangs contrast against the dark golden hue of her lips, but there's no venom in them now, no way to make me docile if I try to cause a scene. I wonder how long that will last before she can make me submit again.

She could force you to submit just with her strength, so don't bestupid.Seth's voice in my head is more amused by the situation than I appreciate, but his remark does have my lips curling up at the sides before I can stop it. He's either gotten more used to the effects of her scary face or not facing her helps him keep his cool.

"When you devoted yourself to me, you knew I was coming here to marry another. I will not love him, I will not care for him, I will not cherish him as I do the two of you. But I will be his wife."

I open my mouth to argue with her, but the full weight of her words barrels through me. Okay, maybe they don't barrel through me per se because my biggest motivator is arguing with Essa and seeing how riled up I can get her while pretending I'm not paying any attention to what she's saying.

Seth, though, he's sitting on the bed, listening to it all and hanging on every word. So when Essa lets it slip just a little bit that there's a chance she cares for us way more than we thought, his thoughts are screaming at me to stop being an asshole to her, to wrap her in my arms, and treat her like the princess she is. Too bad for Seth that if he wants that, he needs to learn how to look at our girl when she's angry.

I step closer to her, pressing myself against her until she's backing up against the wall. She eyes me suspiciously, probably confused about the shift in what's happening. I can fight withher and want to feel her body pressing against mine at the same time.

"I said you're not marrying him." I press my lips to hers, sucking down her gasp of surprise before she melts into me.

Her fangs snag on my bottom lip, but it only has me treating her rougher, biting down on her lip in return. Our kissing is more of a fight than anything else, but it's us, and that's all that matters.

When I pull away from Essa, her constricted pupils are blown out wide, making them look like the same ones a contented kitten might have. Fuck, I'd love to make her purr for me right now. To soften her after riling her up. It'll have to wait for another time, though.

"Are you two coming to bed, or am I supposed to be alone all night?" Seth asks, pulling us away from one another.

I turn to face him, gaze hardening to tell him he needs to not be so needy, but when they land on him, I can see the uncertainty on his face. Oh, he's worried I'll get bored of him now that I have Essa to entertain me.

Stupid softening of my heart. I blame Seth for this because he's the first one who burrowed his way into it and left a tunnel big enough for Essa to squeeze through.

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