Page 85 of Haunted

I whimper into his mouth as his release fills me completely, marking me from the inside out in the most primal way possible. His tongue tangles with mine with the same intensity as his cock slams inside me.

“Your cunt belongs to me,” he says between desperate kisses, his breath ragged as he continues to empty himself inside me. “Every part of you belongs to me now.”

His words should terrify me. It should remind me why I’m here and what I came to do. Instead, they send another pulse of heat through my already overwhelmed system.

“I never want to let you go,” Xavier confesses against my mouth, his declaration weighted with something deeper than lust. “Not after this hunt ends. Not ever.”

The vulnerability in his admission catches me off guard. This isn’t about conquering prey anymore. There's a quality in his voice that's tangible, making my chest tight with emotions I don't expect, let alone understand.

Right now, with his cum still warm inside me and his hands holding me like I’m precious, I can’t help but think I want that too. Want this dangerous connection to last beyond the twisted game that brought us together.

33

XAVIER

The orgy room has finally quieted after twenty-four hours of relentless fucking. Bodies sprawl across silk cushions and velvet divans, the air heavy with the musk of sex and exhaustion. Most of the hunters have retreated to private chambers or collapsed where they last took their pleasure.

But I can’t look away from the center of the room.

All six women lie together on the massive pile of crimson cushions, their naked bodies intertwined in sleep. They had some water and bread before crashing out. Mira’s hand clasps Cora’s tightly, even in unconsciousness.

“Look at our big brother,” Knox’s voice cuts through my thoughts, followed by the clink of a whiskey glass. “Twenty-four hours of the best pussy he’s ever had, and he still can’t stop staring.”

Vane snorts, sprawled in a leather chair. “She’s gothim completely fucked up. Look at him—he hasn’t even touched his drink.”

I tear my gaze away from Mira’s sleeping form to glare at my brothers. Knox grins back, completely unrepentant, while Landon observes silently from the shadows. We’re the only hunters still awake, too wired from adrenaline and conquest to find rest.

“Shut the fuck up,” I mutter, finally reaching for the whiskey tumbler beside me.

“No, this is fascinating,” Knox continues, leaning forward. “Xavier Blackwood, the man who’s never kept a woman longer than a week, sitting here like a lovesick teenager.”

“She’s different,” the words slip out before I can stop them.

Vane’s eyebrows shoot up. “Different how? They’re all the same when you strip away the pretense.”

“She’s not.” I down half my whiskey in one burning gulp. “She challenges me and then surrenders so completely it nearly breaks me.”

“It’s the hunt,” Landon speaks for the first time, his voice quiet but certain. “You’re confusing conquest with connection.”

My jaw clenches. “You think I don’t know the difference?”

Knox laughs, the sound harsh in the intimate space. “When’s the last time you worried about what happened to a woman after you finished with her?”

I don’t answer because we all know the truth. I’ve never given a fuck before.

“She made you work for it,” Vane observes, swirling amber liquid in his glass. “That’s all. The chase was longer, so you think the prize is more valuable.”

“Watch your mouth when you talk about her.”

The words come out sharper than intended, loaded with warning. My brothers exchange glances that I pretend not to notice.

“There it is,” Knox says softly. “Our cold, calculating brother, ready to spill blood over a woman who, given the chance, would destroy us.”

The whiskey glass shatters against the wall behind Knox’s head, amber liquid dripping down the dark wood paneling.

“Say another fucking word about her,” I warn, a deadly calm saturating every syllable.

Knox’s grin widens, his blue eyes lighting up with dangerous delight. “What? That she’s been playing you from the start? That she signed up for this hunt specifically to gather dirt on us?”

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