Page 5 of November Reign
On and on I continued to pleasure myself, as my brain tortured me with images of Thyme naked and writhing on my bed. If he were mine, I’d get him velvet lined cuffs, or use silk. He’d look good with a collar. I just knew he’d be into it. At least in my dreams he was. There, he begged for some sign that I owned him.
A tingle worked its way down my spine as my release neared. In my mind’s eye, I imagined Thyme under me, his lips parted as he moaned my name as I thrust inside him.
“Oak?”
The same voice I heard in my mind came from the other side of the door. I must have missed him knocking while lost in daydreams.
“Oak, please.”
My orgasm hit like a freight train, spilling all over my hand and even onto the hardwood floor. I stifled anynoise, unwilling to have anyone find out what I’d been doing.
“Oak? I need…”
I bit back a groan as my cock twitched with another spurt of come just at his damn voice.
The room was so quiet I didn’t dare move until I heard him sigh and walk away.
When I got out of the shower, it was to Hela stretched out on my bed. Somehow, she had cracked open the locked window to get inside my room. Again. Her magic was astounding.
“Fine, you can stay,” I grumbled as she made her way to the other side, leaving plenty of room for me. She did that kneading biscuits thing that would never stop being cute.
Hela was massive. About the size of a panther, maybe, with small wings perfect for gliding and a barbed tipped tail. Her ears also had barbed tips, but she seemed to control when they were sharp, because I had rubbed those ears and she had never hurt me. Toth had said she could breathe fire. How she hadended up with us I’d never understand, even though I was grateful for it.
There was no way I was going down to dinner with everyone else. Not after how I’d acted earlier. Just the idea made my gut churn. I’d take a nap and eat something later. Then I’d apologize to Barr. He hadn’t deserved to be called a pup. I was better than that. He wasn’t lesser for being a Hellhound, I shouldn’t have said what I said. Damon just made me so angry. Dealing with Thyme was hard. Still, it was no excuse. I’d apologize and work on my behavior.
I got under the covers and bit back a grin as Hela nestled closer. Her rumbling purr started up, quickly soothing me into a doze.
When I woke, it was to Toth putting a loaded tray down on the dresser. The door, which I’d locked before my shower, was slightly ajar. Damn demons and their magic.
“Brought you dinner.” He was a demon of few words. Something I respected about him. His voice softened when he caught a glimpse of his Hellcat. “Thought you’d be here.” Hela got up. “No. Stay where you are.”
The cat sat down, observing Toth. She was so remarkable. Clearly very intelligent. If she suddenly spoke one day, I wouldn’t be surprised.
“Going to have a night with Cody,” Toth always spoke to her like she was a person, not an animal.
In return, Hela made a chirruping sound and flopped back onto the bed.
“She likes you.”
Surprised, I looked away from the purring cat to Toth lingering in my bedroom.
“I like her, too. Even if she keeps breaking in here.”
His lips lifted in a smirk. “She does what she wants.”
“So, like most of the people living here?” I grinned, the expression feeling strange on my face.
“Yes,” Toth agreed. He lingered in the doorway, something on his mind. “You need to challenge Damon more. Everyone is too soft on him.”
“Yeah.” Even Keren had treaded softly with Damon. Part of that might have been the frequent death threats. Keren was also unmated and not a royal. He’d returned to the demon realm rather than risk being caught in a contract with a witch.
No real loss. All he’d done was upset poor Cody, who was the sweetest person, aside from Thyme, to ever exist.
It did mean we’d lost a fighter at a critical time.
My research into finding a way to rid Basil of his magic forever had given me a means of protecting Barr, the Hellhound, from a contract. The charm I’d made for him had taken me weeks of complicated spell work, but Barr was too valuable to lose to Basil if he ever found out his true name.
In a surprising move, Barr had insisted I implant the crystal inside him so it couldn’t be easily taken from him. Only I knew where it was because everyone else had left the room once I’d picked up the scalpel. After it had been implanted, I’d used some magic to heal it up until only a thin line remained.
