Page 18 of Call of the Ride
Ah, so it’s because my deal with Koschei didn't involve him.
“You don’t need tosaveme from this, Nox,” I replied, tamping down my annoyance as I cupped his face in my hands. “I will figure it out, I promise.”
Apparently, this was the wrong answer, as Nox immediately slammed a mask of impassivity over the raw emotion he’d been showing me. “Well, if this conversation is over,” he rumbled, shifting beneath me. “Then you need to get your tasty assawayfrom my dick before I fucking explode.”
I arched a brow, purposefully sliding myself along his full length before abruptly standing. “Fine,” I laughed, turning so my offensive body part was inches from his face, smirking as he groaned in frustration. “The opposite end of the tub should suffice.”
Instead of submerging again, I grabbed the soap, turning to face Nox as I switched on the shower and began to wash. My Rider tracked the suds running down my body in rivulets, his gaze darkening with lust as he dipped a hand into the water. Desire pooled in my belly at the thought of what he was doing beneath the surface.
It doesn’t seem fair that I can’t see.
I yanked the plug out of the drain, smiling smugly as the tub quickly emptied to reveal Nox’s impressive cock, clenched tightly in his hand. The muscles in his forearm bunched as he stroked himself, his gaze still locked on my body, hissing through his teeth as my soapy hand found my clit.
“Do you enjoy watching me like this?” I murmured, leaning back against the shower wall and slipping two fingers inside myself, circling my clit with my thumb. “Just like you watched Tan and Asa fuck me together in the grove?”
“I fucking love it,” he growled, increasing his pace. “And I loved watching that tight little pussy of yours take both of them at once.” His dark brown eyes softened as he searched my face. “I can’t stop watching you…you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
My breath hitched as I neared release, a deep need to bare everything to him pulsing alongside the earth magic thrumming around us.“Everyonecan see me now, Nox. The Yaga’s mask is gone...”
“Let ‘em look,” he gritted out, his gaze unfocused as he came with a groan. “You’re still mine.”
“Yours,” I gasped, shuddering as the tether between us snapped into place once again, heightening the almost overwhelming sensations of my climax. Collapsing against the copper wall behind me, I allowed a deep peace to settle into my bones—vaguely registering as Nox wrapped me in a towel and carried me off to where I belonged.
Chapter 15
Marena
One of my favorite parts of spending so much time among humans was the ever-changing slang they invented. In fact, as I observed my twin and Anthia bickering in the hallway up ahead as we walked toward Vasi’s suite, a perfectly appropriate phrase came to mind.
Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Although itwasJariloI’d been worried about alerting when we’d passed through the sacred oak on our way to London, it wasn’t because I was afraid of him. Yes, my brother was extremely powerful, but the real danger came from how mischievous and easily bored he was. He rarely left the Prav nowadays, so this would’ve seemed like an irresistible invitation to cause havoc with anyone who crossed his path. And unfortunately for Anthia, she was his favorite type of sparring partner.
Regardless of whether she wants to play.
“The last thing we need around here is another useless man getting involved,” the shifter snapped, tossing her straight blonde hair over her shoulder with a huff. “We are up to our eyeballs in testosterone as it is, so feel free tofuck offat any time.”
“Hmm, so many enormous cocks, and yet, there’s only one woman getting her needs met,” Jarilo mused as I inwardly groaned, knowing where this was headed. “How long has it been since someone roughed upyourtail feathers, little swan?”
Anthia slammed to a halt so abruptly Jarilo plowed into her, taking them both to the carpeted floor, with him awkwardly splayed on top. I was surprised my normally perceptive brother was caught off guard...until I noticed he seemed to be doing quite a bit more with his hands than helping the woman beneath him.
“GET OFF OF ME, YOU UNCOUTH PEASANT!” Anthia shrieked, half-shifting in rage as she batted him away with a large wing.
Jarilo chuckled as he gracefully rose, pulling her to stand along with him. “No need to get excited—I was merely ensuring the crown jewels were still intact, your majesty.”
Something about the way Anthia froze when he called her by that title made me intervene. “Enough, Jar,” I sighed. “If you’re insisting on involving yourself in this situation, then you should plan on actuallyhelpingus. You must know by now that Koschei has mother…”
“I am well aware,” he gritted out, all playfulness gone as he emanated enough heat to peel the wallpaper outside Vasi’s door. “Don’t think I won’t be paying a visit to that deathlessfreakas soon as I get the chance.”
Which, in Jarilo-speak, means sometime in the next century.
A memory of Vasi bravely making a deal with Koschei made me suddenly smile. She’d frozen her men so they wouldn’t intervene, but as I’d been unaffected by her power, I’d heard every word. While I trusted the witch had a plan for beating one of the most notoriously slippery creatures at his own game, I also wanted to assist her—without breaking the rules.
Although we gods might appear mindlessly vengeful and chaotic, we followed a strict code of conduct, with laws agreed upon by the upper pantheon, many moons ago. We weren’t supposed to meddle in the lives of humans unless necessary for the greater survival oftheirspecies. These broad criteria allowed some wiggle room, but we couldn’t eliminate a powerful supernatural being without just cause.
As Koschei was an unknown creature—like the Yagas and Vasi herself—it became even trickier to know how to combat him. As of now, he was holding my mother captive with the claim that he’dsavedher from mortal death. To the Deathless One, this meant he owned her untilhedecided her debt was repaid. And as Mokosh was making very little fuss about this arrangement for some infuriating reason, I’d had no choice but to look into other solutions.
“I met with Rahim at the Old Bailey,” I stated, ignoring Jarilo’s narrowing eyes at the mention of our family lawyer. “He confirmed that, until Koschei missteps, the laws of the divine are on his side.”
