Page 55 of The Poison of the Earth
She frowns, drinking more. “No. She’s a bit of a recluse. A nomad. I have no idea how I’d get in contact with her myself. But he’d know.”
I nod.Calm down. I can’t kill him until he carries the letter to his mother for my mate.
“Then what is the problem?” I ask tightly.The problem is this fucker breathing anywhere near Ollie.
She laughs, tossing up her hand. “See? I knew I needed a woman’s opinion.”
“What?” I ask, eyebrows drawn.
She drinks and laughs again. “A woman would not need me to explain that I simply have no words to say to him. To say to a man I had given up.”
She still has feelings for him.Heat flares through me.No. Not acceptable. My Ollie can care for Lonan, that is entirely different. But anyone else? No. Fuck no.
Without realizing it, I have jumped to my feet. Ollie stands too, worry writ upon her face. I cross to her and scoop her up.
She squeaks but I hush her. She buries her face in my chest and I rush us out of her rooms and into mine.
I stride to the sofa, lighting my fireplace as I do so.
“What is it? Was there a threat?” She asks, tightly, but obviously trying to be brave.
Yes, a threat to my sanity. Fuck.
I sit, rearranging her so she’s straddling my lap.I cannot think about this, if I do I will surely lose my nerve.
She makes a noise of shock but her legs are too short to keep her body raised above mine, so I can feel the press of her.And she can feel me. My hands go to her hips.
“Oleander, I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry baby, to tell you like this. But you’re mymate. My spirit mate. I’ve known since your hand touched mine. I’ve tried so hard to stay back, to let you and Lonan get to know each other, but I cannot go another moment.” I raise my hands slowly to cup her face. She stares at me in awe. Or maybe shock, I don’t know. My thumbs gently stroke her cheeks.
“I’ll do anything, kill anyone, for you, princess. You’re mine.” I dip my head forwards, ashamed at the hurt this will cause Lonan, ashamed at my weakness, ashamed at my need.
“Kai,” she whispers. I cannot bring myself to look up.
Instead, I forge ahead. “Do you feel it? Please, tell me, baby.” I hesitate. Sometimes one mate is more sensitive to the bond than the other. “If you don’t, we can unlock it, so you can.”
I slowly meet her eyes and her face is uncharacteristically soft. She whispers, “I do. I just didn’t realize what it was until you said it.” She shakes her head a tiny bit, then leans in slowly. “Kiss me,” she breathes.
And I do. I touch our lips together softly, slowly and she parts for me. I groan into her mouth, then slip my tongue between her lips. She makes a soft sound of need.
“Will you...” I hesitate, not sure if what I want will be offensive.
She cocks her head, a tiny smile on her lips as she waits to hear me.
“Will you let your hair down?”
A sweet smile crosses her face and she nods. Her hands raise and she tugs out first one hair stick, then the other. Her white hair with the pretty streaks of light green that remind me of vines though it, cascades down, gorgeous and smooth.
“May I touch it?” I breathe.
She nods, face still soft. I lift one hand and twirl a lock of it in my fingers tentatively. She purrs and I raise my other hand, burying it and cupping the back of her head. Her eyes close and the little sound of pleasure that escapes her soft lips dives straight to my dick.Fuck.
I lean in, letting my lips and tongue and teeth skim over her neck. Her hands wrap around my neck, letting out a sweet sound of enjoyment. I kiss her neck again, hands still in her hair.
I had been holding myself back; she’s a woman, and traumatized. I have no idea how to handle this. But her sounds, and the heat of her cunt over me. I shake myself.She’s my mate, surely we can figure this out together?I grip her hips and press her into me. She gasps, wiggling, positioning herself. I chuckle. “Needy, baby?” I rock my hips up and she whimpers and nods frantically.
She grinds herself down against my hard cock. “Fuck, Kai, I’m... fuck. I’m miserable. I...”
“Baby, just tell me,” I rumble, “Tell me what you need. I’ll take care of it.”
