Suck It by Linsey Hall
7
Drakon
Mac felt like heaven against me. Her long, lean form pressed against mine, sending shock waves of pleasure through my body.
I’d had a seemingly infinite number of pleasurable experiences in my life, but none compared to this. It felt like everything I’d lived through had been leading up to the moment where I could hold her, and I never wanted to let her go.
When she shivered beneath my touch, I moved my lips back to hers. She parted them, and I slipped my tongue inside to taste her.
The heady pleasure of it stole my conscious thought, and I kissed her like she was my lifeline to the world.
She was.
There was no life without her. I’d known that since the moment I’d met her. Hell, I’d known that since the moment she’d appeared to me in visions.
I ran my hands down her sides, palms tingling at the feel of her smooth curves. Trembling slightly, I slipped my hands beneath the hem of her shirt to feel the smooth skin of her back.
Heat raced up my arms, and I couldn’t believe the pleasure of touching her.
As I kissed her, the siren call of her blood sang to me. It was impossible to resist, and I drew my lips back to her neck. Her skin tasted so sweet beneath my tongue, and the way she melted made desire rocket through me. Desire for her, desire for her blood.
The most overwhelming need overcame me, stronger than anything I’d ever felt. It took control of my mind and my actions. The fog of it sent me into a trance. There was no fighting it.
Unable to help myself, I sank my fangs into her skin. When the first drop of her ambrosia-like blood hit my tongue, I nearly came on the spot.
She jerked in shock, and the small motion shocked some sense into me.
I pulled away, horrified by myself.
What have I just done?
Pain flashed across her face as I stepped away from her, nearly stumbling on the steps behind me. I righted myself, feeling like I’d just entered another universe.
I hadn’t been in control of my own body.
Fates, that was no excuse.
She smacked a hand to her neck. “What the hell?”
“I—I have no idea.” I’d bitten many people without their consent over my long life, but I’d told myself I wouldn’t do that with her. I’d been sure I’d be able to follow that rule.
And yet, I’d failed.
Twice.
“Well, you’d better get an idea, because that’s the second time you’ve tried that.”
“It wasn’t intentional.” The words were weak, the sentiment worthless.
“Who the hell cares if it was intentional?”
“You’re right.” I dragged a hand over my face. “Let me take you home.”
She looked around, and I knew what she saw. The intensely austere and barren place that I called my home.
Suddenly, I was oddly embarrassed for how I’d lived all these years.
I’m a monster.
I literally lurked in a castle on top of a nearly apocalyptic mountain wasteland.
No.
That was ridiculous. Who was she to make me feel this way? Disgusted with myself, I held out my hand. I wanted her gone so that I could escape her pull—so that I could feel like myself again.
I didn’t like what she did to me any more than she liked what I’d done to her.
“I’ll take you back.”
She stared at my hand, clearly uncertain.
“I promise.”
“Fine.” She glared at me. “I’ll make you regret it if you try anything else.”
“I won’t.” But how could I promise that? I hadn’t even expected to bite her. The impulse had come out of the blue, overpowering my body before my conscious mind could take over.
Could that happen again?
Yes.
No. I wouldn’t let it. I was more than just my urges.
When her smaller hand clasped mine, I tried to ignore the surge of emotion that rushed through me—pleasure, a desire to protect, home.
The last wasn’t an emotion, but I felt the sense of home so strongly that it nearly took me to my knees.
How did I even know what that felt like?
I’d never had a home. I had no frame of reference for that feeling.
And yet, she represented that for me. Something I’d never felt, that I’d never thought I’d wanted.
And yet I did.
“Well?” She arched her brows. “Are we going?”
“Of course.” I called upon my power, letting the ether suck us in and spin us through space.
When we arrived at her tower courtyard, she pulled away quickly.
“We can’t do that again,” I said. I could kill her.
“No kidding.”
Her words cut like a blade, but I shoved the hurt aside. It was another emotion I wasn’t used to feeling, and this unusual flood of them was enough to make me feel like my world had tilted off its axis.
“The festival is tomorrow night,” she said. “Texas time.”
I nodded. “Good. We’ll go then. I’ll be in touch.”
Without another word, I disappeared. I couldn’t be with her for a moment more.
Mac
Stunned, I watched Drakon disappear.
He’d bitten me.
Worse, he’d appeared to have no control over it.
Truthfully, he didn’t appear to have taken much blood. Any, in fact. As soon as his fangs had pierced my skin, he’d snapped back to his senses and stepped away. But the fact that he’d seemed to have no control of his actions scared the hell out of me.
Head buzzing, I turned and stumbled toward the tower. Despite the cold terror of his bite, desire still raced through my veins. It was the strangest feeling, but impossible to fight. No matter what went wrong between the two of us, I would always want him. There was just something about him—about us—that was impossible to resist.
Damned Bride Bond.
How I hated the thing.
And yet, how I loved his touch.
So freaking annoying.
I opened the door to the tower and stepped inside. A couple of pizza boxes sat open on the table in the middle of the room, and my friends were gathered around on the couches. Carrow, Eve, Beatrix, and Seraphia each held a hand of cards, and there was a scattering of colorful plastic chips on the table.
Poker night.
Genevieve sat next to Coraline, and the two looked toward me with identical expressions. Each had a piece of pizza crammed up to their mouths, and the sight brought me back to earth slightly.
Carrow set her hand of cards down. “You look…intense.”
I gave a shaky laugh and sat on the couch. “I feel intense.”
“What happened?” Eve set down her cards and grabbed another piece of pizza.
“A lot.” I started with the information that we’d collected from the shifters and ended with the kicker—the kiss and bite.
All four of them watched me with wide eyes.
“Holy fates,” Carrow said. “How do you feel about that?”
“Scared.” I ran a shaky hand over my face. “Although I admit I didn’t want the kiss to end.”
Eve whistled low under her breath. “That’s a lot to take in.”
“I know.” I leaned back against the couch. “I can feel fate pulling us together. It even feels like there’s more to us than I realized. Like there’s something under the surface.”
“Do you think it has to do with your lost memories?” Seraphia asked.
I nodded, remembering how the witches had told me that many of my memories might not even be true. The mysterious spell that had cursed my mind had tweaked much of my past inside my head. The idea of it turned my stomach. I’d spent the last couple days grappling with it, but it was time to get down to business. “I need to learn more about my past.”
“Like why you buried Drakon alive,” Eve said.
“I think it’s because he was a threat to you,” Carrow said.
It made sense. But what kind of threat? Was his compulsion to bite me also a compulsion to kill? He’d wanted to kill me when he’d first met me. But that hadn’t been a compulsion. That had been a desire for vengeance. He’d been in control of the desire, and I didn’t think he felt it anymore. “He was horrified when he realized what he’d done.”
“As he should be.” Carrow’s face was bulldog stubborn, and my other friends’ expressions mirrored hers.
“Yeah. Definitely.” I couldn’t agree more. “But I don’t know why I buried him alive, and I need to figure it out. I should also visit my parents.” I hadn’t had time before, but I was going to have to make time. “As soon as we stop Ludovic from attacking the shifters, I’m going to them.”
“Need backup?” Carrow asked.
I nodded. “At the shifters’ festival in Texas, definitely. Probably at my parents’ place, too.”
She reached for my hand and gripped it comfortingly. “You’ve got us.”
Genevieve lowered the pizza from her face. Me, too.
“Thanks, guys.”
I helped them finish the pizza, trying to keep my mind off the things I didn’t know. Fortunately, my friends could corroborate my memories the last five years. Basically, from the moment I’d arrived in Guild City, my memories were real.
Everything before that?
I didn’t know.
I shook my head and reached for the last slice of pizza. Genevieve’s little paw landed on it at the same time, but we compromised and split it. She took the better half, but since she’d helped save my butt earlier tonight, I was happy to let her have it.
When we’d finished, she left with Cordelia for parts unknown. They definitely looked like they were off to run a robbery or shake down some tourists for snacks, but she was her own badger, so I didn’t object.
Anyway, it would be nice to sleep without her trying to hog half the bed. She was small but had a terrible habit of stretching out horizontally across the mattress and sticking a foot in my face.
Except sleep didn’t come easily. No matter how I tossed and turned, I couldn’t escape memories of Drakon’s kiss. And when I finally did fall asleep, I felt like he was with me even there.
Strange dreams flashed in front of my mind’s eye, memories that couldn’t be memories. The visions happened in a time before I’d even been born—the clothing and settings made that clear enough.
In my dream, I visited Drakon throughout his long life, appearing at various points when he was at his worst—killing on the battlefield, drinking from his victims, fighting for no reason at all.
He’d led a life full of loneliness and bloodshed, and somehow, I was witnessing it. The sights made me sad and angry at the same time, and yet I couldn't stay away. I was drawn to him in the visions, wishing that I could make contact.
When the sun sliced across my face in the morning and woke me up, I was grateful for the reprieve. As much as I’d been desperate to see him in the visions, it had been a dark feeling.
With a shudder, I stumbled into the shower and washed away the false memories. Surely, I was losing my mind.
Genevieve was still out when I made my way to the kitchen. It was located on the first floor at the back of the tower, an ancient room that had been modernized in the last few months.
Now, it was a cozy space with stone walls and wide dark beams supporting the ceilings. Eve had hung some lovely cooking herbs to dry, and their aroma filled the air as I went to the coffee pot sitting by the big window overlooking the garden.
A dark, fragrant brew welcomed me, and I gratefully poured myself a cup.
“Muffins!” Carrow’s voice sounded from behind me, and I turned to see her carrying in a big white box of muffins. She held it up with a grin. “The blueberry muffins in here would make you sell your soul to the devil.”
“Fortunately, you’re not the devil.”
“And I’ll take a much lower price. Let me borrow those cool black boots of yours.”
“Done.” I’d let her borrow them even without a muffin, and she’d share her treats without the trade.
As I pulled one of the pastries from the box, my phone vibrated with a text message. I looked down, spotting Drakon’s name. It was the first time he’d sent me a message, and it was strange to see his ancient moniker on my modern little phone. He really wasn’t the sort to spend a lot of time typing out messages, but I doubted he wanted to see me right now.
We exchanged a few quick texts discussing preparations for the evening, and my heart was racing by the time we were done.
“You’ve got it bad,” Carrow said as I slipped the phone back in my pocket.
“No kidding.” I tilted my head back. “This was not what I expected from my life.”
“It’ll work out.” She pushed a muffin toward me. “Here, butter and sugar will make it better.”
“For now, at least.” I shoved a massive bite in my mouth and immediately agreed. The muffin was so tasty that things were better. For now.
“What’s first on the agenda?” Carrow asked.
“We need a way to blend in amongst the shifters at the festival tonight,” I said.
“I know just the place. Madame Alette’s.”
I nodded. The Fae dressmaker was sure to have something that would help us blend into the crowd.
When we’d finished eating, we made our way through the bustling streets of Guild City over to Madame Alette’s shop.
She welcomed us with the usual glasses of champagne. I accepted it graciously because it wouldn’t be wise to offend her, but she got the drift when I made it clear we were in a hurry. She bustled off to collect some items from the back, and Carrow and I took a seat with our champagne glasses. A moment later, Genevieve showed up.
She eyed my glass.
“Your timing is excellent,” I said.
Of course it is. Now share. You’re being rude.
“Rude?” I placed a hand on my chest. “Why, I never.”
She grumbled, and I poured her a small glass while she hoisted her fluffy butt up onto the couch. Madame Alette gave her a disapproving look when she returned, but said nothing as Genevieve polished off her champagne in one gulp. Her hiccup almost made me wince, but I managed to hide it.
“Here.” Madame Alette shoved a large white box at me. “There is an assortment of items within that will help you blend in at the festival in Texas. As long as you’re standing on the outskirts of the crowd, no one should notice you at all.”
I set my glass aside and peeked into the box. Denim, cotton, and leather. All appropriate for Texas. I could feel the slight buzz of enchantment around them and was glad we’d chosen to come here. “Perfect. What about when we’re amongst the crowd? Will they still not notice us?”
“People will be able to notice you, but they should find you very boring, and they’ll look away quickly. The glamour won’t hold up to intense scrutiny, but it should do well enough.” She raised a hand. “They will know you aren’t shifters, however. I couldn’t manage quite that much in such a short time.”
I was pretty sure I had a solution for that as well, so I shut the box. “Thank you. I appreciate it. What do I owe you?”
“Drakon has taken care of it.”
Of course he had. He could handle small things like that. Bigger things, like not sinking his fangs into me, were harder.
Carrow and I left the shop, but not before seeing Genevieve snatch the half empty champagne bottle off the table and disappear. As we made our way back to the tower, I caught sight of the badger in an alley with Cordelia and Ralph, Eve’s familiar. The three were drinking from the bottle as they sat on top of some bins.
I eyed Genevieve. “All class, that one.”
Carrow grinned. “Cordelia is a bad influence.”
As we walked back, I texted Eve, telling her of our issue with appearing to be shifters. She responded quickly, and I slipped my phone in my pocket before passing the message to Carrow. “Eve says she has something that will help us out. A potion that will give us signatures common to shifters. We won’t be able to shift, but we should pass the sniff test.”
“I’m not sure how literally to take the phrase sniff test.”
I laughed.