“What the hell are you doing here, Aria?”
“I heard they had a massive BOGO sale on sage here, so I came to check it out. It turns out it was a buy two, get the third one free sale, offering shit sage you could get from the Dollar Store. You?”
“I’m here to slaughter witches. You’re in my fucking way, little girl.”
“Oh, awkward,” I chuckled, and the witches echoed the sound, causing him to frown as he surveyed the witches behind me. “Right? He’s a funny boy, isn’t he, ladies?”
“Cut the shit, now. This isn’t a fucking game. Drop the barrier, and I’ll go easy on you for the first few times, Aria. Make me wait until it falls, and I’ll show you how much I’ve missed you as I violently savage your greedy cunt.”
“Aww, you missed me?” I asked in a saccharine tone, running my finger over the barrier, smiling as he watched its path.
“I’ve missed you beneath me, woman.” He stepped closer, smiling darkly as his eyes turned to liquid pools of desire. “Let me show you how much I’ve missed you.”
His presence reminded me of how he felt pressed against me, and my core clenched while I chewed my bottom lip. His tongue snaked out, running over his lips, and I recalled how it felt against my clit, battering against it, sucking the swollen flesh into his heated mouth. He’d made my body into a twisting, heated mess of orgasms as he’d moaned with the taste of me painting his tongue. I swallowed hard, jerking my eyes away from his in surrender.
My arms lifted, forcing the witches behind me to do the same. I leaned against the barrier, studying him. “Knox, don’t threaten me with a good time, or promises you might not be able to keep.”
“Drop the barrier, and I’ll have you screaming for me, Little Monster. Your body requires mine to get off, which means you’ve neglected your needs. I want to get you off.”
My eyes grew hooded, and my body heated as every word he uttered seemed to slither through my sex, running over my clit in perfect rhythm. I slowly licked my lips, staring at his full mouth, remembering the feel of his tongue between my thighs, stroking me to orgasm after earth-shattering orgasm. I moaned, trembling, then shook my head to dispel the sound of my breathing and heartbeat, drowning out everything else around me.
“What is wrong with you, woman?” he demanded, noting how I shivered, rocking my body seductively without the control to stop myself.
I could smell his scent through the barrier, which wasn’t supposed to happen. I’d erected it, intending to ignore his seductive aroma that was the bane of my existence. According to Aurora, I was fighting a losing battle to the creature within, and I felt it acutely every time I was near Knox. His eyes searched mine, thinning, and his nostrils flared as he inhaled my scent.
“You run too slowly, Knox,” I croaked, losing my hold on the barrier momentarily, allowing him to catch my scent. His eyes slipped to midnight onyx with embers burning within their depths as his creature peered out from his host.
“Your time is up,” he laughed soundlessly. “You’re fully in heat, Little Witch. Tell me, how badly do you ache for me right now?”
“It’s irrelevant, Knox. It changes nothing.”
“It’s changed everything, Aria. I am no longer the only thing hunting you down. Your body has declared that you’re in season, and your womb is begging to be filled. You’re not escaping me anymore. You can’t run much longer in your current state. Now, bring down the fucking barrier so I can destroy the witches and fix that issue you’re having.”
“This is sort of an awkward subject to have, surrounded by our armies,” I swallowed, closing my eyes, leaning my head against the barrier, and moaning at the heat rolling through me.
“I’m not fucking asking anymore,” Knox snapped harshly, his eyes slowly returning to a vivid blue, showing he’d contained his beast, which was more than I could say about mine.
Of course, my body would pick now to have an episode. That’s what I’d started calling the momentary events where my body buckled, and my hand slid between my thighs, fighting the pain that ached there. My creature thought it was hilarious when it happened, singing about me stroking the devil’s doorbell. It was something I couldn’t prevent, and it tended to happen only when I caught his scent while hunting him.
What else could go wrong?
“I’ve actually started laying siege to the keep already. Arrows are about to be released on me from the lady inside. So, be a good boy and wait here for a moment, please, and thank you. I have something to do real fast.”
I stepped back as the witches removed their cloaks, revealing their bodies’ decomposed state. Knox’s eyes widened as he looked over my shoulder, his mouth opening and closing. I laughed, enjoying the horror playing out on his and his men’s faces at the morbid scene before him, grimacing as the dead witches laughed along with me.
Knox watched my undead army opening their decaying mouths, ready to echo my words. Lifting my arms, I swayed my hips, knowing all the decomposing bodies around me mimicked my movements as I danced for him.
“Aren’t we so pretty, Knox?” We all spoke together, the magic growing as I rolled my head on my shoulders, causing them to do the same. “How about an undead orgy? You down?” I laughed mirthlessly, noting his eyes lowered to my midriff with naked hunger.
“What the fuck did you do, Aria?” he demanded the moment he regained focus, pulling his attention from my skin.
“I rattled their world. Your turn will come soon enough. Are you ready for me? I told you I’d handle my house. Can you say the same about yours? Mine isn’t the only one dirty in the Nine Realms, now, is it? Your house has enjoyed using us, deflowering us, and then keeping us as pets. Isn’t that right?” My gaze slid to the witches within his army, then back to him, anger burning in his gaze.
“Careful pointing fingers,” he warned coldly, his jaw hammering. I smirked, knowing I’d hit a sensitive chink in his armor. “You’ve been in this world for a minute. You have no idea what I’m capable of once you’ve pissed me off. Don’t piss me off. You won’t like what happens, Aria.”
“I’ve been here a few months, Knox. I’ve set siege to four castles and brought them all to their bloody knees. You’ve been at this for how long? And you’ve done what? Waged war on me? Oh, no. That’s right. You’ve wrecked my world, killed the evil bitch that birthed me, and her wicked sister. Your people raped and decimated innocent lives that had nothing to do with your war, and you think witches are the only problem in the Nine Realms?”
“Your breed, the Hecate line, is the only one that matters at the moment. Kill the head of the snake, and the rest will fall easily.”
“I’m right here, Knox. Come get me if you think you can,” I snorted, stepping back as power entered the clearing, and the illusion I’d held in place slipped.
Now visible, were the burning embers of bloody husks and blackened skeletal remains littering the ground beneath our feet. The castle walls were singed and covered in blood and gore where I’d waged a battle against the witch who held the keep in Hecate’s name. Fires burned all around me, some from bodies, others from pyres I’d lit to increase the magic fueling the altar where I was about to stand. I’d been here for days, playing with these witches, testing my army against their numbers. I was winning until Knox had crashed the party.