I kissed him back, tracing the lines of his lips with my tongue, learning his taste, feeling the emotions he normally held just a little too far out of my reach.
I could taste on his tongue that he loved all of me. He was proving it in the kiss, and it wasn’t long before I couldn’t take any more.
I bit down on his bottom lip, causing him to suck in a breath and let out a groan. My pulse spiked, my pussy flooded.
Fuck, I had to end this before I took it too far and led him on.
I pulled back, putting on a smile so he didn’t see how affected I was by what I’d seen and felt in his kiss.
Quickly, I searched for Quint. He sat on the couch, fists clenched, eyes hard, fear and jealousy swirling within their fiery depths.
“Come here,” I demanded, not going easy on his warring emotions. Now he was the one who needed to pull it together. “Take what you want, Demon.”
He groaned the sexiest sound, closing the distance between us in less than a second. I flew into the wall behind me, my back slamming against the hard drywall.
I didn’t care.
Fuck. Me.
Quint’s kiss was worlds different than Cabe’s. It was raw and dripping in vulnerable fear. I wanted to soothe him, calm him down, but he was so fucking tall I couldn’t properly hold him. I jumped, wrapping my legs around his waist.
He groaned into my mouth as he deepened the kiss that was somehow more emotional than Cabe’s. This was intense in a different way.
This was between two fearful people, two abandoned beings, who had no idea what to do with the feelings that threatened to wipe them out.
The kiss was desperate as Quint breathed me in like I was the very air he needed to live. He cupped my ass before moving his hands to my waist, then slid them up my spine to grasp the back of my neck. He applied pressure, forcing me to tilt my head to allow him more access.
His tongue danced with mine, a sweet flavor of spices.
The weed gave me a buzz, but these kisses, these emotions, they had me higher than any drug could get me.
He was oxygen and I was breathless.
I pulled back, so turned on I couldn’t see straight.
“I’m about four seconds from grinding on you like a fucking teenager,” I whispered, placing my forehead against his.
“Mmmm,” was all he said, his heart racing against mine.
“Quint,” I said, pulling his face up so I had his full attention. I swallowed my fear and listened to the bond. He needed me, something within him had unlocked and exploded when I entered his life, and I was about to take my own advice. When I was sure I had his attention, I leaned down and kissed him gently. He relaxed into it just as I pulled away. “Take what you want.”
Understanding what I meant, he closed his eyes and nodded.
He was the one who made himself feel left out. If he wanted time with me, he could take it. If he took something I wasn’t willing to give him, he’d know it before any real damage was done.
This was instinct, and I was done fighting it.
“Annalise,” Cabe called. I looked up at him from over Quint’s shoulder, surprised to see a smile plastered on his face, as if he’d won our little challenge.
Maybe he did.
He just saw me kiss Quint right after he kissed the shit out of me and laid his heart bare. And yet, he was smiling.
“Yes?”
“From now on, we take what we want.” The look on his face made me return his smile. He flipped the switch faster than I gave him credit for. He loved another version of me, but he seemed to like this version too. He was trying.
“We take what we want,” I echoed, agreeing.
I was still wrapped around Quint, his head against my chest as he steadied his breath. “You good, Q?”
He nodded against me. “Oh, ya know, just waiting for this raging hard-on to chill the fuck out so I don’t assault Cabriel with my monster cock when I turn around.”
I laughed, feeling a little lightheaded and high from the blunt. “Pulling your nose out of my tits might be a good start.”
I tapped his shoulder twice, still laughing as he set me down and moved to stand behind me. I felt said “monster cock” as it pressed against my ass, causing me to groan, not giving a damn about Cabe watching. It was too impressive to ignore.
“Fuck, you weren’t kidding,” I whispered, reaching behind to get a handful of the masterpiece hidden in his joggers.
He slapped my hand away. “Hands off unless we’re fucking, Minx, there’s a reason I call him a monster.”
Just then, the door slammed open, and my heart flew to my throat, blocking out all oxygen.
One second, I was breathing deep, the next I couldn’t find a breath for miles.
He was back.
My match, in all his fucked-up glory. I felt sick as I took in his appearance.
He wore the same jeans as before, the same hoodie, but his hair was messed more than usual. Like fingers had pulled on the strands.
His lips were swollen like they’d been kissed.
His neck was covered in dark purple splotches.
“Annalise.” I distantly heard Quint warn, but it went in one ear and out the other. The bond twisted and bucked between us as I felt its anger, its hatred toward what I saw.
All hell broke loose.
That storm Cabe occasionally held in his eyes became my own. I didn’t believe it was real until I heard the crash of thunder outside, so loud the windows shook, a glass fell off the island and smashed as it hit the floor. It had just been a quiet, peaceful night, and somehow I had caused a storm, awakening it in my anger.
I continued to stare at Lanier, his chest rising and falling heavily as he turned to glare at his brothers. “You fucking kissed her?”
Lightning lit up the room, the power went out.
“Annalise,” Cabe’s voice carried a warning deep within the syllables of my name.
I didn’t care.
I was gone.
I tried screaming at myself to be reasonable, explaining that it didn’t matter, that Lanier could fuck whoever he wanted—we weren’t together. He wasn’t mine.
But the bond between us all was living. It was a living thing, and it was pissed.
I didn’t think that I had a heart anymore; I thought it died with Brinley, but when my heightened senses caught the perfume on his skin, scented the arousal of another girl, I felt it fucking crack.
My heart broke, my soul screamed, my flames burned brighter and attacked.
They jumped on him, and he groaned low and deep, fangs ripping from his gumline, dripping venom onto the floor.
“You kissed them,” he spat, glaring at me, not even fazed by the wicked storm building outside the penthouse. His silver eyes were like daggers as they took in my swollen lips.
“Don’t,” I cautioned, my voice layered and dark.
One word, thunder rolled.
“Annalise!” someone shouted.
Another word, lighting crashed.
“Come get me, baby,” Lanier taunted.
Four words, rain turned to hail and slammed against the windows.
I was unhinged.
“Someone do something!” Quint shouted. I tried to help, tried to pull in my anger, put a mental leash on it, but I couldn’t get the job done. I was fucking raging. My heart hurt, my fingers curled and uncurled at my side as I tried to fight the horrible feelings.
“Cabe, you have to ask for Cabe,” Bestia supplied in my thoughts.