Blood And Breath

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These were dangerous thoughts, yet I could not escape them. I even had trouble releasing her when her breathing settled, and she was ready to continue talking. “I can’t do it.” She lifted her teary eyes to mine. “I can’t let my life be controlled like that. I’ve made a decision. I’m leaving my family.” Her last words were no more than a whisper. I swiped my thumbs gently under her eyes through her river of tears. “There is nothing more precious than the life we have each been given. This life is your own, precious Cat, and no one else’s. You are right to demand your freedom. I only wish it did not come at such a high cost.” She stared so deeply into my eyes that I thought she must see parts of me foreign to even myself. Then she did the last thing I had expected. She kissed me.

Chapter Eleven OceanofPDF.com CAT My time with Fen was a brilliant sunny day in the middle of an arctic winter. I wanted to bask in his warmth and bottle up every hour of sunshine I could to take with me back to the frigid tundra that was the current state of my life. There had been a strong possibility he would reject my advance, but I had to take the chance. I had to have one more taste of his delicious warmth. Fen had been keeping his distance, but I noticed how his eyes devoured me when I first arrived. The sweep of his gaze had been a physical caress down the length of my body, stealing the air straight from my lungs. He was just as affected by the pull between us as I was, regardless of his odd reaction after our first kiss. I didn’t know what had happened. I didn’t have to. I knew how I felt, and I was confident he felt the same. That was all that mattered. Not my family or his past. Not our ages or races. None of the arbitrary parameters society used to define an acceptable relationship. I was sick of letting other people tell me what to think and how to feel. I wanted to be free. I wanted to finally give in to the overwhelming desire I felt toward Fen. I’d used all my strength in the battle with my mother and had no fight left. I allowed the whispers of should and should nots to fall silent. When it was only Fen and me in the room—no fears or consequences clouding the air—it was easy to lift my hands behind his neck and bring his lips to mine. Effortless and natural and blissfully euphoric. Fen’s arms tightened around me, making my heartbeat skip at an erratic pace. Our lips and tongues danced together in an ancient rhythm ingrained in our very beings. We tasted, tested, and explored. His hands kneaded my back and bottom while mine roamed from his short hair down the column of his neck and over his broad shoulders. After a long moment, but not nearly long enough, Fenodree pulled back, resting his forehead on mine. He didn’t have to sever our contact completely for me to feel the extent of his withdrawal. He was retreating, but I had no idea why. “Please don’t pull away,” I whispered softly. “Cat, you are so young, and right now, you are heartbroken and lost. These things have clouded your judgment.” The rasp in his voice did funny things to my insides, and it was hard to think when his fingers trailed from my temple down to my jaw. But this moment was too important for anything less than perfect clarity. I felt it in my bones. A precipice. A turning point that would become a line of demarcation in my life. These precious minutes would play a crucial role in the roadmap of my life. “I’m not too young to know what I want, and right now, that’s you,” I told him in a calm but firm tone. “If you don’t want to be with me, I understand, but please don’t deny me because you think you know what’s best for me. That’s what my mother is trying to do, and right now, I need to be the one making decisions.” Something almost feral flashed in his eyes before his lips crashed down on mine. He lifted me in his arms in one swift motion, turned us to the bed, then lowered himself over me. My body pressed down into the soft mattress under the weight of his larger frame, and I relished the sensation. I fit perfectly beneath him, my hair fanned out around me on the white cotton duvet. “You tempt me in ways I cannot comprehend,” he whispered against my flushed cheek after grazing his teeth down the length of my neck. “You have one last chance. End this before we lose ourselves.” “We can’t possibly be lost if we’re together, and I’m not going anywhere.” I accented my emphatic response with a roll of my pelvis, seeking friction to ease the incessant ache between my legs. He hissed, closing his eyes and lowering his face to the crook of my neck. He only hid for a second before a growl rumbled from deep in his chest, and his lips again found mine. “I do not deserve this.” His teeth tugged at my lower lip. “That’s for me to decide.” He only grunted in return, shifting his weight to rest beside me and allowing his free hand to roam the length of my body. His fingers skated along the outside of my breast, down my ribs, and made me writhe with sensation. When he reached the length of my exposed thigh, he slowly trailed his hand up under my bunched skirt. “There are so many reasons this should not happen, but I cannot deny you. Not when I want to taste you so badly.” He watched my face intently as his hand neared the searing heat at the apex of my thighs. When his palm cupped my s*x over my silk panties, I thought I might come with the slightest movement. His touch on my sensitive core was infinitely more electrifying than my own touch had ever been. My body screamed for more. I rolled my hips, pressing myself into his hand. The breathtaking sensation drew a moan from my lips as my head pushed back into the mattress. “That’s it, take what you want from me,” he rumbled as he rocked his palm against my weeping core. My thighs fell apart, eager for more. Fen lowered his mouth to the sensitive skin just below my ear to nibble and suck. “How could I have ever thought of you as a child? You are a sensual siren, and I am hopelessly lost to your call.” The fabric beneath his deft fingers became drenched with my arousal, and my breaths came in uneven pants. When he stopped only briefly to remove my underwear, my swollen c**t throbbed at the loss of his touch. “More, Fen. Please, I need more.” He swirled his finger around my entrance before drifting up to the bundle of sensitive nerves, and then back down in a circuit of pleasure. Round and round, he teased before dipping his finger inside me and drawing a breathy gasp from my lips. I had hardly adjusted to the sensation when he began to pump his finger in and out, curling the digit up with each movement to tap on that delicious spot inside me. I swore nothing could ever feel more perfect than his fingers stroking me. I was wrong. Minutes later, he clasped his mouth over my core, licking and sucking as his finger continued its rhythmic motion inside me, and the sensation unraveled me. Almost instantly, my legs began to twitch and shake. My belly tightened, and my hands instinctively massaged my swollen breasts.