Free Mating Rights by Jaide Fox Page B

feet, the backs of her legs, her belly—ecstasy permeated every
muscle and pore until she cried out.Jaxon locked
his mouth over hers, driving her into heaven. She was still cresting the waves
when he suddenly pulled free of her quaking pussy and dropped her feet to the
earth. He jerked against her, and she felt the warm wetness on the front of her
dress.She shuddered, leaning against the wall,
not trusting herself to move. She was certain her legs would give out.
    He breathed heavily,
his head close to hers as he held her steady. “Stupid.”
    Mali swallowed, trying
not to feel hurt. “Me?”
    “No. Me. I done lost my
damned mind.” He straightened and looked her over. “You can’t go back looking
like this.”
    He pulled his cloak off
and draped it around her shoulders. She clutched the edges together.
    “Go. Now. Don’t stop
for anyone or anything. Clean up and hide yer dress.”
    Mali nodded, scurrying
away without a look back.
     
     

Chapter Eight
     
    “Mali! Is that blood on
your dress, Mali?” Kimber pointed at Mali the moment she was inside their room
with the door closed. “Are you okay?”
    She froze and glanced
wildly around to see if anyone else was inside. Thankfully, no one else was
there to witness her disgrace.
    Mali didn’t say
anything.
    Kimber rushed forward
and took Mali’s hand. “Let’s get this off before the others come back,” Kimber
said.
    Mali felt sick seeing
her virgin blood on the dress. Kimber handed her a damp rag to clean herself
with while she went to get a sleeping gown. Mali hissed as the cold cloth
touched her still swollen labia. She’d wanted to be hurt—needed it. He’d given
her just what she wanted. So why did she feel like something was missing?
    Kimber returned and
handed Mali a nightgown and tucked her into bed before going to her own bed.“I’m used to taking care of others,” Kimber said.
    Sinking into the
mattress, Mali sighed. She looked across the short distance to Kimber. “Thank
you. For everything.”
    Kimber smiled, pushing
her braids back behind her ear. “That’s what friends do. Hide the evidence.”
    Mali grinned.
    “I hope you had fun,”
she said quietly.
    Mali sighed, clenching her
thighs together under the blanket. She’d be lucky if she could walk tomorrow.
She thanked the gods that horrible insane heat was gone for good. “Probably too
much.”
    “I thought so. Did
Jaxon claim mating rights?”
    Mali’s startled gaze
flew back to Kimber. “Why do you think it was Jaxon?”
    The candle flickered on
the table between them, caught by a breeze sucked through the room as patrons
opened and closed doors outside in the hall. They were both quiet for a moment,
waiting to see if their other roommates had returned.
    When the door remained
shut, Kimber said, “I recognize his cloak.”
    Mali snorted. “I’m not
very good at subterfuge.”
    “No, you’re not.”
    “And no, he didn’t
claim mating rights. I just—it was just this once. I don’t plan on finding a
mate. Or repeating mistakes.”
    Kimber yawned. “Hmmm.
We’ll see. You’ve gotten a taste of the other side now. No going back.”
    Kimber’s words sent a
strange quiver through her. She hoped she was wrong. Mali couldn’t allow
herself to be mated. She was damaged goods. No matter how much she wanted to
forget her circumstances, she could not.
    ***
    The unmistakable sound
of cracking timber echoed through the valley. Music abruptly turned sour as
abandoned instruments crashed. Howls of laughter and joy converged into fearful
screams.
    Fog swirled through
town like smoke, obscuring her surroundings in a thick veil.
    Mali’s feet seemed
mired in mud. She struggled to walk through the jostle of fleeing people. She
couldn’t move through the chaos, could only stand still as a shadow blotted out
the light behind her.
    She turned to see a
hulking shape lumbering above, taller and wider than any creature she’d ever
seen. Jaws stretched impossibly wide, revealing a gaping