Free Pine Needles (Veil Realms Series) by Karli Rush Page B

“Does it give yo u pleasure to brand humans?” Boldly raising and exposing my wrist to him.
    Our eyes meet as soon as he jerks my chin up once more . “You belong to me.” Each word he enunciates precisely and profoundly and then he grasps my hand placing his wrist upright in my open palm. I soon discover he has branded himself with the same cog-like symbolism and embedded in the center is my other tear-shaped diamond. Our marks are identical.
    “You have my protection, this…” he grips my wrist firmly, “is an omen, a death call if you are touched.  Do you understand , Selene?” Reflecting over his words I gradually nod with admission. I glance over him, poised like a Titan and the decorous raiment varies over his body.  Black leather bands coating his biceps and a bloodless bone harness lines his brimming chest.
    Thankful I haven’t encountered him while he wore his full ensemble and hell-have-no-mercy helmet.  I would be petrified still, just as I was when I first saw him, a Reaper from a nether world here to wreak havoc on the human race. 
    My fingertips tenderly trace his mark. The indented skin and he shows no redness or irritants of any kind. As if I hold a beatified treasure I lean over and press my lips intimately to his wrist. His body stills and becomes rigid. Unsure of his reaction I remember Nevaeh’s words. Sirius has many that serve him.  I begin to speculate about his indulgences.
    Finding softness in his golden eyes I whisper, “Thank you for saving me.” His hands brace either side of my bare face. I search his features with no results, is he pleased?  Does he hold any regrets?  Can a man, a being like him carry the emotion of reverence?  
    His foment fingers stroke my hair down to my chest developing a quickening inside me. Like being struck by lightning I bolt forward clinging to his chest, so distressfully close to him. My body responds shamefully with his ruling presence, mortified with myself I quickly turn and look away.
    “Sirius, when you mentioned the ‘death call’ what did you mean by that?”
    His hand threads through my hair as he drops his head lower, his teeth nip illicitly at my flesh, and firing off every nerve in me. Relaxing into defeat by his touch I slant my head back exposing for him. Exposing everything that I am for him.
    His breath scorches and caresses my yearn ing neck as his voice rumbles next to my ear, “The death call is for a beheading.”
     

Chapter Ten
     
    Protection
     
     
    My conceiving hands detour around his armor pining for physical contact from him, having no solution on how to discard it. I’m relinquished to only his touch. His teeth nip harder at the tip of my ear and I moan out with yearning as he forcefully nudges my head to move to the other side.
    His unyielding arm holds my body while he unravels the bland cloth from my breast, never have I felt so ready to be taken with such penetrating rawness. The carnal passion between us amplifies as I crave for his hands to touch me everywhere, but he draws back and his expression becomes severely reserved.
    “Rigel...” He announces as he his sight bores into mine as if he is infuriated. Stunned, I rummage through my mind for words. I careen around his lofty frame and just a foot inside the hut, standing beside the entrance, is where the warrior with ever-white hair and grey-cased eyes awaits. Sirius, fully aware of the moment as he stepped into the hut and alleviation settles through me.
    But it is apparent Sirius is far from at ease as he pulls me closer. “The queen summons you, Sirius.” He turns on his heel and treks back through the narrow unevolved archway.
    “Selene , we are going to take a different passage back to the mounds” I begin to quickly fumble with the torn cloth tying it around my neck, doing all this as I still maintain my focus on Sirius.
    “We are not to go back to the Quine Orchard?”
    “No, there are too many menaces,” he states as he takes my hand and