Crimes of Cupidity (Heart Hassle Book 3)

Evert is clear on the other end of the dirt path, standing in the middle of it like he owns the whole freaking rebel camp. His black hair is tousled and sexy stubble lines his jaw. He looks freaking good in rebel wear with his leather pants and loose shirt. I’d smile, but the pissed off look on his face makes me wince instead.

All around us, I see that even the other rebels are giving Evert a wide berth. Eyes keep darting from him to me and back again, like they’re waiting for us to either fight or fuck. Judging by the look on his face, I’m not sure which one it’s going to be, if I’m being honest.

He lifts a hand and slowly crooks his finger at me.

“Dammit,” I mutter.

I slowly start making my way toward him, nervous butterflies flying through my stomach. Before I can get to him, he turns on his heel and stalks toward the row of cabins. I follow behind him, stepping between the structures and out of the main pathway. He doesn’t slow down at all, and I huff and puff as I try to keep up with him as he zig zags through the cabins. The further he goes, the quieter it gets, until I don’t see a single other fae around.

Finally, he stops and turns around to lean against the cabin with his arms crossed and his foot crossed over his ankle. His blue eyes watch me intensely as I get nearer. I wring my hands nervously, but he doesn’t say a word as I step in front of him.

I slowly lift my eyes to his and see the anger there. For a second, I flash back to the look on Okot’s face. He seared me with such intense fury that my soul is still smoldering with it. Just the memory is enough to make me tremble.

I’m still seeing Okot’s face when Evert raises his hands to touch me, and I instinctively flinch back. Evert freezes, and somehow, the anger on his face grows even darker.

“Are you…afraid of me?”

I blink up at him, and then realize that I’m shaking all over. I swallow and try to bury my hands in my dress, but he just snatches them up.

“Y-You’re mad,” I whisper, embarrassed when I hear my voice shaking, too.

Keeping his hold on my hands, he slowly leans down so that we’re eye-to-eye. The tension crackles between us, and my breath hitches. I want to look away. I don’t want to see another one of my mates hate me, but his blue eyes hold me hostage.

“Mad?” he says quietly, making my skin break out into a cold sweat. He shakes his head. “No. I’m not mad. I’m fucking livid.” He circles my wrists in one of his hands and then brings the other up to fist my hair. “But I would never ever fucking hurt you.”

And then his lips crash down on mine.

In a single breath, the sickening tension turns into a furious hunger. I feel the stress in his body as his hand moves to dig into my waist, and I wind my fingers through his hair. This isn’t kissing. This is a desperate connection to ensure him that I’m real. That I’m his.

And I am his. Just as much as he’s mine. Which I promptly remind him by biting his bottom lip and scratching tracks down the back of his neck.

He groans, and the sound sends lightning down to my core, setting me on fire. A needy sound comes from my throat, and I grind my hips against his, feeling his hard cock straining against his leathers. I need him so badly it hurts.

Without warning, Evert lifts me up, shoves me against the wall of the cabin, and bunches my dress up at my hips. He hooks my right leg over his forearm, pulls away my panties, and before I can even anticipate it, he’s pulling out his cock and slamming into me.

My head falls back with a thunk against the wood, and Evert’s mouth moves down to kiss and suck the side of my neck as his tail wraps around my waist. I don’t even care that we’re out in the open or that anyone could walk by. Every time Evert pulls out and thrusts back into me, the delicious fire inside of me spreads deeper.

“Faster,” I urge him, as he continues to go harder and harder, so that all I can hear is my body knocking against the wood.

“Look at me,” he orders, and I let my head drop down to look him in the eye. “You are not allowed to leave me like that ever again.”

I swallow hard. “I’m sorry.”

“No apologies.” He says with each thrust. “Just. Your. Promise.”

I bite my lip from the delicious spot he’s hitting so deep inside of me. “I won’t leave you again,” I breathe.

He pauses inside of me, and our panting breaths mingle together. When I notice the sheen in his eyes, my heart breaks. I hurt him. Badly. He asked me not to go, and I left anyway, thinking that it would be just fine—that it would be only a couple days. I ended up being gone nearly a month, and I can see by the look on his face that it damaged him in a way I never anticipated.

I lift my hand to his cheek and caress him, feeling the scruff on his jaw. “I’m here. I’m home,” I say softly.

“I’m so fucking mad at you, Scratch,” he confesses, his throat bobbing.

“I know. But I won’t leave you again.”

“You’re fucking right about that.”

He claims my mouth again, and I give him everything I have as he starts up his thrusts again. I need to come so badly, I’m aching and shaking all over.

“Evert,” I plead.

He reaches down to my slit, but instead of touching me where I want, he just drags his finger over my wetness and then pops the finger in his mouth. “Mmm,” he says with a curve of his lips.

I try to reach down to touch myself, but he takes my wrists and holds them over my head. I make a mewl of protest, but his thrusts become faster and harder, making me moan from the delicious pleasure. But before it can build to anything, I feel his release spurt inside of me. He gives one last thrust before he’s pulling out of me and setting me back on my feet.

I stare at him as he starts fixing himself. “Umm…what the hell was that? You didn’t make me come!”

Evert cocks a black brow. “Only good girls get to come, Scratch. You know that.”

My mouth drops open in shock, and he just smirks as he finishes tying up his pants and then tosses me a handkerchief. I don’t catch it, so it falls to the ground at my feet.

When he starts to turn around, I stomp my foot. “Evert, you get back here right now and make me come!”

Of course, this is the moment when a gaggle of rebels walk by. Four male heads immediately whip in my direction, and I squeak and step behind Evert so that I can die from embarrassment with a genfin shield blocking me from view. “Keep walking, fuckers,” Evert growls.

When they’re gone, I pinch Evert on the underside of his arm, hard enough to make him flinch. “Jerk,” I hiss at him.

He turns to look down at me. “Mmm. I can smell your need,” he says, leaning close. My entire body perks up again like a begging dog ready to get the bone. I already got the damn bone. What I need is the extra petting. “I can smell how much you’re wanting me still.”

I raise my chin obstinately. “I do not.” I totally do.

Evert’s eyes twinkle with mirth. He inhales and then blows a stream of his hot breath right into my face. And it’s pink. Pink! His breath is freaking bonafide one hundred percent bubblegum pink.

I gasp indignantly and try to duck away from it, but it’s too late. Lighting strikes of lust shoot straight down to my core and instantly makes me wetter. A freaking moan escapes me before I can stop myself, and my eyes widen in shock. “You have Lust Breath?” I shriek.

He straightens back up and grins like he’s the cat that got the freaking cream. Which he did, by the way.

“Yep,” he says. “Payback’s gonna be a real bastard for you, Scratch. All those times you Lusted the shit out of me? Yeah, you’re gonna get it right back.”

Great. The Lust Breath war was only funny when he couldn’t do it back to me. And holy honey pot, that Lust stuff is no joke. My peach pie is, like, ready to be stuffed in the oven, if you catch my drift.

I swallow thickly and try not to jump him. “That’s…not nice.” I tell him huskily.

Evert regards me. “What you’re feeling right now, Scratch? How desperately you’re wanting me? Yeah, that’s how I felt every second you were gone.” He leans in and teases me by running his nose beneath my ear.

When I feel his hot tongue make contact with my skin, I almost orgasm right there. I lean into him, hoping he’ll forget about this stupid punishment, but before I think of a way to seduce him, he growls into my ear, saying, “You left me. So, no. You don’t get to come this time.”

He quickly backs away from me, and I almost faceplant on the ground from how far I was trying to lean into him. I steady myself and an angry flush meets my neediness as I huff in annoyance.

I try to punch him, but he just dodges me with a chuckle. “Come on, let’s go.”

I angrily snatch up the handkerchief from the ground and start cleaning myself up as best I can, but…yeah, there are a lot of juices coming out. Besides that, I’m still hot and needy from all of that action and no release. I give up and roll up the cloth to act as a pantyliner.

“You’re such a jackass,” I grumble as I come up beside him.

He just chuckles again and throws his arm around my shoulder as we start making our way back. “Yeah, but I bet you’ll think twice before leaving me again, won’t you?”

He has me there. It still doesn’t fix the fact that my southern region is ready to combust.

“Maybe the polite one will take care of that for you,” he teases.

“I’m positive that he will,” I reply tersely. “Or Ronak.”

Evert stiffens beside me and drops his arm. I stop, turning to look at him. “What? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he says too quickly.

“Evert,” I say warningly.

He sighs and runs his hands through his shaggy black hair. “Let’s go find Sylred. Then we’ll talk.”

Well, hump on a heart. That doesn’t sound good.