The beast and the blessed novel by Ashley Breanne

Fourteen: Tobias

Tobias's P.O.V.

I growled as I threw another collection of old, stained floorboards into the back of my truck. It wasn't often that I drove it. I despised the sound of the large machine, and being trapped inside the cage felt suffocating, but in times like this, I had no other choice.

Neighbors, who had done nothing for years when they heard the crying or screaming inside my childhood home, were outside watching as I gutted the house as quickly as possible. The new flooring order wouldn't arrive for a couple of weeks, but I felt my chest grow lighter with every floorboard I ripped up.

The longer I stayed in the house, the less I seemed to notice Ana's scent. It hurt to know that the last piece of her I had was about to be thrown out. Still, as I dropped the last load of the blood- stained wood into the truck bed, a little bit of the guilt I had been carrying lessened.

It was a step closer to leaving my past behind and moving forward to the future, toward Joselin.

I worked until the sun started falling, returned home to shower, and then went to the dining hall. The head table was empty, and I glared at the door impatiently to catch a glimpse of my witch. Her smell was so unmistakable that it was as if she were in the room with me, and my nerves drove me wild. I needed to tell her about Ana and that I was finally getting closure. I needed to ask her to consider giving me a little more time.

My spine straightened as the doors were pulled open, and Joselin walked in, her hand in the crook of another man’s arm. I felt my stomach twist, and I saw red. Her gaze slid right over me as if I was just another face in the crowd, and I wanted to jump over the table, throw her over my shoulder, and take her back to my house.

A sickly, sweet smell rolled off her as she walked by, and I growled as I saw a bite mark on her perfect flesh. Siren.

Had she not learned her lesson the last time?

Joselin's head turned, looking over at me at the sound, but she kept her lips pressed together as she walked by.

I knew exactly who the man was. We had been warned of his arrival in the castle, but I hadn't expected my witch to be with him.

He smiled brightly at her, enamored by her beauty, and it made me want to kill him. But he was Natalie's brother, technically a member of the royal family. As much as I wanted to kill him, I had to restrain myself.

Still, he needed to leave before I took his departure into my own hands.

"You guys should have seen her. Joselin was incredible. I've never seen someone fight like that!” The man offered Joselin a piece of bread as he boasted about her, and she accepted it. He had a child- like excitement about him, but he sounded old enough for me to challenge him and not feel guilty. "Tobias taught her most of what she knows," Natalie said, and I smirked as I knew she had my back. Joselin turned to glare at the queen before looking back at me.

That's right, baby. Eyes on me.

"Tobias?" The man asked, his elbow bumping against my woman's, and I growled again, not bothering to look away from Joselin to the newcomer. I had gone all day without seeing her, without her scent and her touch. If anyone took her away from me now, I would tear them to pieces. "Ah, the man glaring at you? How long did they train together? Fifteen years, maybe? n

His tone was getting under my skin, and I was ready to throw my knife at him and skewer him to his chair. The fact that he knew how long Joselin had been in my life told me that she had told him about me. What she shared, I couldn't be sure.

"Yes," She whispered, the soft response coming across her lips like a defeated sigh. Joselin cleared her throat, shifting in her chair as she forced her eyes away as one of the servants placed her plate in front of her. The rest of the pack was buffet-style, but my plate remained empty as I watched her closely.

She could feel me. I knew she could. Her perfect legs pressed together, and I licked my lips when she looked up and met my stare again.

Oh, baby. Don't you worry. I'll ease that ache for you real fucking soon.

My stare followed every bite to her mouth as I watched her lips wrap around the utensil. Everything about her was unintentionally sensual.

Natalie quietly spoke to her brother, but I ignored them, focusing only on my woman. I would never let Joselin go, not until my dying breath.

"Huh?" Joselin said, tearing her eyes away from her plate to look at the blonde.

"I said you should let me take you dancing tomorrow.” He repeated, and I felt my eyes burn as they turned black when my beast came forward. One more word from his mouth, and I would issue the challenge.

"Only if you think you can keep up with me.” She smirked, but I didn't miss how she lit up at the invitation.

"Hm, I think we would move well together.” He responded, and my nails extended as I held myself back from ripping his throat out.

Killian changed the topic, asking when Aurora and Henry, Natalie's father would return from their trip. The conversation flowed from there, not going back to the date my woman had just agreed to. I waited until Joselin was done eating, making sure she had her fill before I stood. Joselin looked back up immediately, seeing my clean, untouched plate before me, and held my gaze. No words needed to be said as I approached the door, silently calling her to follow me. I could feel her watching me with every step I took, and I knew without any doubt that she would be a few steps behind me.

My back pressed against the hallway next to one of the conference rooms down the hall, and only a second later, she emerged from the dining room. Her long hair looked windblown and wild, begging me to run my hands through it.

The woman confidently walked, her chin up and back straight, her heels clicking on the floor. "Tobias," She greeted, stopping a few feet away and facing me head-on. The sound of my name on her lips was torturous, and I wasted no time pushing off the wall. "Was there something that you needed?”

My arm wrapped around her waist, and I spun her, forcing the conference room door open. She let out a gasp as her body collided with mine.

"What are you doing, sweetheart? You're playing a dangerous game." I growled, nipping her earlobe gently. The smell of her desire was prominent, and I wanted nothing more than to tear her clothes from her body and sink into her as deeply as I could go.

"I'm not playing a game, Tobias. You are.” Her words were hard and clipped, but her hands rested on my shoulders as I pushed her against the wall, cupping her jaw as my thumb ran over her bottom lip.

Her mouth parted open as she released a sweet little sigh that made me grow hard. "I'll make the rules simple then."

Her chest was pressed against mine, back arched off the wall. My lips brushed against hers as I spoke, and she trembled in my hold as the hand around her waist slid lower until I slipped my hand beneath her top and onto her bare skin.

I tilted her head back further, running my nose down her throat until I reached her neck. My tongue slid across her skin where my mark would one day lay, and she moaned loudly, her hands moving up from my shoulders to sink into my hair.

My heart beat quickly in my chest with relief, knowing I hadn't lost her just yet. She was still mine. She just needed a little reminder of what we were both working toward, what we could be.

"If you want to go dancing, you go dancing with me. I am done sharing you. " I growled, my teeth scraping against her skin, but knowing it wouldn't be fair for me to mark her just yet. Not without talking to her or asking her if she wanted to be mine. "I have watched you play this game with others for too long. You've had your time to enjoy yourself, and now I am claiming what is mine.” Forget more time. I needed her.

Joselin's hands tightened into fists in my hair, attempting to pull my head back, but I wasn't done. One taste of her sweet skin was not enough, and I was seconds away from fucking her on the conference table.

"And what is it that you think is yours?" Joselin released my hair, realizing it wouldn't have the effect she wanted, and slid her hands down my chest, her nails scraping the skin along the way. She had never backed down from a challenge, and I knew that she was enjoying this as much as I was.

My hand moved from her jaw to her throat, and she gasped when I ran my nose up until it touched hers. I had waited long enough.

Joselin let out a mixture between a cry and a moan as our lips connected, and I groaned with pleasure as her tongue touched mine. Every nerve in my body lit up, and I pressed myself against her further.

I pulled back for a moment, needing to make sure this was real before capturing her lips again. Joselin bent her knee, running it up my thigh. I released her throat to grab her ass with both hands, picking her up as she wrapped her legs around me. Her body formed perfectly to mine, and I pressed her against the wall harder when she tried to wiggle her hips against mine.

"If you don't want me to fuck you right here, right now, you better stop.” My growl was met with a moan of pleasure as Joselin dropped her head back against the wall, panting. Her eyes popped open as she looked surprised, but then her lips curled up into a seductive smirk as she trailed her fingers along my jaw and to my lips.

"Would you do it against the wall or over the table?" Her taunt had me growing harder. I growled, squeezing her ass as I debated bending her over the table and spanking her until she learned her lesson.

I opened my lips to speak, but the sound of a knock made me growl in anger toward the door. His scent reached me only a second later. If Joselin hadn't been wrapped around me, I would have slaughtered him for interrupting.

"That's for me.’ She laughed, letting her legs loosen around me.

"I don't give a fuck.” I let her slide down until her feet touched the floor but pressed a hard kiss to her lips as I cupped her face, trying to keep her from leaving.

Joselin laughed as she pushed me away gently. I dropped my head, running my tongue over her neck one more time. I wanted that pup outside to smell me on her, to know he was too late and she was mine.

"I already made plans with Holden to go dancing. So, I will have to break your rules tomorrow night." There was a brightness about her that I hadn't seen in a long time. She was enjoying this. "Sweetheart, you are just begging to be punished.”

She pulled away from me, stepping backward toward the door with a bright smile. "Mh, I look forward to that."

She turned her back to me, her hand wrapping around the doorknob as I called out to her one last time.

"Josie," She stopped looking over her shoulder at me with a heat that could melt metal. She was so fucking beautiful. "If he touches you again, I will kill him.’