I kissed Ronan again, cried out into his mouth as he lifted me in his arms and then speared me onto his cock, a sudden plunge that struck my heart like a spear.
"Yes!"
Ronan's nose nuzzled against mine, and he shook as I grasped one wing and one horn in either hand.
"Then you'll break my heart, nut," Ronan breathed against my lips, tongue licking out to erase a tear that clawed down my cheek. My breath hitched as he rocked in and out of me. "But not until you tell me to stop."
I whimpered and Ronan silenced me with a kiss, tongue thrusting in time with his cock.
Stop, I thought, but I bit down on Ronan's lip to keep from speaking the word. Would I be able to do it? Be able to walk away from Ronan? And if not him, Hunter?
How long could I get away with never saying the word 'goodbye'?
I sucked on Ronan's tongue, wrapped my legs so tight around him, I was sure his hips would leave bruises on the insides of my thighs, more evidence for Hunter to find.
I would ignore the truth until they reached down into my chest with their claws and tusks and talons, and dragged the bleeding, broken heart out of me.
* * *
The attack came far soonerthan I expected.
That very night, in fact.
Hunter's claws dug into the base of my neck, and his other hand had a firm grip of a cheek of my ass. The desk drawers of his office rattled, the beautiful wood sticking and dragging at my bare skin as Hunter rutted behind me.
"Oh, fuck, Hunter, yes, harder!"
There was a whine in my voice, a tight pinch in my throat, and a sting in my eyes. I was still sensitive from hours with Ronan. I'd refused to tell him to stop, and he'd taken it like a challenge, although I wasn't sure which of us it was for. All I knew was that Hunter's eyes had glowed brighter than ever as I'd stepped into his carriage, barely cleaned and tidied, still full of Ronan's release.
I'd been stripped, harnessed, and fucked within five minutes of stepping into his house.
Hunter's chest was hot on my back as he bent over me, denying me my request and grinding slowly against my ass. His lovely moss green hand left my ass and reached out to my grip at the edge of the desk, stretching me further, tangling thick fingers with my own.
"Do you want to know the truth?" Hunter growled.
My head shook in refusal before I could think straight, but Hunter either didn't notice or didn't care.
"I like the scent of the imp on you," Hunter hissed, his tongue lapping around the shell of my ear.
The shock of the words was immediate, all the swirling guilt and worry bursting free of my chest in sudden sobs.
The creaks and thrusts and fucking ceased immediately. Hunter cursed and a rougher wave of tears rose up from chest in garbled, wet gasps, drawn by anger at myself for ruining this moment. But Hunter's hands were gentle as he peeled me up from his desk. I hunched as he turned me to face him, trying to hide, but I was weak and wobbly and no match for Hunter's tender strength.
"Forgive me, little one. What did I say? Did he hurt you? Did I hurt you?"
I was crying too hard to catch my breath and speak, but I wailed a little and shook my head. The fire was blazing as Hunter bundled me in his arms and carried me over to the large armchair, settling me in his lap, and the heat reminded me of Ronan's touch.
A claw skimmed my back, and the leather straps of the harness loosened. He was taking it off of me! I'd failed him, failed being his pet!
"No! No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, please, master, I'm so—"
"Hazel, shhh, hush little one," Hunter answered, soft but almost frantic. His fingers released the clasps and he started to stroke my back with long sweeps of his hand. "Shhh. The imp, Ronan—"
"He-he didn't hurt me," I forced out between gasps of air.
Hunter was blurry through my tears, but his hand on my back was helping, and I twisted on his lap, cuddling closer and breathing in his scent.
"Then I've hurt you?"
A distant part of me was proud of Hunter for his question sounding doubtful. A month ago, he probably would've banished himself from the room. Now he was holding me in his arms, determined to be the one to take care of me.
"No! Not at all," I managed, squeezing his shoulders in my grip.
Hunter settled at that answer, petting my back and hair, guiding my breaths with deep inhales of his own.
You fell in love, you fool, I thought. And not just once. Had I ever really managed to avoid my own emotions, or had I simply been breaking my own heart for all these years?
"Are you angry with me?" I asked.
"No," Hunter said firmly, and then added, "What for?"
"Because I had sex with Ronan." Would he be able to tell the nature of it? Was that ridiculous? Was there a particular scent for hours of desperate, emotional, heartbroken sex?
Hunter shook slightly, and it took me a moment to realize he was trying to hold in laughter. I wiggled free of his close grip in order to find his twitching lips and furrowed brow.
"No, little one," he said, managing to remain sober as he spoke.
"It wasn't... I didn't..." Why are you trying to ruin this? I screamed at myself in my thoughts. He wasn't angry. I didn't have to explain why he ought to be.
"You didn't have to. You wanted to," Hunter said gently. I nodded, watching him, waiting for some sign of anger or... No, he wasn't jealous. "You prefer him?"
"No!" I blurted out, jaw hanging open.
Hunter frowned and looked down between us, and I realized I was still naked and his pants were down, and the whole situation seemed suddenly absurd and humiliating. I'd burst into tears at a simple...
"You like his smell on me?" I asked, suddenly remembering the words Hunter had slipped into my ear.
"Let me take the harness off. I hate to see you upset in it," Hunter said, frowning.
I opened my mouth to object. Wearing the harness was a sign of his approval of me, taking it off would mean I made a mistake as his pet, surely? But maybe for him, watching me sob while wearing it was equally uncomfortable. I turned and waited as Hunter unbuckled me.