Wrath and Bones (47 page)

“What the fuck was all that?” he whispered.

“It was something,” I said, my own voice barely a breath. “It was somethin’ else.”

We waited for Batten to come back for a little bit before returning to the tent, figuring Sayomi would go lick her wounds and not try again too soon. I wondered what would become of her Second, and whether or not Folkenflik would return. He’d heal quickly from the bullet wound, but the betrayal, maybe not so much.  My own Second had also turned on me. I felt the need to lick my wounds, too. Maybe Sayomi and I should ditch our Seconds and form an alliance of our own. That was probably the worst idea I'd had all day.

A little before four in the morning, the tent zipper was loudly and unceremoniously yanked down and Batten filled the opening with his dark shadow, waking us both.

“Dr. Edgar, get out,” Jerkface ordered.

Declan didn’t argue, and assured him, “I’m going. I’m getting there,” scooting on his ass to the tent flap.

I glared in the blank shadow that was Batten’s face. Not able to see him wasn’t a problem, since I could never read his emotions that way anyway.

“I can hear your jaw doing that thing,” I warned him. “Your clenchiness is really quite too much.”

“Channeling Harry again?”

I huffed imperiously. “Shruff and cinders. I’m fast approaching annoyed.”

“Good,” he murmured knowingly. “Any minute now, you’ll be tearing off my pants.”

That actually sounded like a perfect solution, but I ignored the throb between my legs. “You’re not winning an argument with dick again.”

“I want to apologize,” he said.

“Freak.”

“I shouldn’t have been such an ass.”

“Like you can help it?”

“Trying to make nice, here, Snickerdoodle.”

“Why? Does your boner need attention?”

Batten sighed for a long time, longer than he should have had breath for. Then he poked something on his watch and a little light illuminated the space between us. His face was no longer furious and the quivering had stopped. “I suppose I deserved that.”

“According to my Invisible Bitch handbook, you deserve a big smack in the wiener.”

At that, Batten smiled at his boots. “Am I supposed to get it out? That make you feel better?”

“No,” I sniffed indignantly. “And don’t try to dangle your carrot in front of
this
mule. I’m mad at you. Also you just woke me the fuck up. I was dreaming about a giant mug of hot cocoa and a plate of cookies the size of a Volkswagen.”

He squatted beside me, bouncing slightly as he came smoothly into place. “Tell me how to fix it.”

“Some folks like to heat the cocoa powder with the milk once it gets kinda warm, but I think it works best if you mix it in just before you take the hot milk off the stove.” I looked at him straight in the eye and sighed. “I lied. I’m always going to rescue you. If I see you in need, I’m gonna be there, Mark. There’s not a goddamn thing you can do about it.”

That calculating gaze of his searched my face, found the truth of it, and dropped. “You want to rethink that.”

“I don’t need to.” I lifted my chin. “You don’t give me enough credit, Kill-Notch. I’m not the same crazy boob you first met. You think Hood and I just hang around twiddling his dink?”

His eyes narrowed. “Don’t do that.”

My lips twitched at his uncharacteristic show of jealousy. “I’ve got mad skills now, dude. And you?” I pointed at him, wiggling my finger at his forehead to indicate his brain. “You’re gonna learn that, or I will school you.”

“Harry’s right,” he said. “You’re getting some lip on you.”

“My sass ain’t goin’ anywhere,” I assured him.

“I see.” He dropped his eyes to the emergency blanket like he might be considering tossing it aside. Parts of me stirred awake eagerly. “So what are you telling me?”

“You wanted this trip,” I reminded him. “You could have stayed in Colorado. You didn’t. When you heard about the quests, you could have stayed at Felstein. You didn’t. You bought your ticket, and I punched it. I’m the goddamn engineer. You’re the passenger.”

“So what do you wanna do about it?”

 I peeled back the blanket and sat up, getting in his face. He didn’t shrink away. His eyes flashed, and one of his brows darted up playfully.

“You don’t tell me what happens going forward,” I said. “I tell you.”

“And what happens next?” he said, his voice falling to a husky whisper as he casually dropped all the control in my lap, just like that.

Oh, this was new. My body woke up with a shiver, and I let my eyes wander my favorite parts of his body like I was browsing treats in a cake shop; those broad, muscular shoulders, strong arms I wanted to sink my teeth into, square, stubble-rough jaw to nibble, that big, warm chest. I couldn’t see his tight ass from this angle, but my lips curled up at the memory of grabbing it while we fucked, driving him deeper, faster. Could I have him any way I wanted? Was that on offer, here? His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard, and his shoulders did an interesting little unintentional flex, like he wanted to reach for me but was trying to be patient and let me call the shots. The temperature between us went up quickly, though neither of us moved an inch. Yet.

I grabbed the collar of his leather jacket. “This is coming off,” I told him, and watched him with hungry eyes while he complied with my request.
Request?
Shit, it was an order, and Kill-Notch was obeying. My libido purred to attention, and I jerked my chin at his black t-shirt. “That, too. I want to see you.”

Batten’s chin dropped and he gave me a challenging look through his lashes, flashing a grin. “Bossy,” he noted. “Anything else I can do for you, ma’am?”

“Stop talking,” I said, and bit my lip as he slipped his shirt over his head, revealing a rich tan and three fresh kill-notch tattoos beside the older, faded ones on his left pectoral muscle.

He was a thing of beauty, and seeing him half undressed again made my brain slide into a pleasant buzz; our fight forgotten, all I could think about was tasting him
alllll
over. I stripped off my gloves and tossed them in the dark, putting my bare hands on his chest, running them all over his upper body greedily. Pushing him by the meaty shoulders, I moved him from crouch to sit. “Be a good boy and take those pants off.”

He chuckled at my cheekiness; I thought he was going to sass me, but his hand went to his belt. I removed his boots and socks while he made quick work of wriggling his pants down over his hips. Dark boxer briefs were the last obstacle to my getting what I wanted, but Batten’s ability to be the less dominant partner was fading fast. He crawled across the tent floor like a hungry predator, pressing me back, and for the moment, I yielded to his exploring hands as his mouth sought mine.

Kissing Kill-Notch was always a breathless adventure. My toes curled with pleasure and I tried to kick off my shoe. When his arm dropped to help me, I said into his mouth. “Oh no, your hands are needed elsewhere.”

He complied without complaint, cupping a breast and fondling it gently.

“Gimme, gimme, gimme,” I barely breathed, stroking his ass and giving it a light spank. He laughed into my mouth, grinding between my legs teasingly.

“Now, lay down,” he said.

“No, you lay down,” I shot back, a bit too loud.

Outside the tent, we heard Declan cough out uncomfortably in the dark. “Well,
somebody
lay down! I’m going for a walk.”

Batten dropped his forehead to mine and we chortled, caught-out, heads together.

“I’m gonna be on top,” I told him. “You better hold on to something.”

“Woman, be serious,” he growled. 

“I’m as serious as a bullet in the ass.”

“Hot,” he noted.

“Hope you packed a helmet, cuz I’m going to rock your skull right open. Wait, head wounds aren’t sexy.”

“Not especially,” he said, though he didn’t sound put off one bit. I chewed my bottom lip, trying to recover by flashing my
you-still-want-all-this
eyelash flutter. His teeth grazed my collarbone and moved to my throat, and for a second, I felt disoriented and ached for the tentative but possessive press of Harry’s fangs. Guilt made me flinch and my gasp must have transmitted my resistance, because Batten’s rhythm slowed.

His eyes searched mine. His voice was an intimate murmur. “You okay, Snickerdoodle?”

His hips drew away from mine in anticipation of withdrawing completely. I wrapped my legs around him and tightened, drawing him closer. “Yeah,” I said, trying to capture his mouth with mine. He dodged it.

“You sure?”

I rolled him to his back, which I couldn’t have done without his settling into his new role of naked playground equipment. This wasn’t our usual play; Batten had always been in charge once the clothes had come off. He lived to control things. I wondered how long he’d permit this before I got my ass flipped. The thought of him reclaiming control sent a shot of electricity through me from tits to toes, hardening my nipples in anticipation. I straddled him, feeling at once vulnerable and in control. He could tell. Batten knew me too well.

He took my hands away from my breasts and put them on his shoulders to brace against, saying low, “Don’t be shy, babe. I want to see you, too.” 

I eased down on him, wriggling my hips to sheathe his cock. Stretching me, passively filling me with his hard heat, Batten let out a relaxed sigh and stroked down my body until his thumb found my clit. It was soon obvious, though, that this was not my comfort zone. I writhed and ground against him, but couldn’t find what I needed.

Batten watched me with a pained look on his face; he wasn’t about to put up with me frustrating myself for long. “Whatcha doin'?” he asked, flashing me that grin. “Problem?”

“Probably, it has to do with my prancing legs. They’re still twitchy.”

“Uh huh.”

“The fact that I’m still wearing one shoe is rather distracting.”

His smile was a smug line of perfectly white teeth. “I tried to help, but you were Miss In-Control.”

I gave a thrust of my hips, driving his cock deeper inside me like it was warning or something. “I’m still Miss In-Control.”

“How do you like it?” he asked conversationally, as though his dick wasn’t hilt-deep inside me and his hands weren’t fondling my breasts.

“I’m not terribly good at it,” I admitted. “But I think it’s critical at this juncture in our relationship that you learn your place.”

Batten’s laugh was hearty, and his body shook beneath me. “Is that so?”

“Yeah,” I said, rolling my hips around, making a face. “Except, I don’t think I’m gonna get very far up here.” I tilted a bit, tried to wrangle with the angle. “Batten?”

“May I be of some assistance, ma’am?” he drawled, teasing a nipple with his fingertip.

I considered this for a moment, while Batten put his hands on my hips to pull me and rock me on top of him. “Okay,” I said. “But only 'cuz I told you to.”

“Toppin’ from the bottom,” he agreed, but we both knew I was full of shit. As he flipped me back over and my hips rose against him, he gave my ass a swat. “You have a gentle body, babe.”

His tongue teased my earlobe with a delicate swipe that reminded me of how lovely that tongue felt pressed flat and hot against my clit.

“You need this,” he said into my mouth, and grabbed my hips, driving into me hard to demonstrate.

He was so right, and I let out a soft
oh!
of agreement. I loved having his big body on mine, feeling his hips pump forcefully between my trembling thighs. Loving it, conflicted, I whimpered and clutched at his shoulders.

“Tell me how you want it, babe,” he growled against the side of my throat, handing me back that tiny thread of control I craved, slowing his thrust until it was a delicious draw in and out.

I moaned and told him, “Faster.” When he obeyed, my body thrummed happily and my head forward back as I sank into the pleasure, letting it ride through me wildly and rampantly. “Harder,” I pleaded.

“Not yet,” he said raggedly.

“Please,” I gasped.

He made a demanding growl in my ear that meant
no
and I knew the tables had turned. My control fled quickly, but having Batten back in charge was exactly what excited me. I could have been stubborn, but his husky whisper in my ear, “not yet baby, don’t you cum yet,” made my toes curl hard. His urgent thrusting sank any desire I had to remove him from power, and though my need to cum was sharp and urgent, I held back, squeezing my lips tightly, closing my eyes, quivering badly as I danced along that delightful edge. I couldn’t wait for long; his powerful pumping had me so close that I had to bite my lip.

His breathing became ragged in my ear and he let out a low noise in the back of his throat that I knew was my permission, my cue. I bucked back against him eagerly, spilling over into ecstasy. When I cried out, I bit down on the blanket, smothering the cry as I felt him release inside me, thick and hot and delightful. We froze there, shuddering for a moment of shared ecstasy, before separating cautiously and spooning, my backside pressed against the delicious strength of his legs and core.

“Batten?” I rolled my head towards him. He made a sleepy inquisitive noise and I told him, “You’re not good at following orders.”

He snort-laughed. “Kidding me? I called you ma’am.”

“And then ignored every order I gave you.”

“Not all of them,” he reminded me with a lascivious grin, reaching over to stroke my hip fondly.

“You totally disregarded me at the end.”

“And you’re welcome,” he said knowingly.

I smiled despite myself at that. “I'm real glad you're not always a jerk."

“Hate to break it to you,” he grumbled against my shoulder. I arched one brow at him and he grinned around my shoulder at me. “I just settled that argument with dick.”

“You should go back to not talking.”

He smug-chortled. “I think I like you bossy.”

“Well, maybe I just settled that argument with pussy, then, ever think of that?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he answered on a yawn. We both knew I was full of it. Batten could easily say no to me. Me saying no to Batten was never gonna happen.