He remembered how confident he’d been with Chaos. I will kill her.
How could he ever bring himself to kill her?
Keeping his back to her, he called, “This isn’t a good time, Taliyah.” The past few days, Erebus’s message to her had played on constant repeat in Roc’s head. Give up her dream. And for what?
“I don’t care. I will have you. All of you. I’m done waiting.”
What? Roc whipped around, the tool falling from his hand. The next flash of lightning revealed a harpy warrior with ocean-water eyes set aflame. “All?” No. Pick up your tool. Turn around. Do your work. Don’t make her choose between her future and yours. Let her grow to hate him? No. Then he’d hate himself more.
“All,” Taliyah confirmed. “But you gotta take all of me, too.” She shifted, as if uncomfortable. “I...I’m ready to tell you my connection to Erebus.”
In his chest, old cracks spread, creating new ones. Since their date, they’d spoken only of innocent things. Moments in their pasts, teases and taunts. “You can tell me,” he assured her. Whatever she said, he wouldn’t care. Nothing mattered but the woman herself. A woman who demanded her right to him...
Am I truly to have her? “Tell me.”
“He...he’s my father. He possessed his brother, and they were with my mother. Together. They’re both my fathers. It’s complicated. The reality is confusing but true.”
“Possession,” he said, with a nod. He should have guessed. The brothers had always been close. But this meant... Roc went rigid. Chaos had willingly sacrificed his own granddaughter.
The father who had refused to abandon his son, no matter the vileness of his crimes... The mentor who had refused to pick between his son and his guards... The god Roc had faithfully served for eons had thrown his own family to the wolves.
If he could do such a thing to the indomitable Taliyah, what would he do to the Astra?
“I promise I’m not working with him,” she said in a rush. “I’ve only spoken to him once, and you already know what we discussed.”
“I trust you, Taliyah.” He fought hard to temper his rage, lest she mistake the source. “We aren’t our parents. I despise my own.”
“So...” She glanced at him through the thick shield of her lashes, almost shy. “You still wish to be with me?”
“I want to be with you more than anything.” He took a step toward her, then stopped. “But your dream...” How could he steal it from her? How? “I never should have asked you for this. I’ve taken so much already. I can’t take this, too.”
“You’re not taking anything. I’m giving. And I’m going to be harpy General. I’ve decided I can bed whomever I please.”
His chest threatened to burst. Magnificent female. No lovelier sight.
Nothing could stop Roc from closing the distance. The moment he reached her, he clamped her by the nape and waist and yanked her against him. As she gasped, he fused his mouth to hers.
* * *
What the—
Roc had let his beast out of its mental cage, and Taliyah loved it. For a moment, she stood stunned as he kissed her; she was defenseless against the frenzied, sensual onslaught. He was a starving man who’d finally stumbled upon a meal.
As lightning flashed and thunder boomed, she gave herself fully to the kiss. To Roc. They devoured each other, exchanging breaths. When the first raindrops fell, splashing against their hot skin, she lost all control.
With one hand, she sank the tips of her claws into his scalp. With the other, she tore at his belt until his rock-hard shaft filled her hand. He hissed. She moaned.
“I’ve been without you too long.” He picked her up and flashed her to their bedroom, easing her upon the bed.
He kissed her hard, harder, kneading and plumping her breasts. Beneath the fabric, her nipples puckered. Her next inhalation sent an arc of pleasure from piercing to her core.
“Roc!”
He ripped her top, shredding the garment as easily as paper. Her skirt fared no better. When she lay naked beneath him, he wrenched from the kiss to lift to his knees and admire what he’d bared. His fierce gaze worshipped every inch of her, and she fought a moan.
Being nude while he still wore his pants acted as a titillating aphrodisiac. She shivered, her airways thickening.
He cupped and tugged his testicles before stroking his length with languid ferocity.
There was no stopping her next moan.
“Is this what you crave?” he rasped.
“Every inch.”
His pupils pulsed. “Never has there been a lovelier wife. And you’re mine. Only, ever mine.”
He leaned over, flicking a stiffened tongue against the bit of metal. As she gasped and writhed, he glided his hand up her inner thigh.
As he penetrated her with two fingers, never relinquishing his languid pace, his intensity remained barely banked, different muscles quivering. Taliyah nearly came, the sensations maddening.