Ragnor

"Whatever you’re planning, it won’t work."

Water streamed from the showerhead, soaking her strawberry-blonde hair until it gleamed copper under the light. Candace blinked the droplets from her lashes.

Her hair always did that every time it got wet.

Blood hair. That’s what I used to call it when we were kids.

A droplet trailed down her slender neck. I watched it slide over her collarbone, past the hollow of her throat, and disappear between her breasts.

I swallowed hard ignoring the hunger pulsing through me. Terror howled in my head, panting at the sight of our mate. My eyes followed the rivulets of water down her pale skin, over the faint lines of old scars.

They slid down her round shoulders, over her full, milky tits, dripping off her rosy pink nipples. Desire slammed into my gut and coiled so tightly I fought the ridiculous urge to shift to cover my hard-on.

I did not want her; I did not ache for her. I only came here to find out if she had seduced Reign.

Liar, Terror groaned in my head, hissing and clawing against the hold I had on him. If all you wanted to know was that, you could have just asked Reign. Except...

Her hands shot up to cover her tits, and the sight of them peeking through her fingers only sharpened the hunger burning in my veins. I almost wanted to push her hands aside.

Why did the sight of her hiding them from me displease me this much? She was my mate, dammit!

Pleasure and hatred warred inside me.

"What are you talking about?" she gasped, reaching forward with one hand to turn off the shower while her arm lay banded over her soft, silky breasts, hiding them from me.

"If you’re going to barge into my room without the common courtesy of knocking, the least you can do is give me context."

My eyes dropped to her plump ass and a heavy, painful knot settled in my throat. Her mouthwatering scent, daisies and vanilla coated the warm bathroom air arousing forbidden fantasies I shouldn’t have inside me.

"Your plan to seduce Reign, to seduce all of us," I bit out, my entire body stiffening as I warred against the maddening lust scorching my veins. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"It’ll never work. So you’re not just a murderer but a slut too? Have some bloody dignity."

My fangs ached against my gums, wanting to sink into the soft skin of her inner thigh, mark her, claim her, while I touched her wet, soft...

A flicker of hurt flashed in her eyes buts he quickly buried it before I could make any sense of it. Her lips trembled.

"Don’t play dumb with me," I said, my voice dropping to a hiss as I stepped forward, and then again, the distance between us shrinking rapidly to nothing.

"You’ve always been a liar — especially after that night. Making up some story about receiving a note from River, trying to vindicate yourself with his blood still all over you. Just how low can you sink, Candace."

Her scent grew stronger, like invisible fingers curling and trailing over my skin, into my hair, beneath my clothes. Her eyes flashed with cold fire, she pointed her index finger at the door.

"Get out." She hissed, her petite frame shaking with fury. "Get the fuck out of my room."

"Why?" I stepped closer. "Because I’m right? Now that you know you only have a few months left with us, you’re already throwing yourself at the next available man?"

When I walked into her room, I had seen her lit-up phone lying on the bed beside her robe and across the screen was a text thread with Jayden fucking Carter telling him that they would catch up soon.

Of all the men in the world. Carter. He would never take care of her needs. He would never touch her the way she needed, the way she liked to be touched — her wet, tight heat gripping his fingers. The image alone had my insides burning.

"Why not?" she spat, tipping her head back, her wet hair draping over that smooth, long neck. "I’m only here for a few months, remember? I can seduce whoever I—"

"You will not." I seethed, my hand shooting out to close around her hair, pulling her head back.

A low, breathless moan slipped from her lips, golden eyes flashing furiously up at me. Her arm dropped from her chest as she reached up to pry my fingers loose.

This is irrational. We want her. Why can’t we just have her? Terror rumbled.

Because of her, my brother had died. I hadn’t been able to protect River the night he needed me most — because of her.

Then let her go, Terror snapped, and a quiet growl built in my chest.

I couldn’t. Dammit, I could not.

"You can’t tell me what to do," Candace cried, shoving against me. The muscle in my arm flexed as my grip tightened in her soft, wet hair.

Her breasts shifted as she writhed against me, and my cock surged, pressing hard against my pants like the hungry, relentless beast in my head.

My fangs broke through, and with a scorching hunger I dragged my tongue over them, bringing my free hand up and sweeping it slowly across her breasts.

Candace went still with a whimper catching in her throat. The dam of desire I had spent three careful years building cracked straight down the middle.

And it made me bloody furious. My hand slid down her stomach, feeling it flex and dip beneath my palm, then pressed between her thighs.

Goddess. I bit back a groan, nudging her thighs apart so I could see her fully. She was soft, scorching and slick, burning heat soaking my finger the moment I stroked between her folds.

"No," she breathed, golden eyes blazing with desire, crinkling at the corners the way they used to years ago when I touched her like this.

Three years had passed, and I could still remember that night as clearly as if it had been five minutes ago.

"No?" I grunted, jealousy pumping hot through my veins.

"Why not? Am I not worthy enough to be seduced? Would you prefer Reign instead?" I slid my finger lower, seeking her entrance, jaw tight when I found her hot and impossibly tight.

"Or that Carter boy? Is that it?"

Yes, yes, Terror urged, my grip on him rapidly dissolving. She smelled so good. I licked my fangs again, tightening my hold in her hair just as I sank my fingers into her slick, tight walls.

"Yes, yes, I would," she cried, her fingers curling into my shirt, hanging onto me as I moved against her.

Pleasure rolled through me. My cock throbbed, the urge rising hard and fast to damn it all, strip everything away, and sink into her completely. No one would have to know. My brothers didn’t need to know. Just a taste. One taste of my Daisy.

"No one else fucking touches you. No one else can—"

"Oh... oh, Raggy—"

The nickname I hadn’t heard in years struck me like a sharp crack to the chest and with that the haze disappeared like a smoke.

I let out a string of expletives, tearing myself away from her, her scent and her warmth still clinging to my fingers. No. This was not why I had come here. What the hell had she done to me?

"Stay away from us," I said quietly, my entire body strung tight with need. "If you ever think to seduce my brothers or me again, I’ll make the last three years look like child’s play, Candace Sinclair."

With that, I stormed out of her quarters, lifting my hand as I moved down the dimly lit hallway.

The scent of her still on my fingers — goddess, the urge to bring them to my mouth was almost unbearable. No. I hated her. I hated Candace Sinclair. So why the hell did every part of me still want her?

That didn’t look much like hatred to me, Raggy Terror growled, teasing me.

Shut the fuck up. I hissed.

"Ragnor?"

Deidre’s soft voice caught me mid-stride. My hand — the hand that had touched Candace mere minutes ago — dropped quickly behind me.

"De... Didi." My voice came out thick and rough.

"Hi, baby," a light smile spreading across her face, her brows furrowing a bit. Ryker’s scent clung to her skin. She must have come from his room. "What were you doing in those quarters?"