Jarrah's fingers dove into Rayne's mess of curls and held her tightly to him, his mouth breathing as much of her in as possible. Her scent flooded his senses, and he immediately grew dizzy from the need that radiated throughout his body. It was powerful, whatever it was. He couldn't tear his lips from her if he wanted to; which, of course, he would never do in the next thousand years of his reign. She smelled too good, felt too good, and kissed too damn good for him to do anything of the sort.

He'd kissed other women before. Hell, he even kissed his fiancé a few times after that. But nothing compared to kissing Ruth, and he wished he would have been more prepared for it. Because yes, he was wildly attracted to her enticing beauty. Yes, he enjoyed her adorable company and companionship throughout the second half of their journey. And yes, he cared deeply for her.

Shit, his feelings were deeper for her than they were for his own betrothed. He didn't know when it happened, or how it did between Rayne and him, but it did. He will admit, however, he hadn't meant to kiss her.

But her rhythmic heart sang to him a melody so pretty, and her scent so divine, the combination beckoned him forward. Don't get him wrong, he was constantly yearning for Rayne. He would have kissed her ages ago if he knew how amazing it was going to make him feel after he finally did it. It even overshadowed any guilt he could have about the arranged engagement his parents had forced him into. He knew it wasn't right, but Rayne clouded his judgment.

Rayne and that fucking mouth absolutely intoxicated him, and when she wrapped her arms around his neck to draw him closer to her whimpering mouth, a feral hunger overtook his senses. His hand behind her head gripped her firmer to him, his other hand trailing along her side until he reached her outer thigh, which, by that point, Rayne had known exactly what he was going for. She lifted her leg and allowed him to grasp the back of her knee, drawing her leg around his hip.

Jarrah had barely noticed when his wings started beating at his back, a clear sign they were starting their ascent. He smoothed the hand that was on her neck down the back of her spine, gripping her protectively as the sound of gnashing teeth met his ears. His eyes barely opened to see the vampires had awoken and were swiping towards them, but they were well out of reach. She gasped out of the kiss, her head falling back from the onslaught of heat radiating from their trembling bodies.

Rayne didn't seem to care as her milky smooth neck laid bare for him, her curls tumbling down her back. He smirked at the enraged zombies behind her, knowing he'd disintegrate their pale ass bodies in a beam of sunlight if they so much as brushed their fingers against her. Ignoring their snarls, Jarrah went back to his woman and brushed his lips against her throat. Warmth flowed through his body as the hum of a moan vibrated under his crawling mouth. A husky groan pushed through his sore lips in response.

Rayne practically purred at the drifting of Jarrah's lips over her smooth jaw. "Jarrah," she gasped, lust coating her voice.

"Love?" he rasped back, and she shivered at the nickname.

"I—I think," her voice fell slack as he recaptured her tantalizing lips. He tugged her bottom lip into his mouth and gave it a pull between his teeth.

Rayne whimpered, her body shuddering.

"You think what?" he murmured, pulling back just enough to witness the wild haze in her pretty brown eyes. She looked absolutely ravishing, with her round chest heaving, her eyes pulling into heavy slits, and her swollen lips parted. Her curls fanned around her head and behind her shoulders angelically, and he wanted nothing more than to taste her honeysuckle lips again. The scent emanating from her was sweet of honeysuckle and Gardenias. A scent that further intoxicated him, and if she didn't talk again soon, he was going to get his fill in again.

Jarrah could only imagine how wonderful she looked when she was getting—

He immediately stopped himself from finishing that thought. It wasn't the time to indulge in his fantasies, not while they were in danger.

Speaking of, his feet touched the ground before Rayne could gather her bearings and he realized quickly that they made it to the top floor of the building. They were onto their next task, which, according to Marguerite, would be more difficult than avoiding the swarm of vampires downstairs. He dropped her leg to clutch her curvy body to him protectively, gazing at their surroundings for the first time. The intensity of wanting her didn't go away, but there was a more pressing matter that prevented him from re-engaging. Rayne's safety.

Rayne wiggled in his arms, trying and failing to get out of them as she checked looked around the space. Her bright eyes swiveled over what looked to be a storage room with ancient artifacts and cobwebs littering the space. There was a door on the other end of where they stood, but a lock occupied the knob.

"You don't suppose Ambrosius left a key somewhere do you?" Rayne joked, glancing around the cluttered space.

"I highly doubt it," Jarrah answered, dryly.

"Well, it's a good think I know how to pick a lock," she admitted, reaching into her hair and pulling out two pins she had conveniently stuck in her hair earlier. She had better tools in her backpack, but considering it was no bigger than a fingernail in Jarrah's pocket at the moment, she just had to stick with what she had.

Jarrah's arms stayed locked around her, but his eyebrows rose. "You know how to pick a lock?"

She shrugged. "As long as there's no spell preventing me from doing so, then yes. Picking locks was something my brother Ezra had me learn in case I ever got kidnapped or something. You have your magic, and I have the skill," she smiled.

He balked at the idea of her getting kidnapped, but he had to admit, it was a smart lesson in her training. "That's . . . useful."

"I know," she said. She lightly patted his arms that refuse to leave her body. "Now, I'm gonna need you to let me go for five seconds so I can get us out of here."

Jarrah didn't like that idea at all. "What if the door's bewitched?"

"What if it is?" she deadpanned.

"Well—"

"Well nothing," she said, calmly, crossing her arms between them. "We still have a job to do, Jarrah. Kissing or not, you can't expect me not to lay my life on the line for our families."

But you expect me to lay mine down on the line?

He grimaced, but didn't voice that out loud. One journey with an insufferably beautiful wolf and he already didn't know how to act. She wasn't his family by any means, considering he had a fiancé back home who would carry on his lineage once married. But she felt like his family, and even more like home than his land did.

"You aren't going to let me go check it out first are you?" Jarrah sighed, defeated.

Rayne, elated, voiced a solid, "Nope."

Much to his surprise, and pleasure of course, Rayne swooped forward and stole a heart-stopping kiss from his unsuspecting mouth. Lips soft, her taste heaven on his tongue, he moved his hand to deepen the kiss. He was absolutely hooked, and he knew there was no going back to regular Fae life without her in it. And he was willing to show her that when the sneaky howler slipped out of his arms and he leaned himself forward into a gust of sweet-scented air.

Damn that woman.

Sighing under his breath at her adorable giggling, he turned around just in time to see her open up her pins and push them into the lock. He did his best to control his anxiousness as he walked over and glared at the door with tense shoulders, waiting for something drastic to happen and daring whatever magic to even try coming for her. And when it didn't, and Rayne successfully undid the lock and stood up from her crouched position, did he allow himself to breathe again.

"See?" Rayne grinned, triumphant. "Not too bad."

"Hmm," Jarrah replied, thinning his lips.

Her big brown eyes swiveled up to look at him, confused. "What?"

"No magic can only mean one thing," Jarrah sighed, rolling up his sleeves.

Rayne frowned. "And what's that?"

"Get ready to fight your ass off," he admitted grimly, sliding past Rayne. He leaned down to kiss her lips quickly but firmly, enjoying her subtle sigh of content, before departing. When he pulled back, he gave her a level glare that warned her to go against whatever he had to say. "If you die, I'm getting Marguerite to resurrect your ass so I can kill you myself, and not even the Creator herself can save you from my wrath."

Rayne, smiling silkily, offered him a wink. "Okay, King."

All Jarrah wanted to do was pick her thick ass up and show her exactly what voicing that title did to him, but alas, they didn't have time for that. So, instead, he stuck with throwing her a heated once over, taking in her fleshy chest briefly, before pressing a hand to the metal door and swinging it open. She had no choice but to survive because honestly, Jarrah wouldn't know what to do with himself if she didn't.