Mari’s POV
When I wake up, the first thing that registers is the soreness between my legs. Between my legs, in my hips, waist, and just about every other part of my body.
The second thing that registers is the naked man lying next to me.
Stefan.
My heart thrums in my chest as images flash through my mind. Me, Stefan. Having sex.
No, scratch that.
Having sex is putting it mildly.
We fucked, like animals.
I press my hand to my mouth as a sick feeling fills my stomach.
Why did I…
Why would I…
All I remember is that I was so incredibly horny, and the moment he showed up, I felt like I would die if he didn’t take me then and there.
Heavens, what’s wrong with me? Since when have I been so desperate to be fucked that I fell into bed with the nearest available man?
I push the sheets covering my lower half aside and swing my legs from the bed.
Before I can stand, a strong arm wraps around my mid-section. Then hot, wet lips press to my shoulder, and a warm torso presses to my back.
“Ready again?” Stefan’s husky voice travels to my ear.
And to my pussy.
I press my thighs together, fighting against the arousal that I can feel building up.
“I can smell it,” he says, and I feel the tip of his nose against the side of my neck. “Your sex is blooming for me.”
Oh my God.
He’s right.
I want to jump on him right now and ride him. I want to feel him inside me, smell that intoxicating scent on his skin, hear his groans in my ear.
I sit still, my body trembling in anticipation as he snakes his hand around me and cups my breasts in his palm. He squeezes, kneads, and pinches at my nipples, and before I know it, my legs are falling apart, my pussy weeping for him.
“Yeah,” his voice is in my ear, his breath caressing my skin. “Spread for me, Mari.”
His hand leaves my breast and trails south, heading for my sex. By the time his fingers brush against my clit, I’m already panting. There just doesn’t seem to be enough air in the room all of a sudden.
And my pussy feels so incredibly empty. I can’t even count how many times we fucked before I fell asleep, and here I am, feeling like I haven’t had anyone inside me in ages. To top all that, my arousal appears to have masked my soreness.
Did I feed on an aphrodisiac or something?
I turn around and climb back onto the bed, straddling Stefan’s thighs. Reaching down, I hold his cock in my hand and guide him into my pussy.
I groan as he fills me. Then, arching my back and throwing my head back, I ride him like my life depends on it.
When I wake up again, I’m still naked, sore, and Stefan is lying next to me. But this time, he is snoring softly.
I slip out of bed silently and head for the bathroom. I wince with every step. Every inch of my body is sore, and the tenderness between my legs is especially making it hard to walk.
I all but drag myself to the bathroom, open the door, and then close it softly behind me. I step in front of the mirror to take myself in. My lips are swollen, and there are marks all over my neck. My hair looks like a bird’s nest, and the eyes looking back at me seem to belong to someone else.
What happened to me?
How did I end up in bed with Stefan?
I turn away from the mirror and get into the shower. I crank it up and stand under the spray, letting the cold water wash over me. It grows warm and eventually hot, but I don’t budge.
Unable to stay on my store feet, I crouch down, sitting on the floor.
Nothing makes sense.
How can I have so much sex within a few hours and still want more?
Since when did I want him so bad?
Why does my body crave him so badly?
Within no time, my tears join the water cascading down my face.
There’s something wrong with me.
I don’t know for how long I’m under the shower until Stefan shows up and pulls me away. I’m barely aware of him drying me up with a towel and carrying me back to the bed.
I’m too tired to ask anything or think.
He holds me while I fall asleep, my body desperate for some reprieve after all the physical activity it has been through the last several hours.
***
“Get away from my son, you filthy human!”
I try to run faster, but my feet are too heavy, my knees too weak.
I look around for somewhere to hide, but there’s nowhere. I’m in a forest, surrounded by tall, thin trees that all look alike. The only sound is that of the woman running towards me, a sword in her hand. She laughs, more like cackles, as she gets closer to me.
I trip on a root and go sprawling on the ground. I roll onto my back and there she is, looming over me, the sword lifted high.
“DIE!” she screams, then swings the sword.
I wake up with a gasp. My hands rise to my throat, expecting to find warm blood gushing.
But there’s nothing.
I’m lying in my bed, and there’s no crazy woman running after me.
“Mari? Are you okay?”
I turn my head to the side. Stefan.
Stefan is lying on the bed next to me. He reaches his hand out and touches my face. “You’re sweating,” he says. “Did you have a nightmare?”
I’m about to nod when everything rushes back to me.
That might have been a nightmare, but the memories that flood into my brain are not.
That woman Naya from earlier on, attacking me in my bed. Bringing me to Martha, Stefan’s mother. Tying me up in her basement. Then the sword.
She tried to behead me!
I touch my neck again, just to be sure. There’s no wound, no scar.
Then I remember.
A wolf looming over me, fangs bared. Then he bit me.
My hands switch to my shoulder. My fingers trace a bump, like a scar. Quickly, I hurry out of bed and rush into the bathroom.
The lights are already on, so I rush to the mirror, bend, and take a good look at my shoulder.
There’s a large scar on my shoulder, right at the juncture with my neck. It has a crescent shape and is made up of teeth marks.
The wolf really bit me!
Stefan’s reflection appears beside mine. “We need to talk, Mari.”