Page 61 of Suncatcher

A thumb pressed against the corner of Driz’s mouth. She opened it, uncertain what Pearl wanted, but that must have been right because Pearl smiled. Pearl’s small tongue darted out and tasted one of her fangs. The sensation shook Driz, nothing like when she ran her own tongue over them.

Pearl kissed her too briefly, and Driz struggled to keep her gaze fixed on the mirror, Pearl’s hair trying to obscure her vision as she shifted to the other cheek.

Pearl angled to the side so Driz could see her easier, glancing back to make sure Driz was watching. She skimmed her open mouth over Driz’s skin. The trail of Pearl’s hot tongue and the nip of her teeth on Driz’s ear curled her claws with desire. She tensed with need to wrap around Pearl, but she didn’t know if that was allowed, so she pressed her palms into the sides of her own thighs, nails digging in, the light sting helping ground her so she didn’t float away.

Pearl looked at the mirror again, her eyes partially closed and her smile slow. Her hand trailed down Driz’s throat and chest to her top button, undoing it with nimble fingers, followed by the second and the third, drawing the fabric to the side and exposing Driz’s left breast to them both.

Pearl hummed as she scraped her blunt fingernails along the underside and then ran her thumb over the nipple.

Driz jolted with pleasure.

When Pearl bent down and lapped her tongue over the hardened peak, Driz gasped, her claws sinking deeper into her thighs as Pearl did it again. The reflection was a bit hazy, and somehow, that made it even more exciting. Driz had never been more aroused. Her wing joints ached. She needed…

Pearl slithered back up Driz’s chest. “D’you like what you see?” Pearl rasped against Driz’s ear, her beautiful hand continuing its caress of Driz’s breast.

Driz had a hard time making her throat work. “Yes.”

“Me too. Do you believe me?”

Driz managed a nod. “Yes.”

“Good.” Pearl kissed her mouth, tongue delving inside and making Driz’s blood rush harder.

Then her touch was gone and she stepped off the stool. Driz’s gaze on the mirror was broken and she stared, ravenous, at Pearl. Real Pearl, with no blurred glass between them.

Pearl’s cheeks were flushed, her breath and heart elevated, her scent strong. Pearl clearly felt it too—this overpowering pull. A drive to mate, in whatever way they could. In every way.

Driz stepped forward, reaching for her.

“So,” Pearl panted, voice high. “Anyway. What’s that surprise you planned for me?”

Driz blinked, her mind not working.

“Oh.” Pearl’s eyes widened.

Driz looked down.

The tips of her outstretched claws shone with blood. From where she’d been gripping her own thighs. Dark red stains dampened the sides of her legs.

The sight punctured her daze of arousal, a confused reality slamming into her. “I am sorry.” Driz snatched her hand away and took a step back, and another.

“Are you alright?”

“I…I just…I will be back.”

She stumbled out the door, her body a muddled, clumsy mess. All wrong, more so because she’d just felt so, so right for once. She had to get away before she did anything else. Because Driz burned for Pearl, and she didn’t know if she could.

She flew directly north, dropping into a narrow canyon containing the closest stream. The walls swallowed her and stared disapprovingly down on where she landed in the water.

Falling to her knees, she tried to scrub off her bloody hands. Her monstrous hands, which shook.

Would Pearl fear her again after that reminder of who and what she was?

18

Under the Stars

Pearl leaned back against the bar, catching her breath. Had that been a mistake? Was this entire thing a mistake?