He neglected to reveal that he hadn’t been aroused and never would be by Vittoria.
He recalled more of that encounter, how his second’s hands had roamed the goddess’s body, how her low moans had started; he stoked Camilla’s jealousy until he was nearly drunk on it. He could sense her pushing back at his mental grip, shoving and trying to force her way out, but it was working. Camilla was wild with envy.
“You’re playing with fire,” he said to Vittoria in the memory. “Quite literally.”
“And I do so love the burn.” Vittoria spun in Alexei’s arms, pressing her backside against his groin, and slowly gyrated. From this new position, she could watch Envy while she worked the vampire into a lust-fueled frenzy. A task she’d already completed if Alexei’s curses and moans were any indication.
“If you’re trying to stoke my sin,” Envy drawled, “you’ll have to do better than that.”
“Oh, Envy. If I wished to stroke your sin, I would.” Vittoria’s hand slipped inside the vampire’s trousers, her fist pumping in a steady rhythm as he groaned. “You’re welcome to watch. Or join…”
Camilla was nearly feral in his mind, clawing the memory to shreds.
Her jealousy was unlike anything he’d ever felt before, it was a deep chasm inside her, seemingly endless. She’d been keeping her emotions locked away inside.
And he’d only just begun to discover how deep that well went.
One moment he had her in his mind; then suddenly, without any warning, Camilla pushed a memory into him. She’d chosen her return fire well.
Envy watched as Camilla braced her hands on the male’s thighs—the material of his trousers pulled taut against the breadth of them—then leaned forward, tongue darting out to wet her full lips.
With nimble fingers, Camilla unlaced his trousers, slowly pulling his erection out. Envy strained to see the male’s face, wanting to mark it for future notice, but could only see what Camilla permitted from this memory.
And Camilla’s focus was entirely on the rock-hard cock twitching in her face.
Envy strained to release himself from this scene, but Camilla latched on, fed him more.
In the memory, she repositioned herself, then tentatively closed her mouth around the head, her cheeks hollowing out as the man instructed her to suck.
Envy wanted to put his fist through a wall.
The other male’s long fingers plunged into Camilla’s silver hair, threading it until he guided her into the motion he preferred. In the memory, Camilla nearly choked as the male pumped into her mouth. His grip in her hair tightened, his thrusts hitting the wall of her throat. Memory Camilla felt like she was choking—it thrilled and scared her. Tears streamed down her cheeks, as the bastard fucked her mouth so hard and fast she couldn’t breathe.
Envy shouted in the memory, needing to be out. He didn’t care that she’d been with someone else, but seeing it… It drove him mad. And the bastard—whoever he was—hadn’t been gentle. He’d unleashed himself, uncaring of the woman’s comfort.
He didn’t realize she’d stopped provoking him—had somehow managed to tear them both free of the memory and backed him against a tree—until she pulled the dagger Envy had given her from her bodice and held it to his throat, her silver eyes flashing just as menacingly in the night.
They were both breathing hard, their eyes twin flames of envy.
Envy thought she would slit his throat right then and there. And he’d deserve it. Maybe he wanted her to—after that memory, he needed to be put out of his misery. The image of her on her knees, pleasuring someone else, was too much.
“Go on, pet. Hurt me.” His chest heaved with his heavy breath.
Instead, she tossed the blade to the ground and dragged his face to hers, their mouths crashing together.
Hunger overtook them. Or madness.
He knew it wasn’t madness but pure, unadulterated jealousy.
She didn’t ask about Vittoria, and he didn’t ask about the male in her memory.
They both needed to forget that other lovers had come into their lives, needed to imprint each other in their newest memories. Their game had taken a turn.
Camilla’s tongue was suddenly in his mouth and his fist was in her hair and the kiss was unlike any other he’d ever had. She drew back, raking her gaze over him, possessive and filled with raw need, then ripped his shirt open, kissing up the stubbled column of his neck.
She stopped again when she reached his jaw, long enough to run her hands along the front of his body, tracing his tattoos, the ridge of each muscle along his abdomen. The dark hunter-green ink placed just below his belt line was a Latin phrase he admired. But it was only one of his tattoos. Non ducor, duco. I am not led, I lead.
“Beautiful.” Her painter’s hands followed the lines as they dipped lower. “Powerful.”
The groan that escaped him was all demon.
“Camilla.”
He pulled her against him, roughly caressing her breasts as she nipped at his throat.
“Kiss me,” she whispered against his mouth, “like I’m the only thing you think about.”
She already fucking was.
Envy flipped her around, pressing her up against the same tree, yanking down her bodice to finally liberate those glorious breasts. They tumbled free, beautiful and golden in the shadows of the trees.
He deepened their kiss until she moaned, arching against him.
He was going to devour her right on the cursed path, make her forget that anyone else existed on this realm.
And Camilla was all too willing for him to do just that.
Envy fitted himself between her thighs and began a slow, rhythmic grinding of his body against hers, a promise of what was soon to come.
Camilla pressed back, giving as good as she was getting.
He cupped her breast as she bit his lip, rolling her nipple between his fingers until the nub hardened; then his fingers dipped lower, curling around the hem of her dress before he fisted the material, tempted to rip it to shreds.
Camilla made an impatient sound in the back of her throat as he slowly exposed her stockinged thighs, and then the bare flesh above them, where she hadn’t donned anything at all.
His knuckles skimmed the area he wished to be buried in, already damp with her arousal.
Envy wanted to take his time, to fulfill each of her fantasies and make her come until she couldn’t take another ounce of pleasure, but his cock ached.
He could no longer wait. It was sooner than he’d planned, but what they’d just done… they’d gone too far. Now he had to claim her.
Envy didn’t care what her secrets were, who he was or what his goal was, he wanted to shed civility and fuck like animals.
In one preternaturally fast motion, he had Camilla on the ground beneath him, her legs curling around his body, pulling him closer, locking him against her.
As if he’d leave now.
Envy didn’t think about the game or what she’d set into motion, his thoughts were only of her. Their mouths and tongues and teeth clashed, their hands gripping and tugging as if they were battling to be inside each other’s souls.
He began that slow, driving motion again, this time with his trousers against her bare flesh. One little piece of cloth separated him from being fully seated inside her.
“Tell me to stop, Camilla.”
If she didn’t, he would claim her. Right now. Ruin her for all other lovers.
Maybe she’d do the same to him.