Spinning on her, he thrust her up against a tree and his mouth was on hers in a ferocious need. She met his need with her own and groaned into his lips as her fingers dropped, tugging the buttons of his shirt free and shoving the fabric of off his shoulders.
Her fingers found his chest and her nails dragged down over his flesh.
The force of his kisses pinned her head against the tree, but she couldn't focus when he reached between them to grip the hem of her shirt, hitching it up.
He forced himself back from her with a feral growl, his entire body trembling as he worked to fight against his senses. She was panting gently, need radiating off her in waves that his body responded to unconsciously.
"Versalis" she moaned softly, her entire body aching for him. "I need you."
It was those words that broke him, and his body was against hers, his fingers in her hair as he bruised her lips and she clutched at him.
Impatient, she broke apart from him only long enough to pull her shirt off over her hair and throwing it.
His mouth found the upper curve of her breasts and she gasped as he bit her, licking away the blood but before he could move again, a loud snapping had them both freezing in place.
Looking around in confusion, she couldn't see anything but that didn't mean there was nothing nearby.
"Let's get back," he said nervously, posture protective as he studied the area in case there was something there trying to hurt her.
Dressing quickly, they headed back in the direction of the camp, sweeping the area for signs of threats but they found nothing.
The wood had been forgotten and they returned to camp, all eyes turning on them as a possible threat, but no one said a thing, at least not until Jaia appeared and made a note of blood smeared over his chin.
Grunting, Versalis wiped at his face and found that indeed there was blood on his face from her breast.
Her cheeks flamed and she turned away to pack up her things, footsteps following after her.
Moving further into the trees, she stopped at a small stream and crouched to cup water in her hands, drinking and the growl made her look around.
Jaia had followed her, his dark eyes furious.
"What do you want?" she asked, straightening and when she turned to him, he was on her.
His forearm pressed across her throat as her back met a tree and she grunted in pain, her hands immediately going to his wrist.
"Why him?" he demanded, fury and hurt in his eyes as he glared down at her.
"Get off me!" she hissed, struggling to shove him off her even though he had the weight to keep her pinned.
"You could have chosen anyone, why Versalis?"
She met his eyes for an instant, frowning in confusion.
"Why do you care?"
His face darkened and she felt a thrill of fear go through her at the remembered sight of him when he lost his grip on sanity.
"You lost your chance to have an opinion on my life when you decided to rip out my heart and stomp on it."
He jerked back at her words, and she shoved him away from her, glaring at him.
"You are the one who decided I wasn't good enough. You are the one who left," she was advancing on him now and he backed away. "You are the one who told me I would never be good enough and now you're acting all hurt and lost because I found someone who believes I would be good enough?"
His eyes narrowed and he bared his teeth at her.
"You don't know what you're talking about," he snapped, while she fumed.
Flinging out her hand to slap him, he caught her wrist and yanked her forward into him, his lips near her ear. "If I ever see you two together again, I'll kill him," he breathed, and she went cold.
He had seen them? How had he seen them?
"You were following us?" she whispered, indignant.
"I was following you. You're mine."
"I stopped being yours a week ago. You decided that." With her attempt to get away from him, he only tightened his grip on her until it hurt. "Let go, Jaia!"
He growled, clutching her until she was sure her bones would break.
"Never again, Etani." He let her go and she staggered back from him, frustrated and hurt that he could come to her like that.
"If I want to be with him, I will be."
It was the wrong thing to say. He gave a deep growl and slammed her against the tree again, his fingers tight around her throat and cutting off her air.
"The lich has nothing on what I will do to keep you," he breathed, ignoring her trembling fingers as they scratched at his hand. His free hand stroked through her hair though it was tender at first.
"You can't tell me that and then be angry when I find someone else," she whimpered, barely able to suck in a breath.
"You know why I said it." His voice was a whisper, his body so close to hers that not a breath of air could pass between them.
"No, Jaia." She felt tears filling her eyes and she tried her best to force them down. "I never loved anyone before you and you..."
His face went blank as he processed that and she took advantage of his confusion, slamming her foot into his shin.
He yelped, his grip so tight that he pulled her with him as he jerked back.
Spinning her, he crushed her against his chest with his free arm wrapping tight around her middle.
"Stop! Let me go, Jaia!" She squirmed in his arms and still he clutched her tight and hard against him.
"Stop fighting me," he snarled, and the tone of his voice made her go still.
He was breathing hard in her ear, and she knew he was close to losing control, so she remained still and gave him the chance to calm down.
"I have loved you since the day I saw you in that dining hall," he whispered, his words cutting through her.
"You told me…" she whimpered, not knowing what to believe any more.
"So you would be safe," he breathed. "So you would make the right choice. So you wouldn't choose to be one of us and run because you wanted to be with me."
Her knees gave out and she buckled, his body lowering with hers as she gave in to her pain.
His body pressed against hers, shielding her from the world while she cried, and her body trembled under him.
"Let me go..." she pleaded, wanting to run from him and hide, wanting to be there as the world was vanished into nothing and feeling her pain end with it.
He murmured softly in her ear, drawing her into his arms and she struggled, hitting his chest. He took every blow without flinching, his eyes focused on the distance.
"How could you do this to me?" she pleaded, needing to know and not understanding.
"Because I had to. You had to make the choice on your own. You had to make the choice we all knew you needed to make."