Sanctuary, Texas Complete Series Box Set

by Krystal Shannan

  The hulking Drakonae male rubbed his hands up and down the female’s arms and whispered a few words of encouragement and assurance that Eira meant her and the baby no harm.

  Eira’s mouth curved into a smile, and she extended her arm toward the woman and baby.

  She left Mikjáll’s side and stepped toward Eira.

  Eira wrapped one arm around the woman’s waist and her other arm around my waist.

  “Take a deep breath,” Eira directed.

  I sucked in a breath and felt her leap into motion. We blurred though the mine opening. Time seemed to stand still as the world around us passed by so quickly. I could barely tell where the ground stopped and the midnight blue sky started.

  A few minutes later, she stopped on the porch of a small house situated on the banks of a large lake. The water rippled in the soft breeze whipping across my face. The clouds were scattered here, and the moon hung in the sky like a huge gemstone.

  Candles burned inside, twinkling through the large bay window. The scent of food drifted from the house.

  “Go in and eat,” Eira said, releasing me from her hold.

  I leaned into to her before she could disappear again. “Be sure you feed before you make another trip. Do not let it go like that again.”

  She nodded and moved her mouth to my ear. “Take care of Riza until I bring Mikjáll over. He seems to have connected with her.”

  I nodded, putting a hand on Riza’s shoulder, helping her unsteady form up the porch steps to the front door. When I glanced over my shoulder, Eira was gone.

  The next hour passed painfully, second dragging to second. Each time Eira returned with more of our group, I could feel a little more tension fade from the room.

  She brought the rest of the Lycans before she brought over Mikjáll and Jared. The Gryphon, Alek, arrived last of all.

  The breath I’d been holding since she dropped me at the steps finally released when the door opened and she walked in with the big badass guy who called himself Sanctuary’s sheriff.

  Four hundred miles between us and Savannah should help slow down the soldiers searching for us. Because of how fast Eira could move, their satellites wouldn’t be able to track her movements once she blurred. She didn’t have a heat signature herself, and when she moved that fast, our heat signatures wouldn’t register, either.

  “Eira.” I stood from the table and pulled her into my arms. Her clothes were clean, thanks to the special enchantment, but her skin was dark from all the grime of running, making her once creamy skin a little on the brown side. “Thank the gods,” I said, nuzzling her neck and taking a deep breath of her scent.

  “Here,” Mikjáll’s deep voice rumbled behind me. I turned and took the coffee mug from his hand. “For her.” His gaze flicked to Eira’s and then to mine again. “We would’ve had to fight again or run all night if not for your sacrifice. I know you pushed yourself to the very edge of your abilities. Thank you.”

  A sigh slipped from Eira’s chest. “Besides the Mason pack, my friends in Sanctuary are the closest thing I have to family.”

  “I’m lucky to count you among friends, Eira Rennir. You saved my mother’s life, and that’s a debt I can never repay.”

  Eira loosened her grip on my neck and stared down the seven-foot giant man. “You can take the time to get to know your mother and fathers. That is how you can repay me. Believe me, if I had the chance to talk to my mother or father again, I would trade anything for it. You have that chance. Don’t squander it. This will not be the last fight with Xerxes.”

  Shame flickered across the Drakonae male’s face for a brief moment before he masked it again and answered, “I will.”

  “Come, my beloved. You need a bath, a drink, and some rest.” I slipped my arm around her waist and headed her toward the stairs after Mikjáll disappeared into the kitchen.

  “Is everyone okay?” She pulled away, but I tightened my grip.

  “They are fine. The guys are patching up the ones with wounds, but most of them are already well on their way to being completely healed. You are coming with me.” I handed her the coffee cup full of the Drakonae’s blood. “Drink this while I get your bath started.”

  She finally relented and allowed me to lead her upstairs. A satisfied moan slipped from her throat after the first sip from the mug. Strangely enough, I was jealous that the dragon was able to feed her more than once in a night without feeling sick. I was still woozy from feeding multiple times this evening. The stew Travis had whipped up helped re-energize me, but I knew if I had offered again and she fed, I would’ve passed out.

  “Are you okay, Killían?” she asked as we entered the bedroom at the top of the stairs.

  “I’m fine, love.”

  The master suite was beachy with just a touch of feminine taste. A large bed underneath a light blue comforter lay to our right. Two square wooden end tables sat at either side with a plain white ceramic lamp with cream shades. The whole room was neutral blues and creams, mixed with the natural wood colors.

  I walked through the room to the bathroom and started filling the large claw-foot soaker tub in the center of the room. Soon steam rose from the water, filling the small area with a soft mist.

  The mirror on the wall reflected Eira as she followed me into the bathroom. She put her mug on the counter, and I turned to face her. Desire made my heart pound as she slowly pulled her shirt off, baring her smooth torso. The purple bra was next. Her dark pink nipples and the perfect rise of her breasts arrested my focus. The way they bounced just a little with each movement.

  She kicked off her boots. Then her still-pristine pants hit the floor along with some bright pink panties.

  A smile curved my lips as I perused her gorgeous body completely naked except for a pair of black socks.

  She folded one leg up at a time and removed them as well. The skin that had been hidden by her clothing was milky white, while her face and arms were nearly as brown as my much darker complexion.

  “Come.” I patted the side of the tub.

  The exhaustion in her eyes only moments ago had disappeared, replaced by a spark of desire as she sauntered closer. She stepped over the ledge of the tub and took my hand as she sat, sinking below the hot water.

  She used her foot to move the lever and turn off the flow gushing from the chrome faucet.

  “This is heaven. Thank you.” She slipped beneath the surface, allowing the water to flow over her head and soak her long, dark hair. As she rose up again, water ran in rivulets down her cheeks and shoulders. Her hair floated around her shoulders as she leaned backward a little and rested against the porcelain wall of the tub.

  I grabbed a loofah from the basket on the corner of the tub and squirted out some bath gel. “Turn around, love.”

  She turned and moved her hair to the front, exposing her shoulders.

  I swirled the loofah around her shoulders, falling into a pattern as I lathered her entire back, dipping my hand beneath the water’s surface to massage lower. The small moans and sighs slipping from between her lips had me as hard as steel.

  She twisted in the water, and suddenly, I was massaging her breasts instead. Dropping the loofah, and I slipped my other hand into the water as well, soaking the sleeve of my shirt, but I didn’t care. My fingers trailed along her abdomen to the juncture of her thighs. A quick caress to her swollen clit elicited a throaty gasp of pleasure.

  Eira leaned closer, pressing her mouth over mine, driving her tongue between my lips and tasting the inside of my mouth. She was my paradise, and I wanted her out of the water and in my arms.

  I climbed to my feet and lifted her as I did.

  “What about my bath?” It was a half-hearted whine at best.

  “I’ll run you another later.”

  Chapter 27

  EIRA

  The dry cotton sheets met the cool damp skin of my back as Killían laid me down. He pulled off his shirt, revealing his tanned muscled torso. The years had been kind to him. His physique had bar
ely changed from the man I’d known so many centuries ago. Perhaps a few grey hairs speckled behind his ears, but nothing worth mentioning except as a tease.

  I fingered the medallion lying between my breasts, remembering the quiet moment we’d shared. The night he’d asked for my favor and I’d given it. The night we’d first made love.

  I loved him then with my whole soul, before he’d given me the diamond Diana said bound my heart. And I loved him just as much now.

  “What are you thinking, my beloved?” Killían covered my naked body with his, and I smiled as his warm skin melded to mine.

  “I was remembering our first night together. When you gave me this,” I said, touching the medallion.

  “I gave you my heart that night, Eira.”

  I wrapped my arms around his neck and rolled him so that I was on top of his chest. “According to Diana and Calliope, it’s much more than just a pretty diamond.”

  His eyes darkened, guilt and fear surfacing in their glassy blue irises. “I should’ve been honest from the start, but—”

  “Telling me you were an immortal from another realm wasn’t really feasible. I understand that now. I was angry at first, but I do understand.”

  He raised his head and kissed my lips, teasing and tugging the bottom one until my sex throbbed. I needed him inside me. On me. And I could have him. For just a few minutes, we could pretend we weren’t on the run from a Lamassu psychopath bent on taking over both of our worlds.

  “I planned to stay with you your entire human life, loving and taking care of you until you passed from my life. There was nothing to explain. Nothing that would’ve ever mattered. Eventually, you would’ve learned my secret.”

  A smile played with my lips, and I traced my fingertips along his cheek. The blonde stubble of his beard was soft under my touch. “You mean you would’ve had to tell me because you wouldn’t grow old. Unless you call these few grey hairs behind your ears age.”

  “I do not have grey hairs.” He swatted at my hand, capturing my wrist in his and rolling us again so that I was pinned beneath his broad chest. His hard shaft lay against my mound, and I opened my legs, wrapping them around his waist and pulling him even closer.

  I craved the connection I felt when we were entwined. I wanted to disappear into it and forget about the shitty world around us that fought and warred and killed people we loved. Life was never easy, but at least a thousand years ago, it was easier to see your enemies before they snuck up on you.

  “You have a few,” I said, catching his gaze and dismissing the depressing thoughts swirling through my head. “But they blend well. Barely noticeable.”

  “Hmmm, except to your vampire laser vision.” He chuckled and latched his mouth on one of my breasts.

  Pleasure zinged through my body, and I arched my back, pushing my breast deeper into his mouth. A moan slipped from my throat, and my toes curled. His tongue and teeth tortured my nipple in the most exhilarating of ways.

  “Please,” I murmured, nipping at his shoulder closest to my mouth. “I need you.”

  “Anything for you.” He adjusted his hips and thrust forward, sinking his hard length into my waiting body.

  Slowly at first. Then he moved faster, until we fell into a satisfying rhythm. His body rubbed just right against my clit, and the feeling of a building climax writhed inside me.

  I closed my mouth to muffle my scream of pleasure as my climax rushed forward. My body clamped down hard, and he groaned, crushing my lips against his and claiming my mouth with possessive sweeps of his tongue. His hands grasped my body, one palm kneading a breast while the other gripped my ass, holding me firmly while he continued to drive home.

  Stroke by stroke, my body wound tighter and tighter. The burn of another building climax coiled and swirled inside me. He thrust again and again until I came apart. This time the scream escaped, and he joined me in my bliss, his warmth spilling into my body.

  I loosened my grip on his shoulder and side.

  He rolled slowly to the left, pulling me along with him until I was on his chest again. His hard cock was still buried inside me. My muscles tensed, and I sighed, loving the way my pussy gripped him within my body.

  I never wanted to leave this farmhouse. Hell, I never wanted to leave this bed. If only the world would stand still and let me relive moments like these over again.

  “I love you, Eira Rennir, with every breath of my body and every beat of my heart. I am yours eternally.”

  “I love you, too, Killían. I can’t imagine living without you again.”

  “You won’t have to. I will be with you forever. Wherever you go, I will be there.”

  “Even if I move to Sanctuary?”

  “Of course. I’ve lived in that rundown house for too long already. There are so many…” His voice trailed off, and he closed his eyes. Pain was etched into the lines of his face.

  I reached up and cupped his cheek. “We both have demons, Killían. Don’t feel as though you have to hide them from me.”

  He buried his face in my neck and took a deep breath. “The things I have done would make you ashamed. I cringe at the thought of how my brother looks down on me from the afterlife. It started as revenge. As payback. But then it turned to hatred and cruelty. I enjoyed killing. Relished it. Eira, I am not the man you loved all those years ago.”

  I ran my hands through his hair, stroking the wavy blond tresses. Pressing a soft kiss to his temple, I tipped his head up and made him look into my eyes.

  “No matter what has happened in the past, you are that man. You will always be that man to me. You have my heart for as long as you will hold it.” My eyes welled. I wanted him to understand. I didn’t care about his past.

  If anyone was a monster, it was me.

  I was a vampire.

  I’d killed so many I’d stopped counting. Their faces had ceased to haunt my dreams because I couldn’t tell them apart any longer. They were merely a casualty of my existence. With training, I’d learned not to kill all my victims, but for the first several hundred years, death had followed me like a dark cloud.

  “My brother would be happy we found each other again,” he said, kissing my lips gently. His tongue slid across the seam of my mouth, and I smiled. I wanted more. We could both certainly go again. His cock felt deliciously hard inside me, but the restless movement downstairs warned me off.

  We’d stolen enough time for ourselves. It was time to move again. The few hours head start I’d bought us wouldn’t last if we stayed much longer. We needed to reach the bridge at Vicksburg before the SECR army found us here.

  Chapter 28

  EIRA

  Voices carried up the stairwell as I followed Killían down into the main level of the farmhouse. Jared and Alek were arguing about finding a vehicle while Travis and Garrett were hovering over Charlie, asking if she needed anything while setting out a spread of breakfast for the inhabitants of the house.

  I took a deep breath and turned my gaze to the complacent farmer, sitting off to the side. His eyes were glassy from the influence I’d placed over him. As soon as we left, it would dissipate. He would be fine and remember nothing of our stopover.

  “Feel better now?” one of the wolves snapped as Killían and I entered the room.

  To my surprise, Mikjáll jumped to defend my honor, moving faster than even Killían could. Both men breathed down the male Lycan’s neck, growling threats and reminding him if it hadn’t been for me, none of them would’ve lived past those brief moments in the empty mine shaft.

  I took a closer look at the bearded, scruffy face and sank into the chair next to him at the table. My eyes glassed over, and I placed a hand on his tense arm. I knew him. It was Jesse Luca, Charlie’s cousin. I’d buried his mate on the shores of the river.

  “Eira,” Killían said, warning heavy in his voice.

  I glanced up at him and then Mikjáll, shook my head, and turned my attention again to Jesse. “Let him be.”

  Jesse’s hands flew to my
shoulders, and he shook me, enraged. “You were there. You should’ve been able to see them. To warn us all!” His canines elongated as he shouted. His eyes flashed yellow. Pain rolled from him like a fog, and I fought to hold back a flood of tears as his pheromones washed over me. His anguish was mine.

  “I’m so sorry.” The words slipped from my lips like a dying breath. So many had been lost. Friends. People I’d known for decades. Family.

  Killían stood back, and Mikjáll left the room.

  Jesse leaned forward in his chair and pressed his head to my shoulder. Sobs broke free from his body, and he wept. His arms tightened around my shoulders, and I returned the embrace. His breath was warm on my collarbone, and his tears ran down my skin like trails of fire.

  “I will forever carry your pain, my friend. They were my family. Each and every one of them.”

  Shuffling footsteps echoed around me on the battered wooden floors. I looked up from Jesse’s dark hair to see everyone had crowded into the room.

  Everyone who was left.

  Nine.

  Only eight made it out of Savannah. And two of them were strangers. So really… only six of the pack survived. And we weren’t home yet.

  Tears streamed down Charlie’s face. She didn’t hobble as she made her way to Jesse’s side. At least her outward wounds had healed. I knew the pain of losing both parents would take years to fade. Lycans were used to living with family for generations. Most lived to be nearly five hundred years old before they passed on. Her parents had barely been a hundred and fifty. Centuries had been stolen from them and from the others who died on the riverbank at Vicksburg.

  “We will make it through this together, Jesse. I promise, in time, all our losses will be avenged,” Charlie said, her voice soft but filled with determination.

  He took a deep breath and released me from the tight embrace. “I want their blood on my hands for this, Charlie. I want to paint the earth with it.”