Then again, not one of those Slayers had the power of a Theronai at their disposal, either.
Joseph thought about waiting for her to come out of the bathroom, but every second that passed was another chunk of ice clogging their connection. It was time to melt that all off.
His legs were a bit unsteady as he slid on his jeans, but he forced his shaky limbs to carry him to the bathroom door. “Lyka, are you okay?”
“Fine. Just cleaning up.” Her tone was sharp with irritation.
He’d left a hell of a mess inside that sweet body of hers when he’d come, but she’d seemed to like it at the time. Maybe she was one of those OCD chicks who just couldn’t stand a man’s semen touching her.
If that was the case, then she was just going to have to get over it, because he planned on messing her up again. Frequently.
Whoa. Down, boy. Getting pissed over something he didn’t even know was true was not the way to get Lyka to open up to him.
He put a muzzle on his irrational burst of anger and forced his voice to come out nice and calm. “Can I come in?”
“Isn’t there another bathroom?”
“Not one with you in it.”
She let out a long, agitated sigh. The door opened to her gloriously naked body posed with one hand on her curvy hip. He was sure her expression would have shown him just how pissed she was if he could have found the strength to lift his eyes past her flushed breasts.
He loved the way her nipples felt against his tongue, the way she squirmed and panted when he applied just the right amount of suction.
How in the world was he going to concentrate on work now that he knew just how she tasted, how she sounded when she came?
“You wanted something?” she asked.
He had wanted something—something that had nothing to do with spinning her around and fucking her against the bathroom sink.
Joseph closed his eyes so his brain would start to work again. This was important. Whatever it was.
As the sight of her beauty moved from reality to memory, he remembered why he’d knocked on the door in the first place. “I thought of something we could try.”
“I’m not having sex with you again, Theronai.”
“Not that.” Though heaven knew he had about a million fantasies stored up—things he would so love to try with her. “I mean that there’s something we can try that none of the others searching for Eric and the kids can.”
“What?” Her tone was skeptical, but laced with enough curiosity that he knew he’d at least piqued her interest.
“How good is your sense of smell?”
“Very.”
“Compared to other Slayers?”
“I was one of the best trackers in the settlement. The fact that I couldn’t find a trail leading away from the attack meant there wasn’t one.”
“What if there was?”
“Are you saying I missed something?” She pushed past him.
He opened his eyes just in time to see her wrapping the top sheet around herself. He knew it wouldn’t take much to have her naked again, but he was going to find a way to resist the urge. Somehow.
Joseph cleared his throat and stared at the wall behind her head. Nothing sexy there. “I’m saying that you have access to a whole shit ton of power now—power you could use to amplify your natural tracking abilities.”
“You think that if I tap into your power, I might be able to find the trail leading to Eric and the young?”
“It’s possible. Andra has an uncanny ability to find lost children, and she follows a path of fear they leave behind.”
“Why the hell isn’t she out here helping us?”
“Because she’s pregnant. It’s too great a risk to her unborn child for her to put herself in danger.”
“We could have at least asked her to help.”
“I wouldn’t do that to her. It would tear her up inside to know that some kids were missing and she couldn’t help.”
“You didn’t even ask her?”
“No, I didn’t. Be as pissed at me as you like, but all it’s going to do is make it harder for you to get what you want. Anger doesn’t help our connection grow, and if you want to use my power to find that trail, you’re going to need all the help you can get.”
Lyka poked him hard in the chest—hard enough to leave a bruise. Even so, the branches of his lifemark swayed and whipped around in an effort to get closer to her touch. “Don’t think I’ll forget this.”
“Neither will Andra, once she finds out that I was hiding this from her. You’ll have to get in line behind all of the other people who are pissed at me on any given day. Comes with the territory of being a leader.”
“Yeah? Well, as your wife, I get first dibs on thrashing your ass.”
He grinned and covered her hand, pressing it flat against his chest. “So, now you claim the position as my wife?”
“If that’s what it takes to get to beat the shit out of you first, absolutely.”
Venting her anger was one thing. Letting it fester and grow was another.
He grabbed her wrists and pinned them at the small of her back. She struggled against his hold, but only for a second.
Joseph leaned down, putting his lips close to hers. “Feel free to try your hand at that whenever you like, kitten. You may be a Slayer, but I’m still more than strong enough to restrain you until you calm down.”
“What if I never calm down? What if I’m pissed at you for the rest of our lives?”
“Then I guess you’re going to spend a lot of time like this.” He tightened his grip and pulled her hard against his frame.
Her pupils lengthened, making her eyes dim to dark gold. Her lips parted, and her nipples beaded up beneath the sheet. The flush of her skin beneath the luceria had started to fade, but it was back now, proving just how much her body responded to his.
“You think you can control me?” she asked.
“Why would I do that when I like you out of control so very much?”
She closed her eyes. “I’m not going to let you do this again.”
“Do what?”
“Turn me on. Fuck me when there are lives at stake. We don’t have time for this.”
“Maybe not, but what we shared wasn’t a total waste of time. If you would let go of your anger for a minute, you’d feel what I did right before you shut me out.”
“What’s that?”
“You trusted me. It might only have been for a second, but you let go of your animosity long enough to let me in. That’s the kind of thing that strengthens the bond between us.”
She opened one eye to peer at him in skepticism. “So?”
“So the stronger our bond is, the wider the conduit connecting us becomes, the more power you can channel out of me, the more magic you can wield.”
She frowned. “I don’t trust you any more now than I did before.”
“You’re lying. I know what I felt.”
Her gaze went distant. He could feel the ice between them melting by slow degrees as she studied their link. Her body began relaxing in his arms, but he couldn’t bring himself to let her go. He loved having her against him, close and safe.
After a moment, her presence was hovering between them, right on the threshold of his mind. She hesitated there, but even so, he could tell how much easier it was for her to reach him now than it had been before.
“You’re always welcome, Lyka.”
“It’s too weird.”
“It won’t always be.”
“I lack your confidence.”
“I have enough for both of us,” he told her. “Come. See how I think we’ll find your brother.”
The lure of that knowledge must have been too much for her to resist, because he felt her the instant she entered his mind. So fierce, so bright. Her ene
rgy was unlike anything he’d ever experienced before. He doubted she had any idea of just how precious she was.
“I’m just a mutant.”
He didn’t dare argue with her now—not when she was exactly where he wanted her to be. Instead, he opened himself wide and let her feel the way he did about her. He let her see how strong and fearless she was in his eyes, how beautiful.
Her body shivered in his arms, and a small sigh escaped her lips. “Show me.”
Joseph did. He guided her to the part of his mind that had been working on the problem since it had come up. The mechanics of it were a little fuzzy, but the theory was strong.
“You clearly have never followed a scent trail before, have you?” she asked.
“Not one that was any longer than it took me to reach a Dumpster.”
“It’s like another kind of sight—like a strand weaving through the air or along the ground. In order to be able to follow it, you have to understand the way the wind blows, how breezes flow past objects and swirl in corners and crevices. You have to understand how scents combine and alter one another, and how to separate them out again, the way a cook does when trying to re-create a recipe.”
She shared with him her experience with tracking by scent. It was unlike anything he could have imagined. There was so much more complexity to it than he’d ever thought. It was more an art than a science, and, from what he could tell, Lyka was one heck of an artist.
“Do you think it will work?” he asked.
“It’s worth a shot. How far are we from where Eric and the others were abducted?”
He didn’t want to go back there. It was too dangerous.
“You can’t lock me in a box,” she told him. “We’re out here to do a job. I can’t do it without taking some risks.”
His first thought was that he’d find a way. His second was that she’d read his mind without him forcing her to do so.
“It’s not like you’re all that complicated,” she said. “And if digging around in your skull is what it’s going to take to find my kin, then that’s what I’ll do. Now take me back to the settlement, or I’m going without you.”
“You won’t be able to channel my power if I’m not there by your side.”
She lifted a golden brow. “And you won’t be able to stay away, knowing that place is rife with demons and I’m there, in danger.”
Touché. The woman definitely knew his weakness.
Chapter 29
Eric couldn’t look any of his students in the eye when he was tossed back in the stone room where they were being held.
Treszka had given him a sheet to cover his nudity, but she’d taken away a hell of a lot more. Promised she’d do it again. Soon.
He wasn’t going to think about that now. Hell, he wasn’t going to think about it later, either. It was over. Done. Time to move on.
He tore a strip from the sheet and scrubbed himself with it the best he could, then tore off another and fashioned himself a loincloth.
His feet were bare now, though he couldn’t remember how that had happened. Maybe his shoes had been torn off at the same time as his jeans. Right before—
Nope. Not going there.
“Anything new to report?” he asked the young.
Kayla didn’t even glance his way. Her head was down and she was hugging her knees—not at all like her.
“We’ve been trying to count demons,” said one of the boys, “but they all look the same. There seem to be about twenty in the next room all the time. We can hear and smell more, but we’re not sure how many.”
He tossed the rest of the sheet to the boys and said, “Tear this into strips. The thinner, the better, but not so thin they’ll break easy.”
The boys went to work. Eric crouched beside Kayla, facing the same direction so neither one of them would have to look at the other.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Fine. They took me right back here, like you said.”
“Why are you off by yourself like this?”
Anger flooded her words, making them sound much older than her years. “You let her hurt you.”
“It wasn’t that bad,” he lied. “Do I look hurt?”
She barely flicked a glance his way. “I can smell you, you know. You’re lying to me because you’re ashamed. You didn’t smell like that before she sent me away.”
Eric had no way to explain reality to a seven-year-old. Not without fucking her up irrevocably. “Listen, kid. We all do things for the good of the pack. That’s all I did. I just wish she hadn’t taken my clothes away. That’s why I’m ashamed.”
“You’re lying again, but it’s the good kind.”
“What’s the good kind?”
“The ones for birthdays and not hurting people’s feelings.”
He nodded. “Maybe I am lying a little, but there really is nothing for you to worry about. I’m not hurt. You’re not hurt. And we’re going to fight our way out of here.”
That sparked her interest. She turned to him, her eyes bright with excitement. “We are?”
“I’m done playing by Treszka’s rules. It’s not going to be easy, and it’s dangerous as hell, but I’m not going to stay down here and never see the sun again. You with me?”
She nodded eagerly, making her moonlight-blond tangles bob. “What do you want me to do?”
“Gather up some rocks the size of your fist. We need to make weapons.”
* * *
Lyka ignored the carnage as much as she could this time. Seeing her home in this state was almost more than she could stand, but Joseph was nearby, and for some reason that helped.
He kept soothing her through the connection they shared, and, strangely, when she let him, the thin pipeline between them seemed to expand.
She still hadn’t forgiven herself for taking the time to fuck him when her people were in danger, but at least the outcome had been a good one. Besides the mind-blowing orgasms.
Whether it was pleasure or trust or some other magical power his cock possessed, their bond had strengthened. If not for the lack of time they were dealing with, she might have even experimented with taking him for another spin, just to see if her theory was right.
She paced the perimeter of the area where the ground had been disturbed by battle. With every deep breath, another bundle of scents came to her. She blocked out the smells created by the surrounding forest and concentrated on those that didn’t belong. The rancid stench of oily demon fur. The sweet smell of sunshine on children’s skin. Blood of both her kind and Synestryn. Beneath all that was the acrid scent of fear and hunger. Desperation.
Exhaustion bore down on her. Another night had passed and she hadn’t slept nearly as much as she needed to, especially with the strain she’d been putting on her body. The worry over missing children and trying to learn new magic was more than enough to wear out even the toughest girl.
She’d tried to sleep in the truck on the drive here, but every time she closed her eyes, she imagined another horrible fate for the missing young. And Eric. He was as badass as they came, but even he had a breaking point. Her only hope was that the Synestryn had taken prisoners for a reason, rather than simply killing them outright, as they had so many others. Surely if there was a reason to abduct them, they were still alive, right?
“I’m sure they’re fine,” said Joseph, obviously sensing her anxiety.
She still wasn’t used to sharing such a deep connection with anyone, but she had to admit that it was nice to have someone propping her up right now. If not for the thin thread of hope she held on to, she was certain she’d be a complete basket case. Joseph’s nearness and natural optimism helped her cling to that hope a little easier.
“Anything new?” asked Joseph from a few feet away. His sword was drawn and his watchful gaze was on the land around her.
“I’m
finding the same scents as before.”
“Try using my power this time.”
“I’m not exactly sure how.”
“You’re smart. You have good instincts. Just listen to them.”
The truth was, she didn’t like the idea of becoming dependent on another person. She’d already tied her life to his. Asking her to lean on him for things she’d always managed on her own grated against her sense of independence.
He let out a faint sigh of impatience. “You’re the same woman you were before you took my luceria.”
“Will you please get out of my head?”
“Not a chance. You were born for this, Lyka. There’s no shame in doing what you were created to do.”
“It’s a lot easier to say that when you’ve grown up knowing what your position in life was going to be from day one. I grew up thinking I’d find some way to be a Slayer—stay with my own kind.”
“You are with your own kind. You were just wrong about who that was before.”
If they went down this road, she was going to get pissed, and right now she couldn’t afford to get angry at the man who held the power she needed. Like it or not, she had to suck it up, lean on Joseph, and take the blow to her ego. She might not be able to find Eric on her own, but she would find him. As long as that was the outcome, she could accept whatever she had to do along the way. That’s what Eric would have done for her.
Lyka closed her eyes to focus her senses. Just beneath the skin under the luceria, she could feel Joseph’s power sparking and eager to do her bidding. She’d grown used to the soft warmth coming from the necklace, but now that she gave it her attention with the intent to use it, the supple band began to heat.
She shivered against the sensation and immediately tried to block it out. Instead, she concentrated on the dancing strands of magic waving around, trying to get her attention.
Lyka grabbed onto a bundle of them and pulled them into herself. Instantly, her body let out a giant sigh of relief, as if she’d been starving to death and had just put the first bite of steak in her mouth.
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