Placing her hands flat against his chest, she shoved, the urge to flee suffocating her.
He growled as she squirmed. “We’re not finished.”
She froze. “We’re not?”
“Nay, Amazone, I’ve only…just begun,” he grunted in her ear, drew out, and thrust back inside her. She moaned while he repeated the action. Over and over, he pumped into her body.
Her anxiety concerning his confession evaporated, leaving nothing except his hard, strong body on top of her, pounding inside her.
His glorious weight enveloped, protected, possessed. Arsenius placed his hands on either side of her head and claimed her lips. His tongue plunged into her mouth in the same frantic rhythm as his body.
Kyme trailed her hands down the fluid muscles of his back to dig her nails into his firm, smooth buttocks. She wrapped her legs around him, his thrusts growing even more demanding. Despite the intimacy of their positions, no degree of closeness sated her hunger. She clung to him as though the moment she let go the world would cease.
This night, this moment, was perfection. She prayed their connection would never end, and her heart wept because now it would.
When the sun rose, her world would grow dark.
Because he’d uttered those words, she had lost him.
The dawn’s first rays spread across her face. It is time. After Arsenius had made love to her for hours, he’d collapsed beside her, drifting off into a most peaceful slumber. She’d lain awake; the horror of what she must do next drove the ability to sleep from her.
He’d lied.
Arsenius had felt this affection for her the entire time they’d been together.
He’d lied to keep her near him.
While the Moon and stars had retreated across the sky, she’d attempted to convince her body to rise. She wished she could ignore who and what she was, to live in this moment.
No. Not after he’d declared he loved her. Those words changed everything.
Kyme refused to hurt him. He’d been wounded so much, in so many ways in his past. She would not cause him more pain. What they had would never last. She had a family, obligations, and responsibilities to return to.
He’d never permit her.
If she didn’t return to the Amazons, her absence would be proclaimed treason. Her godmother would hunt her down. Would command her to kill him.
Never.
Her gaze drifted to his left bicep. No mark. She stamped down the twinge of regret that she wasn’t his mate.
A bond was irreversible. His love was not.
He would find someone else. Love someone else. A woman who loved him in return.
She winced as the image of Arsenius with another tore her open with more precision than a blade. Drawing in a ragged breath, she eased out of the bed.
I must do this. It was the hardest choice she’d ever had to make. Her heart longed to stay in this bed, to sail each day with Arsenius, to spend each night in his arms. To complete their mission. She shook her head. Not at the expense of his heart.
She would never love him. Eventually, that would hurt him more.
Inducing him to make love to her had been a mistake. Though their intimacy would make everything worse for him, she did not wish it undone. In his arms, she’d sampled Elysium.
None of the consequences, not even her gift, mattered, other than the hurt she’d caused him. Freeing him was the only way to heal her transgression against his heart.
As she dressed, she studied him. The sun’s rays played across his tawny skin. Gods, he was magnificent. She dug her nails into her palms to stop from embracing him one last time. If she did, she’d lose the strength to leave him.
Arsenius. The man whom weeks ago she’d hated. She’d once presumed he despised her as well, but no, he’d never regarded her that way. He’d always been kind, too kind. He’d always known what she was to him. Here I am, just learning what he is to me. She flinched. She had to go, before her heart performed the impossible and fell in love too.
As she finished dressing, she paused, unsure whether to write a note. He must be certain she’d departed of her free will. Kyme removed her ring of Artemis. He’d recognize it as hers.
Sighing, she set the ring on the bed beside him, where she’d been lying not so long ago. Stop. She set her shoulders to fortify her decision. He deserves someone who can return his love, someone he can share his life with. Someone…else.
Her resolve strengthened, Kyme snuck out of the cabin and crossed to the far side of Halcyon. On their brief tour, Spyros had mentioned another point of entry, one leading into the forest. He’d given them the passwords, asphodelus, eros, aionios—daffodil, love, eternal—and the freedom to come and go as they chose.
He’d mentioned a small village that lay about two days away. She wasn’t a fool. Arsenius would follow her. The forest was her secret weapon. She’d learned how to track, and to cover her trail, before she’d cut her teeth. Losing him in the woods was child’s play.
Besides, Arsenius was a proud man. He wouldn’t forever chase after a woman who didn’t want him. He’d cease his hunt. Eventually.
She would stop in the village for supplies before returning to her people. Their main summer camp was out of the question. Leading him to her people would be a death sentence for him. At all costs, she must prevent Hippolyta from encountering Arsenius. Her godmother was ruthless, and never more so than when it came to Kyme.
Should Hippolyta detect Arsenius’s affection, she’d command Kyme to execute him. Despite the warm air around her, she shivered.
One of the more remote Amazon hunting grounds was her destination. If need be, she’d use force to make him retreat. If it came to that, she would be the one doing the hunting.
She had to protect Arsenius any way she could.
Right now, that meant never, ever seeing him again.
Kyme trekked through the forest, cast false trails, waded through streams to mask her scent, and chose paths difficult for a man his size to follow.
One way or another, Arsenius, I will lose you.
***
Arsenius stretched out his arms and sighed deeply. He’d never been more content. Or more sated, though he hardened at the memory of being inside Kyme. What he craved was another sweet taste of…
He grasped to draw her against him, but his hands closed around her pillow. Craning his neck, he scanned the room. Mayhap she’s gone to tend to her needs.
His heart sank deep into his gut. He planted his face in her pillow, capturing her scent. Cold. Hours cold. No. No.
He growled against the conclusion forming in his mind. Spying the glint of amber on the bed, he roared. Frustration and fury battled for dominance inside him. Her ring. She’d deserted him. Why?
Damn, he’d told her he loved her. Gods, Arsenius, you are such a fool.
He’d tried to cover his admission afterward, determining he’d make love to her until she forgot. Well, obviously his plan had failed.
Distract her with carnal pleasures. He grimaced at his arrogant stupidity, at how he should have known Kyme would not be so easily persuaded.
I should let her go.
No. Every instinct in his body howled in protest. She was frightened, that was all. Her lifestyle had been ingrained in her for so long, yet he’d taken her safe world and turned everything upside down. He needed to reassure her he wouldn’t make her renounce her family, her life.
Neither would he accept never being with her again.
If he had her for those two months every year during Amazon breeding season, it’d be enough. Wouldn’t it?
When he located her, he was going to reason with her. He hoped. The beast within roared, demanding to bury himself inside her again, but doing so wouldn’t win her back.
He threw on his clothes, stuffed the ring into the pocket of his breeches, and headed out the door. A few steps into the woods, he scented which way she’d gone. Amazone, you’ll need more than a bloody forest to lose me.
As he
strode in her direction, a voice called his name. Thereus? He whirled, intending to tell the bastard how his meddling had ruined everything. Tell her your feelings—Bloody wise advice, centaur.
Peering into the forest, he spied a winged male pacing the trees. Not Thereus. Squinting, he recognized Nazrin. Despite his handsome features, he looked terrible. As though he’d not slept in days and had gone through Tartarus.
Arsenius scrubbed a hand over his jaw and recalled the conversation he’d overhead between Nazrin and Kyme. How he was without his mate. In a few days, I might look like that too.
He inclined his head at the male. “Nazrin?”
“Arsenius.” He shrugged as if his torment was of little consequence. I would wait a thousand more lifetimes for her.
If his declaration wasn’t so full of misery, Arsenius might have punched the Wind Borne for invading his mind.
The winged male crossed his arms and returned his stare, those hawk-like eyes piercing. “My apologies. When people’s thoughts are loud, I can’t help but hear them. Like…” He cleared his throat. “Your female’s.”
He narrowed his eyes at Nazrin. Tread carefully, my friend.
“She left at dawn. She’s…” He paused, rubbing the side of his neck. “She’s trying to protect you. She’s an Amazon, right?”
Arsenius nodded.
“Yes, well, she’s afraid her Queen will hurt you if she discovers you love her.”
Arsenius shifted his feet. He didn’t like this male in his head, in Kyme’s head.
“She’s planning on going to the Caucasus Mountains and will do her best to throw you off her trail. She’s good at that, apparently.”
Despite his desperation, Arsenius reciprocated the grin quirking Nazrin’s lips.
“First, she’ll head for the village to get supplies.”
Arsenius ground his jaw. This was useful information. He shouldn’t be so ungrateful. “Thank you.”
“Not at all.”
“Do you have a horse I can borrow?”
“My friend, after everything you’ve done for my brother, you can have fifty horses. The stables are that way.” The winged male pointed to a large barn in the distance. He smiled, but the strain was still evident on his face. “I am in your debt. You will always be welcome here. Take whatever supplies you require and find your female.” He clapped Arsenius on the shoulder. “Good luck.”
“And you as well.” He nodded and headed into the main village. Kyme’s advanced start didn’t concern him. There was no trick on this earth she could employ to prevent him from locating her. She was his and when he captured her again, he had no intention of releasing her.
Thereus staggered from one of the cabins. The closing door muffled the giggling of several females. The centaur’s grin as he adjusted his breeches faded. “What’s wrong, Captain?”
Arsenius glared at his friend. “What do you think, centaur? I followed your damn advice and she…” He wasn’t able to finish the sentence. Didn’t want to admit it.
“She ran?”
He hung his head in defeat.
“Forgive me. I believed… I honestly did.” He snorted. “What’s the plan?”
“You’re going to stay with the ship.” He narrated a list of provisions for Thereus to collect before heading to the stables and choosing a stallion. Saddling the beast, he led it out and met with Thereus, who handed Arsenius the supplies.
“Should I accomp—”
“Nay. I go alone.” He jerked his chin toward the shore. “Sail the ship, pick up the crew, and return. Wait for us.”
“Aye, Captain.” Thereus’s eyes were full of questions Arsenius did not want to hear.
“See you in a few days.” He mounted the stallion.
“Take care, my friend.”
Praise the gods, the centaur grasped when to hold his tongue. Arsenius didn’t seek anyone’s pity and he refused to consider what would happen if he found her and—
No, he wouldn’t contemplate it. He inhaled and caught his mate’s scent.
“I will find you, Kyme. I’ll always find you.” As he repeated his vow, the words lent him courage and purpose.
By the time the sun set, she’d be back in his arms.
Kyme rubbed her hands up and down her arms in an attempt to warm her shivering skin against the chill breath of dawn. Fleeing in her thin tunic had proven a poor decision. Her legs ached and she hadn’t slept or eaten in two days. Other than a few brief rests, she hadn’t dared to stop.
She concentrated on her hands and, for the tenth time, frowned as no glow condensed. What did she expect? She hung her head. Her gift was gone. Never again would she bask in Moonlight. You surrendered it, remember? For one night of passion.
Her body melted as she recalled the heat of Arsenius’s hands. His silken tongue had sampled every inch of her flesh, his solid shaft had filled her and swept her over the edge of ecstasy again and again.
The roughness of his voice as he’d declared he loved her echoed in her mind, yet left her hollow. If she’d been born as something else, the emotions inside her could be actualized. She yearned to be capable of reciprocating his love, to know the ache inside her chest ran deeper than lust.
That she wasn’t more of a monster than Arsenius claimed to be.
She shook her head. He was a magnificent warrior, worthy of legend, and a male who cared for her despite the fact she would never reciprocate his affection.
Who is the true monster?
Her heart clenched and she had to fight back tears, forcing her feet to trudge forward. She had to flee to protect him. Her fears made her quicken her pace.
As she cut a path through the dense forest, Kyme pressed her fingers against her lips and let her mind wander back to that night. Her gift was a small price to pay for a memory to last her entire life. Well, it had to. One night.
Arsenius hadn’t caught her yet, and enough time had passed for her to acknowledge he wasn’t going to. The forest had always been her territory.
Her stomach growled, the rumble slicing through the tranquil woods. All she’d been able to gather were a few berries and nuts. Even if she’d brought a dagger, she had no time to hunt and she didn’t dare light a fire.
As the morning waned, Kyme reached the village. Since she had no coin, she poised alongside a barn like a common thief, scanning through the window for occupants. It churned her stomach to steal, but she couldn’t risk being seen. In the future, she vowed to replace what she had taken. The barn proved empty, and she slipped inside. Spotting a sack containing dried meat, bread, and a flask of water—likely some poor farmer’s meal—she slung it over her shoulder.
As she stepped inside a barn, she was tempted to thieve a horse, but the village was small. Each of the horses in the stalls would be worth a fortune to these people. It was cruel enough stealing their food. She wouldn’t ruin their lives.
“Forgive me.” She snatched a blanket from off a bale of hay.
With her guilt-ridden bounty, she headed back into the forest. As she trekked, she stuffed some nourishment into her mouth and ignored the protests of her aching muscles.
By nightfall, she’d made it to the top of the mountain. She weaved through an overgrown path toward an abandoned temple perched on the side of a cliff. Its neglected walls would provide shelter from the approaching storm.
She stumbled across a field of knee-high grass to the temple and braced against the stone entryway, brushing aside the moss covering an inscription dedicated to Demeter. Kyme blew out her breath, thankful this wasn’t a temple of Artemis. Thunder clapped in the sky, encouraging her to step inside. She tossed the blanket onto the floor, collapsed, and huddled with her knees against her chest.
Sure enough, as soon as she had tucked inside, the rain poured. Stopping for the night was a small risk, and her body required rest. Besides, Arsenius was likely quite a distance away. He’d be holed up somewhere too, waiting out the storm.
***
The trail ended. Again. Blo
ody hell, Kyme was that good. Arsenius had lost count of how many false trails he’d run across. How many streams. The detours he’d had to make because his horse wasn’t able to traverse the terrain.
She was capable. It’d been two days. Arsenius huffed. He’d been so sure of catching her that first night. So cocksure. Now, he was humbled. Even more, he was determined. The longer her retrieval was delayed, the more his control slipped. His plan to reason with Kyme faded, swallowed by the coming storm.
I must get her back.
He glared at the sky, at the dark, ominous clouds. It was going to rain tonight. He prodded the horse with his heels, spurring his mount to gallop. Rain would mask her trail.
His nostrils flared as he stepped inside a barn in the village. Her scent was strong. She’d been here mere hours ago. He followed her scent out of the village and into the forest. She was close, so close.
He would locate her. He would claim her.
His vision narrowed, wavering on crimson. His mate’s fragrance blasted through him, until the scents of the forest receded, leaving only Kyme. Tremors coursed up and down his arms—the beast inside fighting to break free. Arsenius clenched his jaw in resistance to the frenzy threatening to seize him.
The beast demanded his mate.
He slid off his horse and led it on foot along the steepening terrain. The skies darkened to near black and icy rain pummeled his body, yet nothing quelled the heat consuming him. Nothing except his Kyme.
Arsenius stopped and glanced down at his hand. The dark blue ink of his markings rose to the surface of his skin, flowing across his arms, his chest, and no doubt, up his neck and onto his face.
As the markings crept along his upper left arm, he howled. Staggering in agony, he sank to his knees. The bonding mark circled and branded his left bicep like a hot iron from a forge. The frenzy toppled his control, beating back his sanity to a shadowy corner of his mind.
Kyme. Mine. The beast inside him roared. He gripped his head and gave it a violent shake. Too late. With the bonding mark searing his flesh, he was too far gone to fight it.
The beast can locate Kyme, the darkness inside him whispered, tempted.
Moon Borne (Halcyon Romance Series Book 1) Page 23
