The Prophecy

by Nina Croft

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Nothing,” he muttered. Then he shook his head. “Hell, Raven. I’m trying to do the right thing here. I have to do this. But I don’t want to frighten you any more than I have to. Jesus.” He ran an unsteady hand through his hair.

  She stared at him. “I’m not frightened.”

  He looked at her closely. No, she didn’t appear frightened. As he watched she shrugged out of the blanket, letting it pool around her waist. She was perfection, luminous skin, long slender limbs, breasts full and pouting. He felt the ragged grasp he had on his control slipping.

  He took a step closer. “Perhaps you should be.”

  Raven could see his fierce control in the way his fists clenched at his sides. His whole body was pulsating with tension.

  And she realised something. She didn’t want him in control. She wanted him wild. She wanted to release all the ferocious savagery she sensed lurking beneath the surface. She just didn’t know how. She knew he wanted her. The evidence was there right in front of her eyes, huge and swollen.

  His eyes were locked onto her, hooded, half-closed, a glittering intense electric blue, but still he didn’t move and the frustration clawed at her insides. Her own eyes narrowed and, holding his gaze, she reached out and trailed trembling fingertips down over the bulge in his jeans.

  “What the hell…?” He growled the words.

  He moved suddenly, his hand coming down on hers, covering it, pressing it hard against him. Beneath his hand, her fingers molded to his length and she felt a tremor run through his body. She squeezed and his head fell back. His eyes closed. Then his hand tightened on hers and he dragged it away.

  She stared at him. “Why?” she asked.

  He ran a hand through his hair. “I promised I wouldn’t hurt you and you’re not making this easy.” Raven frowned, and he continued, “It’s been a long time for me. I want to make it good for you, but I’m afraid of losing control.”

  A wild thrill ran through her at his words. “I want you to lose control.”

  “What?”

  But instead of answering she reached for him again, trailing a finger down the fur of his belly, hooking it into the waistband of his jeans and pulling him towards her. For a moment he resisted. Then with a groan of defeat he reached for her.

  Chapter Five

  Raven had never seen anything quite so beautiful in her entire life. Kael had removed his clothing and stood before her naked. His body was perfect, lean but with the sleek ripple of muscle under golden skin. His erection arched away from his flat belly, thick and powerful. It twitched under her intense stare and her mouth went dry. She tried to swallow but the muscles in her throat constricted.

  “Like what you see?” He purred the question, and her eyes darted to his. He was watching her watch him. She nodded mutely, and a look of fierce satisfaction flashed across his face.

  His hands reached out to stroke the skin of her thighs, his long fingers slipping between to push them apart so he could move closer. Raven could feel the heat from his body and she breathed in the hot scent of the sweat starting to gild his golden skin. His hands glided up her body, trailing fire over her belly and breasts before they finally rested in her hair. He tilted her face to him and then leaned down to kiss her, hungry, biting kisses, until she opened her mouth and his tongue thrust deep inside. He tasted hot and sweet, reminding her of the blood she had drunk earlier. The thought made her tremble.

  He leaned back and stared down into her face.

  “Tell me what you want.”

  She felt a flash of frustration. She didn’t know what she wanted, how could she? All she knew was she wanted it all.

  “Everything,” she said. “I want everything.”

  He laughed softly. He reached behind her and swept the desk clean, his gun and knife clattering to the floor. He pushed her gently so she fell back against the hard wood.

  “Then, let me show you how it can be.”

  He leant over her, arms braced on either side. He kissed her breasts, his tongue teasing her with lazy, wet circles. She gasped as he bit down on her nipple. He drew it into his mouth, suckling so she could feel the tug deep within her body and sharp bolts of pleasure shot through her.

  She was shaking. She wanted to touch him, stroke him, kiss him, but in this position she couldn’t reach and she writhed under his touch.

  “Shh, sweetheart,” he crooned. “Just relax, take it slowly.”

  Was he mad? “I can’t,” she muttered, gritting her teeth.

  He straightened, stared down at her through hooded eyes then slowly splayed one hand over the soft flesh of her belly, teasing the dark curls at the junction of her thighs, stopping just short of touching her where she needed it most. Then he smiled, a feral smile. “You’ve got no choice.”

  Like hell she had no choice! It seemed as though all her life she hadn’t had a choice. Now she did, and she didn’t want it slow. She wanted him hard and fast and as out of control as she felt.

  She lay before him, quiescent, staring up into the blueness of his eyes, her own narrowed while she considered her options. Then she stretched sinuously beneath him. She reached out and twined her fingers in the soft fur of his belly, trailed them down lower until she teased him with her fingertips. She raised one long slender leg, wrapped it around him and pulled him against her. She could feel him hard against her belly and she moved erotically, grinding her hips against the length of him.

  He groaned and she purred in satisfaction. His hand moved between them, gliding down her body, between her thighs. He groaned again as his fingers slid into the hot slippery wetness, moving slowly over the swollen flesh, stroking, gently probing, opening her. She could feel him poised above her, his erection pushing at the entrance to her body. His hands moved to clasp her hips, steadying her. Then he was thrusting inside. He felt huge and she bit back a whimper of pain-tinged pleasure. He paused and stared down into her face, his own contorted with concentration.

  “More?” he questioned.

  She bucked her hips in response and he lowered himself, filling her inch by inch until he was fully sheathed inside her.

  Raven closed her eyes and allowed a wave of euphoria to wash over her. It was over; whatever else happened, Sorien could never use her now. Then Kael was moving inside her and all thoughts of Sorien were washed away. There was an edge of desperation to his movements that sent a thrill pulsating through her. She could feel the ragged control, the contained power of each thrust. She moaned in pleasure and the sound released something inside him. His hands gripped her hips, his fingers biting into the soft flesh of her bottom, holding her as he increased the force of his thrusts, filling her to the core, grinding his body against her.

  The whole world shrank until there was nothing but the sensation of him plunging inside her. Raven could feel something building and building, but still the climax took her by surprise, exploding, a tidal wave of feeling that washed over her, pulling her under so she was drowning, fighting to keep the air in her lungs.

  She threw back her head and opened her mouth to scream her release, and Kael covered her mouth with his, swallowing her screams while his own body exploded deep within her. He lifted his head to stare down into her eyes. His hands came up to wrap around her throat, the pads of his thumbs caressing the fragile bones of her neck.

  “Shall I kill you now, Raven? Do you still want to die?”

  A bolt of shock ran through her as she remembered his promise.

  “No,” she murmured. “I want to live.”

  Kael held her limp and sated body in his arms as they cuddled together in the huge leather chair. She nuzzled his chest, her tongue stroking delicately across the flesh, licking the beads of sweat from his skin and his grip tightened. She glanced up, her huge eyes luminous.

  “Talk to me,” she murmured.

  “Tell me how this happened. Why it happened.”

  He thought for a moment. “What do you know of your mother?”
>
  “My mother?” A frown flickered across her face. “Not much. My father didn’t like to speak of her. Why? Did you know her?”

  “I know of her.”

  “Know?” Raven questioned. “You mean she’s alive.”

  “Your father told you she was dead?”

  “No, I just presumed it, I suppose. The only thing Darius ever said about her was that none of this was her fault.”

  Kael snorted in disbelief. “Well, he lied. All of this is her fault. Well, maybe not all, some of the blame has to go to your father and some to me.”

  “So what was she like?”

  “You know she was a witch?”

  Raven nodded.

  “The witches have great powers,” he said. “It’s rumored that they can even control the sun and moon, and some can foretell the future. The Council have been at war with the fire-demons for over two thousand years. We’re the only thing that stops them spreading over the whole earth. But the war was going badly, and Darius wanted to approach the witches for guidance. I refused him permission—witches can’t be trusted, no one really knows where their allegiances lie, if they have any. Darius went anyway.” He glanced at her and smiled. “Your father was never one to take well to authority.

  “So he went, and he told The Council that it had gone well, the witches were considering the request. What we didn’t know and didn’t discover until after you were born was that Darius had fallen for your mother. Had, in fact, abducted her and seduced her.

  “He claims she came to love him, but when her sisters came for her she went with them willingly and she hasn’t been seen since. Nine months later her sisters reappeared with you. They handed you over to your father, then told The Council of the prophecy.

  “I was furious with Darius and my decision to have you killed was made in anger,” he said. “I regretted it almost immediately, you were an innocent baby, but it was too late. Your father was gone. We searched for him, but he managed to evade us and we didn’t see him again until he came with the news of your capture by the fire demons. He was badly injured, but he survived and we’ve been working together, searching for you, ever since.”

  “So how did you find me now?”

  “We received a message. We don’t know who sent it, but it led us to you.”

  They were both silent for a while.

  “Why do you hate them?” she asked. “The witches I mean? I can hear it in your voice.”

  He stared at her. Did he hate them? He thought back to his own dealings with the witches and the dull ache of that memory washed over him. But she deserved to know the truth.

  “Long ago,” he spoke slowly, “I too went to the witches for guidance. They told me nothing, but delayed me with promises of knowledge and power. When I finally left it was to find that the fire-demons had attacked my people. They were wiped out. If I had been there perhaps I could have somehow saved them.”

  “Or perhaps you would have been killed as well. Maybe the witches saw that and prevented your death.” She leaned across and laid a soft kiss in the hollow beneath his throat. “I’m sorry about your people.”

  Kael shrugged. “It was a long time ago. And leading The Council has given me purpose. I get to kill fire-demons. What more could I want?”

  She smiled at him then. “What more do you want, Kael?” she asked and moved her body sinuously against his. He bit back a groan; he was already hard again, aching for her.

  But while he wanted her, he wanted more than sex, and he felt fear gnaw at him. Did she feel the same? He stroked a finger down her cheek, under her chin, tilting her face so he could look into her eyes. “My people mated for life,” he said, “and always with their own kind. When they were destroyed, I lost all hope of someone of my own. Now I want back what I thought lost forever. I want a family, a future with you.”

  Raven could see the truth of his words in his eyes and a wave of longing washed over her. Could it happen? Could there be a life for her beyond this evil place? She wanted it so much it was a pain clawing at her chest. “I want that too,” she said.

  He released his breath then and smiled. “But that’s for the future. For now, I want to make love to you, this time for us. Not to stop Sorien, or to prevent a prophecy, but because we want to.” He paused as if unsure whether to go on. “And I want you to feed from me again.”

  Raven felt her body quicken at his words. Felt the prickle in her gums as her fangs sharpened in anticipation. She stared at him hungrily, and he smiled, then slowly leaned back to rest his head against the chair, tempting her with the long line of his throat. She wriggled round so she was kneeling, straddling his lean hips, then leant forward, inhaling the warm, animal musk of his body. She could see the pulse thundering beneath his skin and reached out to taste it with the tip of her tongue. One huge fist came up to wrap in her long hair and she was pulled against him. She paused for a brief moment, then sank her fangs deep into his flesh. The blood spurted hot against her tongue and she swallowed convulsively.

  Kael’s hands slid down to cup her backside. He lifted her, spreading her flesh with gentle fingers, impaling her upon the hard length of him while she suckled at his neck. Unlike the first time this was slow, seductive, each move deliberate, an erotic drag of his flesh against her own, the feel of his strong hands guiding her, pressing her down onto him.

  Finally, one appetite sated, she released his throat. She licked the wound then raised her head, staring down into his electric-blue eyes as their climaxes shuddered through them. He pulled her against him.

  “Mine,” he growled.

  “And you are mine,” she murmured. She twined her fingers into his golden hair, pulled him towards her. “I think you’ve always been mine.” He frowned, and she continued. “I first saw you when I was fourteen. You came into my dreams and then my waking visions. I knew you would come for me one day. But as I got older it became harder to believe.”

  “I’m here now, and we’re going to be together.”

  He kissed her and she sank into the sensation, willing to believe him at last, feeling safe for the first time since she had been captured.

  They were disturbed by a faint buzz. Kael frowned then slipped from the chair. He rummaged through his clothes and came up with the satellite phone. She watched as he listened.

  “Who did this?” he growled after a moment, and Raven felt a flicker of foreboding. Kael listened for a while longer, then dropped the phone onto the desk. He ran a hand through his hair.

  “We have to get out of here,” he said.

  She got to her feet. “What happened?”

  “We’ve been betrayed. I told you not all The Council were in agreement with our actions. Darius has been imprisoned along with those in the army loyal to me. For now, the attack has been stopped. We’re on our own.” He reached out and stroked her hair. “Don’t worry. We’ll get out of here before Sorien even knows you are missing.”

  She wanted to believe him, but she knew it was impossible for them to escape the castle without aid. Besides she could hear movement in the castle below, a multitude of heavy feet, faint voices raised in panic. A feeling of dread engulfed her, smothering her dreams under a blanket of loss and regret.

  “It’s too late,” she said. “They’ve found Grieffen. They know I’m gone and are searching for me.”

  She stared into his face; in such a short time he had come to mean everything to her. For a brief moment she had allowed herself to hope, but she should have remembered how dangerous hope was. She knew the choices, they could die together now, or Kael could escape and she would die later. Either way she would die. But in the end there was no real choice. She had resigned herself to death many times, but she couldn’t bear the thought of Kael sharing that death.

  “You have to leave me.”

  He was silent and she could feel the panic clawing at her guts. “You’ve done what you needed to do. I accepted my death long ago. I only hated the thought that it would bring victory to Sorien. You have saved
me from that and I’m not afraid to die.”

  His jaw was clenched. “I will not leave you here to die alone.”

  He was resolute, and she groped frantically through her mind for a way to convince him to go. But, as she stared at him, her eyesight wavered and she felt the strange flickering at the edges of her brain that always preceded her visions. She wanted to scream, not now, but the vision was already upon her. Her lids fluttered closed and, played out on the screen of her mind, she saw a brief glimpse of the future. And she knew then what she had to do.

  Pain tore through her, but she forced herself to open her eyes and smile. A look of disbelief flickered across Kael’s features.

  “What have you seen?” he asked.

  “I have seen our future.”

  “What?”

  “I’ve seen our future. I’ve held our baby in my arms. Kael, we will survive this. If you escape, you can come back for me. They won’t kill me yet. They don’t even know of your presence. They won’t know I am no longer a virgin. I’ll tell them Grieffen released me after I overpowered him.”

  He was watching her through narrowed eyes, and she felt the panic rise. She had to make him listen. He had to go. The alternative was too hard to bear. “Don’t you understand? If you stay then we both die and our child will never be born.”

  She could hear pounding feet on the stairs, slamming doors as the fire-demons searched each room. “Kael, you do come back for me, I have seen it.”

  His hands were fisted at his sides, the muscles of his face rigid, his eyes wild. But she could sense that he was wavering. She pushed. “Kael, I want our future, I want our child. You have to go.”

  Kael threw back his head in a silent roar of despair. Then he reached out, gripped her shoulders. “You have seen this future?”

  She nodded.

  He took her face between his hands and stared down into her eyes. “You don’t die,” he growled. “Whatever they do to you, stay alive for me. I will come for you, Raven.”