by Sharon Kay
He slid a hand up her back to grab a fistful of her hair. Breaking the kiss, he pulled her away a fraction, just enough that their lips brushed. Gods, that light touch was amazing and so torturous. The barely-there graze of his sensual mouth made her squirm for more. She bit her lower lip, trying to stop the buzzing sensation, and tried to kiss him again.
He didn’t let her. “Yes.” He nipped her lip.
She gasped, not even remembering her question. Liquid heat pooled between her thighs.
“And yes.” In a swift move, he bit her neck.
She closed her eyes, feeling her body melt. With one syllable words and his mouth, he could reduce her to a puddle of incoherence and moans.
“And…” He released her hair only to slide one hand under her ass and lift, while his other hand swiftly unfastened his pants.
She steadied herself with her grip on his shoulders and raised her hips.
“…Yes.” His cock sprang free and bumped against her.
She shivered in anticipation. “Oh, ye—”
He slammed her hips down, impaling her with his thick shaft.
Her jaw dropped at the exquisite pressure of being filled with his impressive length. Her eyes slid shut. The primal feminine part of her delighted in making him as crazy as he made her. But then he flexed inside her, sending a throbbing pulse of heat through her body. “Mmm,” she purred, and squeezed her inner muscles.
He jacked his hips higher. “I will kiss you. Touch you. And fuck you. Look at me.”
She opened her eyes to see his eyes glowing with dark golden brown light.
“Only you. Only me. I don’t share. Is that what you want?” His voice was rough, wild.
She nodded as emotion surged. You’re all I’ve ever wanted. “Yes.”
“Then I don’t give a fuck who knows it or asks about it.” He gathered the T-shirt and pulled it over her head. “Don’t care what anyone calls this. They don’t like it—they get to deal with me.” He leaned forward to capture one nipple in his mouth.
Ria dropped her head back, lost to the slickness of his tongue and the hardness of his body beneath her. He swirled around her taut peak while his fingers toyed with her other breast. She rocked her hips in time with his thrusts as her desire spiraled higher.
She adjusted her angle, placing her feet on the floor and holding his wide shoulders for balance. Everything about him was perfect, unbridled, dominant. She sneaked a peek at his face, just in time to see him release her nipple and give one last lick before looking up at her. “You like that, baby?”
She bit her lip. “Yes.”
“Me too.” He kissed the upper swell of her breast, then sucked hard.
She gasped at the pleasure-pain. He was marking her.
Yes.
That was perfect.
Her and him. She never wanted this night to end.
Never mind the mark would fade by morning. It was a surface wound and she healed too fast for those things to last. But her scent would sink deep into his pores. Whatever they were doing, he didn’t want to hide it.
His cock plunged deep inside her as he began a hard rhythm. She matched him, meeting each thrust to seat him farther. A mix of emotions swirled through her. She felt owned, special, cared for. Respected. Protected.
It felt a lot like…his.
“Ria, baby.” One hand at her hip, one in her hair. He was always holding her, positioning her, and she loved every second of it.
“I’m close,” she whispered, and changed her angle again so his body would brush hers in just the right spot.
His hand slid to cup her ass. His other fingers teased first one nipple, then the other. She worked her hips over him. This male, now. Only me.
And she knew she was sunk. She’d never get enough. No male could do what he did, could be who he was. No one.
A tsunami of sensation crashed over her and she dug her nails into his skin, thrusting wildly. She rode out the shuddering waves, eager to savor every second, and he roared his release a second later. Warmth filled her, coating her inside as he came, spurting hot jets of his seed. Her muscles liquefied and she dropped her head to his shoulder.
“Hell, Ria,” he said as he caught his breath.
“Is that what you’ll do when I tease you?” she murmured against his skin.
“Part of it.” He rubbed a hand up and down her back. “There may also be spankings and various restraints.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” She kissed his collarbone. “And I don’t share either.”
“As expected.” His voice was mesmerizing, his body warm, and she could almost fall asleep. Almost.
If they hadn’t just sort of agreed to something that sounded like a relationship.
And if they weren’t in the middle of a botched op.
She shifted off of him and sat in her original position beside him. Muscles in his abs rippled as he handed her his shirt—again. A giggle bubbled up from her throat.
“What?”
“This is like, the third time tonight you’ve handed me your shirt. And the second time you took it off.”
He shifted to zip up his pants. “Could be a fun habit. Me taking your shirt off.”
“Your shirt.”
He draped a brawny arm around her shoulders. “My shirt. Even better.”
“So since neither of us is the sharing type…” She nuzzled his chest, then met his eyes. “Sounds we’re about to be a habit.”
Arawn looked into Ria’s beautiful upturned face, her blue eyes still holding the last embers of a sex-fogged glow. Those eyes felt like anchors to his soul, a feeling he wasn’t ready for but couldn’t stop. He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing each knuckle. “Said I wanted to spend time with you. To figure this out. I still want that.”
“Sex kinda changes things. We can’t go back to what we were before.”
He pulled her back onto his lap and cupped her jaw so she faced him. “I don’t want to go back.”
A smile tugged her lips upward. “Me neither.”
“But I don’t know what to call this. Us.” He sifted his fingers through her hair and wished things were simpler. That he didn’t have a tainted past, present, and future. “I want to be with you. Hang out, make out, whatever. I’m not good with labeling shit. But Ria,” he dropped a hand to her hip, “you matter to me a fucking hell of a lot. And not just because you’re one of my Watchers.”
She let out a long breath. Her perceptive eyes studied his face as if she were able to read between his words. As if she knew he was tied up in a series of internal knots…and knew not to push him. She smiled and leaned in to kiss him. “Okay,” she murmured, and laid her head on his shoulder.
Gods what had he done to earn the affection of this female? If there were a thing between them, she would become a topic of gossip, if only for the fact that he didn’t ever have a girlfriend. Or a fuckbuddy. Or whatever. He had his various contacts around the realm that he went to, to scratch that itch.
Everyone in the compound knew Ria was the Hunter’s little sister, but they also knew her for the woman she was. She’d worked hard to carve out her own reputation and identity, showing smarts, compassion, and integrity. He blew out a breath as he stroked her soft hair. No, she’d weather the storm of whispered and knowing grins just fine. She could more than hold her own.
And she knew him. She saw his hard edges, his unforgiving training, the exacting standards to which he held his Watchers.
Lottie knew him too…but she’d fallen in love with the boy he had been. Ria never knew that boy.
No, all she got was the male who’d lost half of himself, then dedicated what was left to his race’s greater good.
She deserves more.
But her words from days ago came back to wrap around his thoughts. I’ll decide what’s best for me. And he knew that no one alive could make up her mind for her.
They sat like that for several minutes. It may have been an hour. Without the moons to cross the s
ky, he could only guess at the time. Arawn leaned his head back against the wall and let Ria’s scent surround him. Orange blossom and sex hung heavily in the air, masking the scents of their wolf encounter. Ria was warm against his chest, her long legs stretched out to the side and delicately crossed at the ankles.
Her long eyelashes brushed his chest with each blink, and her breathing was calm but not indicating slumber. He wasn’t surprised that she wasn’t sleeping. They didn’t need sleep every night, and being out in the field without a safe house was no time to try.
Especially not this night. Not when he had been dropped, literally, into quiet darkness with the woman who intrigued him, calmed him, and made him unwittingly count the seconds until he could see her again.
“That message on the statue,” she said suddenly, lifting her head. “What could it mean?”
The key that Renata held was burned into his brain, unforgettable as his own hand. He remained silent, replaying the words in his mind as Ria spoke them aloud. The words that all but proved the sword was real.
When the moons weep
When the dead have gone to rest
Where light forms blood
And stone is steel
Beware the poison
When my kin wield
The eastern wall
The sword, revealed.
Ria frowned as she finished. “I mean, that’s the rest of Verdak’s message, right? The one that’s partly carved in his tomb?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Has to be.”
“So.” She sat up straight, excitement in her eyes. “He had a place that he planned to hide it. The question is whether the sword is there, or lost somewhere else.”
“You don’t think it’s there now?”
“We don’t know if it exists at all,” she countered. “He wasn’t exactly firing on all cylinders at the end.”
He snorted. “True. But then the bigger question is, where the hell is this hiding place?”
She shook her head. “Eastern wall, stone…could be anywhere. I think we’ll need the whole team to solve this riddle. The inner circle, maybe some of the other fighters. Gin, she’s a total brain. Alina and Sebastian are good at solving problems. We need everyone.”
He twisted one blond curl around his finger. “I like how you think.”
A fleeting smile danced across her lips. “This is starting to look like a goose chase. Or a puzzle.”
He frowned. Both options sounded shitty. They had to keep gathering as much intel as possible. But when all the pieces were in place, how much would they reveal? Would she still want anything to do with him? He must have looked pissed, because Ria launched into more excited chatter.
“First it was the grimoire with the message. Then it was the statue, again with a message. Now we have a long, crazy riddle that may put an end to centuries of looking for this weapon.”
“Let’s hope it does.” As much as he wanted to keep his lineage a secret, he knew that the sword could confirm it. He could opt to not touch it. No one would question if he delegated that job to another.
That is, if they found it. The thought flickered through his mind that it might not exist. But that would mean that tonight’s op was for nothing. And would put him in league with those he had deemed crazy for years.
He was fucked either way.
C
HAPTER 15
THROUGH THE ABANDONED HOUSE’S EASTERN windows, Arawn watched the black velvet night sky give way to creeping gray, then orange streaks. The sun’s low position created a beam of insistent light that shot through the room, highlighting dust motes hanging lazily in the air.
Like an arrow, like the fucking sun itself wanted to touch her, it grazed the top of Ria’s head, turning her blond curls into coils of bright gold.
So damn beautiful. “Ria.” He shook her gently.
She hadn’t slept, but had purposely relaxed her muscles with deep breathing. She was conscious but conserving energy, ready to fight with him if needed but also ready for a long hike to civilization. Ready for anything.
That’s how he trained his soldiers.
The question was, would she be ready to accept everything about him?
“Morning.” She smiled, turning the full force of her blue eyes on him, and he couldn’t help stealing a quick kiss. Her lips were eager and she turned on his lap to face him, unwittingly dragging her thigh across his cock.
Hell. He gathered her in his arms and took his time exploring her sweet mouth. Their tongues stroked, their teeth clicked gently as his brain shut down every thought that wasn’t about getting inside her—
A blue jay screeched outside the window, just as a familiar voice cut through the morning air.
“Ria! Arawn!”
Ria pulled back, eyes wide, and scrambled to her feet. “Mathias! He found us!”
Arawn stood and adjusted his pants around the erection that had been on its way to full mast. Perfect fucking timing, Hunter. “With his nose, I’d expect no less.”
Ria squeezed his hand as they crossed to the door and whispered, “Ready?”
He stopped her in the middle of the dusty space and turned her to face him. “Much as I’d like to continue what we were doing…” He tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “We’ve been gone all night. People will be worried.”
“I agree.” She traced one finger down his chest. “Rain check?”
He winked. “Hell yes, Princess.” He unlocked the door and threw it open.
Mathias approached the house, with Caine behind him. Arawn walked into the bright light. Ria squeezed past him, tugging the T-shirt down as far as it would go. Mathias broke into a jog when he saw them.
“Fuck, it’s good to see you safe and sound.” He stopped short of hugging Ria, instead handing her a small duffel bag. “From Gin.”
Ria unzipped it and peered in. “Clothes! My own! I love your mate. You couldn’t have picked a better girl.” She turned and ran back toward the house. “I’m buying her that dark fancy coffee she loves, and cranberry muffins for a month!”
Caine joined them, shaking his head but smiling. “It’s good to see you, man.”
Arawn folded his arms. “I don’t remember the last time I was without comms and needed an extraction. Where the fuck are we?”
“Middle of nowhere, but to be more specific, about a hundred miles north of Stroehm,” Mathias said. His eyes narrowed as he scanned Arawn from head to toe, and Arawn knew this wasn’t a well-being check. He was bare chested and Ria wore only his shirt. Some might argue that it was a purely chivalrous gesture, but there was another obvious factor that tore through the loaded silence. He rested his hands on his hips and let the demon with the best nose in the realm come to his own conclusions.
Arawn smelled like sex and he knew it. Hell, even Caine probably picked up on it, standing this close.
As if illustrating that point, Caine cleared his throat. “So, uh, we came at first light…”
Ria burst out of the small house, clad in her own jeans and T-shirt. And running shoes. She carried Arawn’s shirt, neatly folded, and handed it to him nonchalantly as if lending his clothes were a regular thing. “Thank you for this.” She turned to Mathias. “Did you find us with your nose or Wolfe’s tracking device?”
Mathias looked from his sister to Arawn with a piercing look, but if he had anything to say about the two of them, he kept his thoughts to himself. “Both,” he gritted.
“It transmitted a signal even after you went through the portal,” Caine said. “So we knew the general area you were in.”
“We ‘ported here as soon as dawn broke and came across the scent of your fight with the dire wolves,” Mathias said. “That’s where we found the hair pin. Then I tracked you here.”
“Is everyone back at HQ?” Arawn asked.
Caine shook his head. “Only Brenin.”
“What the fuck?” Arawn glared.
Caine shook his head. “You guys ended up here. Brenin and Mathias ended up in dow
ntown Halice. Got there via portal, but we don’t know how. Had pre-spelled transportation amulets just like you. Brenin borrowed some nymph’s phone and called in.”
“So where are Nevo, Jude, and Scorpio?” Ria asked.
“No fucking clue,” Mathias muttered. “If we all got dumped in random places, who knows where they ended up.”
Arawn shoved a hand through his hair. “The amulets should have only been able to go to HQ.”
“Fife and Wolfe think that maybe those explosive spell charges scrambled the coordinates,” Caine said.
Fuck. “They shouldn’t be able to do that.” Spell charges created explosions, light, and sound, sure. But re-working the magic applied to amulets? That was a new twist. “We should get back.”
“I hope they’re okay,” Ria said. “There are some nasty places they could’ve been dropped into. And it was night.”
Mathias nodded grimly and pulled two transportation amulets from his pocket. He held them up, and the smooth pewter stones swung back and forth on silver chains. “These are fine. Took them from the spell group this morning.” He tossed one to Arawn.
Arawn caught it.
Caine had an amulet of his own as well and snorted. “I’m not holding either one of your hands.”
Three amulets. Arawn guessed Mathias thought Ria would be jumping into the portal with him.
Ria made a face. “Let’s get this over with. Luckily my stomach is empty, but I can’t make any promises.”
Arawn took her hand, and the Hunter’s eyes shot to Arawn’s. Arawn returned the stare, unblinking, daring Mathias to say anything. Ria had already closed her eyes and started deep breathing.
Mathias scowled and looked at the ground, then at Ria. His expression softened. Ria opened her eyes and looked right at her brother. “Well? What are you waiting for?”
