She jumped at the sound of his voice. Ever since their kiss, she’d been weird around him. Nervous. It was kind of cute. Big bad warrior woman freaked out by a little sexual heat.
It was also strange, though. Judging by the skill she’d shown in that little kiss, she had experience. The woman had tied him up in knots. He almost groaned out loud at the memory of her tongue tangling with his. Of the way her nails had scraped over the back of his neck.
But there was no denying it. The past two days, she’d avoided him. Without success, he thought with a snicker. Every opportunity he got–and he made sure he got a lot of them–he cornered her, reminding her of the passion between them. And every time his lips touched hers, she melted. No better description for the way her body wrapped around his whenever he got close.
She glared at him, warning him not to come closer, and shut the oven door. God, she amused him. As if he was frightened of her. He swallowed the chuckle; she wouldn’t appreciate it.
When she moved to the sink with a pot from the stove, he closed the distance between them. He waited until she poured the contents of the pot into the strainer, let the steam waft up. Then he pressed against her, his hands gripping her hips and pulling them tight against his. Her head fell forward, and he couldn’t resist brushing his lips against the creamy skin at the back of her neck.
She sucked in a breath, her hands visibly tightening on the counter in front of her. No matter what she wanted him to believe, her attraction to him was obvious. Avoid me all you like, it won’t change a thing. He had her in his crosshairs, and he wasn’t letting her get away so easily.
Opening his mouth over her shoulder, he swirled his tongue against her skin, savoring the flavor of her skin. He breathed in, pulling her scent into his lungs. Fresh. Earthy. Like summer rain.
The hard edge of the counter slammed into his gut, driving the breath from his lungs. Confusion filled him as he caught himself against the edge, barely preventing himself from falling. His arms were empty. Kali was gone.
* * * *
Darkness filled her vision. The sudden change from the light of the kitchen confused her senses, blinding her. Moments ago, she’d been surrounded by Cameron’s warmth, the desire to pull away from his mouth warring with the ache in her gut. Avoiding him hadn’t been helping her gain control. If anything, it had the opposite effect, making her crave him more.
She’d mistaken the familiar tug in her stomach that signaled the gate’s impending teleport for desire. She had to be more careful in the future. Because she wouldn’t be able to resist him much longer.
Focus. Now was not a good time for distractions. No mistaking where she was, even if she couldn’t see the shimmer of the gate in the dark. Which meant someone, or something, had crossed over.
Blackness surrounded her. Her eyes needed time to adjust to the change in lighting. Lucky for her, nothing attacked out of the night. Could she have been summoned by mistake? It had never happened before, but there was a first time for everything, right?
Something hissed to her left. She spun her body toward the sound, but saw nothing. She opened her other senses, anticipating a strike.
More hissing. A whole symphony of it, like leaks from water pipes. A veritable flood.
A weak person would freak out. No one had ever accused Kalindra of being weak. A smart person would run. But she didn’t have that luxury. So she waited, listening to the sounds around her.
The noise came from her right, as well. Not one hiss, but hundreds. Whatever lay in wait, there were at least two of them. But her special awareness told her there weren’t many more than that. She wracked her brain. What kind of creature made hissing sounds like an army of snakes? Neat trick. Made their enemies think there were more of them than there were.
Kalindra took a step back as her mind snagged on a possible creature. She shook her head, refusing to believe her train of thought. It couldn’t be the gorgons. It simply wasn’t possible. After their sister, Medusa, had been killed by humans ages and ages ago, before the gateways were protected, the gorgons had gone into hiding. No one had seen them in almost a millennium.
But what else could it be? Her senses were telling her only two creatures hid in the woods, despite what sounded like a legion of snakes. Gorgons, with living snakes for hair, fit. The only thing she could think of that did fit.
If gorgons were hiding in the trees, Kalindra might be in trouble. No one knew much about fighting them. They were creatures of legend in Outremer. Even their abilities were mere rumors. No one knew if they still existed. Until now. If she was right, Kali was about to get a crash course in fighting gorgons.
At least it was dark. That worked toward her advantage. Legend had it they could turn their prey to stone with one look. If she couldn’t see their eyes, they had less chance of freezing her.
Those powers were just a rumor, but not one she was willing to test. She had no desire to spend eternity as a statue. Nor to be killed.
After almost a week of inactivity, she’d begun to hope the citizens of Outremer had given up. These two being here now meant they were either so far in seclusion they hadn’t heard the warnings, or they were confident in their abilities to take her. Considering they’d heard about the object in the first place–because Kalindra didn’t believe their appearance after so many years of seclusion was coincidence–she doubted it was the former. Not looking good for her.
What was wrong with her? Kali took a deep breath, letting the change sweep down her body. She’d been chosen as gatekeeper, and had successfully guarded the portal between worlds for centuries. She was Kalindra, fierce harpy protector of this world, and general badass. Freaking out over a couple of creatures who attacked at night and hid in the trees? She snorted, drawing her claws and readying for the fight.
“Here kitty, kitty, kitty,” she taunted, turning in a circle.
If she could pinpoint one of them, she could attack before they had a chance to coordinate an attack. Kali had never been good at waiting.
At the edge of her vision, she saw something come at her. Fast. She spun away from the movement, just missing the slash of razor sharp nails. She started to smile, until she noticed the snakes in the gorgon’s hair lunging for her as she passed. Jeez, she had to watch out for her opponents’ hair, too?
She spun around moments before a bright light flashed behind her. No idea what that was, but no time to worry about it now. Dashing forward, she slashed at the second advancing creature with her claws, catching it off guard.
Not fast enough. Somehow the gorgon slithered out of the way.
Something slashed in front of her face, startling her. She hadn’t seen that coming. Thank the gods her reflexes were fast. For all she knew, they carried poison in their nails.
Another flash behind her as she turned to find the other attacker. What the hell was that?
The gorgon had her head turned, distracted by something in the distance, giving Kalindra the opening she needed. With a sweeping arc, she felt flesh give way, followed by the warm spurt of blood on her claw. The breath hissed out of the woman as she fell to the ground. When the snakes went silent, Kalindra knew the blow had been fatal. One down, one to go.
She turned in time to dodge the next slash. Barely.
She traded blows with the remaining attacker, slamming her arm into the woman’s wrist inches before it slashed open her neck. Finally, her eyes had adjusted. The woman’s shape was clearly visible in front of her. No more than an outline with the vague shadow of features. No turning her to stone. She smirked at the other woman, shoving her back a few steps.
White teeth glowed in the night as the gorgon jeered. Kalindra was actually enjoying this fight. These women could hold their own, but they weren’t as good as her. She’d win in the end.
The smile froze on her face as light blasted out of the gorgon’s eyes. Everything froze. Muscles locked up, suspending her in place. She tried to move, to shift, anything, but everything had locked down. Panic filled her mind as
the woman moved closer, a resentful but triumphant twist to her lips.
“You killed my sister,” she accused.
Kalindra tried to respond. Sure she’d killed her, but not without reason. For pity’s sake, who attacked who here? But even her words were locked in her throat. She could only gaze into the eyes of her captor.
She tried to move her head. Lift her arm. Hell, wiggle her damn toe. All without luck. Kali was truly stuck. Unable to move as the creature advanced, her intention clear.
This was it. How she’d die. She thought she’d come to terms with her inevitable death decades ago. Job hazard, after all. But as she stared into the face of death, she learned the truth. Kali didn’t want to die. There was so much left to do. So much left to experience.
The gorgon stalked closer and Kalindra could do nothing. No more kisses with Cameron. She’d never feel his arms around her again. Never get to experience the promise in the biting passion between them.
A tear slid silently down her cheek. Guess not everything was frozen. Her tear ducts worked just fine. The one thing guaranteed to ruin her reputation as a fierce warrior worked.
The gorgon’s head slid off her neck and to the ground, her body collapsing in a heap. Kalindra stared at it in confusion. A long moment passed before she realized she had control of her limbs again.
Her gaze rose to the figure standing feet from where the gorgon had stood before. Cameron. Chest heaving. Bloody broadsword pointed toward the ground.
Desire slammed into her so hard she rocked backward, followed swiftly by anger. He looked every inch a warrior. And she wanted him like she’d never wanted anything before. Wanted to tear his clothes off and sink onto him. But what had he been thinking?
What was he even doing here? She’d left him in the castle. He should have stayed there. It was safe in the castle.
Kalindra let the change to human sweep down her body as she dashed forward and yanked the sword out of his hands. She couldn’t explain why she’d bothered shifting form, except that something inside her cringed at letting Cameron look at her as harpy.
“What the hell were you thinking?” she demanded.
He jerked at her tone. Maybe she was being harsh, but he needed to understand. She couldn’t have him jumping into her battles. He’d get himself killed. Her stomach clenched in agony at the thought. No, best not to think about that.
“I was helping.”
“I don’t need your help!” she shouted.
She wasn’t being fair, but the need to hammer the point home drove her onward.
“Didn’t look that way to me. She was about to kill you!”
“That’s not the point.”
Cameron took a menacing step forward, but damned if she’d back down.
“That’s exactly the point.”
Kalindra’s anger drained away. This was her fault. She never should have let him get this close. Never should have let him kiss her.
“Damn it, you can’t do this. You can’t try and protect me.”
He snorted in response.
“I am a warrior, not a woman. Protecting the gate is my task, not yours.”
Cameron tilted his head, his eyes sweeping down her form in a slow caress that made heat rise to the surface. Biting the inside of her lip, Kalindra barely managed to hold off the shiver as awareness woke the insatiable hunger for him inside her. The desire in his eyes echoed the emotions whipping through her, destroying all control.
“You look like a woman to me.” His deep voice rolled through her, bringing the shudder she could no longer hold back. When he looked at her like that, she felt like one. Not just any woman, but a sexy one.
When he looked at her with naked desire shining from his eyes, she felt…alive. After coming so close to death moments before, she needed that feeling. Needed him. Passion tore through her until she shook from the force of holding herself back.
Understanding shone on his face, in the roguish tilt of his lips and the fire kindling his gaze. This time when he took a step forward, Kalindra did retreat. Not from him, but from what he made her feel. But he was faster. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he yanked her forward until she stood plastered against him. Every inch touching him.
She melted into his heat, her arms gripping his shoulders as she stared into his eyes. Her body, still churned up from the fight, demanded satisfaction. The fight had denied her any. Here stood a means of getting what she needed.
Their lips met in the middle. Tongues tangling together in desperation for the other. She jumped into his arms as he moved backward, slamming her back against the tree trunk behind her. She grunted at the impact.
He let up for a moment, staring into her eyes as if trying to determine if he’d been too rough. Sweet.
She didn’t want sweet. The fire inside her demanded to be conquered by the warrior inside him. She ached to be taken. Hard, and fast.
She tried to take his lips again, but he pulled back, his assessing eyes never leaving hers.
“I’m fine,” She said, exasperation not even denting the need pounding through her veins with each heartbeat. “Take me.”
And then he was back, claiming her with a kiss so hot it seared. Teeth nibbled her lips, tongue thrust inside to knot with hers.
Hands ran over her clothed form, stoking the fire inside higher than it’d ever been before. A moan slipped past her lips as his hands clenched her hips.
She arched forward, rubbing her nipples back and forth over his chest. She’d seen the hair on his chest when he’d taken his shirt off during training. It spilled over the top of his shirt even now. Her breasts ached to feel the springy curls rubbing against them. Flesh to flesh.
Clutching his shirt, Kalindra yanked until the satisfying rip of material reached her ears. She groaned when Cameron pulled away.
“Did you just rip my shirt off?” The incredulous note in his voice reached through her passion. Had she done something wrong? Please say she hadn’t done anything wrong. She needed to feel him inside her. Why had he stopped?
Then his laughter came. Rich. Warm. Soothing her and firing her up simultaneously.
“What’s the problem?” she asked, annoyed. Get back to the kissing.
“Nothing. Nothing at all.” His lips slid down the line of her jaw. “You’re perfect.” Lightly bit her chin. “Absolutely perfect.” And up the other side.
Kalindra closed her eyes as sensation swamped her, pulling her under a wave of emotion she didn’t want to analyze. Perfect. How she wished she knew what he meant by that. But here, in his arms, it didn’t matter. For this one moment, she’d glory in being perfect. Later she’d worry about the emotion crowding her chest, desperate for release. More pressing parts of her body begged for release at the moment.
Desperation built, stronger than before. They needed to get naked now. But when she reached for the button on his pants, he stopped her.
“I don’t have protection,” he whispered against her lips. “Damn it.” He pressed his forehead into her shoulder. “I don’t have any here at all.”
“Protection?” Against what? She glanced behind him where the gate stood, patiently watching. Could he be worried about an attack?
Disbelief darkened his eyes.
“You have done this before, haven’t you?” A hint of a growl threaded underneath his voice.
“Done what?” Why did that question seem to panic him?
“Sex!”
“Of course I have.” She’d been alive a lot of years, and it wasn’t like she was destined for another. Her partner was the portal. Why would she wait?
“Then how do you not know of condoms?”
Oh…protection. All of a sudden, it made sense. Laughter bubbled up and spilled over as she ran through the conversation in her head. He thought her a virgin because she didn’t know about condoms.
She looked into his face and saw the frown getting darker by the minute, and burst into renewed laughter. He thought he’d have to instruct her on sex. Not that she
was a slut or anything. But the worry and frustration on his face was too funny.
“Condoms. Those things human men wear to protect against disease and pregnancy,” she said once her giggles had tapered off. “I’m a harpy, Cameron. You don’t need to worry about disease from me, and vice versa.”
“And pregnancy?” he asked.
A vision of herself, heavy with child, flashed in her mind. Yes, she wanted kids, but it wasn’t meant to be.
“The gate will prevent that from happening.”
His eyes widened in surprise. He glanced at the gateway, before shaking his head and turning back to her. “So you’re not a virgin, then?”
She smiled up at him, her cooling passion quickly heating at the look in his eyes.
“Nope.” Before she even finished the words, his mouth was on hers, lifting only long enough to pull her shirt over her head. Her pants quickly followed.
She reached for his pants, but fumbled with the button. His groan tickled her neck. Sweeping aside her hands, he finished the job, yanking the garment down around his knees.
Then he was there at her entrance. Hot, hard. Insistently pressing into her. She groaned into his hair as he pushed in further. One inch. Two. More. Until with a grunt, he thrust fully inside. Flesh to flesh.
Lips trailed down her neck to her collarbone as he pulled out. Every part of her body hummed for this. For him. She groaned into his hair when he thrust back inside her. The coarse bark of the tree behind her contrasted with the hard body in front of her, driving her wild.
Her body begged for more.
“Harder,” she cried.
A sob of pleasure tore from her throat when he complied. She was flame and fire and heat. And he was driving her higher and hotter than she’d ever been. Pushing her into a world of pleasure she hadn’t known existed.
Her body clenched around him as he drove into her, hitting a spot that caused a rush of liquid heat to flow from her core.
She moaned as he assaulted her equilibrium. Turned her into a bundle of nerves. His chest hair scraped her nipples with each thrust, forcing her higher and higher.
Kalindra (GateKeepers) Page 6
