by Ann Gimpel
He kissed her forehead and let go of her. “Want me to walk you back to Marguerite and Trina’s wagon?”
Under normal circumstances, she’d have acquiesced. The other women would likely be asleep, but Ilona would take care not to disturb them. These circumstances were anything but normal, though. Who knew when she and Jamal might have a few hours alone again? Once assignments were parceled out, they might be separated. One—or both—of them could die.
She tilted her chin and latched her gaze onto his. “I’d rather be with you.”
A shadow crossed his features. If she hadn’t been looking right at him, she wouldn’t have seen it. “What? Did you rethink us again?” Weariness crashed through her. She couldn’t do this back and forth game with Jamal much longer. Either they moved their attraction forward—or they settled for being friends.
Allies as Meara had called it earlier.
She remembered the wolf’s invitation—or maybe it had been Jamal’s—that she could always engage it in conversation, so she switched to telepathy.
“What’s going on?”
“Listen carefully. It’s probably not safe for me to say much, but this isn’t about you.”
Ilona waited, but the wolf was done talking.
“The less we say out here in the open, the better.” Jamal threaded an arm around her and led her through a space between two of the Romani wagons. From there he kept moving until they were about fifty feet from the wagons. Neighs, whickers, and the fresh scent of horse dung told her they had to be close to the impromptu corral.
Where were they going?
Ilona squeezed her eyes shut. She was so tired they burned. When she opened them, he gestured with one hand, and she followed his directions around the horses to a place she actually recognized.
This was where the steep hillside intercepted cliffs. Did that mean the vacuum-driven spell didn’t cover every side of the encampment?
“That’s exactly what it means,” he said, speaking low. “And yes, I’ve been inside your head. Since an attack can’t very well come from this quarter, there was no point in extending the perimeter—which requires a great deal of magic to maintain—in this precise location. It’s here, but it’s weak. Step through just ahead, and we’ll be on the other side.”
A mild, tugging sensation buffeted her, and then she was through. Ilona turned to Jamal. “I thought safety lay within. Not without.”
His dark eyes bored into her. “Do you trust me?”
Well, do I?
Ilona nodded.
“Then follow me another few feet. I’ve made us a bed. I wasn’t certain you’d want to join me, but you said you did.” He pulled gently on her hand and led the way through a thicket and into a place where boulders and trees formed a small, flat area not much larger than the blankets lying on sandy earth.
She sank onto the soft wool and crawled between its folds.
Jamal lay next to her and cradled her in his arms. She tucked her head into the hollow of his shoulder and listened to the steady beat of his heart. Not much point in asking again about why they were here and not within the first shifters’ magic. Jamal would tell her—or not.
He traced the line of her cheekbone with his fingertips, and she leaned into his touch. “I have a dilemma.” The faintest smile played over his mouth, but his words were heavy, serious.
“What is it?”
“I want to make love with you, but we need to talk too. I’m afraid if we talk first, neither of us will feel like making love.”
“It sounds as if you’re offering me a choice.”
“I suppose in a way, I am.”
Ilona thought about the man in her arms. His scent. His warmth. His overpowering maleness. Desire speared her. While she could still think, she asked, “This thing we need to talk about, is it why we’re out here?”
He nodded. “And even that may not be entirely without risk, but if we open that door, we must follow the path to its end. If we’re discovered, it may mean my death, but there are things you must know.”
She turned in his arms until she lay atop him. Fierce protectiveness beat a path through her. “No one will hurt you. I won’t let them.”
“Ilona, my brave darling.”
Jamal hooked his arms beneath hers, grasped her head, and pulled her mouth down to his. The kiss took off like a wildfire fanned by restless winds. She opened her mouth to his tongue and sucked on it, teasing his mouth with her tongue as well. Little nibbling kisses turned into soul-searing exploration as he bit her lower lip, sucked it, and then bit some more. She wove her hands beneath his head, wanting him just as close as they could be.
The muscled planes of his body merged with hers as their kiss extended, drawing them into a place outside time, not unlike the magical world just behind them. Her breathing quickened, and her heart thudded against her ears. Her breasts felt heavy, the nipples sensitive peaks where they were crushed against his chest.
The dark, magical place between her legs exploded with desire, sharper and more intense than she’d ever felt before. Without lifting his mouth from hers, Jamal rolled them onto their sides and reached between them to cradle a breast, twirling the nipple between his fingers. Sensation shot through her, straight to her crotch, and she writhed against him, desperate for more.
She wanted to undress him, eat him up with her eyes and fingers and mouth. She wrenched away from their kiss long enough to assess what she’d have to do to undress him, but she didn’t want to wait that long. Pushing his jacket aside, she unbuttoned his shirt, opening it to reveal hard, muscled flesh.
“So many scars.” She followed one with a fingertip.
“So many battles,” he countered. “Times used to be much bloodier than they are now and war far more personal.”
He let go of her breast long enough to slide a hand beneath her tunic. The shock of his skin against hers took her breath away, and she pressed into his touch. The outline of his cock, straining against his trousers, drew her, and she fumbled with the buttons holding them closed. Even though they’d covered miles with the bottom half of his body naked, she hadn’t been focused on his raw masculinity.
One more button, and she pushed the front of his pants aside and drew out what lay beneath. His cock almost leapt into her hand, and she cradled it, stroking its hot, heavy length. He groaned and twisted in their embrace until he closed his mouth over the nipple he’d been teasing.
The feel of his teeth grazing her sensitive tissue and the heat of his mouth surrounding her made her belly tighten with hunger. No longer modulating her actions, she thrust her nub against his thigh. She wanted the man in her arms. Wanted to do everything to him and with him.
His cock bucked beneath her fingertips, and liquid slicked its velvety head. Ilona bent and took him into her mouth. It meant he couldn’t suckle her breast, but she needed to feel his cock in her mouth, had to lick up those salty drops. She ran her hands up and down his shaft, while teasing the tip with her mouth.
Groaning, he jackknifed his body until he could pull her skirts up and out of the way. Hot breath settled over her nub, followed by his mouth sucking on her. She squirmed beneath his touch as an orgasm spooled deep within her. Shrieks wanted out, but she held them back. No reason to alert anyone that they were out here, and she had no idea if sound carried through the barrier.
Sentient thought fled as Jamal sank fingers inside her body. She convulsed around them before he hit bottom. Release crested and raced through her, turning her body to quicksilver. Before the spasms had fully quieted, he pulled himself from her mouth and knelt between her legs, one hand wrapped around his cock.
She threaded her legs around his waist, opening herself for him, and he let himself sink slowly into the mystery and magic of her body.
Magic. She hadn’t used a twit. Usually she needed power—and heaps of fantasy—to drive herself into orgasm, but not with Jamal.
“You’re smiling like a vixen—or a siren.” He plunged the rest of the way inside and stopped moving.<
br />
“If I am, it’s because this feels so right. You’re wonderful. We could do this forever.”
A bittersweet shadow darkened his eyes. “Darling. I’m grateful we’re able to be together once. Hush. Talking is soon, but not quite yet.”
She opened her arms, and he fell into them, murmuring her name and stringing kisses across her face. He flexed his cock and it jumped inside her, doing wicked things to her nerves. Rocking against him, she encouraged him to move.
He withdrew and drove into her, the rhythm and tempo increasing with each stroke until their bodies crashed together. She came again, but he only moved faster, his cock swelling harder still. Just when she thought she couldn’t hold any more lust, any more sensation, he shuddered inside her. Scorching heat from his semen pushed her over the edge one more time, and she lay gasping and panting in his arms.
He held her close as their breathing quieted and repositioned them so they lay on their sides. “No matter what happens next,” he said, “thank you for tonight. I haven’t had a woman since Aneksi. You reminded me what it means to be a man, what it means to be alive.”
Ilona basked in his words. She wanted to be everything to Jamal. Wanted to soothe the wounds from his past and throw herself into creating a future for them.
“What you did for me is special too. I hate to ruin any of it, but you have to tell me what happened here tonight while I was gone. What isn’t safe to talk about inside the barrier?”
“It may not be safe out here, either,” he cautioned.
“I don’t understand. Meara made a huge point of saying there wouldn’t be any more enmity between shifters and Rom.”
“That was her opinion. Not necessarily one shared by the first wolf shifter.”
Ilona digested that. “If he doesn’t want anything to do with us, why is he here? Didn’t he say he wished more than two caravans were present?”
“He loves both battle and glory,” the wolf spoke up. “I remember that one from long years past. From a time eons before I bonded with Jamal. I only met him once, but stories about his bloodthirstiness were widespread.”
So long as the wolf had made its presence known, Ilona said, “This may not be the best timing, but I want to make certain you know I welcome both you and Jamal into my life. I’m looking forward to spending more time with you too.”
“Thank you.” The wolf woofed its endorsement.
“That was kind.” Jamal’s dark eyes gleamed with approval.
“No,” she countered. “It was true. What exactly do you believe Anu—?”
Jamal clamped a hand over her mouth. “Never, never say his name. No matter what magic is in play, it will draw his attention.”
Ilona nodded, and Jamal moved his hand. “I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?”
“No, you didn’t. What can he do that worries you? He sounded so sincere when he said he wished more Rom were here.”
Jamal exhaled briskly. “A lot. He gave tacit permission for his wolves to sabotage the Rom on shared missions. And maybe he truly does wish more gypsies were here. Easier to create chaos if he doesn’t have to hunt them down first.” He hesitated and looked away.
“What else?” she demanded. “You’ve told me this much.”
“There’s always been bad blood between him and Meara. I fear he’ll take advantage of this situation to kill her.”
Ilona’s eyes widened. She hadn’t believed such a thing were even possible. “He can do that?”
“Yes. Firsts are close to immortal, but another first can take them down.”
She closed her teeth over her lower lip. Meara could be a high-handed bitch, but Ilona respected her intelligence and ability. Her own scrying skills would be stronger for having worked alongside the vulture shifter.
“I can see why you didn’t want to have this conversation before we made love. That’s terrible. So we’ll be out there, putting our lives at grave risk in prison camps and destroying vampire nests. All the while, we’ll have to watch our backs if we’re working with any wolf shifters.”
“It’s not quite as bad as all that. I know many of the wolves here, and they’re decent folk. There are a few, however, who cheered when An—er he, all but offered permission to do maximum damage so long as they were subtle about it.”
She stroked hair back from his face, laying its clean lines bare. “If you could come up with a list of names, I’ll make certain Michael and Stewart know.”
Jamal creased his forehead into a mass of worried lines. “I’d come to that conclusion myself, but it feels twisted. Like no matter how I play this, I’m doing someone wrong. My loyalty to my kind runs deep, but it doesn’t extend to shielding them when what they’re doing is wrong.
“The first should have died millennia ago,” the wolf spoke up.
“Do you know why he didn’t?” Jamal asked.
“I do. He entered into an alliance with a powerful vampire.”
Breath hissed from between Jamal’s clenched teeth. “When were you going to get around to telling me that?”
“When you needed the information. It’s not as if the first has been anywhere around lately.”
Jamal’s body went rigid in her arms and she pulled him close. “It’s all right. Your wolf told us in time.” She ran her hands up and down his back until the tension bled out of him.
“That explains a whole lot,” Jamal muttered. “Like why the first wolf is here.”
“Maybe,” Ilona said, marshaling her thoughts. “You’re assuming he’s something like a double agent, and that he’ll sabotage all our efforts. I can understand him hating Romani, but would he sacrifice his own wolf shifters in the same vein?”
“Humph.” Jamal set his jaw in a harsh line. “There’s a lot we don’t know.”
“Indeed,” she replied. “We have no idea if the vampire he got cozy with is even still alive.”
“The odds are good,” Jamal muttered. “Those fuckers live forever.”
“We’ve also established they can die,” she cut in and switched to telepathy focused on the wolf. “Do you know anything else?”
“No. The first has been absent for centuries. Many of us, the bond animals, thought it strange and there’s been much conjecture regarding why that is. Insofar as I know, though, no one’s spoken about this for a very long time. Either no one knows anything, or the truth is so unpalatable, no one wanted to give voice to it.”
Jamal disentangled his arms and legs from hers. “I don’t want you to think I’m ashamed of you or that I don’t want people to know about you and me. This is nothing like my relationship with Aneksi where I kept things hidden from my blood kin. Until we know more about what we face, though, it would be best for you to sneak into Trina and Marguerite’s wagon while there’s still some of the night left. That way, it will at least appear you spent the last part of your evening there.”
“I agree, but I don’t want to leave you.”
He smiled crookedly. “I don’t want you to leave, but it’s too risky otherwise.”
“Where will you go?”
“Michael’s wagon. He offered me a spot beneath it. Before I do that, though, I’ll see if I can’t neutralize the scent of our lovemaking that’s clinging to these blankets.”
She pushed her clothing back into place and realized she’d never even taken off her shoes. After leaning in for one more sweet kiss, she got to her feet. “See you tomorrow.”
He nodded. “Take care of yourself, Ilona. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
A cold tongue of fear sliced into her heart, and his earlier caution about danger slammed into her. “You too.”
A grim laugh escaped him. “I’m not worried about tonight or tomorrow. It’s when we’re away from here that we’re vulnerable.”
“We’ll just have to make certain we’re assigned to the same project.” Once she heard the words, they made perfect sense. “We’ll protect each other. Don’t forget that list of names.”
“You’ll have it by morn
ing.”
Ilona hastened back the way they’d come, covering her presence with magic. Not much point in him cleansing the blankets if her scent was all over this place. Moving past the barrier was almost a non-event, and she slipped past the horses and made her way to Trina and Marguerite’s wagon.
Neither woman woke as she crept past them to where they’d laid her pallet and blanket for her. Trina’s thoughtfulness touched her. The woman had enough on her mind with her dying mother. An unpleasant thought struck as she settled herself to sleep for what was left of the night.
What if the weak place in the barrier had been placed there on purpose? All Anubis had to do was tell his vampire pal about it, and their otherworld location would be ripe for attack.
Tomorrow, she’d have a chat with Michael and Stewart. After she got the list of names from Jamal.
Jamal. Just the sound of his name in her mind warmed her. When she shut her eyes, the feel of him surrounding her, inside her, kindled desire all over again. She said a quick prayer to Isis to see him safely through the night and welcomed sleep when it claimed her.
Chapter 12
Jamal didn’t want to erase Ilona’s wildflower scent from his blankets, but he couldn’t very well cart them to Michael’s wagon, either. The Rom’s magic—and his nose—were sharp. He inhaled a few more times before putting his clothing to rights and getting to his feet. Once there, he summoned power, instructed the blankets to release the molecules trapped in their weave, and tossed both over a shoulder.
His body hummed with the aftermath of their lovemaking. He felt alive in a way he never had before. Within him, the wolf was joyful too. He felt its approval and its relief he’d finally moved beyond his past.
He thought about the weak place in the barrier as he stepped through it. He’d discovered the fault quite by accident as he hunted for a place to bring Ilona. Why was it here? Was it a way to save a bit of magic as he’d originally suspected, or did it serve some darker, more nefarious purpose?
He wondered which of the first shifters had constructed the barrier, or if they’d tag-teamed it. Surely, there’d be a way to find out without putting anyone in an uncomfortable position. Or clueing Anubis that he wasn’t a willing participant in the intentional and focused harm the first wolf shifter had laid out earlier that evening.
