Dark Alpha's Claim

by Donna Grant

  Out of the corner of his eye he saw something through the tall vines running along a stone wall. Cael walked around the wall, but there was no one there. Only a leaf swinging told him someone brushed past.

  “Never have you come to me on your own. Not in all the centuries I’ve known you,” came a voice behind him.

  For a millisecond Cael couldn’t move. Then he turned and looked Death in the face. It wasn’t a skeleton or a hideous beast he gazed upon, but a woman more beautiful than all the Fae put together.

  “Erith,” he said and bowed his head.

  Her blue-black hair hung to her hips in soft waves. She turned her back to him and began walking. Her black dress flowed about her like gossamer, hugging her trim frame and showing off her ample curves before dropping to the ground. Wide black lace edged her sleeves that stopped just below her elbow and at her neckline. That same lace bordered her long skirts that trailed behind her by several feet.

  Erith looked over her shoulder at Cael, pinning him with her lavender eyes. “Why are you here? Was my order difficult to understand?”

  Her voice was smooth and lyrical. There wasn’t anything about Erith that wasn’t stunning and exquisite. But he wasn’t fooled by her soft words. Erith was ferocious and fierce.

  A combination Cael found infinitely pleasing.

  “Cael?” she prodded, her voice edged with irritation.

  He followed her through the maze of flowers, watching her hand trail across the blooms. “Have I ever questioned you about an order

  “No. I’d suggest you not begin now.” She paused and leaned down to smell a yellow flower.

  Cael knew he had to tread carefully and phrase his responses just right. “We’ve had no problem taking out the Dark who remain in Edinburgh.”

  “Good. Most of the Dark have pulled back from all the cities in Scotland and England, but a few remain. Concentrate on Edinburgh first since that’s where Taraeth began. The Dark who descended upon the helpless mortals have been judged.” She cut her lavender eyes to Cael. “You’re their executioner.”

  “It’s a position I enjoy.”

  “And yet you’re here.” She narrowed her gaze at him before she faced him fully.

  Cael was always taken aback when he saw Erith. Her ethereal beauty could make him forget his words.

  Before he’d known her true mantel, he had sought to win her. How he had longed to run his hand down her face and trace her high cheekbones.

  How he still longed for that.

  He burned to get close enough and see if it was a deep purple or black that ringed her amazing eyes. He ached to know if her plump mouth was as kissable as it looked.

  But those thoughts ended as quickly as falling off a cliff. Even after several millennia, his breath was always snatched away when he beheld her and realized something so magnificent was real.

  And completely out of his reach.

  Erith walked to Cael, stopping a foot from him. “You don’t mind killing the Dark. Why then are you here? Does it have to do with your men?”

  “No,” Cael told her.

  “Then say whatever it is you came to say.” Her gaze hardened a fraction. “Now.”

  Cael towered over her by a foot, but she had a way of looking at him that made him feel he was no taller than a bug. “Was killing the Dark your last order to me?”

  “Yes.”

  Cael squeezed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. He and his men had nearly killed innocents not condemned by Death. That alone would have been a death sentence for each of them.

  “I think it’s time you told me all of it.”

  Cael opened his eyes, but Erith was gone. He looked around and found her walking toward the tower in what he could only call a glide. He wondered if her feet even touched the ground. Cael lengthened his strides to catch up with her.

  Erith’s nostrils flared in anger as she stared straight ahead. “Why do you think I would send you another mission?”

  “It came to me via the robin as you’ve sent messages before.”

  “Only three times. In ten thousand years,” she corrected. “What was the new order?”

  The door to the tower opened on its own. Cael waited until they were inside before he said, “For us to hunt all half-Fae and kill them.”

  Erith had lifted her skirts and already started up the stairs. She whirled around, her eyes wide and her face pale with shock. “What?” she yelled in disbelief.

  Her chest rose and feel rapidly. After a few tense moments, she turned back around and ascended the stairs that wound around the perimeter of the tower.

  “No one knows I get the robin from you,” Cael explained. “Not even my men.”

  “Did any of you kill a half-Fae,” she asked tightly.

  Cael got ahead of her on the stairs and stopped as he faced her. “No. We all had misgivings. Which is why I’m here.”

  Erith raised a black brow, questioning his statement.

  Cael blew out a breath. “You know Fintan doesn’t feel anything. You formed the Reapers to keep the Fae in check. There is no one you’ve sent us after that didn’t deserve the justice we served them.”

  “And yet you took that order and told your men.”

  Cael stepped to the side and bowed his head. “I did.”

  “Defeat doesn’t become you, Cael,” she said as she came even with him. “You did exactly as you were supposed to.”

  “Had I forced my men, you would’ve had to kill all of us.”

  She faced forward, a frown wrinkling her brow. “Yes. Leaving me with no one to keep the Fae in check.”

  Cael waited until the last of her skirts passed him before he continued after her. “Do you know who it might be?”

  “There are a few candidates. No one knows I’m Death, but obviously you’ve been watched.”

  “We’ve been on the Fae realm, not Earth. It could be Taraeth.”

  She turned off the stairs when she reached a landing and walked into a spacious room. In the middle there was a large white rug with a black swirling pattern. Atop it was a simple wooden desk with a feminine feel and a chair.

  Around the walls were shelves containing immaculately kept of records of every Fae—including the Reapers.

  Erith walked to one of the windows. “There could be someone after the Reapers.”

  “True,” he acknowledged. “Whispers of us are everywhere among the Fae. After we’re done with Edinburgh, they’ll know we’re back. Or someone could be after you.”

  Erith’s lavender gaze swung to him causing her long black locks to swirl around her. “I should be able to see this evil that has interfered with us, but I can’t. Had you not come to me, I wouldn’t have even known.”

  “Not until you had to kill us,” he added.

  Her gaze lowered to the ground. “I need to know who is doing this.”

  “Then let me find them.”

  He waited anxiously as she contemplated his request. She was silent so long that he added, “They used the robin, Erith. They put in a false order in your name. They’re either out to remove all Reapers. Or they’re after you.”

  “Let them come at me, then,” she said as she met his gaze.

  Cael had seen in her battle once—before he knew she was Death. He pitied anyone who dared to take her on.

  Finally, she gave a single nod.

  Chapter Seven

  Jordyn thought taking a shower might help cool her body, but there was no halting the desire that raged like a volcano within her.

  She tied her robe and ran her fingers through her short hair as she looked in the mirror. A Fae. Could she really have Fae blood?

  All the times her family mentioned the Fae now took on a new meaning. Baylon was certain she was Fae. His conviction then swayed her.

  Eyes a bright blue green mixture stared back at her. Very few people in her family had her color eyes. They only happened once a generation on her father’s side. Her grandmother had called them Fae eyes.

&nb
sp; But Jordyn knew what Fae eyes looked like. Silver ringed by a band of dark silver. Those were Fae eyes. Beautiful eyes that could make her body heat with just a look.

  She closed her eyes and lowered her head as she put her hands on the sink to steady herself. It had been a long time since she accepted a date from anyone.

  The men always became attached to her so quickly before any kind of feelings could form within her. There was no casual dating for her. The men wanted a commitment sometimes before the first date. Jordyn had learned to keep to herself.

  Was she now feeling for Baylon what others had felt for her? Her stomach rolled at the thought.

  She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Then she pushed away from the sink. She opened the door and walked from the bathroom, only to stop dead in her tracks when she saw Baylon standing in the middle of her flat.

  He had actually returned. Part of her never expected to see him again. “You’re back.”

  “I said I would be.”

  Jordyn’s mouth went dry as she met his gaze. She had been trying to convince herself that Baylon wasn’t nearly as handsome as she thought he was. But seeing him again confirmed what she had already known.

  The Fae was seriously hot.

  “You have a reprieve. None of us are hunting half-Fae,” he said.

  “That’s good.”

  It wasn’t good. It was great, but all she seemed to be able to think about was Baylon. His kisses and his touch.

  His eyes held hers, refusing to let her look away. “Do you want me to leave?”

  “No,” she said in a rush, anxious to make sure that he never left.

  Baylon smiled then. That half smile where only one side of his mouth lifted always seemed to make her stomach do a fluttery thing. “That pleases me.”

  And his words certainly pleased her.

  He closed the distance between them, halting before her. She gazed into his silvery eyes and became lost, floating on a sea of silver that promised indescribable pleasure.

  Baylon grabbed the ties to her robe with his hands and tugged. The bow came loose so that the silk robe fell open a fraction, getting caught on her breasts.

  The room swam when his eyes lowered and a muscle in his jaw jumped as he caressed a finger along the edge of the robe along the swell of her breast.

  Jordyn was a puddle of need. The only way she remained standing was by locking her knees.

  His finger didn’t stop until he reached her waist. With deliberate slowness, he opened each side of the robe until the garment hung on the outsides of her breasts.

  “So beautiful,” he mumbled.

  He then set both hands at her neck where the robe was. Leisurely, he pushed the silk over her shoulders until it fell down her arms to sink into a puddle of white silk at her feet.

  “I feel like I’ve waited eternity to see you,” he said.

  Baylon wasn’t lying. All he had been thinking about was getting her out of the clothes so he could have an unblocked view of her amazing body.

  And was it ever incredible. She was tall with all the seductive curvature of the Fae. His fingers grazed the indent of her waist to rest on the flare of her hip.

  Baylon couldn’t tear his eyes away from her perfect breasts. They were just a handful, pert and round, with nipples a deep pink.

  As he stared, her nipple hardened, making his balls tighten in response. He was so hard for her he ached.

  There wasn’t a blemish on her supple skin. When his gaze lowered to her sex and saw the dark blond curls trimmed into a narrow strip of hair, his breath locked in his chest.

  Unable to keep his hands off her anymore, he wound a hand around her waist and dragged her against him. Her hands rested on his chest as she looked up at him with a little smile of excitement.

  “No one will bother us now.”

  She touched his lips with her finger. “I think I’ll scream if they do.”

  “Oh, you’ll be screaming. That I promise you.”

  Her turquoise eyes widened a fraction. “Let me see you.”

  With a mere thought, his clothes vanished.

  Jordyn spread her fingers and let her hands run over his wide shoulders before caressing down his washboard stomach to his trim waist.

  There wasn’t a scrap of hair on his upper body, and she found she liked that. He stayed still and let her look—and feel—at her pleasure.

  She couldn’t stop touching his warm skin and feeling his hard muscles beneath her hands. When she spotted his thick arousal jutting between them, she sighed in expectation.

  But she wanted to explore him first, because once she kissed him, she would become lost.

  Jordyn trailed her hand across his chest as she walked around to his back. Just as in the front, every muscle was defined and shaped into firm sinew.

  She loved feeling his muscles move beneath her palms. After exploring his back and arms, she lowered her eyes to his behind. He had a spectacular ass.

  Suddenly, Baylon spun around and yanked her against him before his mouth descended on hers. The kiss seized, it captured.

  And ensnared.

  Jordyn was sinking into oblivion. She tightened her arms around Baylon’s neck to make sure he came with her. As she responded to his kiss, he ground his arousal against her.

  The next thing she knew, they were lying in her bed, sinking into the thick down comforter. Their limbs tangled as they rolled with wild abandon.

  She had to get closer to him. It irritated her that their skin separated them. Something strong and unyielding drove her onward, urging her to have their bodies become one.

  Baylon had never been so wild for a female before. He craved her, hungered for her as if she were the very essence of his life force.

  Somewhere in the dark recesses of his mind, he knew if he made love to Jordyn that disaster would come his way in great waves of pain. He knew it with as much certainty as he did that being with Jordyn would be like finding a lost piece of himself—a piece he hadn’t known was missing.

  A piece that centuries of being a Reaper had chipped away from his soul. Something he hadn’t even realized until that moment.

  With her in his arms.

  He had to have her. There was no other choice, no other option.

  She tore her lips from his and moaned when he cupped her breast and rolled a nipple between his fingers. Jordyn was panting, her hips rocking against him.

  Baylon trailed kisses down her neck and over a perfect breast to a turgid peak. He wrapped his lips around it and suckled.

  “I’m on fire,” she said hoarsely, her back arching.

  He smiled. Yes, that’s exactly how he wanted her. Burning from the inside out with the same desire he felt.

  “But I want to feel you,” he said kissing the valley between her breasts.

  He held her arms above her head with one of his hands. Baylon raised his head to look at her. Jordyn’s lips were puffy and wet with his kisses. Her chest heaved from her rapid breaths.

  His gaze glanced down to her lovely breasts and her nipples that responded so quickly to his touch. And lips.

  He slowly ran his free hand down her stomach to her sex. She sucked in a breath, watching him with her mouth parted. He stopped just short of touching her.

  “I want to feel all of you.” As soon as he said the last word, he slid a finger inside her.

  Her eyes rolled in her head and her back arched. She moaned, her chest deflating as she released her breath. Baylon couldn’t resist. He claimed her lips as he delved his finger deep into her tight sheath.

  He added a second finger. Inwardly he smiled when her legs parted wider to allow him more access. He made use of the opportunity by teasing her clit with his thumb.

  Her entire body began to shake. Baylon didn’t make her wait for the orgasm. He gave her the release she sought. And when her eyes flew open, her lips parted on a silent scream as her walls clamped around his finger, he watched it all with amazement.

  Jordyn had never experienc
ed a climax so shattering that she felt as if she were soaring. Even as the last vestiges of the orgasm wracked her body, Baylon’s fingers were moving in and out of her.

  His thumb flicked over her sensitive clit, sending her on another mini-climax.

  And all it did was make her want him even more.

  Jordyn shoved at his shoulder and rolled him onto his back. She rose up on her knees over him. His silver eyes watched her, daring her to do whatever it was she wanted.

  Oh, the things she wished to do to Baylon. She feared she could spend eternity in bed with him, and it wouldn’t be nearly long enough.

  She reached between them and grasped his engorged cock. He sucked in a breath when she ran her hands up and down his length.

  Holding his gaze, she brought him to her entrance. As soon as she felt the blunt head of his arousal, Jordyn lowered herself upon him.

  She dropped her head back, her eyes sliding closed at the feel of him stretching her, filling her. It felt … right.

  Once she was fully seated, she lifted her head and looked down at him. A fine sheen of sweat covered his skin. His hands were braced on her hips, and the fire of desire in his eyes made her heart skip a beat.

  Jordyn began to rock back and forth slowly. The tighter his fingers dug into her hips, the faster she moved. She had to brace her hands on his chest at one point.

  But their gazes never broke.

  She could feel the tightening of her body as passion and pleasure reigned. Their breathing was harsh, their bodies sliding against the other sensually.

  A moan slipped past her lips as her body wound tighter. The climax hit her quickly, sending her spiraling into oblivion.

  Baylon ground his teeth together, intent on holding firm control over himself as pleasure erupted over Jordyn’s face as her body jerked around his cock.

  He lasted until he could wait no longer. Then Baylon flipped her onto her back and rose up on his knees. He drove within her hard and deep.

  If he thought she couldn’t take anymore, he was surprised when her legs rose up and locked around his waist, her ankles urging him to go faster and deeper.

  He looked down into a face that was branded in his mind. She opened herself and her body to him without any reservations. She touched him—deeply. Deeper than anyone ever had.