by Brenna Lyons
“Try it and die,” Erin warned.
“That is a challenge I would gladly accept.”
Fowler dematerialized and appeared with his claws already in mid-swing toward Curtis. The killing blow wasn’t even difficult for the young Warrior.
Erin laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “Smooth,” she commented. “You were always smooth.”
He smiled crookedly. “Wait until training tomorrow. I’ll teach you that move.”
A new beast appeared, and Erin flicked one of her blades off, landing a blow square in his heart. “I’ll teach you that one. Oh, get my blade, will you?”
Curtis handed it back as the beast fell. “Smooth,” he complimented her.
Jayde chuckled. “You two are a good team,” she noted.
Erin sobered. “He’s a good Warrior,” she replied evenly.
* * * *
April 28, 2029
There were twenty-two beasts overall. It took most of the night to flush them all out and defeat them. By the time the sun came up, everyone was exhausted. Talon looked around at the destruction, blearily thanking a few gods that it wasn’t his mess to clean up. That was one of the saving graces of being a König. When the dance was over, getting far away always took precedence over the mop-up work.
Lewis and Bryant wandered away to grab food or sleep before they tackled the odious task of incinerating or burying twenty-two beasts. Kord leaned against the wall, no doubt waiting to see what would come of this fiasco before seeing to his own comforts.
Bryant glared at Curtis as he limped by him. “Death, huh?” he commented acidly.
“Shut up, Bryant. The lake is that way. You know what to do with it,” Curt grumbled in response.
Erin started to trudge to her room.
“Where are you going?” Talon asked through a yawn.
“Packing. I assume we’re not staying.”
“Get back here and sit down,” he commanded.
She leaned her head back against the doorframe and growled in frustration. “Do we have to discuss this, Dad? I mean, we’ve pretty well covered it, right? I didn’t understand the ground rules. Is there anything else you forgot to tell me?” she asked miserably.
“Sit,” he ordered.
Erin nodded and crossed to flop on the couch. “What do you need, Dad?”
Talon found Curtis, standing against the far wall looking very uncomfortable. “You too, Curtis. Get over here.”
The young Warrior nodded and pushed off the wall, crossing the room with his fists shoved deep in his pockets and his jaw tight. He sank down on the opposite end of the couch from Erin, studiously avoiding looking at her. “This is awkward,” he noted.
“Got that one right,” she grumbled.
Jayde sat on a chair across from them. “You’re not the first Warriors that have been stuck discussing your love lives with your house lords and parents.”
Erin darkened. “It’s not a love life. I took release. I’m not the first Warrior who’s felt the need to do that, Mother. I thought it was a fairly straightforward kind of thing until I found out I didn’t have all the information available.”
Curtis rubbed his eyes. “Look, blame me, okay? I started it. I egged her on, and I should have stopped when I realized...” He groaned and stared at his hands.
“It was a little too late by then, don’t you think?” Erin noted. “I mean, lost it is lost it the world around, no matter what came next.”
“I should have asked. I just assumed, and that was my fault.”
“Knock it off, Curt. You knew who to blame right away, and it wasn’t yourself.”
“I’m sorry about that. I was wrong to snap at you.”
“No, you weren’t. We’ve been through this, remember? I didn’t tell you on purpose. I admitted that, and as I recall, you were a little upset about that fact. It was underhanded. Drop it. It’s old news.”
“Stop,” Jayde demanded.
Talon shook himself mentally. He’d been immersed in the interaction between the young lovers to the exclusion of all else.
Erin nodded and took a deep breath. Curtis put up his hand in apology. They glanced at each other then away.
“Now,” Jayde began, “let me get this straight. Curtis came on to you, and you went for it without telling him you were a virgin.”
Erin covered Curtis’ mouth with her hand before he could speak. “Actually, I led him to believe I wasn’t kind of specifically,” she informed them.
Curtis removed her hand and darkened as he shook his head at her. He leaned back on the couch and stared at the ceiling, his hands folded over his stomach, apparently giving up on the discussion.
“Why?” Talon asked, too curious to let Jayde take this one.
“I wanted it,” Erin admitted with a shrug. “Obviously, everyone else here has experienced that. I was sexually frustrated.”
Curtis set his jaw and looked at her in disbelief.
“What’s on your mind, boy?” Kord demanded.
“Nothing, my lord. I’m simply — evaluating something.”
“Do not go there,” Erin warned.
“Just tell me if you were being honest,” he asked, staring at her intently.
“I was.” Erin met his eyes dead on in challenge.
“Okay, then.” He nodded and looked away again, gritting his teeth.
“What does it matter now?” she snapped at him.
Curtis shrugged. “Not a damn thing, I suppose.”
“Good. Keep it that way.”
“Agreed,” he replied, barely masking his annoyance with her.
“Damn right,” she muttered at his back. Erin looked at her parents in annoyance. “Anything else?” She started to stand, anticipating her dismissal.
“Sit,” Talon ordered again.
Erin sighed and dropped to the couch.
“Now, did you two finish what you started out there or not?”
“I’m nowhere near high cycle,” Erin assured him.
“I’ve already checked that. I asked if you two finished.”
“Yes. I did,” Curtis snapped at him.
“Why?” Jayde asked in amusement.
Curtis moved his mouth as if to speak then shut it with an audible snap. Erin swallowed painfully, and both stayed silent for several heartbeats.
“I asked him to,” Erin admitted.
“I wanted to,” Curtis chimed in almost in unison with her.
Erin turned on him. “Then, why did you initially push away?” she countered acidly.
“Damned if I remember. It seemed to make sense at the time.”
“I’ll tell you why. You thought I was playing you,” she shouted.
“No,” he denied hotly.
“Remember what you asked me before you finished?” she demanded.
Curtis closed his eyes as if he was in pain.
“Is that your final answer, Warrior?”
He dropped his chin to his chest in defeat. “Would apologizing help?”
“Now? Not a chance, but thanks for the thought.”
He covered his face with his hands and grumbled what Talon could only assume was either a string of curses or disparaging comments about his partner in crime.
Jayde smiled crookedly. “Can you two get along better than this?” she inquired.
Curtis looked up slowly. “Probably not,” he admitted.
“That’s too bad, because you’re stuck with us for now. Pack your stuff. When we leave, you go with us.”
Erin launched to her feet. “No,” she protested. “You can’t push us together. I’m not printing, and I’m not going to. You can’t drag Curt along with us, hoping you can force this. I admire his fighting style. He’s good looking. I needed release. That’s it. You can’t make it more, no matter how much you try.”
“Sit,” Talon demanded.
She looked at him warily and sat with her arms crossed over her chest.
“Are you going to argue with our decision too, Curtis?”
“Good,” Jayde broke in. “Because we don’t know if this will make you a target. The safest place for you is with us.”
“Safe?” he asked in disbelief. “I do not need a babysitter, especially not Erin. If that’s your reason—”
“Competitive, aren’t they?” Jayde confided in her husband. “Again, that’s too damn bad. You and Erin pulled this stunt. Now you’ll have to pay the piper.”
Erin glared at her parents. “You promised me you wouldn’t interfere in my life,” she reminded them.
Talon shook his head at her. “You promised me a month in Maher range,” he replied evenly.
Her face darkened in fury and her hands fisted. She reigned in her Blutjagd. “Anything else, Mom?” Erin asked, clearly irritated with the turn of events.
“No, that’s all for now. I want both of you packed before breakfast. We hit the road after we eat, and it’s going to be a long day in the car.”
Erin and Curtis looked at each other angrily before pushing off to head in different directions. Talon sank to the empty couch and kicked his feet up onto the coffee table. He listened to the two doors slam and smiled at his wife as he knit his fingers behind his head.
“What are you up to, Jayde? You’re not worried about Curtis.”
She grinned widely. “I think our young lady protests too much.”
“You think she’s printing, too?”
“Not yet,” Jayde admitted, “but I think she will.”
“They battle well together, but they fight like cats and dogs otherwise.”
“Yes, they do. It’s going to be an interesting courtship. Do you approve, Kord?”
The old man shrugged and clapped a hand on Jayde’s shoulder. “Not my place to disapprove. I just hope they both survive.”
Chapter Thirteen
May 12, 2029
Curt watched as Erin slipped out of the cabin, pretending to be asleep as she snuck through the main room and out into the darkness outside. He slid his boots on, grabbed his weapons and pulled a t-shirt over his shoulders before slipping out after her.
He followed her away from the cabin as if he was on a stalk and she was his bait. Curt needed the release of Blutjagd — or release with Erin. Chasing a woman this way was something a first night would do, but he contented himself with the knowledge that Talon and Jayde wouldn’t be pleased with Erin’s late-night activities. Warrior or not, she was Blutjagdfrau, and she shouldn’t be prowling the night alone.
Erin stopped at the lake and peeled off her clothing. He watched in stunned disbelief, knowing he’d drag her back nude if she dared leave her weapons behind for a midnight swim. The thought of her firm, smooth bottom locked under his hand as he threw her over his shoulder made him instantly hard. Curt cursed his lack of control where Erin was concerned as he ground his teeth and tried to force back his arousal.
To his surprise, Erin picked up her belt and waded into the water until she was covered to her hips. Lying back, she kicked her way to the floating platform with the belt held to her chest. Curt sighed in relief. At least Erin was keeping her weapons with her on this mindless foray.
She hauled herself onto the platform and lay back with her hands clasped behind her head and her face turned to the crescent moon peeking through the thick clouds. Erin raised her knee in the typical sprawl she adopted after a swim, and his mind was made up. She was just too tempting!
Curt pulled off his clothes and made his way to her quietly. She hadn’t been teasing about the frigid water, but he pushed away the cold with the idea that he’d do his level best to convince Erin to let him warm up with her. It had been two weeks since he’d had her, and Curt was at the edges of endurance. He couldn’t watch her without touching her anymore.
Erin sighed as he reached the edge of the platform. “Come on up, Curt. You might as well. You’ll freeze otherwise.”
“Is that an invitation?” he teased.
“Can I get rid of you?”
“No, you can’t.”
“Then, come up here before I have to explain the Warrior-sicle at the bottom of the lake.”
Curt smiled as he hoisted himself over the top. He lay next to her, shivering slightly. “Invigorating,” he commented smoothly.
Erin pushed up on her elbows and surveyed the length of him critically in the almost non-existent light. “I don’t know. It seems to have made portions of you less vigorous,” she noted.
He hardened at her appraising look. “Has it?”
“It will if I push you in again,” she answered simply, lying back down.
“Now why would you do that?” he asked innocently. “Are you fond of Warrior-sicles?” He was certainly fond of the idea of her treating him like one – or him treating her like one.
Erin scowled at him. “You know what my parents are up to. We may not be baiting each other, but they are. I have no more intention of printing than you do, Curt.”
Gods! If only that were true! “Do you intend to let them drive us both crazy needing release?” he countered.
She moved her eyes back to the sliver of the moon. “I can find my own release.”
Curt pushed himself up on his elbow to return the favor of her appraisal. Even in the dim light, he could see her cheeks darken and smell her arousal clearly.
“So can I, but it’s so much more gratifying with a woman,” he commented. Curt knew he was lying. Self-release had ceased to be gratifying days ago. He needed more. He needed Erin.
She avoided his eyes. “I’ll take your word for it,” Erin countered smoothly. “I’ve never been fond of women.”
Curt rolled next to her, wrapping a hand around her hip and drawing himself to her until his erection brushed over her thigh. He smiled his determination as her breathing hitched. “What about men? Do I still appeal?”
Erin licked her lips as if she was considering it, and she didn’t push him away. “This is a bad idea,” she finally breathed.
He ran his fingers over her nipple, mesmerized by her body’s response to him. Both nipples hardened in invitation, and resisting them was nearly impossible. “I don’t still appeal? Your body says otherwise.” He rubbed the pad of his thumb over one taut nipple to make his point.
“You’re playing with fire, Curt.”
“Why? How?”
“What if one of us prints and the other doesn’t? Are you willing to take that chance?”
“I won’t print,” he answered her confidently, knowing it was the reassurance Erin needed from him. “I guess that means we’re safe.”
She met his eyes in anger. “Other Warriors have been that blind,” she informed him.
Curt wrapped his arms around her and dragged Erin into his hips possessively. “With you?” he growled. His blood burned. He ached to lose himself in her again, and the idea of any other man wanting that sparked fury in him.
Erin panted in restraint, and her breasts swelled against the wall of his chest. She closed her eyes and planted her palms against his shoulders in mute protest.
“With you?” he demanded again.
“No,” she replied in a shaky voice. “Not with me. Please, let me go, Curt.”
“Because no man has ever gotten this close,” he prodded. Curt ran his lips up her jaw to her ear, nipping at her earlobe as he spoke to her.
“Yes,” she pleaded, whether to his attention or his question, he couldn’t be sure.
Curt ran a hand up between her thighs, groaning at how ready she was. “You can’t convince me that you don’t want me, Erin. I’m not printing, but I do want you. Take release with me,” he implored.
“I can’t.”
“Why?” he asked, rolling to press his erection firmly to her damp curls. “I know you’re not printing.”
Erin lay her forehead to his shoulder. “No, I’m not,”
she whispered, “but it’s too dangerous.”
“To who?” He pulled her hips to him, encouraged to hear her stifled moan. Curt had to wear her down. Nothing but completion would satisfy now. “If neither of us is printing, who is it dangerous to?”
She didn’t answer him. Instead, Erin rolled her hips against him in invitation. “Please, Curt,” she breathed.
“Please what?” he asked innocently. “Tell me what you want.”
Erin met his eyes with a desperation that moved him. “Take me. For the love of all that’s holy, take me.” She shook lightly in his arms.
That made him think, something Curt had been sorely lacking a few moments before. Was he enticing an unwilling woman into some semblance of willingness or was she willing?
“No,” he decided. Curt rolled to his back, releasing her abruptly.
She leaned over him, seemingly furious at the sudden change in him. “You—You baiting bastard,” Erin shot at him. She started to push to her feet.
He dragged her back to his chest and captured her mouth in a fierce, demanding kiss. “Take me,” he ordered in a hoarse voice. “If you really want release, take it.”
Erin nodded resolutely. She fell to him, nipping at his body and soothing away the exquisite pain with her soft mouth and tongue. She straddled his thighs and drew her hands down the length of his abdomen to his cock, arching to brush the wet heat of her center against his legs.
Curt groaned and stamped down the urge to pull her up and impale her on himself. Erin would have to be the aggressor this time. In addition to establishing her willingness, there was the matter of this circling that was required to get close to her. Curt didn’t intend to have to seduce her next time, and he was determined that there would be a next time, as many next times as he could convince her of.
Erin met his eyes as she sank to take him into her mouth, drawing Curt to the brink of release. After the first few awkward moments, she moved as if it were really a dream he had concocted of the perfect pleasure she could be giving at that moment. Erin let him sink into a mindless pleasure until he was moving his hips, thrusting into her mouth and groaning hopelessly at the feeling of her tongue flicking over the thick veins along the bottom of his shaft. He cried out harshly in his restraint, wanting to take her but unwilling to end what she was doing to him.
