Stunned and a little dazed, she stepped back. The impact left her disoriented. Which way to the outer city?
She turned back, only to see it hadn’t been a wall she’d crashed into after all.
It was him.
The strong lines of his face did not soften when he looked at her. His expression stern and unyielding, it was clear he had not come to thank the witch who saved his life.
He stared straight into her eyes. For a moment, she thought he looked angrier than he should have. After all, he’d caught her. That was his goal. Shouldn’t he be pleased with himself?
“You,” he said, eyes narrowing, hand clenching around the device in his hand. “You’re the witch.” He scoffed, as though bitter with her about it. “And here I thought you were just a common thief.”
Adira stepped back. Although, really, there was nowhere to go. The alley was a dead end, and he was blocking the only exit.
She had to admit, it was pretty impressive he’d caught her. He’d known to come here and wait, rather than chase her. Most guards were all brawn and no brain. But Alec…he was both.
“I’m no witch,” she said evenly.
“Then why run?”
She tilted up her chin. “Well, people with swords were chasing me. What else was I to do?”
Alec didn’t waver. She wasn’t going to outsmart him, that much was clear, and she’d used all of her energy trying to escape the rest of the guards.
If he used that device, though, he would know. He would know she was a witch, the whole city would know she was a witch, and then there would be no escaping it.
She would meet the same deadly fate as her mother.
Chapter 6
The young woman’s face was flushed, and Alec’s heart twitched in his chest. She’d outsmarted most of the guards. Doing so wasn’t exactly a difficult feat, but her physical strength, speed, and agility could rival even his own. And that scared him in all the wrong ways. It scared him because, in that moment, he admired her.
He admired the woman who very well might be the next doomed queen.
But the worst of it was he wasn’t sure what he was more afraid of: failing to capture her…or succeeding.
In all his years working for the regent—all his encounters as a guard—he’d never really seen a woman before. They were faceless. They were his duty. They most certainly didn’t radiate energy like this woman. Not even the witches.
Alec stepped closer, cornering her so she couldn’t take off again. He expected her attention to dart around for a clear path to escape, but instead, her gaze burned into his. Her breasts rose and fell with the heavy breaths of a woman who had just outrun a dozen men, and Alec felt a part of himself awakening.
Lust.
He clenched his teeth. There was only one way this could end. “You,” he said to the young woman. “Mishka, was it?”
She took another step away, but the wall behind her stopped her retreat. Swallowing, she steadied her gaze on his. “Yes.”
Nonchalant. Calm.
She was lying.
Alec grabbed her wrist. “What’s your name?”
“I told you,” she said, this time her voice wavering.
The fear in her voice ran through him like ice, and he dropped her wrist.
Why had he let her go? She should be afraid. He shouldn’t feel wrong about that.
He quickly licked his lips to alleviate his dry mouth, then placed his hand on the wall behind her, right beside her head. His face dipped down to hers, and he whispered, “A whole city is after you. Did you think you can run forever?”
Her hand slipped up to his wrist, though her grasp was more gentle than resistant. “I think I have to.”
Thoughts bubbled up and over in his mind, but he refused to let himself process any of them. He couldn’t let emotion distract him from duty.
“Because you robbed that woman? Or because you’re a witch?”
She shook her head. “Does it matter? I’ll be killed either way.”
“We all make sacrifices,” he said. “The sector’s issues are bigger than just one person. We can’t let people run around taking what they want, and we can’t allow the ability to survive wane just because we’re afraid we might die.”
He’d let his own sister die to protect this city. Damned if that would be for naught. If this woman was a witch, then she was a chance to protect their world before the barriers came down for good.
“If we don’t find a new queen, we’ll all die,” he added, more to make himself feel better than to convince her of his duty.
“I hope we find her as much as you do,” she said, a light breeze lifting the ends of her hair as it swirled down the alley. “But I’m afraid I’m just a common criminal.”
Alec could find out for certain in mere moments with the new device the regent had given him. One drop of her blood to confirm—that was all it would take. That was why he had chased her down here. To find out for sure.
That was the reason, wasn’t it?
And if so, why was he still standing here? Why not test her already?
“Either way,” he said, “I must bring you in.”
The woman’s grasp loosened, her fingers tapping down one by one against his wrist. “I will go,” she said, “but don’t bring me back there a prisoner. Surely, I deserve to face my fate with dignity.”
Alec smirked. She was playing to his sense of duty—he wasn’t sure whether to be flattered or offended. On one hand, she believed in his nobility; on the other, she thought him a fool.
He raised his eyebrows. “Bit late for that, don’t you think?”
“Then I’m sorry it has to be this way,” she said.
The woman spun out from under his arm and around to his backside. She kicked him in the back of the knee, throwing him off balance before she darted down the open end of the alley toward the outer city.
He twisted around and bolted after her, catching up in just a few long strides. When he reached out to grab her, though, he missed.
Maybe that was what he wanted.
He shook his head and pushed forward harder, closing on her again and capturing her with both arms around her waist. Then he grabbed her wrist and spun her back toward him before pushing her back so hard they both collided into the wall on the other side of the alley.
“Nice try,” he said.
And it had been. But what did it mean that she had failed? If the witch-testing device determined she was a witch, she would be forced to face a ravager. She was strong—but she wasn’t that strong. If she couldn’t get past him without a weapon, she would never overpower one of those beasts.
He would be sending this woman to her death.
Not your place, Alec.
It was not his job to interpret the rules—only to enforce them.
“Let me ask you one thing.” The woman tilted her head. “Why is it the regent only started using the witch-tester device now? Why not earlier today—why not prevent that woman from being killed?”
Alec froze, the question stabbing against his conscience. He’d had the same thought. The regent would have an explanation, though—one that Alec did not owe this woman.
“I’m afraid you won’t talk yourself out of this one,” he said coldly. “But if you cooperate, I won’t mention your earlier thievery.”
“If you’re not taking me in for stealing, then what for?” She quirked an eyebrow. “You haven’t tested me.”
The witch tester was still tucked into his pants. He could test her now. But could he bring her in if she was a witch?
He wanted to believe he could, but that niggling doubt still pinched him. “I think it would be best if the regent tests you himself. Let’s go.”
He tugged her arm to lead her down the alley back toward the square. At first, she cooperated. But then suddenly, she froze, digging in her heels.
He turned back toward her, prepared to lift her up and carry her over his shoulder. Holding one of her arms up, he reached down to hook hi
s arm around her waist.
That was when she kissed him.
It was a light, teasing kiss. A brush of her lips against his own. Just enough to get his attention.
Alec paused, still holding her firm, but not moving his face away from hers. “That was brazen,” he said, his tone dropping.
“You scared?” she asked. “Worried someone might see the big bad witch hunter making out with a suspected witch?”
“I’m a lot of things,” Alec said, “but afraid is not one of them.”
“Prove it.” She pushed her body closer to his, her breasts pressing against him and her hips sliding against his own.
Alec almost felt bad for what he was about to do, but he wasn’t made of stone. His cock was straining against his pants, and a fire was burning in his stomach. He hooked his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.
He brushed his lips against her ear. “I’m not afraid. But you should be.”
But the way she trembled when he said that was not in fear. She wanted this, and not just because she thought it would save her from her fate.
“The other guards will be here any minute,” he said.
“I could make that minute feel like ten,” she said, the seductive note a promise that no man could resist. At least that was what Alec was telling himself. “Kiss me.”
“You’ll regret it if I do,” he promised.
“You’ll regret if you don’t,” she shot back.
Fine. He’d warned her, and he wasn’t a saint. He nibbled at her bottom lip, pressing down just enough to make her whimper before he covered her mouth with his. Her body rolled against his, and he slipped his arm from around her waist to grab her other wrist again.
As her tongue tasted his mouth, he pushed her back into the wall again, raising both of her hands above her head and pinning them with his left hand.
“I’m not going to let you run off again,” he murmured, running his thumb down the side of her neck and across her collarbone, “but I will stop if you tell me to.”
When she didn’t protest, he kissed her again, sliding his hand to her breast and rubbing her nipple through her clothes until she moaned again.
This was so wrong. Even if this woman did survive the ravager, she would soon be sleeping with the regent. Hopefully having the regent’s children. The thought disgusted him.
He should stop. Right now.
But his body would not comply with the command. Instead, he pressed into her harder, pushed her body tighter against the stone wall with his, and pinched her nipple until she cried out.
“Tell me to stop,” he said in her ear.
“I don’t want you to stop.” She kissed this neck and wrapped her legs around his waist. “Let’s go somewhere.”
He swallowed around the lump forming in his throat.
“Just for a little while,” she cooed.
“It won’t change anything,” he said, but his voice caught in his throat. Already, he was starting to doubt himself. “Tell me you know that.”
“I know,” she said. “I know it won’t change anything.”
But something told him she knew different.
Chapter 7
Adira was close. She could practically feel those big, macho-man walls crumbling. Deep down, she knew Alec was not a bad man. He was just working a bad job for what he believed was a noble cause. But if she could get him to see her as a person, not just as a thief and possible witch, that could change everything. Then he would see that protecting the people of Sector One included her, too.
Alec peered over her shoulder, in through the window of the home he’d pushed her against. “In here,” he said, tipping his head to the door beside them. He held her hand and led her into the empty apartment space.
A lot of the rooms in this part of town were abandoned, which was how she came to know of it as an escape route; it was always the fastest, least populated way out.
Alec kept a hold of her even as he unfastened the tie above the window to let down the curtain. Pulling her farther into the room, he sat her on the edge of an old wooden table.
The witch-tester device was tucked into the back of his pants—that must have happened back in the alley, before she’d kissed him. Perhaps if she could get him out of his pants, she could get the device and run.
He pushed her knees apart and stepped between her legs, his arousal bumping the aching part of her. Sure, this way a ploy to escape, but there was no denying her attraction to him.
“Tell me your name,” he said into her ear. He nipped at her shoulder. “I’ll know if you’re lying.”
Adira couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a man’s hands on her, and she was certain it hadn’t felt this right…this good. Every nerve in her body was singing with desire, lighting her up with a different kind of hunger. Maybe that was why her name foolishly slipped from her mouth.
“Adira.”
With him so close, Adira could smell the sweat that dampened his skin and the lingering death of a ravager, but instead of being repulsed, she found herself more aroused, as if this made Alec somehow more real, this moment more authentic.
She held her breath, listening for any noise outside the apartment. The world around them was silent and still, aside from their breathing. She should get away. The sooner, the better. But right now, she just wanted to enjoy the moment. Wanted to close her eyes and pretend she was a normal woman who didn’t have to run or hide.
His rough, warm hands slid under her cloak and cupped her breasts, his thumbs grazing against her hardened nipples as he deepened the kiss. Reaching between their bodies, she rubbed her hand over his erection.
Wow. She’d not put much thought into what was beneath his pants before now, but she hadn’t expected him to be so thick and sturdy. It suited the rest of him, but Adira found the girth intimidating.
As she massaged him through his pants, he bit into her lip, and she moaned softly. Everything about him sent hot shivers through her body. Adira gasped as warmth flowed into her undergarments, and Alec smirked as if he knew, somehow, what he was doing to her from the inside out.
Heat blooming through her face and ears, Adira reached for the ties on his pants, but he snatched her wrists and held her hands against the table, leaning over her.
“Slow down,” he growled.
“I thought we don’t have a lot of time?”
He leveled his gaze at her, digging the pads of his fingertips into her wrist. “I know what you’re trying to do.”
She arched an eyebrow. “And what is that?”
His grip on her wrists was becoming almost painful now, but the press of his erection between her thighs had her more aroused than distressed. “You can’t expect me to keep giving you the chance to stop this.”
“What is it you want to stop, Alec? This?” She raised an eyebrow. “Or what comes next?”
Alec’s eyes darkened. How she wished she knew what he was thinking. Certainly by now, he had at least entertained the idea of letting her go.
His jaw clenched, his fingers dug deeper. “You don’t know anything about me.”
Adira didn’t flinch. “Enlighten me then.”
Alec opened his mouth, then closed it again. His hungry gaze nearly devoured her, and instead of speaking, his mouth sank onto hers once more, his grip on her wrists unwavering.
He seemed angry now—with himself or with her, she wasn’t sure, but there was a fury in the way he kissed her, as though he was punishing her for causing his confliction.
As his erection rubbed between her legs, the pressure within her mounted. Was it as intense for him as it was for her?
Adira’s mind spun. Any other man would have taken full advantage by now, but Alec held back. She knew he wanted her. All of her. Each time she was certain this was it—this was the moment he would strip their clothes and drive himself into her—he stopped.
Alec released her hands to explore her breasts again, and the touch sent a shudder through her. She slid her hands along hi
s bare shoulders and across his back. His tanned skin was still sticky from sweat, but this just made Adira dig her nails in, wanting to remember the feel of him before she fled.
As his unrelenting lips deepened the kiss, Adira’s hand migrated down his back. This might be her only chance to grab the witch tester and run.
But she didn’t want to leave. Not yet. She wanted to stay like this forever, and that desire frightened her.
Ultimately, though, this was a choice between life and death.
Adira reached for the witch tester, but it wasn’t there. It wasn’t where she remembered.
Alec’s hand grabbed her wrist again, and a prick pierced against her neck.
Adira gasped into his mouth.
Damn it. She was supposed to trick him, not the other way around.
She yanked against his grasp, but he held firm. The haze of arousal crashed around her, shattering in all the wrong ways, stunning her into a fresh, panicked alertness.
“Sorry,” he said, and in his voice, she heard that he meant it. His eyes were full of regret, and he shook his head. “I have to do what this city needs me to do. I have to think of all the lives that would be affected.”
Adira’s heart sank. There was no escaping this. She didn’t have the energy for magic or the strength to overpower Alec, and, intellectually, he was her match. She wouldn’t outsmart him.
“What happens next?” she asked, her voice almost a whisper.
Alec’s attention dipped to the device in his hand. “Next, I hope you’re not a witch.”
The grooves on the device were already starting to flow with her blood, filling up the different runic symbols and casting a faint blue glow.
“I am,” she whispered, her voice heavy. “But you knew that already, didn’t you?”
He tucked the witch tester back into his pants. “I wanted to be wrong.”
Adira had to admit, he’d been clever enough to use her own tactic against her. But there was no denying that kiss was more than just a ploy to trick one another. There was something between them. Adira was counting on it.
“You’re going to turn me in?”
“I’m going to do my job.”
Origin: an Adult Paranormal Witch Romance: Othala Witch Collection (Sector 1) Page 5
