by Cynthia Eden
He walked around the table, coming toward her. The wind was blowing again. The ocean was pounding. And the sun had set—she hadn’t even noticed what must have been one killer view. “Chains?” he rasped.
She smiled at him. “Do you think you’re the first to lock me up? Not even close. Garrick and his agents were supposed to be the good guys. I went to them because I wanted to help, not hurt people. I just…I never wanted to be bad.” That was the story of her life. “But once the government had me, they didn’t want to let go.” Her muscles tightened as she remembered that prison, buried deep underground, far from prying eyes. “Such a small cell. And the chains were tight. They usually kept me gagged, too, just like you did, because if I talked—”
His hands were on her shoulders. “Do you want them dead?”
“What?”
“Tell me everyone who hurt you. Give me the names, and I’ll end them all.”
She hadn’t been afraid of him before…wait, okay, she had but…in this moment, he utterly terrifies me. Because she was sure he meant exactly what he’d just said.
“Don’t look so upset,” he murmured. “They have Eli. I was planning to go after them all anyway.”
He was planning—“No.” Now she was the one grabbing him. “They can’t know what you are. If they know, they’ll try to take you, too. They’ll try to use you. I’ve already brought too much attention to you as it is.” She’d put him in Garrick’s sights. Dammit.
For nothing.
“Now, sweetheart, you sound as if you truly care what happens to me.” His smile was temptation itself. “Is that true?”
“Yes.” The single word was ripped right from her. Stupid wine. “I don’t want you hurt. I don’t want them hurt, either, despite what the agents did to me. I just want…I want out. I want a normal life. Is that so wrong?”
“Normal is over-rated. And boring.”
“Normal is good. Normal is happy.” She’d never had that, though.
His gaze narrowed. “Tell me what you want most in this world, right now. Tell me…and I’ll give it to you.”
Disbelief rocked her. “Why?”
“Because I can still see the tears on your cheeks. Because they still hurt me.” Each word was growled. “Because I did this to you. I gave you the wine. I knew it would force you to tell me your secrets. I should have fucking stuck to just seducing them out of you.”
“I…thought I could trust you.”
“I know. That’s what makes this even worse.” His lips twisted in disgust. “I don’t know what you’re doing to me, but it will stop.”
Yes, yes, it had to stop. She didn’t know what he was doing to her either. This mad attraction, this need that rose within her—it all had to stop.
“Tell me the one thing you want—anything, and it will be yours.”
What did she want? That was easy. She wanted her power gone. She’d already told him that all she wanted was to be normal. So she’d tell him again and he’d use the Eye and she’d get—“You.” Mina barely recognized her own, husky voice. “I want you.”
His pupils flared. The darkness of his eyes just deepened and then—he’d yanked her toward him. His mouth was on hers. She should stop. She should say that she’d misspoken but…
She hadn’t.
In that one moment, her soul laid bare, she did want him. She wanted to let herself go. To give in to the attraction that she felt for him. An attraction that seemed to burn her from the inside. A need too powerful to be real.
Too strong to ignore.
Later, she’d blame that damn wine. She’d curse it. But for the moment, her mouth opened beneath his. She kissed him, her desire blazing inside of her.
The sun had gone down. Stars glittered. So many damn stars. Thousands of them. And his hands were tight around her. His mouth claimed hers, seduced. She tasted that sweet wine on his tongue and maybe it was making her even drunker, but she didn’t care. Mina grabbed his fancy coat and shoved it off him. She reached for the buttons of his shirt and yanked—
The buttons popped and he laughed.
Why did that sound make her feel so warm on the inside?
His hands curled around her hips, he lifted her up, holding her so easily, and he walked back, pinning her against the exterior wall of his home, holding her against the stone with his muscled body in front of her. Mina’s legs wrapped around his hips. She could feel the hard thrust of his cock, shoving against the front of his pants, and she arched into him. She wanted that thick length in her. Wanted to ride him and let go of everything else.
She didn’t want to be a victim. Didn’t want to be a monster. She just wanted…to be a woman, making love, going wild. Feeling pleasure.
Normal.
Maybe that had been her wish, after all. And he was giving her just what she’d asked for.
His hand slid under her shirt. Warm and strong, and when his fingers smoothed up her rib cage, when she felt him touch her breasts, pleasure pulsed through her. Mina tipped back her head, gasping, and he teased her nipples.
That was good…but… “Put your mouth on me.”
His dark laugh rumbled. “I love a woman who tells me what she wants.”
She didn’t usually, though. Usually she had to be so careful with every word that she said. She was always afraid of pushing people to do what they didn’t want to do…but she couldn’t push him. And she couldn’t hold back the truth of her need. She was just saying what she wanted.
He pulled the shirt over her head. Tossed it aside. She was wearing a thin scrap of lace as a bra, she’d hated it when she first put it on, thinking it was a cast-off from his previous lover but now, the bra felt sexy.
She felt sexy as he stared down at her. His eyes were shining with desire—literally, shining in a way that no mortal man’s ever could. The darkness had given way to light, to a glow, the proof of his true nature. She’d only been with human lovers. And even then, she’d worried…
Had they wanted to truly be with her? Or had she influenced them with her voice? Said the wrong thing because she wasn’t careful enough, took away their will or—
“You aren’t with me.” His voice was a fierce growl. “That won’t work.”
“Luke, I—”
But they were moving. He carried her back into his bedroom. Spread her out on the bed and stepped back. His gaze swept over her. “I fucking love the shoes, but they have to go.” He caught her ankle and slipped one high heel off her foot. “Everything has to go.” His fingers slid up the arch of her foot. She’d never thought that part of her body was an erogenous zone.
She’d been wrong.
She’d just never had Luke touch her there before.
“You are so gorgeous,” he said.
Heat spread through her.
“I could just…” He slipped off her other high heel. It clattered to the floor. “Gobble you right up.”
Yes, please.
His hands went to her waist. He unhooked the jeans, pulled them down her legs, taking her underwear with them. She was clad just in the bra and it was too much. She wanted it gone. Mina wanted him to see all of her. For the first time, she didn’t want to hide even a single part of herself from a lover.
There were…marks on her body. Marks that she’d always been embarrassed about before. But Luke was touching her hips, sliding his fingers over the old scars. She didn’t remember how she’d gotten them—they were thin and long, almost like the marks that would come from a knife, slicing against her skin.
For as long as she could remember, those scars had been there, on each hip, on the tops of her legs. A few along her stomach and sides.
Some lovers had frowned at them. They’d looked at her with worry.
Luke was bending his head. He was kissing them, his lips feathering over her. “Fucking gorgeous.”
A smile slipped over her lips. Maybe she’d been wrong to choose human lovers before. Maybe all along, she should have been looking for someone like him.
There was dark stubble on his jaw and it scraped lightly against her skin. She didn’t mind that little burn, in fact, she liked it. Her hips arched toward him and his hand—those long, strong fingers delved between her thighs.
He touched her and she knew he’d find her already wet. She was. With him, it just took a kiss, a touch, and her body reacted. His fingers stroked her, then he was pushing into her core, and her hips jerked against him.
“Oh, sweetheart, I have to taste…”
He moved his body, sliding between her thighs. His dark head bent and then his mouth was on her. When he’d kissed her before, she’d thought…The man knows how to use his tongue.
The same thought flashed through her mind again. She didn’t even try to hold back the moan that broke from her. She pushed her sex against him, wanting more, needing to feel the lick of his tongue and the thrust of his fingers. Luke gave her what she wanted—gave her that and so much more with that wicked, talented mouth of his. Her orgasm thundered over her, slamming through her body in a fast wave as she cried out his name.
And he kept tasting her. As she shuddered and her breath heaved, his mouth stayed on her. Aftershocks of pleasure had her sex contracting.
“Luke?”
His head lifted. The shine in his eyes was even brighter.
She was still wearing her bra. He still had on his shirt—unbuttoned, but on—and he was wearing his pants.
That wasn’t going to do. “I want you naked. I want you in me.”
As she watched, hunger flashed on his face. A wild, dark lust and she realized what she’d said. No, no, had she just influenced him? He’d said he would be safe, that he was—
He moved away from her. Stood at the edge of the bed. Stared down at her. “You need to let that fear go.” His voice was so thick and dark. “I’m in control. Nothing bad will happen with me.”
Her heartbeat was still racing too fast. “I thought you said you were the bad thing.”
He dropped his shirt to the floor. His pants followed. He stood there, totally naked and her gaze drank him in. Those wide shoulders. Those rippling muscles. That thick, full cock.
She licked her lips.
“Maybe I’m bad so I can do good things to you.” He moved back onto the bed, putting his knee on the mattress.
She parted her legs, wanting him to thrust deep, wanting that wild rush of pleasure again. She wasn’t thinking about what would come after. After reality came back. After she left his bed. After she left him.
She just wanted this moment. This time.
This man.
He settled between her legs, spreading her thighs even wider. The head of his cock pushed against her, and she was so ready and wet that she knew he’d sink deep into her. But…
He didn’t.
Luke’s hand rose. Carefully, he pulled down the straps of her bra. She lifted up, arching toward him, and he undid the clasp in the back. He pushed the bra to the side of the bed and bent over her, his lips curling around one aching breast. When he licked her, when he sucked her, she bit her lip because it felt so good. She wanted to cry out, to shout his name but…
She knew two shifters were on the island. Shifters with extremely good hearing. This moment wasn’t for them to overhear. It was just for her and Luke.
He kissed a path to her other breast. His cock was still lodged at the entrance to her body. Mina’s legs rose and locked around his hips. She wanted him in. She wanted—
He sank into her, deep and full, thick and so hard. “Luke!” A whisper, a demand.
He pulled back, then drove deep. He licked her breast. Kissed her.
Her sex clamped greedily around him as she held him tight. In and out, deeper, harder, he kept thrusting into her. His head lifted. His gaze held hers. The bed jerked beneath his heavy thrusts. She loved it—loved the way his cock slid over her clit with each hard drive of his body. Her nails raked down his back and she lifted her head up, kissing his chest. His shoulder. When he moved closer to her, she licked the hot skin of his neck, then put her teeth on him, giving him a rough, primitive little nip.
He growled and thrust even harder.
His hands caught hers, and he pinned them to the bed. He was rougher now, slamming into her and her orgasm erupted. The pleasure seemed to go on and on, not a wave—a storm. Hard and strong, catching her and then sweeping right over her. And he was there, thrusting, pumping into her, claiming her, taking every single bit of her—
She felt his climax. The hot release jetted inside of her as his body shuddered and he gripped her even tighter. He was staring at her as the pleasure hit. Mina saw the ecstasy on his face and knew his climax was just as strong as hers.
It had never been that way for her before. Her body was still quaking, still holding so tight to his. Still wanting him.
Slowly, her heartbeat stopped thundering. Sweat slickened their bodies. Her breath didn’t heave any longer and she wet her lips.
He kissed her. Soft. Tender. And—
“That was a nice start,” Luke told her. “How about we go again?”
He was growing thicker within her. Readying again.
Mina smiled at him.
Yes, please.
***
“Why aren’t the bugs working?” Garrick demanded.
Timothy Lang swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing nervously. “I-I don’t know.”
“You put them in place, correct?”
“All five, yes, yes, I did.”
But they weren’t transmitting. Garrick was getting jack shit.
“They found the bugs,” Madeline said as she paced nearby.
They were in a temporary base. Lucky for them, Uncle Sam had a Naval Air Station in the area, a place with plenty of room for their group and even a holding cell for their new friend, Eli. Plus some room for…extras.
“We need to be careful,” Madeline continued doggedly. “Luke Thorne isn’t just some playboy—the guy is trouble.”
The guy was a pain in Garrick’s ass.
“She wasn’t there,” Timothy said. He crossed his arms over his chest. “We searched that whole island and Mina wasn’t there. Maybe he found the bugs and got rid of them because he was doing other things—running drugs or some shit. He may not have any connection to Mina at all.”
“He knows her,” Garrick said flatly. He’d seen the look in Luke’s eyes. Jealousy. Possessiveness. Oh, hell, yes, the bastard knew Mina. “Maybe he stashed her somewhere else.” The tricky SOB. “But he has her close. He wouldn’t let a woman like her vanish.”
He caught the look that Timothy and Madeline shared. Rage had him grinding his back teeth.
“Maybe you should back off this one,” Madeline said softly, carefully. “You don’t have the perspective you need to—”
His fist slammed into the desk near him. “I have the best fucking perspective! I know her, inside and out! I’m the one who made her work with us before. I’m the one who controlled her.” His insides twisted. “She was our most successful weapon. The enemy never saw her coming—she could take out a whole base with just a few whispers. Getting her back is top priority. Not just for me…for everyone at our agency.” The order to track Mina James had come down from the very top. But even if it hadn’t, even if his boss hadn’t wanted Mina back…
I would still be hunting her.
“Sorry,” Madeline said, but she didn’t sound particularly contrite. He’d have to watch her…and Timothy. That guy might be too soft. “What’s our next move? You want us to bring in Luke Thorne?”
He’d love to toss that jerk into a cell. Garrick smiled. “We don’t have to bring him in. We’ll get him to come to us. And to bring us Mina.”
“Good luck with that,” Timothy muttered.
Garrick’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t need luck. I have something else.” He smiled. “I have Luke’s friend.” A battered, but still alive Eli. “He’s going to bring Luke to us. We just have to give Eli the right motivation.”
Timothy swiped a hand
over the back of his neck. “And what motivation would that be?”
“Oh, simple, if Eli doesn’t cooperate, I’ll kill him.”
Anger flashed on Timothy’s face as he dropped his hand. “When did we become the bad guys? I thought we were supposed to be the next wave of protection for our country. That we were trail blazers. Protectors, not—”
Garrick stood toe-to-toe with him. “In order to protect the humans, a few paranormals will have to die. It’s an acceptable loss in my book.”
Timothy glared at him.
“Is it acceptable in yours?” Garrick threw at him because he’d really started to wonder about the guy. “The lives of a few lost creatures who would as soon kill you as look at you? Because that’s where you’re getting confused, Agent Lang. You’re thinking of them as people. They’re not. Some of them are evil straight to their core. Some of them would love nothing more than to rip apart innocents. To spread bloodlust. Destruction.”
“Isn’t that what we’re doing?” Timothy asked.
Garrick sighed. “This isn’t what I wanted.”
For a moment, Timothy looked hopeful. “Good, good, I knew you’d see reason, if you just stopped and cooled down. I knew—”
Garrick pulled out his gun and shot the other man. Timothy fell down, twitching, body jerking.
Madeline surged forward.
Garrick turned toward her, putting up a hand. “Don’t worry, it was just a tranq.”
Her eyes were wide, stunned. “You…knocked out a fellow agent?”
It wasn’t as if this were the first time. “We need to put him in a cell and let the agency deal with him. If he isn’t working with us…” Garrick shrugged and put his weapon back in the holster. “Then he’s a threat. You realize that, don’t you?”
Madeline’s gaze flew between him and Timothy’s slumped form.
“You realize that?” Garrick prompted. His fingers lingered near the holster.
She straightened her shoulders. “Yes, sir.”
“Good.” Because he’d been about to shoot her, too. And training new agents? Such a pain in the ass. His hand fell back to his side. “We’ll take him to holding.” Just where he’d left Eli. “And then we’ll get Luke Thorne to come to us.”
