What the Heart Haunts

by Sadie Hart

  His gaze slipped to her lips again and Nalla wanted nothing more than for him to kiss her again. He made her feel too, things she hadn’t felt in a long, long time. Warm, needed, happy. But there was no going back, not for him.

  “Don’t,” she whispered. “If you cross that line, you’ll be stuck here. Don’t you remember what I told you?”

  “But if I don’t cross that line, I just go back. To endless nothing. To something fake and numb. Is it supposed to be like that? Where I don’t feel anything at all except...sweet Herne I don’t even know what to call it. The run. It’s amazing, but it’s like a high that fades into nothing until the next ride. You just exist when you’re not running, nothing more. There are never any dull moments. Never this longing, never this sadness. My chest,” he paused and pressed a hand to it. “It hurts.”

  “So going back means you don’t have to feel this pain! That’s not a bad thing.”

  Khost smiled, the gold in his eyes lightening. “But when I kiss you, I feel lighter. Breathless. Almost as wild as I do on the Hunt. It makes the pain right here and now worth it, and the pain? It makes the happy tightness in my chest seem real.”

  He nipped her bottom lip. “Feeling this—all of this—it feels right. Or am I wrong, am I not supposed to feel a damned thing?”

  Nalla couldn’t tell him that. She wouldn’t take loving Malek or Gabriel back, even if it got her back in the Hunt. She longed for that kind of love again, but she had love to compare against Herne and the Wild Hunt. Khost had nothing, no clue. Still... She couldn’t tell him that people weren’t meant to feel...not when the opposite was true.

  People were meant to love.

  Her frown must have been all the answer he needed.

  “See, I didn’t think so.” Khost leaned in and kissed her again, his body crowding close, his hips bumping hers. “So I don’t want to go back.”

  “That’s a choice you make for forever.”

  He shrugged. “Then I’m making it. And maybe it won’t be so bad because we’re not alone. Not saying we’re meant for forever, but you won’t be the only one knowing what’s up there and what’s right here. You won’t be the only one that’s left the Hunt behind.”

  And she was so tired of being lonely. Nalla hugged him tighter and drowned out whatever else he was going to say on a kiss.

  ***

  Chapter Five

  Khost groaned under the weight of her kiss, the way her hands shook when she cupped his jaw and held him there. Her fingers snagged in the edges of his hair, tugging as she drank him down. He stepped into her until he heard the soft thud of her body hitting the truck behind her, a low whimper sounding in her throat. Khost broke the kiss and leaned his head against hers, just breathing in the scent of her. Her shampoo left a citrus tang against the back of his throat when he breathed her down deep.

  “Getting second thoughts?”

  She drummed her fingers against the side of his neck, then skated her hand lower, over the ridge of his shoulder, down the expanse of his back. She teased over his hip, before pausing, hesitating. He shifted his hips until the swell of his erection touched her hand, a shiver pulsing through him at her touch.

  Khost shook his head. “No. Just...”

  He glanced around at the empty rest stop. It’d been quiet, but for how long? “Not really sure we should do this on the pavement.”

  The toe of his shoe scuffed over asphalt drawing a small laugh from her. She thunked her head back against the truck and grinned. “It’s a tight fit in there, but I think we could manage it.”

  Her gaze skidded down the length of him, wicked and Khost trembled as her hand stroked up the seam of his jeans, pausing on his belt buckle. “Depending on how flexible you are.” Nalla rose onto her tiptoes and brushed another kiss over his mouth. “Or, we can make a run out into the woods and do it under the moonlight. That just depends on how much you like sticks poking you in the ribs.”

  “So...the choices are knee banging, muscle straining sex, or romantic but slightly overrated sex?”

  “Yeah, but when you put the first one like that, it still sounds better. But the muscle straining will be in both.” She winked at him. “Your call. After all, it is your forever, I’m already fucked.”

  Khost shook his head, grinning. “Not by me.”

  The wind sighed over his back, cool and comfortable. The edge of a wild night haunting the back of his mind. He didn’t want to be cooped up in a cage on a night like tonight. He wanted to run. To huff and pant as he fled through the forests. He tilted his head towards the woods that ran alongside the highway. The tall, dark pines looming over her truck, their scraggily tips straining for the sky.

  His lips skimmed her ear as he breathed, “Run.”

  The moment the word had left his lips, Nalla planted both hands against his chest and shoved him away. He staggered, startled, only to lift his head and see her bolting into the forest, a white grin flashing over her shoulder as she looked back at him. “Chase me, then.”

  Then she was gone, disappearing into the shadows as if she were a part of them. Khost didn’t bother giving her a head start. He ran after her. The midnight air crisp as he inhaled the sharp stench of pines, the upturned dirt kicked up from her running feet. It took him a second to orient himself, catch her scent and give a true chase, but the moment he picked up her trail...he knew he could find her. No matter where she hid.

  Branches snagged at his jacket as he shoved his way through the forest, blundering through like an oversized dog, rather than a Hound of the Hunt. But this was freedom. Bliss. And in so many ways, chasing Nalla was like roaming through the skies, the wild bays sounding all around him. He tilted back his head and let out a joyous yip. Nalla answered.

  Nalla appeared out of nowhere, darting out from behind an old oak tree, then she disappeared again, running full tilt. Her laughter floated back to him and Khost felt the last of his reserves fade out into the wind behind him. This was worth every moment of forever. It was worth pain and sadness, all to feel joy.

  Khost lunged at her, catching Nalla around her waist and flinging her back to the ground. Leaves fluttered out from under her body as she crashed into the soft dirt. Khost landed on top of her, hands smacking the ground on either side of her head as he kept himself from collapsing completely on her. “Caught ya.”

  Nalla laced a hand in his hair and pulled his head down. “Here’s your prize, then.”

  She closed the distance between them. Her lips soft, yielding under his. The gentle press of velvet against his mouth, heated, lingering. Her tongue trailed over the seam between his lips, only to be followed by the quick nip of her teeth over his bottom lip. “Open for me, Khost.”

  She only had to tell him once. Khost let her in, his tongue rising to meet with hers, diving deep into her mouth, tasting her once again. Her legs opened and his hips fell to rest between her thighs, at the same time her tongue made small, darting thrusts into his mouth. He groaned, shifting above her until the hot length of his erection, still clad in his jeans, pressed against the core of her. He mimicked their kiss with his hips, a horrible, shaking need taking hold of him. He’d never...had this before.

  Somewhere, once maybe, he might have. Like a distant memory, instinct called to him, but he couldn’t pull up the details. Deep down in his soul though, he knew this was right. It felt right. Khost pulled back, staring down at her. Her hair looked silver in the moonlight filtering down from the trees, spread out over the ground. A twig had tangled in the long lengths and he reached up to tug it loose and toss it aside.

  Nalla nipped under his jaw, then along the stretch of his neck. “Any time now, big guy.”

  A laugh rumbled up the length of his body, an odd sound, so reminiscent of a growl that he found himself smiling down at her. “Shush you. I’m just...savoring this. I’ve never...”

  “No shit. It’s a perk of being one of Herne’s Hounds. Celibacy. It’s a bitch.” She nipped his lower lip. “But look, if you’ve made up your
mind, one hundred percent, I’ll happily show you the ropes.”

  He arched an eyebrow. “A hundred and ten percent.”

  “Good.” She looped a leg around his hips and twisted, flipping them until Khost slammed back into the dirt, Nalla straddled on top of him. “Cause I hate a bad tease.”

  Nalla slid her hands up under his shirt and Khost arched into her touch, letting her draw the fabric up his belly. She paused to trace circles around his nipples.

  “Ab-crunch time,” she said. “Sit up.”

  “Not exactly an easy thing to do with you sitting on me.”

  But he complied, slipping out of his jacket, only to help her strip away his shirt too. He tossed it aside, rattling a nearby bush. One handed, Nalla pressed him back down. He loved the intensity blazing out of her eyes as she stared down at him, slowly dropping her head until she could lay a kiss against his sternum. Then one against each nipple. Her tongue tasted each delicate nub, followed by the quick scrape of her teeth. Khost closed his eyes on a harsh gasp.

  The call of the wild thrummed through him, hot in his veins, desperately needing the cool night air, but it suddenly felt balmy. Heated. She nipped over his jaw and then she was gone. Standing over him. She kicked off each boot, the heavy thumps sounding from somewhere next to him. In one smooth motion, Nalla stripped off her shirt and let it fall. The black lace of her bra stood out against the pale cream of her skin. Khost’s throat went dry at the sight of her, his cock heavy with need. His skin suddenly too tight.

  She reached a hand behind her and he heard the clasps sliding loose, right before the fabric began to slip. His heart hammered in his chest. Oh, sweet Herne, he thought as she stripped the lace away and held it out to him, dangling it over his chest. A shoulder strap teased over one nipple, then lower, a faint breath against his stomach, before she flicked it aside and sent it tumbling into the shadows.

  Her pale breasts bobbed in the moonlight. Then her hands went to the clasp at her jeans and Khost was damn sure his breath shorted out. A ragged gasp shook him and Nalla tilted her head. “I don’t think you have much teasing left in you.”

  She flicked a glance at his crotch and he followed her gaze. A groan roused from his lips at the sight of his own discomfort. At this rate he was going to split a damned seam. He reached for the zipper and Nalla tsked softly. “No, no. Remember, I’m showing you the ropes, tonight. I figure, if you’re screwing your life up for forever, you might as well do it right.”

  Her voice was soft, taking the sting out of her words. One look back up at her bright eyes and he knew she didn’t really believe he was making a mistake. He knew she didn’t quite grasp the why, but she accepted his choice. Understood it better than anyone else ever would.

  The soft whir of her zipper opening filled the night and Khost instantly riveted his gaze back on her. She slipped her hands under the hem of her pants, the black fabric of her underwear, and in one smooth movement drew all that fabric down her hips. She shimmied out of them and tossed them aside, rising to stand again, this time completely nude.

  She hid nothing from him. Not the small mounds of her breasts with the golden necklace dangling between them, not the smooth expanse of her belly, or the thatch of curls above her thighs... The scent of her lust hit him. Ripe, luscious. Nalla knelt beside him, her features suddenly soft as she laid a kiss along the strip of hair that led from his belly button to his groin.

  She laid her cheek against the muscles of his stomach, looking up at him, eyes suddenly solemn. “He’ll come for you. You know that, right? The moment you find your first release, he’ll come for you.”

  “And?”

  “And know that he can’t hurt you here.”

  Her hand found the button of his jeans and flicked it open, the soft press of the zipper being tugged down and Khost hissed, bucking up into her touch. She moved, dragging jeans and boxers off of him. Pausing only long enough to yank off his shoes, she stripped him of everything but his socks and then climbed back up his body, straddling his thighs, just short of his erection. She ran one finger down the rigid length drawing a raw groan from him.

  “How long were you a Hound?”

  “A hundred and forty eight years.” He squeezed his eyes shut. A hundred and forty eight years and he’d never felt anything like this. Seen similar sights on his nightly runs. People rutting in their beds, like the animals out in the barns and fields. He hadn’t thought anything of it, how it might feel to hold someone close, to care about someone.

  Not until she’d kissed him.

  “I thought it was just the way the world procreated. The same way a body needs to eat, they got the urge to mate so they could have kids.” A wry smile touched his lips and he opened his eyes to gaze back up at her. He didn’t feel at all foolish saying that to her, because once, she’d probably understood. The softness in her eyes told him he was right. “I never thought it could feel like this.”

  “Better,” she whispered. “This is just the beginning.”

  She tapped his cock gently again, one finger swirling over the tip in a stroke that made his back bow and a shout spring from him. Nalla moved above him, one hand wrapping around the hard, aching length of him and Khost shuddered, his gaze glued to her every motion. He saw the glisten of moisture between her legs, just before the head of his cock touched the slick opening. He shivered.

  “For the record,” Nalla murmured, “I’m only doing this without protection because thankfully, you’re as infertile as I am. Another perk of once belonging to Herne.”

  Then she eased down on him, all that wet, warm heat enveloping him. So tight. Sweet Herne, he’d never thought this was possible. Surely a body, a person couldn’t take this much feeling at once. His hands found her hips even as Nalla settled him completely inside her. The sight of her stretched around him, thighs straddling him, her breasts dangling above him like some offering to the gods and it was all too much.

  His hips twitched but she held still, her head tilted back to the sky. Her breath slow and even. She slipped a hand between her thighs, right above the point where their bodies joined and Khost watched in shaking awe as her fingers delved through the wet folds of skin, finding a small, round bump. Her body jerked as she skimmed two fingers over it, the muscles around his cock wrapping tighter.

  “Nalla...” Her name was nothing more than a whisper as he reached for her hand, swiping it away to stroke that sensitive area. She cried out, her back arching, hips moving to meet his touch and Khost gave an answering yelp as pleasure blazed through him, when everything inside her body reacted, moving against his. Shit. He was never going to stop.

  His hand moved in impatient circles, stroking her as he drove her on. Guiding her thrusts by the pressure of his fingertips against that small delicate button. When this was done, he was going to make damn sure he learned every spot on her body that made her move like this, feel like this.

  Pleasure built, low and heavy inside him, his balls tightened and Khost felt himself slipping away. Growing desperate, his hips twitching, thrusting, each stroke more crazed than the last. His fingers swept over her, faster and faster, all rhythm gone now as he just struggled to keep touching her, keep her moving.

  Then her muscles tensed around him, gripping harder around his cock and Khost watched as Nalla froze above him, her lips parted in a round ‘o’ right before she tossed back her head and cried out. One hand wrapped around his wrist, she pressed him harder against her as another shudder rocked through another body and his name whispered out past her lips on a harsh breath.

  “Khost.”

  That was it. The edge. Khost thrust deep inside her, losing all control as he thrashed in the leaves across the forest floor. His shout echoing hers and he heard a distant bird take wing, startled. Khost sagged into the ground, his hands falling to rest on Nalla’s thighs before he felt her move, easing off of him. His cock flopped against his thighs, wet and spent, and then Nalla was there, stretched out on the ground next to him. She laid her head again
st his shoulder.

  “I never thought—” he started but she touched his lips. Her finger still wet with her juices.

  “Shh. Can you feel that?”

  Her hand fell away and he tasted her. Sweet against his tongue. He felt a lot of things right now, none of them his brain was up for processing.

  “He’s coming.”

  And the moment the words had left her lips, Khost could feel the thunder building in the air. The temperature dropped, the world around him seemed to shiver, even the earth suddenly seemed to shrink out from under him. Khost sat up, startled. He started to shake his head, to scramble away when he turned to see Nalla lying on the ground, wearily staring up at him.

  “I told you he’d come.”

  “I know, but I thought...” He glanced down, still naked. Nalla gave a bark of laughter.

  “Dressing won’t make him any easier to face. Trust me. I know.”

  There was a flash of pain in her eyes that someday, Khost knew he was going to ask her about. But for now, he sank back down onto the forest floor beside her and took Nalla’s hand in his. “Will you stay?”

  “Of course.” She reached up to touch the necklace hanging around her neck. “I have something of his anyway. Might as well give it back. Now that I’m no longer alone.”

  For a moment, she looked scared, fear touching her eyes. “Unless, of course, he forgives you...”

  This time it was Khost who reached out to lay fingers against her lips. “No. I’m not going back. Whether or not me and you end up together forever, I don’t know. But we’ll both be here, we’ll both know that we’re not alone. That we made this choice.”

  Nalla started to smile when a loud voice thundered through the air around them. “How touching.”