Night of the Tiger (Hades' Carnival)

by N. J. Walters

  A breath caught in her throat as the last of her internal injuries was repaired. It was an amazing and scary thing. Roric bowed his head, his body swaying. She realized that the more alert she became, the weaker Roric got.

  She hadn’t given her life for him just to see him kill himself saving her. Wrenching away from him, she rolled out of his reach. The band of light connecting them stretched and then snapped. Aimee cried out as the unexpected backlash ricocheted through her body.

  Roric gave a yell and toppled over, hitting the cold ground with a heavy thud.

  Aimee scrambled over to his side, calling his name. “Roric! Roric! Don’t you do this to me,” she commanded as she patted his cheeks with her hand. “If you die, I’ll kill you.” She knew she wasn’t making any sense, but she didn’t care. All that mattered was that Roric lived.

  His eyes remained closed, but one corner of his mouth kicked up in a lazy grin. “I wouldn’t want you to have to kill me.” Then he opened his eyes and met her concerned gaze.

  She didn’t know whether or not to smack him or hug him. He deserved the smack, but she was so damn happy she flung herself on top of him. He caught her in his arms, closing them around her. Aimee felt as though she’d come home. She started laughing and crying at the same time. “You’re okay. You’re alive.”

  He sat up, taking her with him. Rotating his neck, he flexed his arm muscles. “So it seems. And better than ever.”

  “What did you do to me?”

  He cupped her face in his large hands. “I shared my immortality with you. You are my mate. The tiger knew it even if I wouldn’t admit it to myself.”

  Suddenly shy, she ducked her head downward, but Roric wasn’t having any of it and tilted her head up until she met his gaze. “Did you mean what you said?”

  She knew what he wanted and gave it freely. After what they’d been through, there was no place for anything but absolute honesty. “Yes.” She traced her fingers over his jaw, feeling the muscle jump. “I love you.”

  “Be with me. Forever.”

  “What about the Lady? What about your fellow warriors?” She knew Roric well enough to know he couldn’t just abandon them.

  He leaned down and kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her nose and finally, her lips. “We will continue to search for a way to free them all.”

  We. She liked the sound of that.

  “Our home base can be here. You can continue your work, and we will search for the others. Well?”

  He was waiting patiently because he already knew her answer. There was only one she could give him. She’d sealed her fate when she’d climbed onto his back to ride him. “Yes. Yes, I want to be with you. Yes, I’ll love you for eternity.” She kissed his very sexy mouth, unable to resist.

  Roric surged to his feet with her in his arms. The man’s strength was incredible. He carried her into the house and kicked the door shut behind him. Aimee rested her head on his shoulder. Their life together was just beginning.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Aimee stared at the ceiling, totally exhausted. Light was beginning to brighten the room, a sure sign that dawn was breaking. Roric had been insatiable since he’d brought her up to her bedroom last night, laid her on the bed and stripped her naked. She’d lost count of the number of times they’d made love. It was as though he couldn’t get enough of her.

  She curled her toes and smiled. Not that she was complaining. Roric stirred beside her. She rolled onto her side and propped her head up on her hand, ignoring the sheet as it slithered down around her waist. She didn’t bother to pull it up. He opened his eyes and she smiled at him. “Good morning.”

  The corners of his mouth turned up into a sexy smile. “It is a very good morning.” He clamped his hand over her hip and tugged. She gave a yelp of surprise and landed on top of him.

  He cupped her ass in his hands and pulled her close. His erection was hot and hard against her belly. “Now it’s even better.” His low, suggestive tone set her heart pounding.

  Would there ever come a time when she wasn’t affected by his touch, his voice? She honestly didn’t think so. He regarded her through hooded eyes. He looked sleepy and sated, but she wasn’t deceived, not for a minute. He was like the tiger, ready to pounce at a moment’s notice.

  He rubbed his hands over her butt, squeezing and shaping the mounds. She bit her lip to keep from moaning aloud. She wanted to talk. There had been no time last night.

  Propping her arms on his chest, she raised herself up. The action drove her mound tighter against his erection. She sucked in a deep breath. “How can you possibly want me again?” She honestly still couldn’t comprehend that this sexy, immortal warrior had claimed her as his own. Besides that, the man had to be exhausted after last night. Spent.

  He lifted his hands and sifted them though her hair. Gripping the sides of her face, he pulled her down until their lips were barely touching. “I will always want you, Aimee.”

  Her heart melted. And that wasn’t the only spot. Liquid, hot and thick, flowed from her core. Her nipples pebbled. He shifted, brushing his chest hair against her breasts.

  “I want to talk,” she moaned. They had to make plans, figure out what they were going to do from here. Then there was that whole comment about him sharing his immortality with her. What exactly did he mean by that? She didn’t feel any different.

  “Later,” he promised. He kissed her lips, her nose and her chin. “Now, I have to have you.” He pounced, capturing her mouth with his. He sank his tongue inside, teasing hers into tangling with his. He tasted so good, hot and male.

  Aimee dug her fingers into his shoulders. The man was hard everywhere. She’d never met anyone like him in her life. Of course, he was an immortal warrior, and there weren’t too many of them around.

  Rational thought slipped away as he cupped the back of her head and deepened the kiss. The greedy crush of his lips left her breathless and wanting more. She slid one of her hands down his chest and over his hip. Levering herself up slightly, she closed her hand around his cock. It throbbed against her palm, hot and heavy. He growled a low, guttural sound that vibrated through his chest.

  Her head shot up at the sound. His eyes seemed to gleam in the early morning light. He looked every inch the predator he was. Not that she minded being his prey. In fact, the idea of him stalking her so he could take her sexually was very stimulating.

  Roric reached down and gripped her wrist, tugging her hand away from his erection. She frowned. “That’s not fair.”

  “Fair or not, I’m too close to the edge. I want you too much.” He clasped her hips and rubbed her mound against his cock.

  The fact that he wanted her so badly, even after having her a half dozen times last night, was heady stuff. She spread her legs, bringing her sex in full contact with his hard length. It rubbed her swollen clit with each stroke. Breathing was becoming more difficult by the moment.

  Heat radiated from Roric as he stroked himself against her. Her inner muscles contracted. She felt empty, needing him to fill her. Only he could make the growing ache go away.

  She braced her hands on his shoulders and pushed until she was in a seated position. The sheet slithered away, leaving them both exposed. She came up on her knees, gripped his cock in her hands and guided the broad head to the opening of her channel.

  His fingers gripped her hips, but he didn’t stop her. He arched his hips, pressing the flared head of his cock past the tight muscles of her slit. They both sucked in their breath at the intimate contact. No matter how many times he made love to her, the feeling of having him inside her always felt new and indescribable. It was as though he completed her in some basic way that went far beyond the physical. And deep in her heart, she knew she did the same for him.

  He pushed past the initial resistance and sank into her heated depths. She hissed as he went deep. She was tender after last night, but not enough to stop. Still, he’d heard the sound she made, saw the slight grimace on her face and stopped.

&n
bsp; “You’re too sore for this. I’m sorry, Aimee.” He started to withdraw. His eyes darkened with self-recrimination.

  Aimee wasn’t having any of it. She reached behind, found the sensitive sac between his thighs and cupped it, squeezing gently. Roric immediately groaned and stopped trying to pull away from her. She took immediate advantage, pushing down hard and taking all of him into her body.

  Initially her inner muscles protested but, within seconds, she could feel them softening around his cock, accepting him.

  “Aimee,” he growled.

  “What?” She gave him her most innocent smile.

  He shook his head in mock dismay. “It is my right, my duty to take care of you. You’re making it very difficult for me to do that.”

  “Hmm,” she answered as she began to rotate slowly, rising up slightly before taking his shaft all the way back in. “Duty, is it?”

  “Yes,” he gritted out from between clenched teeth.

  She massaged his balls on final time before releasing them. “What I need is for you to make love to me. So it’s your duty to do just that. Am I right?” She closed her eyes and rose up until only the head of his cock was still inside her. Slowly, she slid over him until she was sitting on his groin once again.

  He moved so fast she could barely grab a breath before she found herself flat on her back, staring up at her lover. Aimee was reminded that she wasn’t dealing with a normal man.

  His hair fell over his shoulders and framed his exotic face. The black and white stripes were unique, but they suited him, giving him a wild, untamed appearance. His features were hard and wholly masculine, except for the long sweep of his black eyelashes. His eyes gleamed as he hooked his arms beneath her legs and planted his hands by her waist. The motion left her wide open to him and unable to control his penetration.

  “Never let it be said that I failed in my duty.” He began to thrust. In and out, controlling each stroke. Aimee had awakened the sleeping tiger, but she wasn’t the least bit frightened. No, she felt…smug. She was going to get exactly what she wanted.

  She tilted her pelvis up to meet each sensual downward stroke. Roric leaned down and lapped at one of her distended nipples. It puckered tighter as he blew on it.

  “Roric,” she moaned.

  “What?” he asked. “I am doing my duty, am I not?” He nuzzled his way over to her other breast, this time sucking the nipple into his mouth.

  “I’ve created a monster.”

  He caught her nipple lightly between his teeth and tugged. When he released it, he lapped at the turgid bud. “No, you’ve released the animal.”

  She sensed his slight unease and sought to reassure him. She gripped the sides of his face in her hands. “I love you. All of you. Tiger and man. I love the way you want me.” It was important to her that he understood that.

  “Aimee.” He gathered her close and rolled again. She found herself on top of him once again, looking down. “Take me. Whatever you need. Whatever you want.”

  There was no more time for teasing. He needed her as much as she needed him. She set a fast pace, rising and falling on his shaft. Roric cupped her breasts, teasing her nipples with his thumbs as she rode him hard.

  His cock was throbbing, growing even larger inside her. She felt stretched and full as his erection plunged into her over and over.

  Roric let one of his hands slide down her torso. His fingers pushed through her pubic hair and found the hard nub of nerves at the apex of her thighs. One touch of her clit was all it took to shove her over the edge.

  Aimee cried out as she came. Her sheath gripped him, squeezing hard. He gave a raw moan, and then she felt the hot spurt inside her as he came. He grabbed her hips and drove his shaft hard and deep several more times. Her inner muscles rippled, sending shivers through her entire body, and she whispered his name like a prayer, over and over, as her orgasm consumed her.

  She collapsed on top of him, confident he would catch her. He did, drawing her into his arms and tucking her head into the curve of his shoulder. “Mine,” he whispered, rubbing his hands over her back and arms. He snagged a corner of the sheet and tugged it over her.

  They lay in bed, content simply to be in each other’s arms, until the rising sun brightened the bedroom. It was Aimee who broke the silence. “What did you mean when you said you shared your immortality with me? I mean, I know you gave me some of your life essence, your power, in order to heal me. But what exactly does that mean? Am I changed in any way?”

  Roric sat in bed, lifting her easily. He leaned back against the headboard and positioned her so she was lying across his lap with her head pillowed against his arm. He tucked a damp strand of hair behind her ear, his touch gentle and caring. “I could not let you die, Aimee. By sharing my life force with you, I gifted you with immortality.” His eyes grew dark and he shook his head. “I had no idea such a thing was even possible until I did it.”

  He sifted his fingers through her hair before trailing them over her neck. Tingles of pleasure followed in their wake. “I did that without asking you. There was no time to do so. I do not regret what I have done. Do you?”

  She caught his hand in hers and raised it to her lips, planting a kiss on each finger. “No, I don’t regret it. How could I?” The man had risked everything to save her life. That showed her the true depth of his commitment to her.

  But she still had questions. “Do I have powers now? Will I heal faster? Am I the same other than the fact I’ll live forever?” Her mind whirled with the possibilities.

  Roric shook his head, sending several strands of his hair to brush against her face. The sensual caress stole her breath away. “I don’t know. We will have to learn as we go. This is a first in my world. None of the warriors has ever done such a thing. As I said, I had no idea it could be done.”

  Aimee thought about that and nodded. “I guess that will have to be good enough for now.” She shifted, ignoring Roric’s shaft, which was stirring to life next to her hip. Honestly, the man was an animal. She almost giggled aloud at her unintentional joke. The man really was an animal. Her tiger.

  She tightened her arms around him and gave him a hug. “Where do we go from here?”

  She felt the change in him immediately. Tension thrummed though him, his muscles hardening beneath her touch. “I have to find the carnival and the carousel.”

  Aimee shook her head. “No. We need to find it.”

  Some of the tension seeped out of him, but he was still on alert. “Hades has lost his hold on me. He will not accept this defeat lightly. He will make it all but impossible for us to find the others.”

  What went unsaid between them was that they had no idea how Hades would deal with the other warriors due to the loss of the tiger. Of the four released, only one had gone over to the dark side. Two had been killed, and only one had escaped the clutches of the vengeful god.

  “We’ll look. In this day and age, it’s almost impossible to hide anywhere. I don’t care if you are an ancient god. People have cell phones and post pictures online all the time. We’ll just start watching all the social networking pages and the news.” There was a lot they could find out by surfing the Internet. Aimee’s mind began to race with everything she’d have to do to get the search started.

  Roric caught her chin beneath his fingers and lifted it until she was looking right at him. “Thank you, Aimee. You have no idea what it means to me that you’re willing to take on this burden.”

  She swallowed hard as emotion threatened to push her to tears. The look in his eyes was almost her undoing. She could see hope and love shining through, but it was tempered by his fear and longing for his comrades and the goddess he claimed as his own.

  “They’re a part of you. I understand that. They came before me. You can’t just forget them and you shouldn’t. You wouldn’t be the man I fell in love with if you could. Besides—” she gave him a watery grin, “—I didn’t save your life so you could go traipsing off on your own and get killed.”


  He laughed and gave her a gentle squeeze. “Enough lolling in bed, woman. Time to dress and eat and get down to business”

  He threw his legs over the side of the bed and rose with her still in his arms. The man was as strong as an ox, treating her weight as though it was nothing. It made her feel sexy and cared for. Not exactly what an independent, modern woman should admit, but that didn’t change the fact that it aroused her.

  She ignored the sexual pull low in her belly. She really was too sore for another bout of lovemaking, and they did have other business to attend to. And speaking of business. “I have to finish the sketches for the comic I’m working on. If I push it, I can have it done in a few days. That check will buy me some breathing room, and I’ll be able to take some time off and really dig into the search for the carnival. In the meantime, I can get the basic searches going.”

  Her mind was already making lists of things she had to do. Buying more groceries was a priority. Feeding an immortal warrior wasn’t going to be cheap. “We’ll need to go to town and do some shopping for you too.” Roric would need modern clothing if he was going to fit in.

  Roric paused halfway between the bedroom and the bathroom. “I know you have obligations you need to tend to. It would not be honorable to do otherwise. But, Aimee, you do not need to worry about money.”

  The last thing she wanted him to think was that she was more worried about money than about searching for his friends. “I’m not worried,” she hurried to reassure him. “I’ve got savings. Plus, I don’t have many expenses. I own my home outright. My parents had a good insurance policy that took care of that.”

  He squeezed her tight. “Thank you. It means everything to me that you would share your wealth with me. But there is no need. I will take care of you.” He continued walking down the hall toward the bathroom.

  “How?” She couldn’t exactly picture Roric getting a job at the local gas station. He was too independent to work for anyone else. Then there was the fact that he still didn’t know much about the modern world and its technology. Well, he knew about it in theory, but the practical applications were going to take him a little longer to adjust to. It was going to be a steep learning curve, but she knew he’d pick things up quickly. There was no doubting his intelligence.