Amanda tasted him in a way she'd never tasted any man before. As their tongues danced, she could feel him all the way to her soul. She'd never in her life been bold in bed. But then she'd never wanted a man like this.
With the whole of her.
Tears welled in Amanda's eyes as she buried her lips against his collarbone, over the scar where Valerius had dragged his ring and left it bloody.
Such strength. Such love. She would give anything to have a man love her the way he had loved his wife.
More to the point, she wanted Hunter to love her. She wanted his heart. She wanted this man who knew what love was, who understood commitment and compassion.
Whether he would admit it or not, he needed her.
No man should walk eternity alone. No one should ever be hurt the way he'd been hurt. Not when his only crime was loving someone more than he had loved himself.
Her breath mixed with his as she climbed up his body and straddled his waist.
Kyrian groaned as he realized she wore nothing beneath his T-shirt. Her thighs were hot and moist as she slid herself against his bare stomach, igniting a fire deep inside him that needed her so much it terrified him.
Push her away.
But he couldn't. Not tonight. Not after the nightmare that was still fresh in his mind.
Right or wrong, he needed comfort. He wanted to feel loved again. He wanted to know the softness of a woman's hands on his body. The scent of Amanda on his skin.
Kyrian shook as she reached down and wrapped her hand around him. "Oh gods," he breathed against her lips. No one had touched him like this in over two thousand years.
His entire body throbbed and ached as she stroked his hot, rigid shaft.
Today, he would have her. There was no way he could push her away now.
His breathing ragged, he trembled from the feel of her fingers gripping him, her palm brushing up, along his shaft, then down to the base where she cupped him gently. Her fingers skimmed the underside of him, making him even harder, hotter, until he thought he would burst from it.
He trailed his hands slowly over her body, savoring every dip and curve. Savoring the feel of her soft skin and the T-shirt against his palms and fingers. He nuzzled her neck and for the first time since his Dark-Hunter incarnation, he felt an overwhelming urge to feed off a human.
The sound of her blood coursing through her veins filled his ears. Her raw energy beckoned him, making the Dark-Hunter in him long to sample her life force.
It was forbidden. No Dark-Hunter was supposed to puncture a human neck. And yet as he stroked the hollow of her throat with his tongue, the deep-seated need burned in him.
He grazed her neck with his fangs and it took every piece of control he had not to taste the blood he could feel rushing under his lips. He felt the chills spread over her body, making the nipple under his hand even tighter.
Pulling back with a growl, he latched onto her mouth and kissed her deeply as he slid his hand under the T-shirt, to the dark triangle between her legs.
He groaned at the feel of those tiny hairs teasing his fingers as he carefully separated them and touched her for the very first time.
She jumped in surprise, then moaned a welcoming murmur as she quickened her fairy strokes on his shaft.
Kyrian couldn't believe how wet she was already. Gods, how he wanted her. Wanted to taste every inch of her flesh. To drive himself deep into her fiery heat.
But he resisted because he wanted to savor the moment. Wanted to explore her tenderly, slowly.
He wanted this morning to last forever.
"You taste so good," he whispered as he ripped the T-shirt from neck to hem, pulled it from her, and threw it to the floor. He nibbled a path from her neck to her breasts.
Amanda arched her back as he gently teased her nipple with his tongue and fangs. The feel of those sharp teeth on her skin made her burn like lava.
Once more he dipped his hand back down between their bodies and touched her where she ached most. His fingers swirled around her, teasing and soothing, delving and stroking, making her burn even more for him as he slid them deep inside her and made hot, sweet love to her with his hand.
"I want you, Hunter," she breathed against his lips. "I've never wanted anyone like this."
He smiled, showing her his fangs as he rolled her over to lie beneath him with an ease of strength that awed her.
Amanda moaned at the feel of his hard, lean body on top of hers. His weight stole her breath and she wrapped her legs around his hips.
He was all sinewy power. It rippled from his body into hers.
Those sleek, honed muscles flexed around her with every graceful move he made. But even more captivating was the restrained power he showed. Like a fierce lion ready to strike.
She wanted more of him. She ached to feel him inside her. Ached to claim him in a way she knew no woman had claimed him in over two thousand years. She wanted this man's heart.
Even more, she wanted to claim him in a way no woman had ever claimed him before. She wanted to be everything he needed. His breath, his heart, but most of all his missing soul.
She wanted to give that back to him. To release him from his suffering. To free him from his past.
Arching her back, she kissed him deeply before she accidentally confessed her thoughts. Should he ever learn, she had no doubt he would pull away from her.
That was the last thing she wanted. So she summoned her repressed powers for the first time in over a decade and shielded her thoughts to hide her mind and her heart from him just in case he was still able to see inside her.
Today, she would be his comfort.
Kyrian growled at the sensation of Amanda's body beneath his. It had been so incredibly long since he had allowed himself to trust a woman like this.
Sweat broke out over his body as he left her breasts and nibbled her ribs, her hips, then he moved back up her body.
He wanted her with an inhuman need. Wanted things from her he dared not name. These thoughts of claiming her, of keeping her, should not be on his mind.
And yet they were.
Amanda ran her hand through his hair. She held him close as he nibbled his way from her lips to her throat, then down to her breasts where he took his time tasting her. His tongue circled her hardened nipple, teasing and stroking. He seemed insatiable as he devoured her like a starving man at a banquet.
Then slowly, carefully, he worked his way down her body. His long canine teeth scraped her skin with such tenderness that it amazed her. His hands burned her as he ran them beneath her hips. He slid his tongue down her hipbone, to her thigh.
He spread her legs wider and slowly laved his way up her inner thigh. She held her breath, writhing in anticipation of his touch.
When he hesitated, she looked down to find him staring up at her. The raw, possessive look on his face stole her breath.
His gaze held hers enthralled as he gently, slowly, ran his finger down her cleft, then back up. She shivered in response to his touch. He separated her tender folds, and took her into his mouth, all the while watching her.
Amanda cried out at the fierce ecstasy that ripped through her. No man had done that to her before.
He closed his eyes and moaned in a way that reverberated through her. His tongue slid in and around, making her entire body jerk and quiver with every sensuous lick he delivered.
Running her hand through his tousled curls, she arched her back, opening her legs wider to give him complete access to her.
Kyrian shook at the taste of her. He'd never wanted anything as much as he wanted this woman. There was something about her that drove him wild.
But he could feel his Dark-Hunter powers straining. Feel the animal in him awakening.
These were the powers he used when he fought or tracked. Powers that enabled him to sense his surroundings on a greater level. They made him aware of her heart pounding in her chest. Of the little tremors in her body that responded to his lips and tongue.
&n
Amanda clutched him to her as he continued to pleasure her. His fangs gently scraped her, sending a shudder through her. She opened her eyes and saw him intent upon his actions. It was as if he had zenned completely on her and nothing else.
He was sex, she realized. His very being was focused on her and her pleasure with the same intensity she was sure he only used to stalk the Daimons.
And when her release came, it was so fierce, so overwhelming, that she threw her head back and screamed out.
Still, he wasn't through with her. He growled as she released herself, but his licks never stopped. They became faster, stronger as he continued to feast on her body.
She hissed in pleasure.
It wasn't until she came twice more that he finally slowed. And even then he waited until the very last tremor had shaken her before he pulled away.
He rose up from between her legs and prowled up her body, slowly, methodically, like some hungry, powerful beast about to prey on its dinner.
His eyes flashed like jet, and his fangs were visible as he breathed raggedly.
"Look at me, Amanda," he commanded as he ran his hand down to her thigh. "I want to see your eyes when I take you."
Swallowing, she did as he asked.
He cupped her face in his hand and kissed her deeply, then he took her hand into his and guided it to his swollen shaft.
Without being told, she knew what he wanted. Arching her hips, she led him inside her, slowly, inch by long, full inch until he filled her deeply. She moaned at the sensation of his power inside her. At the hungry, needful look in his eyes.
As she started to pull her hand away, he covered it with his and held it against him.
The hunger in his eyes intensified. "I want you to feel us joined," he said raggedly.
Amanda swallowed as he slid himself between her fingers and went even deeper inside her. In and out. It was the most erotic, incredible thing she'd ever known.
They moaned simultaneously.
Amanda saw the pleasure on his face as he rocked himself forcefully against her hips. "Oh, Hunter," she breathed.
He paused and looked down at her. "It's not the Dark-Hunter inside you right now, Amanda. It's me, Kyrian."
Joy exploded through her as she realized what he was offering her. He had let her inside him the same way she had allowed him to enter her.
Reaching up, she cupped his face in her hands. "Kyrian," she breathed.
He smiled. "You feel even better than I thought you would," he said as she felt a shiver run over his body.
He dipped his head down and took her lips in a tender kiss as he delivered fierce, fast strokes to her. Hard, long, and deep. They tore through her, spiking pure bliss through her body.
"Oh, Kyrian," she moaned against his lips as she felt her pleasure building again.
No sooner had his name left her lips than something strange started happening to her. Something shifted inside her and she felt an erotic surge.
"Oh my," she breathed.
Suddenly, she could feel him feel her.
It was as if they were really one person. She felt him inside her and she could feel herself around him.
Kyrian struggled to breathe as he felt it, too. They stared into each other's eyes.
Amanda ran her hand down his back. She felt the caress down her own spine. It was the most incredible thing she'd ever experienced.
He quickened his strokes, and she clung to him, both of them out of their minds with volcanic need.
They came together in one fierce moment of sublime pleasure. Kyrian threw his head back and roared as he buried himself deep inside her. Amanda cried out as he shook in her arms.
She held him close as he collapsed on top of her. She cradled him with her body while she floated back to herself.
Then, to her deepest regret, she could feel him receding from her.
"What happened?" he breathed.
"I don't know, but it was wonderful. Incredible. The absolute best."
Laughing softly, he lifted his head and she frowned at the sight of his eyes in the dull candlelight. They were no longer black, but a strange hazel-green. "Kyrian?"
He looked around the room, then grimaced. "My powers are gone," he whispered. And it was then she felt weakness overwhelm him.
He could barely move.
Worse, she felt intense agony invade his skull as he placed the heel of his hand over his right eye and hissed.
"Oh, my God," she breathed as he lay beside her in complete misery. "What can I do?"
"Call Talon," he said between clenched teeth. "Dial two and a pound sign on the phone."
She rolled over to reach the nightstand and pulled the phone to her, then quickly dialed.
Talon answered on the second ring.
By the sound of Talon's voice, she could tell he'd been fast asleep. "What's wrong?" he asked calmly after she told him who she was.
"I don't know. I've done something to Kyrian."
"What do you mean?" he asked in a tone that told her he found it hard to believe she could do anything to his friend.
"I'm not sure. His eyes are a different color and he's doubled over in pain."
"What color are his eyes?"
"Green."
Talon fell silent for several rapid heartbeats before he spoke again. "Let me talk to him."
She handed the phone to Kyrian.
Kyrian gripped the phone as another wave of pain racked him. He'd never felt anything like this before. It was as if his Dark-Hunter and human halves were at war with one another.
"Talon," he breathed.
"Hey, buddy," Talon said. "You okay?"
"Hell, no. What's going on?"
"Offhand, I'd say you just found the way to drain out your Dark-Hunter powers. Congratulations, bud, you found your out-clause."
"Yeah, and I feel peachy keen about it, too."
"Don't be a smart-ass. The thing to remember is it's temporary. I think."
Not comforted by the doubt in Talon's voice, he asked, "How long?"
"I have no idea. I've never had my powers drained."
Kyrian hissed against another wave of pain.
"Stop fighting it," Talon snapped. "You're only making it worse. Just relax."
"Oh yeah, like you know."
Talon snorted. "Trust me, there are times to fight and this isn't one of them. Just go with it."
"Go with it, my ass. It's not that easy. It happens to feel like I'm being cleaved in two."
"I know," Talon said, his voice thick with sympathy. "What were you doing when you lost your powers?"
Kyrian cleared his throat as he cast a sheepish look to Amanda. "I ... um..." He hesitated with the explanation. The last thing he wanted to do was embarrass her.
But then, he didn't have to.
"Great Diarmuid Ua Duibhne," Talon roared, "you slept with her and it drained you, didn't it?"
Kyrian cleared his throat louder, then realized the futility of trying to hide something from a Dark-Hunter who could find out most anything he wanted to. "Nothing happened until the end."
"Ahhhh, I see," Talon said, dragging the words out as if something had become clear to him. When next he spoke, he sounded strangely like Dr. Ruth. "You know that moment you have after you come? When you're completely spent, sated, and helpless? Want to bet that's what sucked your powers out?"
Still, none of it made any sense to Kyrian. "The rest of you sleep with women all the time without this."
"Yeah, but every one of us has a different pressure point, you know that. In your mind you must equate that pinnacle moment with what made you a Dark-Hunter. Either that or maybe it was her powers. Maybe they fluxed with yours and sucked them out."
"That's insane."
"About as insane as the headache you have which is making my head hurt for you, by the way. Now hand me back to Amanda."
Kyrian did. "He wants to talk to you."
Amanda took the phone.
"Listen," Talon said, his voice stern and sharp. "We have a serious problem here. Kyrian is down until his powers return."
"How long?"
"I have no idea. But it'll probably be a while, and until then, he's human, and since he hasn't been human in over two thousand years, he's weak from it. Vulnerable."
Panic gripped her as she looked back at Kyrian. He still had one hand over his eyes and she could tell by the tautness of his body how much pain he felt.
"Will he be back to normal by sundown?"
"I hope so. Because if he's not, the Daimons will have him."
Her throat constricted as fear gripped her. The last thing she wanted was for him to be hurt because of her. "Can't you help him?"
"No. It's against our Code. We hunt alone. I can't go after Desiderius until Kyrian is dead."
"What kind of Code is that?" she shrieked.
"The kind that doesn't usually pierce my eardrum," Talon hissed. "Damn, girl, with that set of lungs, you have a bright future as an opera soprano."
"You're not funny."
"I know. None of this is. Now listen to me for a second. It's going to be embarrassing, can you handle it?"
His dire tone gave her pause. What was he going to say to her? "I think so."
"Good. Now, I think our problem stems from when Kyrian came. It's imperative that you not let him do that anymore. Because there's a real good chance it will drain his powers out of him again. You need to stay away from him."
Amanda's heart ached at his words. She reached out and touched Kyrian. "Okay," she breathed.
"All right. It's a little after seven right now. Do us both a favor and watch over him until Nick gets there."
"I will."
Talon said good-bye and she hung up the phone, then returned it to the nightstand.
Kyrian looked up at her and the pain she saw in his greenish eyes tore through her. "I only wanted to make it better. I never meant to hurt you."
He took her hand in his and held it gently. "I know."
He pulled her into his arms and held her close, but still she could feel the rigidness of his body.
"You made it better, Amanda," he breathed in her ear. "Don't take away what you gave me by feeling guilty."
"Is there anything I can do?"
"Just let me hold you for a little while."
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