“Should I tire of this existence, I’ll let you know.” He hesitated again. “What of our bond?”
I examined my hand. The wound hadn’t crossed my mind since it healed. “I’m not certain it can be severed. Our bond strengthened through use. I believe it will fade if we cease to use it.”
“So we will keep our connection for now.” He bobbed his head. “Good. If our bond doesn’t fade, or causes you grief, find me. We will search for a way to give you the peace you deserve.”
“Ah. I thought I smelled him.” Vaughn paused by my side. “He came to apologize?”
“To say goodbye.” I rubbed Brynmor’s ears. “I think he’s tired of pretending to be a pet.”
Vaughn bowed to him. “Brother Canis, your aid was much appreciated. May your pack find peace and prosper on my clan’s lands. You and yours are welcome here as long as I am paladin.”
Brynmor dipped his head. “May the two gods bless you and your wife. May your reign be great.” With a flick of his tail, Brynmor trotted into the forest. “Oh,” he said in parting. “You’re welcome to Kira as a companion if you like. She’s young, curious. She was impressed with you.”
I suppressed a chuckle. His offer smacked of propaganda. See how the maven’s companion animal is so well-behaved? Surely the canis of our forests are good and noble creatures as well.
“Once tempers cool, I will meet with her and make my determination.”
“I will tell her to expect you.” He sauntered off. “Remember your promise.”
“Farewell.” Once he was out of sight, I added, “May the gods bless and keep you.”
Vaughn raked his fingers through my hair. I sensed his indecision in the absentminded tug at my roots. Before his combing knotted my hair, I captured his hand and pulled myself to my feet.
I drummed my fingers across his chest. “Am I still waiting?”
The evening was young and the air fresh. Life crowded us in the shape of stately trees and throaty canis song. A cool breeze sighed past my cheek and carried the familiar scent of water.
All of a sudden, the rushing noise made sense. So did the dampness of the grotto.
A spurt of anticipation led me to give Vaughn an impulsive kiss.
He touched his cheek. “What was that for?”
While he was dazed, I spun aside and broke into a sprint. “I’ll race you to the river.”
I didn’t wait for his acceptance. Four steps later, hot breath hit my nape.
By the gods, the male moved fast when he wanted.
Soft lights flickered ahead. I used them as my guide. Faster and faster I ran. Vaughn’s hands grasped for me, his fingers sliding down my back without purchase. Laughter was our language. Neither of us had air or words for what we felt beyond exhilaration. Yips and barks rose from all around. Blurs of black and silver, brown and red, sped past. Canis nipped at our heels, herding us nearer to the lights and the rush of churning water. Sound stuffed my ears and sensation reigned.
Sharp barks from a black canis sent the others veering from our trail onto his. Weaving through trees slowed Vaughn enough for me to maintain the lead. One final surge and I burst into a meadow, stumbling as I gaped up at a plunging waterfall.
Thick arms circled my waist and kept me from toppling into the frothy basin.
“Well?” He panted in my ear. “Was it worth the wait?”
I was breathing heavily too. “How have I never heard of this?”
“Old Father knows.” He reeled me closer. “I’m glad he kept the location to himself.”
Of course he’d found his way here. This much cycling energy would have been irresistible.
“I’m used to the river, a steady flow of cleansing energy, but this…” My pulse raced against the flow. “It’s making me lightheaded.” Skin tingling, I held a hand out and energy prickled past my elbow, up my shoulder to jolt my heart. Heady, vital, I was giddy from exposure. “I like it.”
His voice rumbled against my throat. “I thought we could use this place for…meditation.”
“How considerate you are of my spiritual needs.” I tilted my head, giving him better access.
“Your needs are of utmost importance to me.” His fangs scraped my skin. “All your needs.”
Potent as this place was, it paled in comparison to Vaughn. Energy ebbed and flowed, swept me into a warm pool of liquid desire that made my voice go husky. “And if I said I needed you?”
He groaned. “Then I would say a better male would wait until you wore his ring.”
I lifted my hand, wiggled my fingers and his signet glinted. “I happen to have such a ring.”
For a moment, he tensed. I held my breath and waited to see whether he played along.
I needn’t have worried.
His chuckle blew hot along my nape. “Are you trying to seduce me?”
I grinned. “Are you trying to imply it’s not working?”
“Are you ready for this, for me?” His voice softened. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
“Are you always so talkative?” I tested my courage, reached behind me and traced the hard line of flesh pressed against my backside. His shaft was thick and full, and he swore at my touch.
His forehead hit my shoulder. “Gods above and below, you’ll be the death of me.”
I liked the feel of him in my hand, liked that he couldn’t see the furious blush to my cheeks.
In this place, I was bold. In his arms, I was safe. In my life, I would never forget this night.
I licked my lips, scrounging every ounce of brashness I possessed. “Touch me.”
Vaughn’s hands trembled when he set them on my hips.
Lips twisting into a wry grin, I slid his hand upward. “I expected something more intimate.”
He sounded patient. “I’m trying to be gentle.”
I stroked him through the fabric of his pants. “What if I don’t want you to be gentle?”
He pried my hand free and turned me toward him, cupping my face, reading my expression.
“Then I’ll give you what you want.” He was earnest. “I’ll give you everything you want.”
Vaughn claimed my mouth with an edge of hunger that left me breathless. My nails dug into his wrists where I held them, anchoring him to me, refusing to let him give me anything less than all of him. When his kiss turned urgent and his hips rocked against mine, I whimpered for more.
Ever so gently, his lips began a downward glide. His hands angled my face, gave him access to my throat. Teeth rasped over tender skin. With a groan, he struck, melding his mouth over the pulse hammering in my neck. Fire burst from that pinprick of pain to fan white-hot through my chest. My nipples puckered for his kiss. Sweet heat spread through my stomach and settled into a slow throb between my legs. Venom spun another thread between us, binding us closer, tighter.
I cradled his head, welcomed his bite, melted against him as my skin tingled. I was alight.
Feathered kisses soothed the tiny wound. Vaughn’s breath was ragged in my ear.
“I can feel you burning.” He shuddered. “I’ve never felt that before.”
I was pleased to share his new experience. “You’ve never had your life thread tied before.”
“No.” Hazy desire kept his eyes out of focus.
Stretching tall, I nipped at his collarbone, the highest point on him I could reach.
Chills broke along his skin, and I sensed the final strands of his restraint dissolve.
Tracing his way from my hips, up my sides, over my shoulders, he reached my shirt collar. I watched him work the buttons, felt his unsteady hands smooth aside the fabric and cup my breasts, skin to skin, for the first time. His head dipped, lips parted on a kiss my spine arched to meet. Warmth encased my nipple. I clung to Vaughn while he tasted me. Let his hands roam across my curves.
The buttons on my pants were no obstacle. He freed them, shoved the material past my hips, down my thighs. The night was warm, but still I shivered. He nipped his way across my h
ipbone, tugging clothing past my ankles as he went. Once my feet hit the grass, he spread my legs wider.
His nips grew softer, turned to slow kisses as his mouth trailed downward.
I fisted his hair, his shirt. He hummed as if he enjoyed those things. Gripping the insides of my thighs, he kept them parted as he gave me a different sort of kiss. One that shattered me, left me boneless, slumped down his back. His arms around my knees were all that kept me upright.
Locking his wrists behind my legs, he stood with me slung over his shoulder.
I should have argued. I should have fought. I should have demanded that he set me down. I tired of males toting me around when I had two perfectly good feet, even if my knees were weak.
But Vaughn’s hand slid higher until his finger traced my sex and I forgot my complaint.
He carried me from the basin, where rocks interspersed the grass, to a plusher area beneath a canopy of trees. He set me on my feet while he tossed his shirt and shucked his pants, his boots.
Moonlight filtered through the leaves and dappled his skin. Muscles bulged in his shoulders. His arms flexed when he straightened. He stood silently and let me look my fill. I dared to follow the dusting of hair from his chest, down his taut abdomen. I was breathing heavy, more lightheaded now than ever, fascinated when his erection thickened, lengthened as I stared.
He knelt again, and my legs spread of their own accord. He chuckled, walking me forward. I straddled his hips, and he wrapped an arm around my waist, then bent my knees, leaned me back, followed me down to the ground and covered me with his body. Vaughn braced over me, biting his lip as if deciding where he should begin. I solved his problem by slipping a hand between us.
I found his shaft and let my fingers measure his length. His skin was hot and silken, the feel of him addictive. As I stroked him, his hips rolled against me. Friction made me arch under him, dig my heels into the ground and push to meet his thrusts. He palmed my breast and thumbed the nipple as he rocked with me into oblivion. Ripples of pleasure kept me too weak to ask for more.
“We can stop now.” His gaze was hot, yearning, concerned.
Flutters erupted in my stomach, stoking embers of dying ecstasy. “You won’t hurt me.”
He studied me a moment longer. “I’ve never…”
“Hush.” I grasped his shoulders and nudged him until we lay on our sides. “I won’t break.”
I rested my head on his biceps, and he curled his arm around me. Our gazes held as he lifted my topmost thigh and hooked it over his hip. His erection nudged my core, hot and insistent. Our lips met, and his tongue explored my mouth until his kiss left me breathless. His breath hitched, held, my only warning before he gripped my thigh and surged forward. I cried out, fingernails pricking his shoulder, returning pain with pain. His growl vibrated through his chest into mine. His thrusts gentled, his seeking mouth found my throat. Fangs pierced me. Fresh venom plumped my veins.
Heat seared me, lit my skin on fire for his possession. I gasped and clawed at him, drew him deeper in me. I rocked my hips against his, claimed his mouth until he was the one whose lungs failed him. He murmured my name, begged me, and I relished his words of desire on my tongue.
His thrusts turned longer, harder. I held my breath, savored the slow burn of venom building pressure low in my gut. I rode his hip, muscles coiled too tight to release. The brush of his thumb down the seam of my sex made me buck against him. He parted my folds, found the heart of me, flicked that delicate nub with expert fingers, and I screamed his name as the world burned away.
I kissed Vaughn’s face, his neck, encouraged him with soft whimpers. His strokes gained a desperate edge. Salt from his skin tempted me to flick out my tongue and taste him. He gasped, a sound I took as permission to lick the column of his throat…and sink my fangs deep in his neck.
He shouted in surprise, crushed me against his chest as he came inside me.
We lay in a tangle of limbs. Pale light from the breaking dawn made fanciful patterns across Vaughn’s skin. I traced a star pattern, wanting to keep our connection unbroken as long as possible. I sensed our new, physical bond was smoothing the rough edges of our life threads.
His voice, when he found it, was graveled. “You bit me.”
“I’m sorry.” I kept my head down and my smile to myself.
“Liar.” He forced my head up to study my expression. “You enjoyed it.”
I flexed the leg still draped over his hip. “I’m not the only one.”
“A love bite.” He traced the puncture, and his gaze ran hot with approval. “Another first.”
Pride swelled my chest. I had brought that blissful expression to his handsome face. When he cupped my breast, I was loath to remind him, “We promised we’d return before first meal.”
“Did we?” His thumb flicked my nipple.
I arched into his touch. “Vaughn.”
“I like the way my name sounds on your lips.” His hips shifted, and we both groaned. “I like the way your soft body welcomes mine.” He kneaded my thigh. “Gods know I love you, Mana.”
His slow kiss settled into my bones as if he belonged there. When our fingers linked and our bodies surged, I forgot everything but the male cupping my face, forcing my gaze to his, making me see how he cherished me. I did my best to show him he was half of my soul, and all my heart.
And when pleasure wrung his name from me, I put all I knew of love into that single word.
About the Author
Hailey is a wife turned mother turned writer, who loves her husband, her daughter and alone time with her computer. Whenever southern living strikes her as too ordinary, she can be found squinting at her monitor as she writes her next happily-ever-after or with her nose glued to her Kindle’s screen. Wings and/or cupcakes are usually involved…
She loves to hear from readers at [email protected].
You can also swing by www.haileyedwards.net for all her latest news.
Look for these titles by Hailey Edwards
Now Available:
Daughters of Askara
Everlong
Evermine
Eversworn
Araneae Nation
A Hint of Frost
Steal the salt. Bind the grimoire. Escape the male.
Eversworn
© 2012 Hailey Edwards
Daughters of Askara, Book 3
When an exchange of stolen goods in the Feriana marketplace turns sour, Isabeau stumbles from the encounter bruised and laden with new orders to complete an even larger heist. With her child’s life at stake, there’s no room for error—or allies.
Armed with a lethal book of spells, she strikes a dangerous bargain with Roland Bernhard. Steal a shipment of salt from the Feriana colony, and she’ll have her freedom—and her daughter. It’s all she’s ever wanted. At least it was…until she runs into Dillon Preston.
Dillon is out of commission after a mine explosion, and itching for a distraction. He gets it when the female who saved his leg arrives at the colony with nothing but flimsy excuses and even flimsier attire. She’s after something, but is it him—or the salt?
Trapped in a desperate bid to gain true freedom, Isabeau is willing to sacrifice her life for her daughter’s, but Dillon has other plans. He wants a package deal, and he’s not willing to lose either female, even if it means the future king of Sere’s head will roll.
Warning: This title contains a heroine desperate to save her daughter and a hero determined to make them a family. It also includes wings, horns and other assorted appendages.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Eversworn:
“Don’t play with me. I promise you won’t like the outcome.” Fisting the front of my shirt, he dragged me precious inches nearer. “Answer me.” His voice lowered. “What kind of male lets his female take all the risks and then leaves her alone in the desert?” He was careful of me. Not gentle, not rough, either. He took pains not to hurt me. Yet. He snarled, “Where is your mate?”
I shoved at him. “I don’t have one.”
His lips parted, and I waited for his next accusation.
None came. His grip tightened as he dragged me closer. “Damn you.” His head lowered, and his mouth covered mine. His lips were hard, his kiss angry. One arm circled my back and flattened me to him while his other hand tangled his fingers in my hair. Most of it had fallen loose, and he wound the thick strands around his fist and tore our mouths apart. Panting hard, he scowled down at me as if this were all somehow my fault. He was tense, and his fury vibrated along his skin. I pushed at his chest in an effort to put space between us, but he wasn’t having any of it. He molded me to him until his heartbeat pounded on my chest. His eyes were mirror-bright and full silver. It was a small crack in his glamour, his second today. What did that mean?
“Let me go, please.” I shoved at him again. “I’ll answer what questions I can, I promise.”
“I don’t think I can.” Burying his face in my neck, he inhaled. His tongue slipped out to lick the sweat from my skin, and my lungs deflated on a sigh that coaxed a pained groan from Dillon.
He shivered in my arms, and I held him, stroking across his shoulder and down his back as my mind churned with possibilities. “How are you feeling?” The cut to his neck might explain his fevered skin and racing heart. I had a theory that his time on Earth had lowered his resistance to bacteria native to Askara. Exposure to a new strain could make his old ailments flair, I thought.
“Just…give me…a minute.” Heavy panting dampened my neck, but his grip loosened and he managed to pull back and glare down at me. “Don’t move.” He stumbled from me. “I need air.” He pointed to the bench. “Sit your ass down.” He cupped the back of his neck as he turned.
“Wait.” I ran forward and touched his elbow. “Let me help you.”
“I don’t need your help.” His growl froze me in my tracks. “Don’t touch me.”
I would have said he was the one having trouble keeping his hands to himself, but I could use the reprieve. He could get his air and clear his head while I used his absence to clear mine. I watched him stalk to the mouth of the cave. If I so much as took a step, he would hear me. Even with his leg still on the mend, he wasn’t a male I wanted to cross. I wasn’t going to go anywhere.
A Feast of Souls: Araneae Nation, Book 2 Page 27
