“I’ll tell you what you can do, yo--” Mina began, trying to knee him in the chest in her precarious position. She never finished. Larus whipped her off his shoulder. Screaming she writhed as she became air-bound, falling toward the earth. She never hit. He caught her easily in his arms before gently lowering her to the ground. She glared at him, but it did little to stop his intent. Within seconds he had her mouth gagged.
“I warned you,” he said simply, tossing her wiggling form over his shoulder once more. He gripped her tightly in his arms, holding her around the upper thighs. She felt his touch all the way to her curling toes. “Though, I am somehow not surprised you didn’t listen.”
* * * *
Cupid looked down from his high perch in vast amusement. He still wasn’t happy about missing Larus with the dart, but things were turning out fine. The dark-haired human was feisty. He liked that, though she was still as ugly as a patch of flowers. She would give Larus plenty of grief. Besides, it was vastly amusing to see her bound in such a way.
The blonde human upset him some. She batted her hideous lashes and pursed her lips, but she had yet to throw her body onto Larus’s. She had yet to kiss the lycan king. Cupid shivered, knowing that even his strong stomach couldn’t handle seeing that show. Just the thought made him nauseous. Her firm lips, so full, so red, so bowed, pressed to Larus’s lycan mouth, flicking her horribly pink tongue between his lips.
Cupid moaned, grabbing his stomach. He swayed on his branch. His face turned green, draining of color as he felt bile burning in the back of his throat. The mere thought was too much. He couldn’t take it. He was going to...
Cupid gagged so hard, he retched violently down the tree’s side. He grabbed at the bark, trying to keep the world from swaying beneath him. Watching his meal fall to the ground, he hissed in anger. It had taken him a good week to decay that squirrel. Now what was he going to eat? It was hard to find rotted animals in the forest that weren’t picked apart by scavengers.
Irritable, he kicked the tree. Cupid yelped in surprise as pain shot through his already injured ankle. He lost hold of the branch and fell over, tumbling his way to the hard ground.
* * * *
Larus kept a fast pace as he made his way through the forest. Now that the dark one was quiet, he could think. Out of his lycan form, he was about a week away from Lycaon. He wasn’t sure if he should take the mortal women back to his home, or if he even wanted to, but he didn’t know what else to do with them.
He thought about taking them to Fenris, to Lord Malak’s keep. There was a portal near there, though not the one the troll would have used. Or, perhaps, he should take them before the elders. As soon as he thought it, Larus knew he should probably do that. The elders would fight over what to do with them, more than likely decide to seal the portals and keep the two women trapped in the magic realm. It was possible they’d make the women Larus’s permanent wards. He would be honor bound to care for them. With the dark one’s nearness already tormenting him, it wasn’t a prospect he relished.
As they walked, the blonde next to him made soft sounds, trying to draw his attention. He sighed in frustration and looked at her, wondering if she was simpleminded or simply under a spell. She smiled brightly at his attention and he nearly flinched at her insipid look.
Mina had stopped trying to kick him and now rested over his shoulder. He much preferred her to fight him. For, when she didn’t move, he had much time to contemplate the smell of her body, namely the part between her thighs, which was dangerously close to his head. The perfume made his mouth water to taste her, until he could practically feel her intimately against his tongue. Her backside was soft and womanly beneath his hand, making it hard not to caress her. A few times he purposefully stepped in a shallow hole, just so his hand had an excuse to bounce along her flesh. He’d forgotten how soft human bodies could be, how fragile compared to the steel muscles of his kind. Even lycan women were physically tough. The dominant hunter in him liked that softness very much.
“Sophia,” he said. “We will make camp here. Gather wood for a fire and stay close.”
“Yes, Larus,” she said, sighing prettily. She twirled a strand of her blonde hair between her fingers. On his shoulder, Mina grunted.
“Call for me if you run into trouble.” Larus stiffly nodded at her. He couldn’t keep his eyes from dipping down over her young body. She looked just as soft as her sister. Then why did his body want one and not the other? Maybe he was a glutton for torture, picking the ill-tempered over the fair. Though, he knew the hunter in him stirred to Mina. As badly as he wanted to claim her body, his mouth wanted to drink her blood. It was dangerous that he should feel such an impulse after so long.
Larus set Mina on the ground to look her over. She felt light in his arms, thin. When he let go, she swayed to the side, appearing close to fainting. He caught her up, holding her closer than he should have. She blinked in confusion only to glare up at him, every bit as angry as when he tied her up. He grinned, unable to help it. This woman had a lot of spirit.
“Do you promise to behave?” he asked. She vehemently shook her head in denial. He licked his lips, pleased to see her eyes following his tongue. Why was he torturing himself? He didn’t want her as his lover. Well, his body did want her, but his mind was stronger and it told him to dump her in the forest and run for the hills. His voice lowered a timbre, to a seductive rumble that had melted many stubborn women. “Very well. I have no wish to keep you tied, but it appears as if you enjoy it. Let me know what else you enjoy, my lady, and I’ll do my best to please you.”
Why did he just say that? He hadn’t meant to. What was it about her?
He didn’t think it possible, but her big eyes widened. Larus reached for her and took the gag from her mouth. Mina flexed her jaw and continued to glare hotly.
“Hate me as you wish, Lady Willamina,” Larus stated, pretending to be unconcerned. “But the gag was for your protection. Had you continued to yell and wake the dragons, we would have had to fight them off. They are ill-tempered when their sleep is disrupted and would have eaten you for sure. I might have been tempted to let them.”
“What did you do to my sister?” Mina demanded vehemently, ignoring his threat.
Larus looked at her in confusion. His hands were still on her body and it was distracting his train of thought. Heat unfurled in his stomach, hardening his shaft with molten desire. He shifted uncomfortably at her expectant look. “Did you not hear? I sent her for firewood.”
“Not that,” she snapped. “You know what I mean.”
“My heart!” Sophia called, coming toward him. “Will this do, my love? Or shall I gather you more?”
Larus looked uncomfortable. He quickly forced Mina to the ground, helping her so she wouldn’t fall. Without really looking, he mumbled, “Uh, yes, that is fine.”
He took the limbs from Sophia and moved away from both sisters to quickly build a fire. Keeping his back turned, he concentrated on pushing the blood from his lower extremities, back into his brain. As he lit the flame, he heard Sophia behind him saying softly, “No, I can’t release you, Mina. My lord tied you up and I will not go against him.”
Mina grunted in response and he hid his small grin. She was persistent, he’d give her that. Dusting off his hands, he looked from one woman to the other. “Stay here, Sophia. I go to hunt our dinner.”
Out of habit, he unknotted the tunic at his shoulder as he walked so that he could shift to better track their food. Hearing a small gasp behind him as the tunic dropped off his shoulders to hang around his waist, he stiffened. Larus decided it was best to undress in the forest out of the blonde one’s view. Already her eyes were a little starry when she looked at him.
Chapter Four
Mina cursed herself for gasping at Larus’s naked back. Luckily, Sophia had been too busy staring to notice her reaction to it. She knew he heard the sound, had seen it in the subtle shift of his weight when he moved. Let him think it was Sophia. Her sister was
already making a fool of herself.
“Sophia!” Mina demanded for the third time in a row. The woman simply wasn’t hearing her. “Sophia, untie me now or I will never forgive you.”
Sophia blinked, looking hurt. “It’s not my fault you can’t behave, Mina. Besides, I told you I can’t untie you. My sweet Larus doesn’t wish it and I live only to please him.”
Mina felt anger rolling in her chest. She was tired, hungry, and so damned frustrated she wanted to hit something--anything. Her legs were stiff, but had finally stopped tingling as they went blessedly numb from lack of movement. Forcing a calm breath, she tried to reason, “Sophia, listen to me. I love you. You’re my sister, my blood, and I love you. Now please. I promise to be good. Untie me.”
Sophia’s features softened as she looked at her sister. A smile crept to her lips. Her arms reached forward.
Finally! Mina thought.
“Oh, Mina,” Sophia said, throwing her arms over Mina’s bound body. “That’s so sweet of you to say. I love you, too! And it does my heart good to know you approve of my Larus. For I will tell you a secret,” leaning to her sister’s ear, she whispered, “I plan to marry him!”
Mina flinched as Sophia planted a kiss on her cheek. When her sister pulled away, she still wasn’t free. Mina made a weak sound of complete frustration.
“But I still can’t untie you.” Sophia turned back to the fire. “Not until my love says I may. I live for him now, only and always for him.”
They sat in silence for a long while. Mina cursed Larus and her sister, nearly succeeding in convincing herself that she didn’t care anymore if he kept Sophia all to himself. Let them have each other!
Hearing a rustling, both sisters stiffened. Larus came out of the forest, fully dressed. In one hand he carried two skinned rabbits. In the other he carried a torn piece of wet cloth.
“Wash the soot from your face,” he said, tossing it to Sophia. “And cleanse your sister as well.”
Sophia obeyed. Larus watched them guardedly, giving nothing away. Mina grumbled, struggled some, but in the end let her sister clean her face.
“Can you prepare these?” he asked Sophia when she’d finished, lifting up the rabbits.
Mina snorted. “She can barely put two spices together.”
Sophia made a weak noise, looking wounded. Larus frowned. He seemed to be considering asking Mina for a moment, but then finally began doing it himself. Mina was glad. If he thought she was going to cook for him, he was sorely mistaken.
* * * *
“Here.”
Mina blinked, looking up in surprise. Larus stared down at her, his eyes narrowed as he held food out for her to take. She arched a brow, lifting her hands against her cloak prison before letting them drop. The smell of roasted meat assaulted her and her mouth watered.
“Are you going to behave so that I may untie you?” Larus asked.
Forcing herself to look away from the meat, she said, “I’m not hungry.
“By all the lycan,” he grumbled, mumbling something in a language she couldn’t understand. Thrusting the meat at Sophia, he ordered, “Hold this.”
Sophia instantly obeyed, sighing softly at him in complete adoration.
“I should just let you starve,” Larus said. He untied her, jerking roughly at the binds. Within seconds, he had her free, standing before him. “But you look as if you are already halfway there.”
Mina moved to stretch her legs, wobbling, but too proud to fall over as she felt the prickling of returning blood to her limbs. Larus took the meat from Sophia and again held it out to her. He motioned gently for her to take it. “Here, eat.”
Mina wanted to take it, but she couldn’t. “I don’t eat things that have been in a mongrel’s mouth.”
Larus’s jaw fell momentarily slack in disbelief of her words. Sophia gasped. Mina’s stomach chose that moment to growl loudly in hunger. His lips twitched into a sardonic smile.
“Oh, she didn’t mean that!” Sophia said. Then, hastily, she added in an oddly cheerful voice, “That’s not true, Mina. Remember that horrible black dog Sir Richard kept before he abandoned us like the others?”
Mina paled, looking at Sophia in horror. She wasn’t going to tell him about that, was she? Her sister didn’t even seem to be paying attention to her words as she picked at her food and ate. Sophia grinned happily. Mina felt as if she might retch at any moment.
“Yes, it broke into the larder and was eating our last piece of venison. That meat was in a mongrel’s mouth and we ate it that very night. Remember, you killed the dog with a sword.” Sophia continued to pick at her food, glancing up at Larus and then her sister. “In fact, didn’t we even eat the dog?”
“No.” Mina grabbed her temple, feeling dizzy after that horrible tale. She’d been covered in the dog’s blood--an animal she’d played with several times before everything changed and the animal had become a wild, hungry beast. The last thing she wanted at the moment was to remember all they’d done to survive the last couple of years. “We gave it to the peasants to feed their children.”
“Ah, yes, I remember now,” Sophia said.
Larus’s gaze was still fixed on Mina, challenging her as she glanced up at him. “I’m taking my sister and we are going, nieten. Thank you for the meal, and for protecting us from dragons, but we must be on our way.”
“Lycan,” he stated.
“What?” Mina asked, confused. “Liken to what?”
“My kind,” Larus said through tight lips, “are called lycans. Not beast or man-beast or nieten. Say it. Lycan.”
“No,” Mina spat, defiantly pressing her lips together, as she shook her head in firm denial.
“Lycans,” Sophia giggled. “I like that. It’s lovely. Ly-cans. I like the lycan.”
Mina glared at her sister. Larus’s hand shot out and gripped her jaw, forcing her face back to him. She gasped in surprise, feeling the shock of him through her entire being.
“Say it,” he said, his tone low, “for I’ll not ask you again.”
Mina contemplated keeping her mouth shut, but his grip only tightened on her jaw, prying her lips apart. Her tone low, she said bitterly, “Lycan.”
“Very good, my lady,” Larus said, his voice dipping to that soft, seductive timbre. He didn’t let her go, keeping her eyes forced on his. “Now, you and your sister aren’t going anywhere. I found you so you are my responsibility until I can figure out how you got here in the first place. Then I will try to get you home.”
“We are not your concern, and I don’t see how our being here is possibly your affair to figure out,” Mina said. “And we’ll take our chances in the forest. I think we are safer there than with you.”
“My lady,” he said, pulling her face closer to his as he spoke. He kept his hand firm on her jaw. “If you think I am the most dangerous thing in the realm, you are sorely mistaken. Right now it’s light, but during the dark the vampires come out to play.”
Mina’s face was blank.
“Have you not heard of them? They’re vicious creatures with sharp teeth and handsome faces. One look into their eyes and you will be drawn forward to their deadly embrace.” Larus drew closer still until his breath tickled her skin. She stood transfixed by him and it seemed to Mina that he had that power to entrance, that it was himself and his eyes he spoke of. His lids lowered over his steamy gaze, a gaze that was suddenly soft and inviting. Whispering, he continued, “One kiss and they’ll drain you of every drop of blood in your fragile human body.”
“What is going on?” Sophia asked, rising to her feet. She looked at Larus and then suspiciously to Mina. “Mina! What are you doing?”
“Eat, my lady, before this mongrel’s mouth tears you apart,” Larus threatened, pushing Mina away from him.
Mina saw the glint of fire in his eyes and hurriedly took the food from his hand. He stared her down and she quickly bit into it, taking a dainty, ladylike bite. It was good, lightly flavored. But, most importantly, it was food. Larus nodd
ed at her in grim approval and turned his back. When he wasn’t looking, she nearly devoured the meal, tearing off large chunks and swallowing them whole.
Sophia eyed her suspiciously a moment longer before sitting back on the log.
“You are a wonderful cook,” Sophia said to Larus.
Suddenly, Mina stopped eating, feeling a little sick. She looked down at Sophia. Her blue eyes were cloudy as she stared at Larus’s backside. That wasn’t her sister. It couldn’t be. This world was playing tricks on her. Her mind was playing tricks. In a rush everything hit her--lycans, Uldra, dragons, vampires. It couldn’t be true. This was a nightmare. That had to be it. Men didn’t change into wolves. The sky didn’t hold such a purple hue. Trees were not reddish in color and leaves were not large and pale. Her sister didn’t simper and act subservient to a man. The meat churned in her stomach.
This was a nightmare, her nightmare, and she was going to just walk away. Handing the rabbit to the creature that looked like her sister, Mina turned to forest. At the moment, she didn’t care what was out in the trees. Her plan was to start walking until she fell over dead or she simply woke up.
“Mina?” Sophia’s sweet voice called. But, she knew that couldn’t be her. Sophia would never bow to man. She loved her freedom too much. “Mina, where are you going?”
* * * *
Larus wasn’t sure if he wanted to strangle Mina or kiss her. Hell, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to strangle or kiss Sophia. Mina fueled his desire to boiling and no doubt Sophia would willingly release him of it. What had happened to his self-possessed sanity?
No, they were humans. He couldn’t, wouldn’t do anything with them. He didn’t want to, not really. Then why was his treacherous body nearly bursting to claim one of them?
“Mina?” Sophia’s sweet voice called behind him. He cringed slightly, knowing he definitely didn’t want to take the light sister to his bed. She was already doe-eyed when she looked at him. His kind liked a challenge and Sophia wasn’t even close. “Mina, where are you going?”
Naughty Cupid Trilogy Page 19
