by Bonnie Vanak
“I had to follow. Couldn’t let you have all the fun.”
A brief smile touched his mouth. “Some fun. Why did you panic and run?”
She blinked, confused. “You didn’t see that?”
“See what? I was heading into the mine, turned and saw you clawing at something and then lose your footing.”
Ariel touched his jaw. “You’re worried about me.”
“Bet your damn life I’m worried. Don’t ever scare me like that again.”
He closed his eyes as her fingers caressed his chin, stroked up to his mouth. Such a firm, masculine mouth. Her heart beat faster.
She felt the silkiness of the hair on his thighs as he settled a leg over her hip, pinning her to the bed. Warmth stole over her. Ariel glanced down and saw her body begin to glow with white light.
She slid her hands around his neck. His gaze darkened.
“This time, I promise I won’t run away,” she whispered.
“I might lose control. My kind… if I take you, I may get savage. Out of control. You make me wild, Ariel.”
“You won’t hurt me Jarrett. I trust you.”
Maybe it was the word trust. Or her own burning need as she gazed into his eyes. But she saw something ease in him.
His wolf clawed to the surface. Jarrett took her mouth in a kiss.
He did not sample or savor. It was a claiming.
Jarrett probed inside with his tongue, swept into her mouth, staking his claim. She tasted of peppermint and spice. He pulled her closer to him, blood rushing through his veins. For the first time in years, he felt filled with life and wanted to laugh again.
He couldn’t stop, she tasted so sweet and delicious. Ariel. Her name rang through his mind. She banished all the pain of his yesterdays and gave only the promise of pleasure. Jarrett couldn’t get enough. His palms skimmed down her bare flesh, rough calluses gliding over silky skin.
Nudging her hips open, he settled between them. His cock slid between her legs, tunneling through the wetness of her core. Bliss. He closed his eyes, savoring the sensation, her small cries of pleasure sweet music to his ears.
He could spend the next century with Ariel in his arms, Ariel’s scent stamped on his skin.
She was courage and light, and filled the empty spaces inside him with life. For too long he’d remained in emotional darkness. Denying his natural sensuality. His life had been filled with much pain.
Ariel eased it away with her warm, wet lips feathering over his body, the absolute trust shining in her eyes.
She trusted him not to lose control. He’d turn on himself before hurting her.
Outside a rose-and-purple sunset glowed through the lace curtains. Ariel felt the instinctive pull toward him, her body surging with sexual energy. Jarrett’s mouth was rough and possessive, yet his hands stroked over her quivering skin with such tenderness. He looked fierce and wild, but his touch was gentle and cherishing. A masculine fragrance of spice and pine engulfed her, Jarrett’s very male scent stamping into her skin to mark her. Rough calluses on his palms rubbed over her sensitive skin.
Moans filled the air. She naturally arched into his touch as he slid a palm over her hip and tunneled through the silky curls between her legs. Teasing, he slid a long finger inside her, coaxing out moisture to prepare her for his entry. He was breathing heavily, color flooding his face, his expression fierce, yet she sensed he leashed the primitive wildness inside him.
Her skin felt stretched tight over bone. Before she’d been frozen, pain screeching along her nerve endings. Now delicious heat filled every pore. She’d suspected making love with Jarrett would be consuming, but never knew it could be this powerful. This earthy and raw. He rubbed his body over hers in sensual, teasing strokes, a small smile playing about his mouth. This playful side of him was the Jarrett she’d known, the Jarrett who’d laughed and chased her until they’d both tumbled, breathless and panting, into the meadow, the sweet smell of grass as sharp as their desire.
She could do a little playing of her own. With a small growl, she straddled him, her hands pinning down his broad shoulders. Surprise flared on his face, then he grinned.
“Think you can keep me here?”
“I’m stronger than I look.”
“Maybe. Or not. This isn’t my natural position, sweetheart. I’m always on top.”
With effortless grace, he sat up, hooked her about the waist and rolled over, reversing their positions. Jarrett slid a thigh between her legs, spreading them open.
Ariel quivered, breathless with need. It became a hot, stabbing force, erasing everything but the desire to have this man inside her.
His smile dropped, his features becoming taut and dangerous. She sensed the power inside him, felt him tense.
And then she caught the subtle shift in the air. Her nostrils flared with a mixture of several different scents.
Ariel turned her head toward the bedroom door.
Several men lingered there. They approached, lust clouding their gazes, their features hard and feral. Sam, who vowed to die for Jarrett, now looked ready to kill him for being Ariel’s lover. He pointed to Ariel and snarled.
“Mine. She’s mine.”
“Touch her and I’ll rip you to pieces.” The softness of Jarrett’s voice alarmed her. He acted controlled, but she knew he’d carry through with the threat. A primitive possessiveness claimed him. He held control over his beast by a thin thread and soon that would snap.
“We can’t do this,” she told Jarrett. “It’s too dangerous.”
Shocked, she saw Jarrett turn back to her. His face intent, his mouth covered hers in a possessive kiss. He stroked inside her mouth, slow and certain, but his mouth was gentle, not crushed to hers. Arousal pounded through her, heightened by the muscled weight atop her. Jarrett moved his knee, rubbing between her thighs. The silky brush of hair on his legs inflamed her sensitive skin. Her tongue darted out, touched his as he deepened the kiss.
The internal glow of her arousal spilled outward, bathing them in soft white light. Ariel couldn’t suppress the natural energy.
“Jarrett,” she cried out.
Jarrett pulled back, his gaze burning into her. “Let it go. Shh. Let it go.”
The air grew thick with the salty tang of sex hovering in the air. Power hummed inside her, singing secrets as ancient as feminine instinct.
The hard lust on the men’s faces faded. Their expressions changed.
Into the bedroom drifted the men’s mates. Their faces soft with love, their bodies taut with desire. One by one, they took their mate’s hands and left the bedroom.
Ariel tried to push herself up to see what was happening, but he caught her wrists and pinned them down.
An odd mixture of grief, joy and tenderness shadowed his expression. He brought his face close to hers and kissed her again with absolute gentleness.
Dazed, she looked into his eyes as his mouth left hers. Jarrett trailed a line of soft, wet kisses across her throat, up to her earlobe. He caught it between his strong teeth and bit ever so gently. Ariel’s hands drifted over his back, testing the hard muscles there, feeling the leashed power of his wolf.
The man was still in control.
His touch was slow and gentle, his expression hard with passion, but his hands soothing. He stroked her skin, cupping her breasts in his rough palms. Delicious pleasure stole over her as he thumbed her nipples, making them harden. Jarrett’s mouth encased one, his tongue expertly flicking and suckling. Ariel cried out, holding his head to her breasts, her legs draped around his waist, her feminine folds intimately pressed against him. Then he lifted his head and gave a lazy smile.
“I’m not done tasting you, not yet.”
He kissed his way down the length of her body, his tongue flicking into the tiny indentation of her navel, feeling like warm, wet velvet. Then he slipped further, opening her thighs wide.
He put his mouth on her. The shock of his warm tongue on her sensitive bud made her shoot upward, but he pressed
his hands on her thighs. Each lazy swirl and flick ratcheted up the tension crawling through her body. Ariel fisted her hands in the sheets, her hips arching and falling back to the strokes of his tongue. It had never been like this, so sweet and engulfing, until all she could think of was Jarrett’s mouth on her, his claiming of her flesh.
The internal glow inside her pulsed stronger. Moisture gushed out of her body, and with it spilled the sparkling white light. Her aura, fed by sexual energy. It seeped through her pores and wreathed them both. Fearing what would happen with the males, Ariel fought the tension, but Jarrett was merciless. He did not stop, even as she surrendered and screamed, the pleasure bursting from her as she climaxed.
He kept kissing her, riding through the spasms until she lay back, spent and shivering.
Then he lifted his head, wiping his mouth with the back of one hand. He mounted her then, spreading her thighs wide.
Jarrett laced his fingers through hers, his heavily muscled body pressing her into the mattress. His penis began pushing inside her.
Slow, gentle thrusts, then retreats. He felt thick and hard as a steel bar, each slide pushing him past her tiny muscles gripping him tightly.
The silky hairs of his chest abraded her nipples as his body slid over her. Ariel grit her teeth, frustrated beyond thought. Enough of this slow dancing.
She wrapped her legs around his hips and forced him deeper. Triumph filled her as he uttered a harsh groan of pleasure.
His hips began hammering back and forth as her nails dug into his shoulders. She threw back her head, flushed with erotic pleasure. The heat built higher and higher. Climax shimmered out of reach, a ball of white sparks fed by her aura.
Jarrett angled his thrusts, pushing past her sensitive bud, and she shrieked, her body taut as she climaxed. Her eyes opened in a daze of pleasure as she watched him throw his head back with a rough groan. Warm seed shot inside her, life-giving seed, as he bucked against her.
Then his shudders slowed, stopped. He looked down at her, and the flare of tenderness there surprised her. Then it vanished, replaced by masculine satisfaction.
“I love watching you come,” he said roughly. “Your eyes grow so blue, your cheeks so rosy. I just want to eat you up.”
He flashed a wicked grin. “Again.”
Sweat sheened his face, plastering his blond hair to his forehead. She knew exactly how much effort he’d used to leash the wolf.
Slowly, he slid out of her. She winced at the pull of her sore muscles. His expression became tender. He cupped her face in one strong palm.
“You okay?”
Roughness and male satisfaction edged his voice. She nodded, turning her face into his hand with a small sigh. Ariel wanted to curl up next to him, absorbing his toasty warmth, let the air cool the sweat on his body.
And then she heard it.
She twisted, startling him as he toppled off her. Ariel ran into the living room and ground to an abrupt halt. She felt Jarrett behind her, and his heavy sigh. He placed a hand on her waist.
Around them echoed the sounds of lovemaking, skin sliding over skin, small excited cries mingling with harsh moans. On the floor, several couples were frantically copulating. Their clothing partly shed, as if they couldn’t wait. She recognized Sam, jeans down around his thighs as he covered his mate. His hips pumped hard and fast to the rhythm of Dina’s tiny, excited cries.
Stunned with betrayal, Ariel turned to Jarrett. “You used me,” she whispered.
Jarrett shifted his hold on her, his jaw tight. “I used the situation to our advantage. They need to have sex. My men have been too wound up. The timing was right. I had to do something to release their tension or risk them getting into fights.”
“And me, Jarrett? What about me? What do I get?”
He cupped her chin, forcing her to look at him. “Pleasure. I promise you, I will take good care of you. Very good care. I need you, Ariel. My people need you.”
Pleasure. Her sensual side pulsed at the word. She felt a mixture of sad resignation and faint hope. If pleasure was all he could deliver, she’d take it.
For now.
But Jarrett underestimated the power of the Fae. She would dig past his layers to find the shifter she’d once adored.
Jarrett didn’t realize it, but he needed her for more than sex. Ariel suspected he needed her to save him. Because she had a bad feeling about the darkness in the mine.
It had something to do with him.
Chapter Eight
Shafts of sunlight spilled through the lace curtains at the window and speared the hardwood floor. Ariel turned her head toward the sunrise.
Jarrett still slept. One arm stretched above his head, one arm hooked possessively around her waist, he looked relaxed. Off guard. Gone were the lines of tension, the tight control he’d always held.
Last night that control had nearly shattered. He’d made love to her with a wildness that echoed his wolf. Ariel rolled over, brushed a lock of blond hair off his brow. His mouth was parted slightly as he breathed.
How long had it been since he’d been able to relax like this? She touched the firmness of his lips, remembering them caressing her skin, intent on making her feel pleasure.
His eyes flew open. He turned, capturing her in his arms. Ariel gave a small squeak as he rolled over, his heavy weight pinning her to the mattress, his erection snug against her sex.
“Look what my fairy godmother delivered to my bed. A pretty Fae shifter.”
Rough with sleep, his voice was husky and sexy. Ariel laced her fingers through his.
“You were incredible last night.” Jarrett gave a slow smile. “Care for a repeat performance?”
The breathy excitement of last night faded in the growing sunlight. Ariel searched his face. She saw earthly passion, raw sexuality and male need.
But no emotion. No tenderness. As if she were a stranger and had spent the night in his bed.
“Making love with you was so intense.”
Jarrett squeezed her fingers. “Best sex I’ve had in a long time.”
Sex. Not love. He’d told her he had nothing to give. Nothing but his body and pleasure.
Strength filled her limbs. In a sudden burst of energy, she twisted, throwing him off her. Jarrett’s eyes widened. Ariel ignored him, slid to the bed’s edge and went to the lace curtains.
They were dusty and yellowed from age. She brought a panel to her nose and inhaled, detecting a faint scent of female.
“Interesting curtains. You know, window decor has changed in the past thirty years. You might consider a decorator.” Ariel turned to him, hands on hips. “Unless you’re so mired in the past you can’t bear to change them.”
Tension whitened his mouth. “I’ve always hated those curtains. Too fussy. Chloe made them….”
His voice drifted off. Pain radiated from him like a pulsing beacon.
“And she’s dead. So you still live with curtains you don’t like? Great leadership, Jarrett. Really a good way to show your people how to move on. I’m sure you’re not the only one who’s suffered a loss.”
She hated the words coming from her mouth, but knew she had to push him hard. Jarrett bounded out of bed, stalked over to the curtains. With a mighty yank, he tore down one panel. It tumbled to the floor in a dusty cloud.
Breathing heavily, he ripped off the others. Misery shadowed his face, then vanished. Ariel’s heart ached for him.
“Jarrett, she’s gone. I know you loved her, and that love will never die. You’re a strong leader who would die for your people. You want a mate to give them hope and life. Yet you’re dead inside, until you move on and embrace your own life and your own future.” She framed his face with her hands, moisture filling her eyes.
He nodded, closing his eyes. When he opened them, they were empty of emotion. “You’re right. But I warned you, Ariel. I have no more feelings left to give. I’m not capable of giving you what you want most.”
“That doesn’t mean I should stop hoping. C
all me a dreamer.”
He brushed a finger down her cheek. Sadness swam in the depths of his dark eyes. “Keep dreaming, Ariel. I need your dreams.”
He let her go.
In the shower, water beaded on her skin, mingling with the salty tears cascading down her cheeks.
“I’m going home. I have to see if everyone’s okay.”
Tension tightened his muscles at her words. Jarrett leapt off the porch railing and followed Ariel down the steps. His men watched. He didn’t give a damn.
She mattered more.
Ariel had avoided him all day. Caught up in pack matters, he’d sent two of his men to watch and guard her from a distance as she roamed the grounds, searching out scents. He knew she wanted distance from him.
He knew. Hated this, hated the fact that he couldn’t give her what she wanted, not with his cold, dead heart. But no way in hell could he let her go.
Last night she’d given him something no one else could. Hope. He felt it stirring deep inside him, and it fed him strength. It wasn’t merely sex. Yet he couldn’t voice it.
Couldn’t face the pain of opening himself to her, sharing himself and then losing her just as he’d lost her long ago.
Chloe’s sweet smile and docile manner were fading into the past. He’d loved her. Always would. But it was Ariel now claiming his thoughts. Ariel haunting his dreams.
Sharp pain seized him at the thought of whatever monster lurked out there seizing her and hauling her into the deep, dark cave.
Jarrett caught her arm. Something evil had infiltrated his territory. He wasn’t about to let Ariel leave.
“It’s too dangerous.”
“To return to my people?” Her large blue eyes widened, making her look vulnerable and even more Fae. “Are you afraid I’ll break our agreement?”
I’m afraid you’ll never come back. Images of Chloe, bloodied and dying, danced across his mind. He concentrated on Ariel. “I’m coming with you.”
Ariel looked delicate in a turquoise sweater and new jeans one of the females had loaned her. The tips of her toes peeked beneath the jeans. Curls spilled around her slender shoulders. Yet he knew a toughness resonated inside her, the same kind that drove her to hunt down whatever was taking her people.
