He clamped his mouth over the wildly beating vein in her neck. Flat teeth pressed against her skin. She froze. The lick of his tongue tore a moan from her. Nibbles along the column of her throat weakened her knees. She leaned into him, the reaction one she couldn’t stop. He eased back, and his heated breath sent tingles skipping across her wet skin.
“I told you that between us, the only power you have over me is what I give you, and”—he trailed his lips to her ear—“I’m not giving you any until you say my name.”
She dug her nails into his arms but didn’t push him away. She clung to him. Ian had always commanded her body and directed her pleasure. All it had taken was his touch. The addition of his confident voice whispered in her ear heightened his appeal.
He caught her earlobe between his teeth and gave it a tug. “Say it.”
“How did you get free?” she asked to change the subject.
He shoved her shirt out of the way and stroked his fingers over her stomach. She focused on her breathing, anything to avoid giving in to his seductive charms.
“Don’t ignore me, Hunter.” She swallowed hard. “How did you get free?”
He used his other hand to turn her head. Hazel eyes captured hers. “Say. My. Name.”
“Ian.” She heard the word come out of her mouth. She hadn’t meant to let it escape. His focused stare demanded her obedience. She had no choice but to give it.
The skin at the corners of his eyes crinkled. She couldn’t tear her gaze away to see the smile she knew caused the reaction.
“Thank you, Tegan. Now kiss me. I’ve missed you.”
He pressed his mouth to hers and gently licked the seam. Unable to resist, she parted her lips. He slipped inside and slowly twined his tongue with hers.
He always greeted her the same way, kissing her as if they had all the time in the world to love each other. It made her feel special. Treasured. Loved.
It was a lie.
He’d always walked out of their dream and welcomed another lover into his arms. A real one, not the figment of his imagination he’d thought her.
She turned her head, breaking the kiss, and his parted lips skimmed over her cheek, leaving heat and shattered promises behind. “Release me.”
“You don’t really want that.” He trailed his fingers lower, not quite covering her jeans-covered mound, but close. So close her clit thumped, eager for his touch. “You want me to lay you down and finally make love to you, don’t you?”
She thought about denying him, but with his cock pressed against her spine, she couldn’t force the lie out. “Yes.”
“Thank goodness, baby. I ache. I need to feel your greedy body gripping my dick.” He kissed the spot right below her ear. “Might die if I don’t.”
He popped the button on her jeans. The zipper got tugged, and the satin barrier of her panties got shoved to the side. He plunged two fingers into her core and pumped them before she could react.
“So wet. So hot for me. Fucking love it.”
She whimpered. She’d craved his voice whispering in her ear. Every time he came to her, she hoped it’d be different, that they could talk and give each other relief from the raging desire. She’d yearned to finally feel him loving her from the inside out. Just the thought of coming around his thick cock flooded her core with welcoming arousal.
But they hadn’t been allowed to share that intimacy. Minerva had ensured their visits remained a tease only. Why? The bitch had a reason, and Tegan would bet it wasn’t for Tegan’s benefit.
This has to stop. He doesn’t know everything.
She opened her mouth to tell him about Minerva. He spread the two fingers lodged deep inside, stretching her. Her words got lost on a low moan, and her thoughts scattered. All she could focus on was how he caressed her. A delicious burn spread along her inner muscles. It’d been so long since she’d taken a man into her body.
He ground his cock a little harder into her back.
“Tight. You’re going to squeeze me. Strangle me.” He worked her neglected sex, rolling his fingers and stroking her sensitive flesh. “You’ll make me explode, won’t you?”
Another wanton sound, something between a groan and sigh, crawled up her throat in answer. She dropped her head against his chest, too lost to the sensations he created to do more.
He grasped her chin and turned her head. His eyes ensnared her. The brown and green streaks glowed. A trick. The dimness of the room messed with her perception of reality. She blinked, and his beloved eyes filled her vision, normal and full of longing.
“I’ve waited so long for this. For you.” He brushed his lips over hers. “I need to fill you up, Tegan. Leave my mark on you. Be with you in every damn possible way.”
He couldn’t fuck her, not until she found out why Minerva had stopped them in their dreams. She grasped his wrist. He bent closer and took her mouth on another slow exploration. Her thoughts scattered once more.
With one hand covering her sex and the other over her throat, he held her immobile for his seduction. Over and over, he stroked her tongue with his. His pace quickened. He moaned his pleasure into her mouth. She savored each decadent sound and gave him hers.
He nipped at her lips, sucked on her tongue and took her to the brink. Each pull created an equal tug on her womb. He released her tender flesh and kissed her harder, faster until their teeth banged. She followed his lead without thought. They’d shared too many kisses not to.
The wicked melding of their mouths became her world. The sounds he made and the way he worked her body with thrusts and curls of his fingers added to it. Nothing had ever felt so good. So right. So important.
She needed to come for him.
For them.
No! She tightened her grip on his wrist and tugged. She had to tell him about Minerva. He didn’t obey her unspoken demand. He rubbed circles over her clit with his thumb. Heaviness settled low in her belly. Quivers danced along her inner muscles. He added a third finger, shoving them deep inside her. She groaned with the added fullness. Each thrust sent another delicious pulse through her body. All the while, he kissed her as if she were the only woman in the world.
It was too much. She’d wanted him too long. Her orgasm built under his skilled touch. He pushed her higher. Every muscle tightened. She sucked in a breath of…
Cinnamon.
His scent filled her lungs, seeped into her body and became the essence she suddenly needed to breathe in.
The first wave of her release swept along her core. Her fingers fell from his arm. Her eyes rolled back in her head, and the world fell away. Blackness engulfed her. She floated on the intense pleasure whipping through her body, head to toe. On and on the waves of release swept over her. Each ripple grew more powerful. Her breath caught and her body tensed impossibly more. It felt as if she were breaking apart.
No! She thrashed in his arms. Something wasn’t right. No orgasm had ever shattered her. That was what she felt. Her soul had been scattered, lost in the endless waves of ecstasy.
Ian. She whispered his name in her head, the best she could do while he still loved her mouth.
He banded his strong arms around her and pressed her tighter against his body. His touch centered her, seemed to pull all the little pieces back…
And built them up around him.
The sensation passed. Reality returned, but she felt him there, hovering in her soul.
He’d left a piece of himself inside her.
Like a god could.
She tore her mouth from his and stumbled out of his grip. He focused hazel eyes on her.
Glowing hazel eyes.
Curses whipped through her head. Disbelief followed. He took a step toward her. She scrambled back, but he advanced on her in a predatory swagger that warned she would soon become his.
Forever.
“Stop.” She he
ld up a hand. He froze and glanced from her palm to her face. His brows pinched. “What are you?”
Chapter Seven
Ian heard Tegan’s words but couldn’t make sense of them. He shifted his focus from her mouth to the sultry brown eyes of his personal goddess. Fear widened them.
What had he done?
He reined in the lust consuming him as completely as the rage that had landed him in Hell.
“Answer me.”
Her low, rich voice cut through the hazy fog blanketing his brain. The huskiness to it didn’t match the trembling in her limbs.
Dammit, all he’d done was kiss her. And make her come all over my hand. He shook off the thought before the desire he felt for Tegan turned him into a hungry beast.
She dropped her arm and curled her fingers into a fist. “What are you?”
He glanced at her white knuckles. The sight of them bothered him as much as her anxiety-stricken eyes did. He snatched her hand and tugged her into his embrace. She pushed against him, but he slid a hand to the back of her neck and held her still.
Gaze locked on hers, he told her the truth. “Yours.” He pressed his lips to hers. “I’m yours.”
A shaky sigh fell from her mouth. He captured the sound with a kiss. She didn’t fight his gentle seduction, the only kind he could give at the moment. It took every ounce of control he had not to push her up against the nearest hard surface and plunge into her.
He twined his tongue with hers, but she didn’t respond as she had moments ago. She remained stiff in his arms.
He pulled back. Wary eyes watched him. Something bothered her. “Tell me.”
She licked her lips, and her eyelids fluttered. He enjoyed the sight. It made him wonder if she enjoyed his taste as much as he did hers. Her flavor was as sweet as she smelled. He bent his head to indulge his craving for more. She stopped him with a finger over his parted lips.
“Wait, Ian. We’ve been manipulated. This isn’t real.”
He trailed his hands down her back to her lush ass and kneaded her plumpness. It would feel so damn good to take her from behind. He pushed the thought away. Focus. He had to focus on Tegan, not sex. He flashed her a lopsided grin.
“You feel real, and your tight body squeezing my fingers certainly felt real. Plus…” He reversed the path of his hand and slipped his hand under the plain black T-shirt she wore. With practiced ease, he unhooked her bra. He might not have fucked Cynthia, but he’d worshipped her body. For the first time, though, guilt choked him.
Let it go. I didn’t know Tegan was real.
A deep breath of vanilla-scented air eased the tightness in his chest. Regret would destroy him. He’d learned that after his family died. The past couldn’t be changed. Only the future mattered, and his included Tegan.
He caressed her skin, slowly inching his way to her chest. Her breaths quickened, and her body tensed. Before she could push out of his arms, he captured one of her breasts. She froze. Desire softened her soulful brown eyes, no hint of fear. His unease faded. Whatever had frightened her had nothing to do with him. He hoped.
He ran his finger over her nipple. It pebbled under the simple touch. He gave her a knowing smile. “Plus, I wasn’t able to touch you in our dreams. I can now. Means this is real.”
“It is, but…” She turned in his arms, forcing him to release his treasure. He settled his hands on her hips. “But what we feel is only lust and not something we can give in to.”
Lust? Hell yeah, he felt it. He also knew it wasn’t the only thing driving him to be with her. He loved her. He was pretty damn sure he had from the first time she’d looked at him. Then, her gaze had perused him, burning him with the desire displayed in her brown depths. She’d shifted her attention to her wrists, then the empty black space they’d always met in, and approached him. She’d fisted his dick through his silk boxers and stroked him. No hesitation. No shyness. She’d kissed him and worked his body as if it belonged to her.
After that night, it had. Tonight gave him the right to claim hers. The crazy thought surfaced. He pushed it away before the hungry beast he felt awakening inside him took over. It wasn’t only her body he wanted. He’d win her heart and heal the crack in it, exactly as he’d promised.
“Look at me, Ian.”
He did.
She laid a hand over his cheek. “You’re not human.”
“Yes, I am.” Though with the raging lust gripping him and demanding he fuck Tegan until he exploded, he felt more animal than man. Three years of lusting after her would do that. “Even Arawn said so.”
“Ahh…” She glanced over her shoulder at the bed. “He visited you.”
“Yes, he said he wanted to make sure I was human too.” He tapped his Huntsman’s mark. “Only this makes me more.”
“No, you are more.” She scrunched her nose. Damn if it didn’t make her look adorable. And hot. And his. “I just don’t know what, but Minerva does.” She shoved out of his arms.
He considered yanking her back. The look of anger on her face stopped him. He balled his hands. “Who’s Minerva?”
“Arawn’s mate.” She hooked her bra and buttoned her jeans. Dressed, she leveled murderous eyes on him. “And the fucking bitch who set me up with her son.”
Son? He frowned. “Wha—”
“You’re a demigod, Ian.” She leaned closer. “It’s the only explanation for what you just did. But I don’t know how it could be possible. Arawn should be the only male who could impregnate her, and he can no longer have kids.”
He ignored her crazy words. His mother was human. He’d seen the video of her giving birth to him. What bothered him was the accusation in Tegan’s expression. It cut at his heart. Three years he’d wanted her, and she looks at him with…regret? “What the hell did I do?”
She thumped her hand against her chest. “You left a piece of yourself inside me.”
Sharp teeth filled her mouth, and a deep growl rumbled in her chest, reminding him the woman he loved wasn’t human. She was the demigod, not him.
“That’s impossible.”
She snorted and ran a hand through her hair. “So I would’ve thought, but it’s true. I feel you in my soul.”
Well, fuck. He liked the sound of that. Too bad she didn’t. “Look, you’re the demigod. Maybe you took a piece of me.”
She backed up. Rage contorted her features. “I don’t want you.”
“Like hell.” He waved his fingers, the scent of her arousal still on them. “You want everything I can give you.”
She straightened her shoulders. A careful mask slipped over her features, hiding the angry look she’d worn. “In our dreams, I did. Those ended. In the real world, you and I are nothing to each other. This”—she waved a hand between them—“won’t happen again.”
“You wanna bet?”
She licked her upper lip. Her gaze mapped a path down his chest to his straining dick. “No bet. You won’t ever fuck me, Ian. I refuse to belong to a male who only wants my body.”
He closed the distance between them and grasped her chin. “I want more. All of you.”
She swatted at his hand and scrambled back. “No lies.” Her voice cracked.
He locked his knees to stop himself from going to her. “I’m not lying, Tegan. I—”
“Stop.” She reached behind her and grabbed the door handle. “I told you I know all about you.” She held his gaze. “And Cynthia. I know you loved her and that killing her is why you ended up in this cell.”
He didn’t know what to say. He had loved Cynthia, just not the same way he did Tegan, as if he’d been waiting for her all his life. He also couldn’t deny the reason he’d gotten himself tossed into Hell. Taking his fiancée’s head had pushed him to the edge. Watching Harley get shot had tipped him over.
Tegan nodded. “I told you this was lust. Minerva was behind our dream
trysts. She’s a manipulating bitch who thought to trick us into mating each other.”
“Why would she do that?”
“Why?” Her eyes widened. “Because if you’re mated to me, Arawn can’t punish her son.”
“That’s crazy. I can’t be her son.”
“I don’t understand how either, but I’m going to find out.” She opened the door and backed into the hallway.
He rushed forward and grabbed the metal bars before they could close and lock him in his cell again. “Tegan, wait.”
She shook her head. “No. We are done, Hunter. The second you step out of that cell, I am your commander only. You think to challenge me, and you’ll find out why I’m third in Arawn’s army. I didn’t get this position out of the goodness of his heart, that’s for sure.”
He ground his teeth and fought the urge to do exactly that, challenge her. It wouldn’t earn him any points in gaining her love. He wanted it along with her body, heart and soul.
He forced a nod. “So be it.”
“Good, then as soon as you learn control over your instincts, you’re taking back the piece of yourself you left inside me.”
No fucking way. He clenched his fists.
“Are we clear?”
“Sure.”
She gave a single dip of her chin, turned and strode down the hallway without another word.
He followed her with his gaze until she disappeared around the bend. “Yeah, we’re clear, angel. I’ll take back the piece of myself when I give you the rest of me. Because I’m yours, Tegan. From now until the day I fucking die. There will never be another woman for me.”
And since he was immortal, Tegan was it.
His mate and his life.
Chapter Eight
Tegan clenched and unclenched her hands. A whole damn day she’d wasted. The manipulating goddess of love had crawled under a rock. The only place Tegan hadn’t checked was Arawn’s chambers. For the moment, she had to avoid her sire. He knew his children too well. If he sensed she was hiding something, he’d demand the truth. She couldn’t lie to him, and she feared how he’d react to Ian’s demigod status. Arawn’s anger wasn’t something she wanted to test when it came to Ian.
Hunter Forsaken: Wild Hunt, Book 2 Page 6
