Dark War Chronicles Box Set One

by A. L. Kessler

  She cupped his hand and kissed the palm. "Not tonight, you don't." she whispered. "I'll explain later, but I want this. I want you."

  Disbelief crossed his eyes, but she leaned up and kissed him. He closed his eyes and gave in. Dani rose on her tiptoes to make it easier on him. Orion's hand brushed up her back and then gripped her hair. She moaned into his mouth and tugged on his t-shirt, silently telling him she wanted it off.

  He broke the kiss long enough to pull his shirt off. She ran her hands over the flat planes of his sculpted muscles. Running her finger over each line, she took her time exploring the perfectly carved body. With a wicked grin she traced her tongue over his pecs and down to the perfect abs she'd seen in motion. He hadn't changed since she'd seen him on stage, and she’d dreamt every night of doing this to him. She moved to her knees and her tongue traced the edge of his waistband while she unbuttoned the old jeans. She rolled her eyes up and saw his head thrown back, his breath caught and she found the confidence to continue.

  The worn fabric brushed across her hands as she pulled them down. The whisper of clothing did nothing to distract her from her goal. As she had imagined, he wore nothing under those jeans. His hard cock waited for her.

  "Dani—"

  She shushed him and wrapped her hand around his cock, stroking it. "I told you, I want this." The warm feeling of his power spread over her and only assured her that her original wants and urges were her own.

  He urged her to her feet by the grip in her hair. "I'm not arguing, but we are not doing this at Lucius' mansion."

  With a wave of dizziness she found herself in a strange bedroom. Orion left her no time to examine it. He pushed her back to sit on the bed and nudged her thighs apart, rubbing his knee against her pants, hitting her core. She hissed at the contact and threw her head back.

  He pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it to the side. He hesitated slightly at the gun holster around her waist. She held a finger up and took it off, laying the gun and holster under the bed. He ravaged her mouth, nibbling her bottom lip before trailing kisses down her neck to the straps of her bra. With gentle motions he slid the bands off her and then reached behind her to find the clasp.

  Removing the bra, he stepped back and she felt herself blush. She knew that she probably didn't live up to the Fae vision of beauty, but his eyes drank her in. Though faded, she knew the scars from her vampire attack were still there as well as the scars she'd earned in the field, but his eyes didn't linger on her arms, or stomach, they just continued moving.

  He crawled on top of her and kissed and nibbled her collarbone. She shivered at his touch. His hands went to her breasts, thumbs brushing across the hard peaks of her nipples. She gasped when his mouth replaced one of his hands. His other hand went to her pants and undid her button with a flick of his wrist. She wiggled out of her pants and thong, letting them drop to the floor.

  Perched on the edge of the bed, she wrapped her hand around his cock, moving her hand up and down the long member, studying his impressive girth and rounding her palm over the head. He twitched and tensed under her touch. He palmed her sex, rubbing her swollen nub. Dani leaned back on her hands and moaned, raising her hips to meet his hand.

  Orion slid two fingers in her and stroked her just right. Pleasure rose up in her and she met his gaze. She didn't want him to bring her with his fingers and though she was far from the edge, the rush of bliss told he could bring her in an instant. Orion met her gaze and removed his fingers. He put his hands on her hips and pulled her away from the bed only to guide her to lie down on it.

  She took a deep breath as he moved above her, spreading her legs with his knees, before moving so the head of his cock brushed her soaked folds. He teased her, dipping in just the head and then pulling back. Frowning, he paused and backed up. Summoning a condom, he put it on while she lay back on the bed panting from just his teasing.

  Once the condom was in place, he leaned over her. She met his gaze and saw warmth and sincerity swirling in the green of his eyes and she knew she’d made the right move. He shoved into her hard and fast. She lifted her hips to bring him deeper and make sure his cock brushed against the sweet spot. Her muscles tightened around him as he found a rhythm. Moaning, she splayed her fingers against his chest and leaned up to kiss him.

  Their tongues moved together, matching the motions of his hips. He broke the kiss to bring his lips to her nipples. Switching between the two, he swirled each bud and teased them with his lips. The pleasure shot straight to her core, making her clench around his cock. The orgasm built in her and threatened to spill over the edge. With another hard thrust, Orion threw her over the brink and she cried out his name, and with another thrust he came. Shuddering over her, he closed his eyes and they both rode the pleasure out together, her muscles milking him of his seed and only loosening when he was spent.

  After a few minutes Orion pulled out of her and disposed of the condom in a trash can by the bed. His hair stuck to the back of his neck with sweat, but Dani didn't care. She pulled him close and laid her head on his chest. Listening to the pounding of his heart, she lost herself. He stroked her hair; content just watching her as they lay together.

  Orion watched as her breathing evened out and she fell asleep against him. He continued to run his fingers through her hair. She’d been willing to sleep with him and it wasn't because of his power. No, he'd managed to pull that back after they’d kissed in the front yard of the mansion. He'd been captivated by her body since they first met, and though he’d avoided being with her, he had never dreamt it would be like that.

  He'd lost himself to the pleasure, letting his power run through him without restraint. It called to her, it wanted her, and wanted to claim her. Almost as if she was his one and only. Glancing at the sleeping blonde, he wondered if that was the case. He'd given up on finding a mate, thinking that his would be Fae and he'd never be able to find her since he was banished. However, her being human posed the same problem that Coran had with Renee; she'd die while Orion continued to live.

  But there were ways around that. He shook his head. It didn't matter. He doubted that Danielle would want that and was certain there was a rule about Hunters mating. After all, Lucius was right, mates were weaknesses. He recalled Jaxon's reaction to Kassity being hurt. Jaxon would have been a walking target had he been at the demon fight. A weakness. No, it was best if this didn't happen again. He had other things he needed to focus on.

  He closed his eyes and entertained the idea of mating Dani. They could live together at her house and leave the townhouse for Coran and Renee. Maybe he could leave Lucius' side and do something else, anything else. Not like he'd be able to stay if Tegan didn't show up soon. Of course...Lucius might just kill him at that point. Life would be so much simpler if he could leave the vampire...and mate the human.

  Chapter Five

  Dani woke before the sun rose. Today was an anniversary, and she had a visit she needed to make. It was one that she preferred to do in the daylight hours. Her biggest secret, only certain Master Hunters knew about it. Turning to Orion, she studied the subtle rise and fall of his chest. Last night had been amazing and she hated to leave him still sleeping. She kissed Orion's sleeping head, crawled out of bed and got dressed.

  She knew the bar was within walking distance and was able to find it with the help of the maps on her phone. She didn't linger at the house because she didn't want Renee or Coran seeing her and thinking she was participating in the walk of shame. She did stay long enough to leave Orion a note on his headboard with a sticky note. When she found her car, she got in and started the long drive.

  Two hours later, Dani pulled up to the old cemetery. It was one that she knew well and when she had found the picture of Tegan in front of the grave it startled her to realize it was the same graveyard. No matter what connections the missing woman had here, today was not the day to investigate. No, today she’d be visiting a different one. One that was physically painful for her to go to. Swallowing, she s
tarted the trek through the graveyard and found the plot. The Hunting Society had paid money to have an extra silver fence and gate put around the small stone building. One only she held the key to, but she knew that if he escaped the silver would only slow him down. She wanted to kill him, but that would kill her too.

  She pulled the key out and unlocked the gate. Each step she took made her heart pound and she could feel him press against her mind. From years of training and mental work, she was able to block him from her mind completely, but when she was this close to him it was hard. Every year on this date she came out here to put herself at ease. She needed to make sure he was still there, locked in his coffin, in his mausoleum and unable to come after her or her family.

  Her master.

  The vampire who had blood bound her against her will, so now she couldn't die, not without him dying. When it got to the point that she could no longer hide what she was, she'd have a Hunter kill him. It was her fate and she understood that, but while she lived she would take out as many of the bloodsuckers as she was allowed to. Punish those who stepped out of line. She pulled open the heavy door of the crypt and entered the cobweb-laden room. The silver coffin lay on a slab and she smiled as the ease and pain crawled through her.

  "Good, you bastard, I'm glad you can still feel pain." She closed her eyes as the anger pressed against her. "It's been another year, and I still live and you are still trapped." She laughed, a wicked sound in her throat. Placing her hand against the coffin, she concentrated. "You will never be free, and I will not hesitate to kill you if you ever do. You've ruined my life. You've taken everything normal from me."

  She jumped back when he pounded against the coffin. "This is your punishment. This is what happens to vampires who bind humans against their will."

  There was a whisper across her mind and she took a deep breath, trying to figure out what he was saying to her.

  "When the...Father...Rises...Riot...Death."

  Shaking her head, satisfied that he was still secure, she started to walk out. "No, not even if they raise the Father will you be free. I would kill myself before I let you loose to prey on anyone else."

  She locked up after she left and with each step away from the grave she felt his presence ease from her mind. The dirty little secret she couldn't share with anyone. She was lucky the Society took her after her attack. They normally stayed away from taking bonded humans because information could be compromised. She was a special case since they had her master captured. She sneered at the term. Her goal in the Society was to find a way to break that bond. For every bound human, so they could live a normal life.

  Orion woke up to find a bright pink sticky note. He blinked, wondering where Dani would have found one, then he remembered Renee kept a collection of them.

  Thank you for last night. I'll be around, but had something I needed to do while the sun was up. XoXo

  Now there was an ache in his heart. He wanted to wake up to her in the morning, hold her close, have coffee with her. He never wanted that with his one-night stands.

  He needed caffeine to think straight. Getting up, he pulled on a pair of sweats from off the floor and then headed towards the dining room. The smell off coffee already filled the house and he found Coran sitting at the table, looking worse for wear.

  "Dude, you look like your night was worse than mine."

  Coran snorted. "You at least got laid. I wasn't so lucky."

  "Problems in paradise?"

  The wolf ran a hand through his brown-red hair and raised green eyes to meet Orion's gaze. The coffee cup nearly slipped from Coran's hands. "Have you looked in the mirror?"

  "No...is my face all bruised up from the demon? I didn't think I hit the bar that hard." Orion pulled out a cup.

  Coran shook his head. "I don't think this has anything to do with the demon, your eyes are violet with silver streaks in them. And I'm not talking about the flash of color you get when your powers are at the top of their game."

  Orion summoned a mirror and studied them. Violet eyes stared back at him, silver shot through the irises. He swallowed. "I don't feel any different."

  "Could it be because your wings are torn, so your powers don't feel different? You know, that lack of connection?"

  He thought about it. "Possibly, but only one person would know."

  "The bitch queen."

  Orion nodded. "Yep." But his heart was flying because it meant that Danielle was his mate. Fate had given him one. He smiled, but it faded when Coran raised a brow in a silent question. "I slept with a Hunter."

  "You slept with Danielle?" Coran started laughing, throwing his head back. "Renee is going to love that. That's who woke your powers up?"

  Renee cleared her throat at the edge of the kitchen. "I have a feeling I know what that means, but please, enlighten me."

  "In my world it means Danielle is my mate." Orion glanced between the two. "But I run into the same problem as you two do. She's human, I'm not."

  Coran held his hand out to Renee. "It didn't stop us."

  Renee went and took his hand, sitting on his lap with a smile.

  "Do I need to remind you how resistant you were? Because you fought the entire way." Orion crossed his arms. "I don't know if Danielle wants a mate."

  Renee shrugged. "I don't think I've ever seen her in a real relationship."

  Jealousy surged through him at the thought of another guy touching her, even for a one-night stand. "She's dedicated to her job."

  "She hates supernatural creatures." Coran added.

  Renee hit him in the chest. "I'm sure she has her reasons for her hatred, and I doubt that she hates Orion if she slept with him."

  Coran grinned. "So since your powers are back, does this mean you get to take on the bitch queen?"

  "No, I'm not going near her. That's asking for trouble and I don't want that. There is too much going on in the territory and for all I know, that's exactly why she visited last night. I'm not playing into her game." He snapped and ran a hand through his hair. "Damn it, could life get any more complicated right now?"

  Renee cleared her throat. "There is still the matter of the demon."

  Orion shot her a look and she actually cringed into Coran's arms. Sighing, Orion shoved his hands in the pockets of his sweat pants. "I'm sorry."

  "We're all stressed out. Some of us are pulling double shifts in patrol, and at The Disappearing Act, as well as at The Corner. Things will calm down—"

  "Yeah, when Tegan returns." Renee muttered. "If she returns."

  Orion rubbed his chest. "Yeah, speaking of, I need to do my daily rounds."

  Liara watched through the mirror as Orion walked out of the disgusting dwelling he shared with the other people. The ordinary surroundings didn’t fit his royal status, even if she’d taken the crown. The dull colors and the lack of jewels bothered her. Even the ordinary way the people dressed, they might as well have been wearing rags. In the Fae realm she had no way of telling if they were human or otherwise, but knowing the company Orion kept, she was willing to bet they weren't human. She had expected the Blood Demon to take him out that night; she needed him dead before he came into his powers. Better yet, before he realized that coming into his powers would start the healing process on his wings.

  He would be able to come back and fight her for the throne. She couldn't allow that. The pesky prince needed to be killed. After all the years he'd spent with Lucius, nothing had even touched him, despite that ill fate seemed to follow that vampire around. Liara had originally planned to use Orion's mate against him, but he never showed true affection for any except for Lucius' human...and someone already beat Liara to that bitch.

  Though the new one looked promising, but she was a Hunter. Even the Fae knew to stay away from that group. With a wave of her hand, the image disappeared and she pulled herself off the bed. Her silk robe draped off her shoulders as she tied the sash around her waist. The royal bedchamber had been remodeled when she took it over. She’d changed the purple and silve
r to red and black, adding the severed heads of Orion's parents to pikes on the four-poster bed. She had used a spell to keep them fresh so she could always see the looks of horror and betrayal on their faces.

  She should have killed Orion that same day, but she had taken pity on the boy and simply banished him. The first and only time he tried to return, she shredded his wings and left him in the middle of The Circle's territory in hopes they would kill him. Little did she know that Orion was smarter and stronger than she believed. He managed to befriend Lucius and from then on, she let him be. Until now.

  The vampires were trying to raise the Father, and the Circle had threatened war against the Fae, using the fact that Orion sided with Lucius as an excuse to attack her kingdom. She needed to remove Orion from Lucius' forces by any means. She would not risk the kingdom she had worked so hard for.

  Tapping her nails on her bedpost, she considered her options and when she came to a conclusion, she smiled. With a wave of her hand she summoned one of her servants. "Send notice to the vampire Lucius. I have information on his human and wish to meet with him."

  The frightened woman bowed. "Of course my Queen, I shall inform him at once and bring back his response."

  "He would be wise to accept and not turn me away." She didn't think he'd be stupid enough, and hopefully she could give him enough information that he'd be willing to hand Orion over.

  Dani walked into the foyer and saw Lucius sitting on his throne. His black jeans hung low on his hips and his chest was bare. The firelight flickered over his muscles and he'd pulled his hair away from his face casually, not the slicked back style she'd seen before. "A little more casual tonight?"

  "There is nothing formal about this discussion Danielle, and I do expect you to keep this information to yourself. Giving it to your superiors would only cause a mass hunt of our kind." He stood in a graceful movement. "We'll talk in the media room, it's much more comfortable there."