A Hunter Born (Hired Hunters Series Book 1)

by Kimberly Forrest

  “I tried calling first,” Morgan said. “I have some information.”

  The man nodded, stepping back to allow her to enter his home. “I’m afraid my phone did not survive last night’s incident.”

  Ushering her into his office, he motioned for her to take a seat. His demeanor was chilly, night and day to when they had met. Gone were the bright smiles and booming laughter, replaced with hard eyes and a steely determination. “I wish you had told me you had a dragon shifter on your team,” he reproached. “They tend to make a nasty mess when provoked and they’re rather tough to hide from the media.”

  “I haven’t checked the news today,” she admitted, though she should have done.

  “With the help of my coven, the police, fire, and rescue, as well as the media are now under the impression that what happened on Rodolfo’s property was nothing more than smoke and mirrors, a movie set, the combatants, actors and the dragon, an animatronic and pyrotechnic display gone unfortunately haywire.”

  Morgan raised a brow in surprise. No one at the scene to witness the battle should have believed that, so she guessed, “Mind control?”

  Jourdain lifted a shoulder in a shrug. Unwilling to share his secrets, he changed the subject. “You said you have information?”

  Morgan let the matter drop, unwilling to risk provoking Jourdain. Her voice was crisp as she informed him, “Rodolfo was acting on orders direct from a now-deceased Elder. I’m afraid the order was sent to all territory holders worldwide. With the Elder’s death, the order should have been null and void, but not all may have yet heard.” There were, of course, some, like Rodolfo, who would do it anyway, for the sheer love of the kill, but she felt it best not to express that opinion at the moment. “I’ve made some calls that will hopefully stop any future acts of violence between our people, but in the interim, you may wish to alert your covens to be on guard.”

  Jourdain nodded, settling back in his chair with his fingers laced together over his belly. He took the news remarkably well for a leader that had just learned his people were under threat of a global attack. “You knew?” she guessed.

  “I spoke to several covens before I went to Rodolfo’s villa. Many had suffered recent losses at the hands of vampires.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Another quick nod of acknowledgment before Jourdain stated, “I owe you, Miss Rhys. Your willingness to help won’t be forgotten, and in light of that, I feel it only fair to warn you, if your ceasefire does not hold then we will take appropriate action.”

  She didn’t blame him for that. She’d make the same decision if she was in his shoes. When Jourdain stood, Morgan did the same and he walked her to the door. “The fee for your service has been wired to your account,” he informed her in dismissal. His next words, however, sent a chill of foreboding down her spine. “Your people believe themselves above us – above all. We’ve left them to their misconceptions because we desired to live quietly, peacefully. Maybe that was unwise on our part, allowing them to think we are weak. Perhaps it is time we witches show the Born who the real power is.”

  Licking her lips, she asked, “Do you really want a war?”

  “No. But it seems that your people might. We’ll see what happens, yes?”

  As the door shut firmly behind her, Morgan closed her eyes and hoped that Big Jim was successful in calling off the attacks.

  ∞∞∞

  Travis wasn’t yet back when she returned to the bayou, though thanks to his text updates, she knew he was okay, only dealing with the logistics of removing his sister from Rodolfo’s greenhouse without damaging her while still keeping the noise level to a minimum. He had expressed his surprise at not running into any of his fellow officers on the force, and Morgan knew much of that luck was thanks to Destin Jourdain and his coven doing damage control.

  Jamie and Kane were both sleeping, Jamie on the bed, Kane on the floor just inside the doorway. The young Born made a rather good guard dog, Morgan thought fondly as she left them both to their rest. Knowing she probably wouldn’t be able to sleep with the way her mind was churning through the threat that currently loomed over all of their heads, she flopped on the couch and turned on the TV, hoping for a distraction. Settling on an old movie she’d originally seen in theaters back when it first came out, Morgan was surprised when she opened her eyes to discover it was much later in the film, and she had somehow managed to doze off.

  Travis was also now home. Stifling a yawn as she sat up, she asked, “You have her?”

  “She’s still in the back of one of the trucks, for now, covered with blankets. She’s too big to attempt to get her inside any of the existing cabins, so the wolves and I are going to build a shelter around her.”

  Extending a hand to her, Morgan immediately grabbed on, assuming he was going to bring her to see Sophia. Instead, he led her outside to another small cabin, currently unoccupied. “I thought we could use some privacy,” he murmured huskily.

  Morgan immediately warmed to the idea, sliding sinuously up against the heat of his body and wrapping her arms around his neck. She kissed his chin and then gently bit it. “Afraid you might scar Kane for life if he sees you naked again?” she teased.

  “Something like that.” Travis’s large hands cupped her backside and squeezed before he pulled away. “But first, I need a shower.”

  “Ooh. Shower sex. Count me in.”

  Travis laughed, shaking his head. “I wish. But the shower in this place is tiny. The stall will barely accommodate me much less both of us.”

  Morgan pouted and then with a sexy grin, pulled her shirt over her head. “Well, then. Maybe this will encourage you to make it a quick shower.”

  Travis growled, the sound sending an erotic shiver through her as he cupped her ribcage in his large, calloused palms, leaned forward and kissed the tops of the plump mounds still restrained by her bra. “Count on it,” was his husky reply.

  His eyes were a mixture of longing and regret as he backed slowly away, but as promised, his shower was incredibly fast. Morgan barely had time to finish undressing fully before he reappeared, his hair a damp, uncombed tousle, his body, garbed only in a thick, white towel wrapped around his waist, still glistened with water droplets that Morgan wanted to lick off. With a growl of her own, she went to him and turned that desire into a reality.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Travis’s breath released in a hiss as Morgan’s mouth skated over his shoulder, across his pectoral to his sternum. One large hand cupped the back of her head, her hair a cool slide of silk between his fingers, while his other hand cupped a breast, the tip already stiffened with need.

  The scent of her arousal was an intoxicating mix that scrambled his brains and made him want to take her down to the floor and bury himself immediately in that tight, wet, welcoming heat. Gritting his teeth, he strove for control while her velvety tongue did its best to smash his will to splinters.

  The pleasurable sounds she was making were enough to drive him off of that very thin edge. Every moan, every gasp as he played with her nipples, was lightening down his spine, pushing him closer and closer to spilling before he ever got inside of her.

  Her fingers yanked at the towel, dropping it immediately to the floor to free her hand for the throbbing length of his erection. Her thumb skimmed over the head, her fingers clamped tight around the shaft, stroking him until his eyes nearly rolled back in his head from the exquisite feel.

  And then her mouth was on him, her tongue swirling deliciously around the head and Travis barked out a harsh shout of pleasure. His fingers flexed in her hair, fisted uncontrollably as she took him deeper into her mouth. He was going to lose it, the tether on his control snapping under her ministrations. He warned, “I’m going to come,” as his hand pulled back gently on her hair to allow her to move away. Morgan was having none of it. Her hand gripped his ass, squeezing, bringing his hips closer, while the suction of her mouth only increased as she purred deep in her throat, the vibration shooting straight
down his shaft.

  Travis came so hard he saw stars, sparks of color flashing in his peripheral vision, and his knees nearly gave up the fight to support his weight. Throwing out a hand to brace himself against the wall, he attempted to slow the harsh, panting breaths that had his chest working like bellows. He should have looked away. He should have given himself a moment. Instead, his eyes went straight to Morgan who sat back on her heels with the pleased smile of a seductress and licked her lips.

  His body went boneless, his knees hitting the floor with a thud, his hand pushing Morgan back into a prone position before cupping her hips and lifting her to his mouth. He heard her gasp of surprise, followed by a sharp moan of need, felt her fingers tunnel into his hair, pushing him closer in encouragement as his mouth suckled at the swollen bundle of nerves amidst slick needy flesh.

  His focus on her pleasure was absolute as a growl rumbled up his throat. The cabin could have fallen down on his head and he wasn’t sure he would have been able to stop. The taste of her on his tongue was everything. The sounds she made, every groan, every whimper, every “Yes,” was music to his ears. And as he slid a finger inside her tight sheath, curling it just right to find that perfect spot, the shattering orgasm to which he brought her, felt pulsing around his finger, was even more satisfying than his own release of just moments before.

  Feeling her fingers pulling adamantly at his shoulders, Travis kissed his way up the pale expanse of her delicious body, sparing a few extra moments at the curve of each hip, at the tantalizing line of her ribcage before he sucked a stiff nipple into his mouth and rolled it with his tongue.

  Morgan’s hips were lifting against him, grinding against his lower belly, seeking the near iron-hard length of his erection. With one last suckle, he let her nipple pop free before he sought her mouth with his own. The kiss they shared was wild, needy, tongues both dancing and dueling as Travis thrust home. They both released a gasp of pleasure at the feeling of rightness and savored the moment for just a heartbeat before Travis set up a rhythm, Morgan meeting him stroke for stroke, until they hit that precipice, and together, plunged over the edge.

  ∞∞∞

  Drowsy, replete, with an incredible feeling of satisfaction coursing through her, Morgan was tucked up against Travis’s side right there on the floor where they’d made love, her head on his chest listening to his heartbeat that thumped in time with her own. As if they were one.

  His fingers lifted, the pad of his thumb softly stroking over the crest of her cheek. “I love you.”

  The words were a whisper of sound and yet the feeling behind them was a powerful boom that stole her breath from her lungs. Morgan blinked rapidly as unexpected tears welled in her eyes, the realization suddenly hit her that she’d never once, in her many centuries of life, had anyone tell her that they loved her. On the heels of that, came the understanding of how badly she had unconsciously craved those words.

  “I didn’t say that to upset you,” Travis said, wiping her tears away as he propped himself up on an elbow to look at her.

  Her smile was watery as the damn tears continued to flow. “No one’s ever said that to me before,” she returned, her voice reedy, cracking under the overwhelming barrage of emotions that were flooding her heart.

  His palm cupped her cheek, slid into her hair, and then pulled her head into his shoulder, his arms wrapping her in a warm embrace. His lips against her hair as he told her once more, “I love you.”

  They stayed like that for several minutes, Morgan attempting to get her wayward emotions under control and Travis patiently giving her as much time as she needed. Finally, she was able to lift her head, cup his cheeks between her palms, and against his lips, tell him, “I love you. I love you more than I thought it was possible for me to ever feel. I’m Born…”

  Travis’s fingers gently gripped her chin, his eyes revealing his dragon as he fiercely growled, “You’re so much more than that, Morgan Rhys. You’re a warrior, a Hunter, and you’re mine.”

  A sense of peace settled around her like a warm blanket, as she snuggled closer to the heat of Travis’s body with a sigh and said yet again, “I love you.”

  Travis softly chuckled, his arms giving her a squeeze. “I love you too.”

  “I’m pretty sure I’m going to be telling you that all the time,” she teasingly warned. “You may get sick of hearing it.”

  “Never.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “I still can’t believe the order to exterminate the witches came directly from the Elder,” Kane remarked as he frowned at the laptop screen before him. Unlike Jamie, the young Born was no hacker, but he didn’t need to be thanks to the thumb drives they’d discovered in a safe at Rodolfo’s villa. Drives that held information on all of Rodolfo’s illegal activities, as well as the Born’s correspondence with the Court of Elders. “What was he thinking?”

  “He was thinking they could quietly take out an opposing power and still manage to keep their hands clean.” Morgan pointed out a particular line in the missive, tapping the screen with her fingertip. The witches are not to be fed upon. “He never intended for vampires to be implicated in the witches’ deaths.”

  Kane nodded. “A quiet extermination, with no one the wiser.”

  “They underestimated the witches. Not surprising considering the Elder’s arrogance.”

  “They’ve lost the advantage now. Let’s hope they’re smart enough to realize that and the ones who followed this bullshit order are willing to retreat.”

  Morgan agreed, but she wasn’t optimistic. Big Jim would do his part, she was sure, but she’d spent enough time around the territory holders to know that most shared the Elder’s arrogance, would sooner watch every Turned vampire in their legion die painfully in a battle against the covens rather than admit defeat. War was on the horizon. It was inevitable.

  Sharing that thought with Kane, she watched the man shake his head sadly. “Then they’ll be signing our death warrants.”

  Morgan shook her head. “No. They’ve signed their death warrants.”

  Kane’s brow furrowed with confusion. “But we’re Born.”

  “We are, but we’re also so much more than that,” Morgan replied thinking of Travis’s words to her, the memory of which made her smile. “We’re Hunters. And a Hunter’s loyalty –”

  “Is to their team,” Kane returned, finishing the Hunter motto before he slammed his hands down on the arms of the chair and rose. “There’s nothing for it then, is there?” he asked. “I need to take the reins if only to broker a peace with Jourdain.”

  Morgan’s smile stretched wide. “Look at you,” she said, nudging his shoulder with her fingers. “All grown up and taking responsibility for our future safety. It looks good on you.”

  “I expect you and Jamie to stay and help. Build that base as you promised. I don’t want to do this without you guys. We’re a team.”

  “Always,” she confirmed, clapping her hand against his before pulling him into a back-cracking hug that lasted a bit longer than absolutely necessary as they both pondered the enormity of what they were about to face.

  When they broke apart, Kane cleared his throat as he flopped back in the chair and eyed Morgan for a moment. “A dragon shifter, hm?”

  As usual, the thought of Travis sent a pleasant shiver through her. “I love him, Kane. And he loves me. It feels…” she hesitated as she searched for the proper word to describe the sensation, finally settling on, “amazing.”

  “So, how’s that going to work when you piss him off? Will you need to start wearing fire-proof gear?”

  “Har-di-har-har.”

  “No, seriously. Morgan, the man breathes fire. He took out one whole side of Rodolfo’s villa, in what? A matter of seconds? Not to mention, he has to be huge. I saw his sister, and if she’s the smaller female version of the species, I can’t imagine how big he must be. No wonder he trips my kill trigger, talk about a threat.”

  Morgan frowned. “He’s no threat to us, he�
�s part of the team, a Hunter like us, and a Hunter’s –”

  “Loyalty is to their team,” Kane once again cut her off to finish the motto, tacking on, “Yes, yes, yes, I get it. But what about when his sister wakes up and wants to set the world on fire in revenge for what was done to her? I don’t particularly want to find myself on the wrong side of that barbeque.”

  The point was valid. And worrisome. The last thing Sophia St. John would most likely remember when she woke up was being tortured by the Born and his thugs. Rodolfo might be out of the picture, but Travis’s sister didn’t know that. She may very well go after any Born or Turned vampire that happened to be in the vicinity.

  They’d cross that bridge when and if they got there. For now, Sophia remained encased in stone despite her brother’s best efforts to wake her. In fact, Travis was with her even now. Nodding, Morgan headed for the door. “I’ll mention it to him.”

  “Morgan?” Kane waited only long enough for her to look over her shoulder before he shot her a smile. “I’m happy for you. Love looks good on you, boss,” he added with a wink.

  Her smile bright, Morgan acknowledge the compliment with a small dip of her head and set out to find Travis.

  The wolves had managed to construct a shelter around Sophia in an incredibly short period of time. The wooden structure situated such that the environment of the bayou provided a natural camouflage to protect the enclosure from curious tourists that might wander out this way – unlikely with the pack in close proximity, but not impossible.

  When Morgan made her way through the door of the building, heavy with the scent of newly cut lumber, her eyes immediately lit on Travis. He was sitting on a blanket in front of his sister, his head down, a defeated slump to his shoulders and Morgan immediately had the urge to snarl and go into battle to slay his demons. Unfortunately for her, his current demon seemed to be his sister’s unwillingness to wake.