Page 19 of Curses and Casualties (Hunters Hollow #3)

Georgia

“ R eady to call it a night?” Ryan asks when Ethan and Scarlett return to the party with Amara and Darius not far behind.

The úlfhéenar’s laughter and merriment echoes around us, but I can’t shake the sense of dread that started as a whisper in my gut and now spreads through my bones like frost on glass.

Luna stirs uneasily within me, her usual contentment replaced by something watchful.

Something comes, she murmurs, but the warning is vague, more instinct than knowledge.

“Yeah, I think so. We should probably get some rest before tomorrow.” I try to keep my voice light, but Ryan’s eyes narrow slightly—he can feel my anxiety through our bond.

“I agree. That heated spring in our room is calling our names.”

That gets a small smile out of me, the idea of sinking into warm water too tempting to resist. “That sounds heavenly. My leg could use it after all that dancing.”

Ryan holds out his hand. “Come on, then.”

We say quick goodbyes to our group and thank our hosts before slipping out of the reception hall. As we follow the dimly lit paths back to our quarters, I notice how the shadows seem deeper tonight, how the wind carries an edge that makes me shiver despite the warm evening.

“You’re jumpy,” Ryan observes, pulling me closer.

“Just tired,” I lie. Because if I speak the truth, I’ll shatter the calm we’ve built tonight.

Even with the door closed, we can still hear the party in the distance, but as we undress and slip into the pool of water, it feels as though we’ve carved out our own little world, insulated against the noise and chaos outside.

The steam rises around us, curling into the air like smoke signals, and for a moment, I can almost forget about the trials ahead, and the fact that our future will forever be a struggle due to the nature of our bond.

“Ryan,” I murmur, glancing at his face, the flickering lanterns casting warm shadows across his features. “What if... what if we can’t control it? The Soul Bond, I mean. What if completing it changes us in ways we can’t predict?”

He shifts closer, water lapping at his chest. “That won’t happen, love. You and I aren’t ruled by our egos the way that ancient pair Ragnar told us about were. We understand that power shared is power multiplied, not divided.”

I lean into him, and he wraps his arms around my middle, urging me even closer until our legs tangle beneath the water, and my face is nestled against the heat of his chest. I can hear his heartbeat, steady and sure.

“You and I,” he murmurs against my hair, fingers tracing the curve of my spine, “are going to be the pair that shows the entire supernatural community—the Council, the Elders, everyone—that Soul Bonds aren’t something to fear.”

I pull back just enough to meet his gaze. “That’s quite the geological survey you’re planning, Mr. Blackwell,” I tease, trying to lighten the mood. “Sure you’ve got the right equipment for mapping uncharted territory?”

His eyes darken with heat. “The only thing I’m sure of right now is how much I need my brilliant, brave geologist.”

The familiar warmth starts building between us, that electric connection that makes my skin tingle like I’m standing on a ley line. When he kisses me, I can already feel the light beginning to stir beneath my skin—that silver glow that matches the golden radiance building in him.

“We should be careful,” I whisper against his lips, even as I press closer. “The glow—if someone sees?—”

“We’re inside a tree,” he murmurs, trailing kisses down my neck. “And everyone’s still at the feast. I can hear them.”

He’s right, of course. And god help me, I don’t want to stop. Not when every touch sends sparks through our bond, not when I can feel Luna stirring contentedly within me, pleased that we’re with our mate.

The water around us begins to shimmer as Ryan’s hands slide down my body, cupping my breasts and teasing my nipples until they’re hard peaks begging for his mouth.

“I need you,” I breathe against his lips, grinding against his rock-hard length beneath the water. “You’re like my own personal tectonic shift—completely reshaping my landscape.”

He laughs, low and rough. “Only you would use geology metaphors while I’m trying to seduce you.”

“You love my rock talk,” I counter, nipping at his jaw.

“I love everything about you,” he growls, his eyes flashing gold. “Especially how wet you get for me. Let me taste that.”

Before I can respond, he takes a deep breath and disappears beneath the surface. His hands grip my thighs, spreading them wide, and then his mouth is on me and holy fucking shit .

“Ryan!” I cry out, my hands scrambling for purchase on the smooth stone edge.

His tongue parts my folds, lapping at my clit with long, firm strokes that have me seeing stars—whole constellations worth.

The warm water swirling around his movements creates this incredible sensation.

It’s like being touched everywhere at once.

He sucks my clit between his lips, and I nearly come right then, my thighs trembling around his head like my own personal earthquake.

Through our bond, I can feel his satisfaction, how much he loves my taste, the way my pussy clenches when he slides two fingers inside me. He curls them just right, finding that spot that makes me wild while his tongue works magic on my clit.

“Oh god, oh god, oh fuck—” I’m babbling, unable to form coherent thoughts as he devours me beneath the water. The glow under my skin is getting brighter, casting silver light through the steam like bioluminescence in a dark ocean.

Then something shifts. A sound, so faint I almost miss it over my own gasps. Like claws on stone, somewhere distant but getting closer. Luna’s hackles raise.

Wait, she starts, but Ryan does something with his tongue that whites out my thoughts.

With every flick and thrust, my body tightens around him. Heat blooms within me, so delicious and overwhelming that every nerve feels alight.

“Ryan,” I gasp, grappling for the edge, my back arching. “I’m so close!”

He responds by pressing deeper, his fingers curling perfectly within me, and his tongue flicking faster against my sensitive clit. The heat in my core spirals, building into an unstoppable force.

‘Let go, love,’ he murmurs through our bond. ‘Let me feel you come apart.’

“Fuck. Yes!”

With one last thrust of his fingers and a powerful swirl of his tongue, I shatter.

My back arches as waves of ecstasy roll through me, pleasure blooming out of my spine like a volcanic eruption.

I cry out his name, the sound echoing around the chamber, as my body clenches on his hand and mouth, and the silver glow explodes outward, casting wild shadows that dance like living things.

He surfaces with a gasp, water streaming from his hair, grinning at me with wicked satisfaction. “Look at you, love,” he says softly, voice reverent. “Glowing like your own mineral specimen. Absolutely gorgeous.”

I snort out a laugh, high and shaky. “Come here, you romantic fool.”

He floats forward so I can grab his face and kiss him, tasting myself on his lips. The water’s incredibly warm, but somehow, I’m shivering. Either from how sensitized he’s made me or because Luna won’t stop pacing in my mind.

“I need to be inside you, Georgia,” he growls, tugging me into his lap. “Need to feel you come around my cock.”

“Need you inside me,” I gasp. “Now. Please, Ryan. Before I spontaneously combust.”

He doesn’t make me wait. In one fluid movement, he guides me onto him, sliding deep until I’m fully impaled on his length.

“Yes,” I groan, wrapping my legs around his waist. “Perfect fit. Like we were carved from the same stone.”

“Harder,” I demand, digging my nails into his shoulders. The desperation from earlier is back, mixing with Luna’s growing agitation. “I want to feel you for days.”

He gives me exactly what I ask for, slamming into me with supernatural strength.

The water churns around us, sloshing over the edges of the pool, but neither of us cares.

Each thrust hits so deep I see stars, and through our bond I can feel his pleasure mixing with mine—creating a feedback loop of sensation.

“Look at us,” he commands, and I glance down to see our skin glowing like captured moonlight. Where we’re joined, the light pulses in time with his thrusts, silver and gold swirling together. “Look how beautiful we are together.”

“Ryan,” I moan, feeling another orgasm building impossibly fast. “I’m already—how am I already?—”

“Because you’re mine,” he growls, shifting the angle to hit that perfect spot inside me. “Because we’re meant for this. Come for me again, Georgia. Let me feel it.”

His thumb finds my clit, circling in tight patterns while he continues that punishing pace. The dual sensation is too much, and when he leans down to press his teeth to my neck?—

“RYAN!”

I shatter completely, my second orgasm even more intense than the first.

“Fuck, Georgia, fuck—” He roars my name as he follows me over, his cock pulsing deep inside me as he fills me with his release.

The room explodes with light, silver and gold combining into something almost white-hot.

Through our bond I experience his pleasure too.

The way my pussy milks his cock, the heat, the perfect friction.

The pleasure bouncing between us is insane.

It’s like I can’t tell where I end, and he begins.

We cling to each other, both trembling as aftershocks roll through us. I can feel Luna’s satisfaction mixing with Kane’s possessive pleasure, but underneath it, that thread of unease remains.

“Holy shit,” I finally manage, my forehead pressed against his shoulder. “I think we might have actually flooded the room.”

“And cracked the stone,” he adds with a chuckle, kissing my temple. “We’ll blame it on thermal expansion.”

I laugh, about to make another geology joke when a sound cuts through our blissful haze.

A howl. Then another. And another.

Luna explodes to alertness in my mind. DANGER! PACK! THEY COME!