Page 21

Lyrica’s body melted atop Vero’s rock-hard form, unable to do anything else. Hard and soft. Male and female. Hunted and captured. No give lay in his cut muscles, and his power thrummed around them. Surprising black shards tore through the deep bl ue of his eyes.

She gasped, her shoulders jolting and her elbows sliding down his shoulders to the soft mattress, bringing her face closer to his. Hope had told her about the tertiary eye colors found in vampires and demons. It made sense that Kurjans had the same attribute. “What are you doing?” she whispered.

“Trying to get you to stop talking.” His breath smelled minty, mixe d with bourbon?

Her knees naturally fell to the sides of his hips, and they both groaned when her core met his. Only his cotton boxers and her satin panties separated them. He pulsed against her sex, and liquid heat rushed to her core. Her nipples hardened against his bare chest, the light T-shirt a laughable barrier between them. A raw craving, more intense than she’d ever felt, electrified her nerve endings.

All of them.

A soft dawn light filtered through the blinds, sliding against his chiseled features. His rough, shadowed jaw, his dark, unruly hair, and his thick, long eyelashes that framed those immortal eyes. The black had almost overcome the blue, leaving only a bright indigo rim around the fatho mless darkness.

This was no man. Not even close. She could see into his depths. See him. He might be smarter and stronger than any human, but his predatory nature had fused with that intelligence, creating a cunning animal he barely m anaged to mask.

The thought occurred to her that he was reading her as deeply as she was reading him. Vulnerability had her levering up on her elbows to keep a modicum of control. “What do you see? ” she murmured.

“You.” His intense gaze poured into her, and she could almost feel him stripping away her defenses with a mere thought. A barely tamed storm hinted in his tone, and she knew on a basic, instinctive level what th at sound meant.

He w anted her. Now.

A rapid pulse throbbed at the base of her throat and ticked down her body to her clit. “I see you too.” And she did. In this moment, finally, she could see the wounds from betrayal he held deep. Of a life spent being harmed and of his decision to ally with his biological brother. To give loyalty to someone he didn’t know but with whom h e shared blood.

“You can see all of me,” he said softly, his hands spreading across her upper back and sliding down to the bas e of her spine.

“We’re temporary,” she breathed, belatedly realizing her too-feminine need to heal him. To somehow provide a safe haven for him—one he didn’t want.

He caressed back up to her shoulders, his hands heavy and sure. “I’m well aware that we only have three months,” he murmured, his voice husky, a deep rumble that sank into her flesh and made her heart hitch. “I think you were correct.”

She tried to follow his train of thought, and instead gave in and tunneled her fingers through his thick and surprisingly silky hair. “Corre ct about what?”

“Consent. Between us, it only needs to be given once.” Without seeming to move, he capt ured her mouth.

There was no hesitation, no gentleness—just raw hunger and need, a collision of sensations that set her senses ablaze. He kissed her like he needed her, like she was the only thing tethering him to this world.

She closed her eyes and let herself fall into the storm.

Using his elbow as a fulcrum, he rolled them over, covering her completely. She kept a grip on his hair, holding tight, pure instinct trying to an chor them both.

The kiss deepened, and his body pressed hers into the mattress, his form hot and so alive she moaned at the force of it. Of him.

He broke the kiss to let her draw in a shaky breath, his mouth trailing down her jaw, over the sensitive skin of her neck, to her fragile collarbone. His hot, wicked tongue left a trail of fire as he explored her. The nick of a fang in the delicate skin where her neck met her shoulder had her arching up against h im in reaction.

His tongue flattened over the small wound, and the masculine hum of satisfaction that resonated from his chest stole her breath. Both from warning and from need.

He’d taken her blood. The primal thought uncoiled live wires throu gh her abdomen.

His head lifted, the look in his eyes feral. Dark and full of a possessive hunger. “Lyrica.” The three syllables rolled around in a guttural sound. “While we’re together, it’s absol ute. Complete.”

What did that mean? She couldn’t catch a thought. But if he was asking for exclusivity, she agreed. “I’m scared.” The words shocked her. The honesty of them—she didn’t mean to give him that much.

“I won’t hurt you.” The barest flicker of sadness cut into his eyes and quickly disappeared. “I’ll protect you with my life.”

She didn’t think he’d hurt her. Never had. It was her heart that posed the biggest risk. For all his strength and natural, instinctive dominance, he was a soldier who never let anybody in. But he’d shown her, or perhaps she’d just been lucky enough to catch him in a rare, unguarded moment, a glimpse of the hurt he carried. The deep, ragged scars of trust and betrayal t hat formed him.

“I won’t hurt you, either.” She gave him the words he didn’t seek, her chest aching as the fierce need to protect her heart warred with the equally strong need to comfort him. Before she could make sense of the whirlwind of emotions, his hand tangled in her hair and his lips descended on hers in a desperate, soul -stealing kiss.

She couldn’t fight her own need. The last of her resistance crumbled, and she kissed him back, lost in the tempest of his touch, in the wild, passionate chaos that sprang from a hidd en part of him.

Still kissing her, he shifted his weight to the side and off her, reaching for the hem of her shirt. She released his hair and assisted him, ducking her head for him to pull the shirt free. Even then, he was careful n ot to harm her.

“I won’t break,” she said, re aching for him.

“You’re fragile. Human.” He levered over her again, his heated mouth starting at her ear and wandering down to her breasts. Very heated. Did immortals have hotter mouths? Temps?

The curious thought spiraled away as his lips moved over her nipples with a mixture of demand and flaming hot desperation, his hands sliding down her arms and back up as if mapping her with each touch. His overwhelming need was palpable, a storm she c ouldn’t escape.

Didn’t want to escape.

Instead, she splayed her hands over the hard ridges of muscle flexing in his chest. Gyrating against him, she marveled at his upper arms and caressed down his flanks, finding more strength. He took h er breath away.

His mouth was on her breasts, one hand twisted in her hair, the other caressing down her body, shifting again so he c ould touch her.

She nearly ca me off the bed.

His chuckle made her still. Had she ever even heard him laugh? The sound warmed her, filling her throughout. She should panic at that.

But his tongue lashed her nipple just as he slipped his fingers inside her panties, finding he r no doubt wet.

His pleased rumble slid right into her heart.

Then he levered down, kissing between her breasts, his heated mouth claiming her sternum, ribs, and then hip bones.

She had a moment of vulnerability. She had more curves than many of the women in the nation. A former boyfriend had called h er plush. Jerk.

Vero snapped her panties at the sides, and she forgot al l about curves.

Then his mouth was on her clit. He sucked the delicate nub into his inferno of a mouth and she shot instantly into a tumultuous orgasm that had her cryin g out his name.

She smashed her hand against her mouth. The walls in the lodge were not that thick.

Coming down, she gasped for air.

He went at her then, his hands splaying her thighs apart and his rough tongue lashing her. “I love this,” he rumbled against her, sending vibrations up to her breasts.

“Me too,” she groaned, trying to chuckle. She wanted to keep this light, but the way he made her feel protected and cherished, so desperately wanted, threatened to overwhelm her. He made her feel alive. For a heartbeat, she craved a life she’ d never needed.

His teeth scraped her thigh and she forgot about the world. “You’re perfect,” he whispered, not letting her think. He went at her with fingers, teeth, and that wicked tongue, forcing her back up again.

And then again.

After the third orgasm, she tugged on his hair. An emptiness inside her hollowed her out, even though her nerves were on freakin g fire. “Vero.”

He moved up her, taking his time with her breasts. She dug her nails into his flanks and then his butt, shoving the offensive boxers down his legs. There should be nothing separating them. He obliged her by kicking them the rest of the way off.

Then he continued all the way up her and kissed her mouth again, going deep. His cock pulsed at her sex and she widened her legs, want ing all of him.

He leaned up, his eyes a pure black now. “Y ou’re perfect.”

She breathed in quick, taking the hit to the heart. It smacked her then, how easily he could break her. How dangerous it was to let him in. To know him. To let him know her. But she couldn’t stop. Not now. Maybe not ever.

His weight settled over her, pressing her into the mattress again. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he growled, just like any dang erous predator.

The sound drove her desire even h otter. Somehow.

He pressed inside her and she arched against him, a flush heating her from her tingling ears on down to where they met. He was big. Huge. She softened and accepted him, her body moving with true instinct as if recognizing him. He went slow, carefully, his mouth taking hers again and making her head spin.

Pain rumbled through her at his invasion and she cupped his shadowed jaw, pulling her mouth free. “Are you sure we’ll fit?” Maybe it wasn’t possible. His blood had burned her. She w asn’t his mate.

“I’m sure.” He nipped her lip, and even that pa in felt erotic.

More wetness spilled from her, and he moved inside he r another inch.

His gaze intense, he tangled one hand in her hair and tugged her head back, sending a slight nick of pain along her skin.

More wetness and he made i t another inch.

His eyes gleamed with a knowledge that made her lungs stutter. He reached down and caressed one of her nipples. Pleasure swamped her and she leaned into his touch. Then he twisted with just enough of a bite to catch her breath in her throat.

More wetness.

His n ostrils flared.

That dangerous hand caressed deceptively down her side and around to her butt, lifting her an inch off the bed. His head dropped and he kissed her hard, taking over, pulling her into a wild storm as he shoved all the way inside her. She cried out into his mouth, arching against him, pleasure and pain filling her until she couldn’t t ell them apart.

Then he was moving. Powering inside her, overwhelming her. Giving no quarter. Accepting nothing but all of her.

Wha t had she done?

A desperate rush of electricity arced through her as he forced her up, hammering into her so hard she could only grab his biceps and hold on. Shutting her eyes, she gave herself over to him, watching wild flashes of light behind her eyelids. His fangs sliced into her shoulder, and his entire body heated to an impossible temperature against her. His hand burned hot ag ainst her butt.

The world silenced in one perfect moment, then she exploded into an orgasm so powerful she dug her nails into his arms, tethering herself to him. The waves pummeled her and she rode them out, gasping with each wild crest and feeling his release as his body jerke d against hers.

Panting, she came down, noting the rhythm of his heartbeat against hers. I n perfect tune.

She relaxed her fingers and rubbed along his ribs, her body going lax. Satisfied. Exhausted. She blinked her eyes open and mu mbled his name.

He kissed her nose and tightened his hold on her hair. Desire flared through her again, and she shook her head against the pillow. “T here’s no way.”

His chuckle this time was filled with promis e. “Wanna bet?”