Landing on the heated rock didn’t surprise her this time, although it still knocked the wind out of her. Gasping for air, she pushed to her feet.
Ulric waited on the shoreline, blood on his mouth. “Stop fighting me.”
She edged away from the drop-off, her heart thundering and her legs trembling. “What’s your plan?” she called. “Seriously. I want to know.”
“It matters little what you want.” His voice carried easily over the distance. “You will take me home, or you will die.”
“What if I don’t know how to take you home?” She looked for the swirling blue portal, but it seemed to have disappeared now that she could see Ulric. Had there been two worlds that now were combined? That’s how it looked and felt. “This can’t be good,” she muttered. What if another world collided with hers? She glared at him. Wait a minute. He was closer than he’d been last time. Was the rock moving nearer to his shore?
His fangs glistened. “Oh, you can take me home. I guarantee it.” Raising his hands, he flattened his palms toward her like a mime in a pretend box.
The rock started to move through the thin air. She lost her balance and dropped to one knee, holding on to the coarse surface. The stone tilted.
She screamed.
“Haven. Wake the hell up,” Quade ordered.
She opened her eyes and gasped for air, sitting up in her chair in the underground bedroom. Quade knelt before her, both hands on her shoulders, his gaze an intense blue barely tinged with green. “I’m okay,” she mumbled.
He tightened his hold. “Did you see Ulric?”
“Yes.” She told him about the entire journey, and by the time she was finished, her body had stopped shaking. “We have to save those Fae people. They looked terrible.” Every second that went by might be a month for them. Or even more time than that.
Quade’s jaw clenched. “You might not want to save them when you hear the truth. I just found out that they created you with genetic material and then abandoned you because you were part demon.”
She blinked. “They created me on purpose?”
He nodded, his expression grim. “Yes. Then they left you with humans. It’s unforgivable.”
Her body warmed. “Do you know who donated the material?”
“We will never know, according to my brother,” he said. “I will try to get you more answers, but that may be all we’ll ever learn. I promise the Fae will not go unpunished.”
“It’s okay,” she said automatically, ignoring the sputtering hope inside her. Yeah, she’d thought maybe she’d find family in this immortal world, but she’d always been alone, and that was okay. Tears pricked the backs of her eyes because she was tired. No other reason.
He gently wiped a tear from her cheek. “If you mate me, you’ll get a brother- and sister-in-law, not to mention all of the Seven members. We’re family.”
She forced a chuckle. “I don’t need family.”
“Fine, but you do need to mate. It sounds like Ulric will reach that rock soon, and you are unprepared to fight him.” Quade brushed her hair back from her face. “Belonging to me will not be so bad.”
The sudden heat that statement brought to her extremities was one she had to ignore. He was not turning her on. She was a modern woman, a Fae-demoness, no less. “Your language is archaic,” she said.
“I am archaic,” he said quietly. “I mean the words that I say.”
She’d never belonged to anyone or with anyone. The sense of belonging that some people seemed to have intrigued her as much as it had eluded her for so long. For hours, before falling asleep, she’d drawn with her pencils, thinking about Quade. About mating him. There was only one possible decision, and she’d already made it. “I am willing to mate you to handle this problem with Ulric and the lost Fae, but I’m not promising forever.”
“If we mate, I’m taking forever,” he said, threading his hand through her hair and effectively trapping her head. “You need to understand that and right now.”
This side of him, so confident and arrogant, drew her in a way she’d have to examine later, because she should be ticked off. Instead, her breath quickened and her body heated. Her thighs ached. “We’ll see.” She leaned in to kiss him, and he met her more than halfway, his mouth firm and his kiss hard.
He leaned back, keeping his hold. “Say yes.”
She looked at him, immortal and so damn strong. “Yes.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
The simple word changed him. In front of her eyes, he widened, ancient power shimmering in his eyes. Warning ticked through her, but it was too late. Everything inside her knew it on a level she’d never be able to explain. She told herself mating was the only way to save those poor Fae members and maybe stop Ulric.
But she was struggling to breathe for some reason.
“Don’t be afraid.” Quade cupped her jaw, his palm rough against her skin.
“I’m not,” she said automatically. It wasn’t like they hadn’t already slept together. This just seemed so big, somehow. “Quade? I don’t think I’m meant for forever.” The words rushed out of her, and she couldn’t stop them. “I don’t want you to expect, well, everything and be disappointed.”
A dimple flashed in his right cheek. “I do expect everything, and I will not be disappointed.” Ducking his shoulder, he lifted her from the chair. “I can get what I want from you, sweetling.”
Her eyebrows rose and she slid an arm around his neck. “Is that a fact?” What exactly did he want? Besides everything.
“Aye.” He set her down on the bed and gently lifted her shirt over her head.
Cool air brushed over her skin, but she flushed, instantly hot. “What do you want?”
He removed her tank top, which was also acting as a bra, his eyes flaring as her breasts were released. “Honor, loyalty, obedience.”
No love? The words ticked through her. “Wait a minute. No obedience.” She wasn’t a dog, for Pete’s sake. “Your time has passed, my friend.”
“My time is apparently now.” He yanked his shirt off with little care, revealing that hard and damaged chest. “All the time I have, before the final ritual, I will devote to making you safe. We will start with the dream world, and then this world. That I vow to you.”
Nobody had ever really given a crap whether she was safe or not, so it was tempting to fall right into his plan for them. So tempting. What would it truly be like to be the center of somebody’s world? Even temporarily? She unbuckled his belt. When had he gotten a belt? “Your words are nice, but the underlying assumptions beneath them are bothersome.” Making her point, she released his zipper.
He sucked in air, and his ripped abdomen rolled. “No assumptions. Just facts.”
No complete sentences, either. She smiled and reached for him, humming at his thick length. The guy really was gifted. “Okay, Ace.” She caressed him, and the growl that rumbled from his chest shot right to her core. “I’m not the obedient type. You should probably learn that now.”
He lifted her by the arms and settled her back on the bed. “Perhaps nobody has taught you.” Humor glimmered in his unreal eyes along with a healthy dose of hunger.
She rolled her eyes. Energy coursed through her, sparking her blood and making her nerves tighten. Rolling, she came up the other side of the bed, her breath quickening. “We need to get this settled before the mating.” Her chin went up at the same time his lowered, giving him a predatory look fiercer than any animal. Her legs bunched to run.
He cocked his head. “What are you doing?”
“I’m not sure,” she admitted, edging toward the end of the bed. “The whole agreement, like we’ve signed on the dotted line, just seems off.” None of this made any sense, but she went with her instincts, as usual.
He angled her way. “I have no problem taming you, if that’s what’s troubling you.”
&n
bsp; Her eyes widened. “Seriously. Dude. We have to talk.”
An alarm blared insistently through the underground facility, and the entire mountain rocked. Quade instantly zipped up and tossed her a shirt. The mountain bucked again, and an explosion sounded somewhere deep in the rock.
She struggled to get the shirt over her head.
He grabbed her hand and ran for the door, shoving her behind him as he looked into the hallway. Smoke filled the area. “We have to get out of here.” Holding tight, he stepped gracefully into the hallway and started running toward the computer room.
She held the shirt up to her mouth, trying to keep smoke out of her lungs. Her eyes watered, but she ran with him, stopping cold at the kitchen. Flames poured from a room beyond the computers.
Benny ran out, a shirt over his face.
“Are we being attacked?” Quade barked, just as Ronan ran from the sleeping quarters, his chest and feet bare; Faith and Grace were behind him.
“No.” Benny bent over. “We were wiring explosives, and one went off.” He grabbed a fire extinguisher, turned, and shot the white mess toward the flames. They sputtered out.
Ivar rushed out from one of the rooms and instantly dropped into a slide by a computer. He typed in several keys, and a whoosh of air sucked up all the smoke into black grates on the ceiling. “I put the ventilation system in first this time.” He coughed, his eyes watering. “What the hell, Ben?”
Benny wiped soot off his chest. “We need protection in place.” He winced. “Sorry.”
The last person in the entire world who should be playing with explosives was Benjamin Reese. Quade angled to the side to view the damaged room. One entire wall had blown back several feet, revealing another vein of copper. The grate in the ceiling above him opened, dangling from one side.
“Damn it,” Ivar muttered, glaring up.
Benny wiped soot off his face. “I guess we’d better clean this up.”
Quade turned and brushed soot out of Haven’s hair. So much for his smooth romantic moves. “Why don’t you go wash up, sweetling? I’ll help here.”
Her eyes were wide and soot covered her nose, but she nodded and retreated, keeping an eye on Benny. Then she turned and jogged down the hallway.
Benny coughed. “I hope I didn’t interrupt anything.”
Quade was going to kill him.
* * * *
Haven’s body ached from too much arousal too fast, and the adrenaline rush from the explosion hadn’t helped much. However, her mind was pleased with the reprieve. She stepped into the stone-walled enclosure, looking up at the rain-type showerhead extending from the rock. Hot water poured out with impressive pressure.
Even if the Seven had skimped on computers and bedrooms, the showers were luxurious. She smiled, humming softly as she stepped under the spray. Steam rose around her, but the copper veins still glowed.
A whish of sound caught her attention, and then Quade stepped around the corner and into the shower, soot covering his bare chest. He was nude and fully aroused.
She jumped. “What in the world?”
He smiled and reached for the soap. “We’re finishing our discussion.”
“Wh-what discussion?” She slid to the side so he could wash off the soot, her gaze caught by his powerful hands over that incredible chest.
“Our mating.” He set the soap down and tugged her closer. The smell of mint wafted through the steam.
She slid her hands up and over his soapy chest, unable to prevent herself from touching him. “Did you eat more toothpaste?”
“No. Just brushed my teeth.” When she held his gaze, he lifted one large shoulder. “I may have eaten a little.”
She smacked his chest. “I told you to stop doing that.”
“I know.” He retaliated for the punch by jerking her closer, his mouth taking hers. He kissed her long and hard and deep, his big body curling over her, his hold absolute. When he finally lifted his head, she could barely breathe. “Haven. You’re the one.” He tangled his hand in her wet hair and tugged just enough to send electric tingling along her scalp. Then he kissed her again, his mouth claiming, his tongue possessing.
She leaned closer, a moan sighing up from her chest.
He traced kisses down her neck and nipped the spot where he’d bitten her before.
She shivered, biting her lip. Pleasure rippled from his mouth, straight to her core. He flipped her around, and she gasped, planting her hands on the smooth stone wall.
“Keep your hands there.” His voice was raw. Hoarse and commanding. His erection brushed her butt, and he reached around her, both hands soapy and playing with her nipples. He rolled and teased, having her panting for more in a minute. Then his hand slid down her belly and he parted her, rubbing across her clit.
Her knees nearly gave out, and she dropped a hand to steady herself.
The smack to her butt had her crying out. Heat spread out from his palm, slamming right to her core.
“I told you to stay there.” He grasped her hand and raised it next to the other one, one large foot kicking her legs farther apart. “Let go again, and you won’t like the result.”
She shut her eyes and a shudder took her. “Quade.” This was a new side to him. Just how much of himself had he been holding back?
His fangs sank into her neck, in and out, and he licked the wound clean, sending electricity to her breasts. He’d marked her again. He tweaked her nipples and one hand slid down. She sucked in breath, holding it, her body on the precipice. Chuckling, he slid one finger inside her and then a second, crisscrossing them until she was ready to beg.
An orgasm uncoiled inside her, taking her breath. She rode it out, her body shaking, and rested her cheek against the wall by her hands.
The wildness in him, the barely controlled movements, spurred her on as nothing else could have. He palmed her, his hand grinding against her still firing clit. She cried out, pleasure and warning mingling in her head.
He placed his hands over hers on the wall and slid them down, bending her over. Flames licked along her skin. Then he penetrated her, going slow, just his body taking hers. His fingers curled over hers, and she held on like her life depended on it.
Just as he’d embedded himself fully, he pulled out, setting up a hard and fast rhythm that forced her onto her toes. With his hands over hers and his body taking hers, she couldn’t move. “Quade,” she breathed.
He leaned over and nipped her shoulder. Was he going to bite her? He shifted his angle, prodding a spot inside her that shot streaks of white behind her closed eyes. She rose, fast and hard, for that edge she’d only found with him. Her body tensed, and her thighs trembled. She cried his name as an orgasm bore down on her, taking everything she had.
She panted, her eyes wide on the rock wall. It took her a second to realize he was still hard inside her. She blinked.
He released her hands and withdrew, flipping her around. “This way.” Lifting her easily, he impaled her against the stone, his gaze capturing hers.
She grabbed his shoulders, curling her hands over. Her thighs clamped onto his hips on their own. He grasped her pelvis and tilted her so he could go deeper.
Then he started to pound. Hard and fast and deeper than she would’ve thought possible. His eyes were a deep midnight with no green, fathomless and powerful. His jaw was hard and his concentration absolute. He held her aloft, controlling their movements, controlling them both.
His fangs dropped low.
She spasmed around him, and he growled.
Fast as lightning, he struck, his fangs digging deep in her neck. Pain lashed into her and she threw her head back, crying out as he continued to hammer inside her.
The orgasm uncoiled inside her, fast and hot, and she climbed toward it. Sparks flew along her nerves and she stiffened, digging her nails into his skin.
Heat f
lashed along her hip and buttock, spreading fire through her flesh. She cried out and fell over, coming so hard she could only hold on to him and trust that he’d hold her. His thrusts increased, faster and harder, until his muscled body jerked with his own release.
She gasped, her body going soft with exhaustion. He lifted his head and a smile tugged at his lips. “Hello, mate.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
For the first time since leaving his hell world, Quade Kayrs was settled. Full on, in control, back in this world. Settled. After the mating, he hadn’t let Haven get much sleep, keeping her busy in bed all night. She sat next to him in the computer room, eating a bowl of cereal, the bite mark on her neck evident for all to see.
He brushed a thumb across the bite mark, hiding a smile when she shivered.
She looked at him, her green eye lighter than usual. “Knock it off.” But then she smiled and returned to picking the marshmallows to eat out of her cereal. Why didn’t they just make the cereal with only marshmallows?
Promise Williams, Ivar’s mate, cleared her throat up by a screen. They’d filled her in about Haven’s abilities and what had happened the last few times in the dream worlds, and she’d done a bunch of math for a while. “Okay. So, here’s what we think we have.” Ivar sat next to her on a computer, and right now, it was just the four of them. Adare and Benny were out scouting, and Ronan and Faith were still in bed. Grace was nowhere to be seen, and Logan and Mercy would soon arrive with Haven’s human mother.
Quade was not looking forward to meeting that woman.
Promise typed on a laptop, and a series of numbers came up on the screen. “So, what I think is happening is that when Quade’s world imploded, energy released by its destruction ricocheted across other worlds, much like a rock skipping across a stream.”
Quade studied this female of Ivar’s. Spirally black hair, lovely dusky skin, intelligent brown eyes. She managed to put modern science in a way that made sense, and he appreciated being able to follow her logic. She wore dark pants with a pretty green blouse, making her look feminine and soft next to the big-ass Viking, who was clearly in love. Ivar kept nodding and grinning as she explained. He was definitely not from the same era as Quade.
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