by Larissa Ione
But she’d never once complained or asked for help. Hell, when anyone offered a hand, she flat-out refused. Gradually, the hard wariness in MoonBound’s warriors’ eyes was joined by admiration, and Hunter could feel his own feelings making that same shift. He had to keep reminding himself that she could be the enemy—that she could have volunteered to come with him as part of a ShadowSpawn plot.
He didn’t want to believe that, but he also couldn’t afford to let down his guard. Not when the future of his clan was at stake.
As they dropped into a sloping river valley, a powerful sense of awareness settled in his head. They were close. Samnult had told him he’d feel the vortex, and sure enough, it was as if something was tugging at his brain, leading him toward a stand of trees to the south.
“This way.” He helped Aylin down a rocky path, and as the pull grew stronger, so did his misgivings. Aylin was clearly brave and smart, but with her lack of fighting experience and the bum leg, this was risky as shit.
“I can feel it,” she murmured. “We’re here.”
Putting his back to a stand of ancient trees, Hunter turned to his warriors. “We have to do this alone.” Riker opened his mouth to argue, but Hunter cut him off with a gesture. “This isn’t open for debate. Wait for us, but if we haven’t returned by the eve of the full moon, head back to MoonBound.”
“Hunt—”
“Don’t push me on this.”
Riker’s hard, defiant stare earned a harder one from Hunter. Riker was his friend, but he was also his subordinate, and when Hunter gave an order, he expected it to be followed. Without question.
Which was something Riker often had a problem with.
Fortunately, Riker didn’t push. “After the moon fever, we’ll come back for you.”
“No. You’ll carry on the way we’ve planned. You’re in charge, with Baddon as your second.”
“But I’m a turned vampire. The law—”
“I know what the law says about clan leaders being born vampires,” Hunter said gruffly. “But everyone at MoonBound respects you, and with Baddon at your side, even the sticklers for custom should be mollified.”
“You’ll make it back,” Riker said. “So leadership won’t be an issue.”
“I know.”
“Sir?” Aiden cleared his throat as he approached. “Can I speak with you in private?”
Curious, Hunter nodded and drew Aiden a few yards away into the trees. “What is it?”
Aiden paused, as if he had changed his mind.
“Spit it out, man,” Hunter said.
“I don’t trust her.” Aiden didn’t need to gesture toward Aylin for Hunter to know who he meant. “I know you’re traveling through a vortex somewhere with her, and I don’t know why, but I don’t like it. What if she leads you into a trap or is part of some ShadowSpawn plot to assassinate you?”
“And why would she go to all this trouble when Rasha could have killed me a dozen times over by now?”
“Because that would be obvious, and Rasha is too valuable to ShadowSpawn to risk. But Aylin is practically disposable to them.”
Hunter’s own thoughts had gone that way a time or two, but he couldn’t come up with a reason for Aylin to want him dead. Then again, he couldn’t figure out why she was willing to risk her life for a child that not only wasn’t hers but wasn’t even conceived yet.
Both twins would be the death of you. But only one of them will choose to bring you back.
Samnult’s warning a couple of months ago rang through his head for the eight-millionth time. Instinct told him Aylin wasn’t a threat, but centuries of living—and being betrayed—was proof that sometimes instinct wasn’t enough. Hunter might be willing to give Aylin the benefit of the doubt, but he wasn’t an idiot. He always took his warriors’ thoughts into account.
“So what do you think Aylin would have to gain by doing ShadowSpawn’s bidding?”
“What wouldn’t she gain?” Aiden said, his voice grave. “Her life at ShadowSpawn has reportedly been hell. What if they promised her a place of prominence in the clan? Or a powerful mate?”
“ShadowSpawn has nothing to gain from my death. My mating to Rasha will bring more to the table than my funeral would.”
Aiden shook his head. “Not if you refuse to share power with her. If she’s inside our headquarters, she could sabotage the clan. With you out of the way, she could take advantage of the confusion and chaos, and she could lead ShadowSpawn warriors inside. I don’t have all the answers, but I’m telling you, I don’t like this.”
Hunter didn’t, either, but he wasn’t going to operate on speculation and general “bad feelings.” “I appreciate the concern,” he said as he started back toward the rest of the group. “I’ll be careful. And I’ll trust you and the others to be my eyes and ears when I’m not there.”
“We won’t let you down.”
“I know.” He stopped a few feet away from where the others had gathered, and Aylin joined him at his side. “I don’t know when we’ll be back, but if we haven’t returned by the eve of the full moon, Riker has his orders.”
One by one, each wished them well. Riker was last, his expression grim as Hunter passed him the virtual torch of command.
“Good hunting, man.” Rike clapped him on the shoulder with a gloved hand. “We’ll be here when you get back.”
“May Brother Eagle guide your path ahead and Cousin Coyote watch your back.” Hunter turned away from Riker before they did something sappy, like hug.
As he took Aylin’s hand and guided her to the stone circle in the small clearing, Riker and the others melted into the forest.
They paused outside the circle, and he turned to face her. “This is your last chance to refuse.”
A breeze ruffled her hair, creating soft, golden waves around her face. “And this is your last chance to understand that I’m not as fragile as I seem. I have a bad leg, but there’s nothing wrong with my mind.”
The resolve in Aylin’s eyes humbled him. She didn’t have a stake in this, and yet she was willing to risk her life to save that of Hunter’s future son or daughter . . . when even Rasha wouldn’t. Remarkable. “Okay, then.” He gazed up at the endlessly gray clouds and wondered if they’d fill the sky on the other side of the portal, too. “We do this.”
“And what, exactly, is this?”
“Mutual feeding.” Just the thought of Aylin’s fangs in his throat again made him instantly, painfully, hard.
Aylin blinked. “Why?”
“Because demons are assholes,” he muttered. “Samnult said we have to take each other’s blood at the site, and we’ll be transported to his realm.”
“Oh.” She glanced around and then shrugged. “Might as well get it over with, don’t you think? Unless . . .”
“Unless what?”
She squared her shoulders as if preparing for battle. Trouble was, he was the one she was preparing to fight. “Unless you’re afraid my blood is tainted by my deformity.”
“A crippled bear is no less a bear.” And Aylin was definitely no less female. Reaching out, he trailed the tip of his finger along the pulse in her throat. “There’s one other thing. We have to be naked.”
Drawing a sharp breath, she stepped away from him, and he braced himself for a refusal. So he was shocked as shit when she stepped inside the stone circle and shed her coat, dropping it onto the wet grass. Before he even had time to process what she was doing, she peeled off her sweater.
But it was when she dropped her bra on the ground, revealing creamy, strawberry-tipped breasts, that he understood just how difficult this quest was going to be. Screw the challenges and the danger and the demon.
He had a feeling that Aylin was the true menace to his future.
AYLIN HAD BEEN naked in front of males before, but only for punishment, and none of them had ever looked at h
er the way Hunter was looking at her. In the past, she’d seen only contempt and disgust in onlookers’ expressions.
Now she saw hunger.
Hunter’s gaze was as hot as the air was cold, scorching her as he scanned her body. The memory of being with him at the cabin flooded her, making her tummy flutter and her knees wobble. It also made her bold.
Back then, Hunter had believed she was Rasha. This time, there was no confusion. This time, he was very well aware that it was Aylin he was staring at.
And it was Aylin who had put the extremely large bulge behind the fly of his jeans.
Confidence swelled, and she shimmied out of her jeans and panties. She stole a few glances in Hunter’s direction, and what she saw took her breath away.
He wasn’t stripping. She should have been horrified that she was naked and he was fully clothed, but the way he was looking at her, his eyes dark, his teeth clenched, his hands balled into fists . . . it was as if he was mesmerized.
Aylin’s confidence bloomed even more, and suddenly, she knew what her sister felt like when she was walking through ShadowSpawn’s halls in her skimpy outfits, her hips swinging with extra flair when a male came into view.
This was . . . exhilarating.
Until she remembered how ugly and twisted her leg was. But Hunter didn’t focus on her leg. His gaze was locked on hers, holding her in place as he shed his own clothes.
She didn’t feel the cold air swirling around her or the snowflakes that began to fall. All she could feel was heat spreading through her muscles and her pulse pounding in her veins. Right now, she’d love for an arctic wind to scream out of the north and ease the hot ache that throbbed in her pelvis.
The pile of clothes at Hunter’s feet grew larger as he stripped off his weapons harness, his black sweatshirt and matching T-shirt, and his boots. Next, with agonizing slowness, he shoved his jeans to his ankles and stepped out of them.
A whimper of pure admiration escaped her as he straightened. At his full height, he towered over her, and his broad shoulders blocked out the scenery behind him. His bare chest rippled with hard-cut muscles under smooth, tan skin that begged for her touch. He was so beautifully male, a savage beast that belonged out here in the wilderness, as bound to the forest as the wolves and the deer.
She knew she shouldn’t look lower, but she only had so much willpower. Sliding her gaze down, over the rolling hills and valleys of his abs, she let out another whimper. He was magnificently hard, jutting upward in a dusky, thick column marbled with pulsing veins.
Her throat closed, and her breasts ached, and suddenly, she could picture herself taking him into her mouth. Of all the sexual acts she’d witnessed in the close confines of clan life, that was the one she’d found incredibly distasteful, especially the way males seemed to use it to dominate females. Pleasure and power seemed decidedly one-sided, but as Hunter stood there, a proud warrior with a rock-hard exterior, she understood that for a willing female, the power could be all hers.
“Are you ready?” The velvety purr of his voice was a stroke of pure ecstasy.
“Yes,” she breathed. And it didn’t even matter what it was he was asking if she was ready for. He could have been asking if she was ready to have her throat slit, and she was too far gone with lust to care.
Naked and fully erect, he came at her. She stood her ground, anticipating his touch so eagerly that she trembled.
He stepped inside the circle and stopped a mere whisper away, their bodies not touching but so close a feather wouldn’t fit between them. She had to crane her neck to meet his gaze.
His palm came up to cup her cheek, and an instant, maddening pressure built under her skin. Good Lord, if he could do that to her with a simple caress on her face, what would happen to her if he touched her intimately?
There was a menacing glint in his eyes that didn’t match the sensual undercurrent in his voice. “Before I put our lives on the line, I need to know if your offer to come with me was genuine, or if this is part of a ShadowSpawn plot.”
Her first instinct was to get angry at the accusation, but almost instantly, she realized that his suspicion was warranted. ShadowSpawn didn’t play by the rules, and they never had. She could be the enemy, one MoonBound would least suspect.
“On my honor,” she said softly, “I only want to help.”
His dark gaze searched her face, and she shivered at the cold resolve she saw lurking there. She was suddenly very glad she was telling the truth, because she had no doubt that crossing this male could end very badly for her. And worse for Rasha.
Finally, he nodded. “Then thank you, Aylin,” he murmured as he lowered his head. His silky lips grazed her ear, drawing a shudder of pure desire from her. “You’re as beautiful inside as you are on the outside.”
A sob formed in her throat but never made it past her lips, lodged there by Hunter’s fangs as they sank deep into her neck.
She gasped at the searing pleasure, her fangs punching down hard with an intense hunger that made her mouth water. Twisting, she flicked her tongue over the pleasure glands at the top of her fangs and opened her mouth over his shoulder. Warm, decadent blood filled her mouth as Hunter groaned and arched against her, pressing his erection into her belly.
Fluid heat unfurled between her legs and spread outward in electric tingles. It was as if her entire body was plugged into a giant erotic battery. Every cell vibrated and pulsed in a coordinated wave of euphoria that started at her scalp and ended at her curled toes. Was this what would have happened with Hunter back at the cabin if they hadn’t stopped?
Great Spirit, now she understood the obsession with sex. If this was what it was like, she’d want it all the time.
Tightening her grip, she wrapped herself around Hunter, her body moving on its own, rubbing against him, needing even more, although she wasn’t sure what more could be. This was an orgasm, was it not?
Hunter’s hand dropped to her ass and lifted her so his shaft slid between her folds. He didn’t penetrate her, but in her mind, he was inside her, pumping deep, his cock sliding over places so sensitive that she jerked with every delicious stroke.
Something pulled taut in her core, a white-hot need that skated the edge of torment. She thrashed and cried out at the pain-pleasure, her body screaming for . . . she wasn’t sure. All she knew was that she couldn’t stop writhing, couldn’t concentrate on anything but the relentless, building pressure in her sex.
What was happening? She’d already climaxed . . . at least, she thought she had. So what was this new torture? Panic welled up, but she couldn’t stop moving or feeding or—
The pressure peaked, and without warning, the most intense explosion of bliss blasted through her, blowing apart her thoughts. Wrecking her. Devastating her.
This, she realized dazedly, was an orgasm. She surrendered to the salisheye, moaning and grinding against Hunter as the climax continued to pulse between her legs. As it waned, her legs went wobbly, but Hunter’s strong arms tightened to hold her solidly against him.
But even as the last wondrous waves of pleasure ebbed, she noticed that something wasn’t right. The warmth of the sun’s rays beat down on her bare skin, and soft, warm grass tickled her feet. And at some point, she’d disengaged her fangs and buried her face in Hunter’s throat. He was no longer feeding from her, either.
Exhausted, barely coherent, she cracked open her eyes, squinting at the bright sunlight. “Hunter?” she rasped.
“Yeah. I know. We’re on the other side.” He pulled away, his breathing as ragged as hers, and she felt a warm stickiness against her belly.
Hunter had orgasmed, too.
Savoring the feminine pride that arced through her, she looked up at him. Abruptly, her feeling of satisfaction died. She wasn’t sure what she had expected to find in his expression, but what she saw made it very clear that he wasn’t happy about what had just happen
ed. Not at all.
WELL, THIS WAS humiliating as shit.
Not since Hunter was a youngling with his first female, a seductress his father had given him for his salisheye, had he gotten so worked up that he’d come without warning. And outside a female.
Now he had to reconcile that with the fact that it had been the most amazing orgasm ever.
But so . . . damned . . . embarrassing.
Hunter stepped back, cringing at the evidence of his climax on Aylin’s belly. Naturally, their clothes hadn’t made the trip through the portal, so he couldn’t so much as offer a T-shirt to wipe up his mess. And didn’t it just figure that there weren’t even any fucking leaves on the ground, because apparently, this realm was nothing but endless green meadows and blazingly bright sunshine.
“I . . . ah . . .” Oh, great, he even sounded like a youngling with his first female. Summoning his command voice, he started again. “I’m . . . um . . .”
Excellent. Now he came off as flustered and authoritative. Nothing like sounding very sure that you couldn’t put together a coherent sentence. Fuck. But then Samnult saved them both from more awkwardness by appearing from out of nowhere.
Hunter would never have believed he’d be happy to see a demon. Aylin, however, wasn’t as thrilled, and she let out a squeak of surprise and made a futile effort to cover herself. Hunter stepped in front of her, allowing her some cover and also, selfishly, not wanting the demon to ogle her. If anyone got to ogle Aylin, it would be him.
Samnult looked mostly human today, with short black hair, tan skin, white teeth, and a pair of black jeans with some sort of leathery shirt. Then there were the ram-like horns that jutted out from his forehead and curled over his head and behind his ears.
So, yeah, mostly human.
“Maybe,” Hunter suggested, “you could have mentioned the side effects of using the portal?”
One of Samnult’s horns twitched. “If you’d known, would you have changed your mind?”