The overwhelming impulse to kiss her gripped me, but I resisted as I undid the button on her pants. I pushed her pants down her hips and bent to tug them lower before stopping to untie her boots. I lifted one shapely calf and then the other to remove her boots and pants.
I untied my boots and kicked them off before tugging my pants the rest of the way down. When I rose over her again, she gave me a sultry smile as she draped her arms over my shoulders. I plucked her off the ground, and she wrapped her legs around my waist as she rose over me.
* * *
Aisling
Hawk’s muscles flexed when I skimmed my hand down his chest and bent my head to kiss him. I was desperate to feel his mouth against mine, but I contented myself with touching and tasting him in this way.
His fingers found my already wet core and slipped inside me. I nipped at his chest, and my hips moved faster as his hand teased me to the brink before pulling away.
I sank my fangs into his shoulder to keep from screaming in frustration and reached between our bodies to clasp his cock. The thick, heavy length of it pulsed in my hand when I guided it inside me. A feeling of rightness stole through me as he stretched and filled me.
Releasing my bite on him, I lifted my head to meet his stark, ravenous gaze. I struggled to breathe as the need in his eyes shook me. With trembling fingers, I traced the lines at the corners of his mouth before stilling on his lips. Every part of me yearned to lean forward and kiss him, but I didn’t try. He would only turn away, and I would ruin the moment.
Instead, I lifted my hips until I felt only the tip of him inside me before I sank onto him again. I moaned as tendrils of pleasure spiraled from my belly and out to my legs. I couldn’t tear my eyes from his while I rode him. I’d never forget the sensation of his firm flesh against mine or the scent of the woods and earth on him. I’d never forget the way his hands stroked me with such reverence.
I felt him feeding on me as our bodies moved faster, but instead of being frightening or unpleasant, a rush of power washed over me; I was the one nourishing him. This powerful, magnificent demon only wanted me.
I smiled when his fangs sank into my neck. Adjusting his hold on me, he kept me up as his knees dropped to the earth. When he fell back, I placed my hands on his chest and rode us both to completion.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Aisling
I leisurely stroked Hawk’s chest as I lay nestled in the crook of his arm while staring at the stars. We should get up to return to the others, but we lacked the energy to move. Lifting my head, I propped it on my hand as I gazed at him.
My brow furrowed when I realized the lines around his mouth and eyes were gone and tension no longer emanated from him. I almost smacked my forehead when I realized what changed.
“You were hungry,” I said. “And not just for wraiths but for sex.”
He frowned at me, but I had a feeling he was feigning his confusion. “What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean. Before this, you looked exhausted and… well… older.”
“You sure can sweet talk a man,” he teased.
“It’s not funny; why didn’t you tell me you were hungry?”
“Because you asked for time to get to know each other better, and I was giving it to you.”
“And how long were you going to wait to tell me?”
“I wasn’t going to tell you; I was waiting until you were ready.”
“And what if that was another week or months? Were you going to feed on someone else?”
A vein throbbed to life in his forehead as his jaw clenched and his skin flushed. His reaction was so volatile that I leaned away from him.
“I would never do that,” he snarled. “Do you really think so little of me?”
It took me a couple of seconds to find my voice as he stared at me with a mixture of anger and hurt. I’d never felt so horrible before. “You said you need sex to survive.”
“I do.”
“Then what were you going to do if I asked for more time?”
“Give it to you. I’ve gone longer without sex, and no matter what it took, I would have abstained until you were ready.”
“And starve and weaken yourself in the process? We’re chasing the horsemen; you have to be as strong as possible.”
“By weakening you in the process?”
“I don’t feel weaker after being with you. Tired from being so thoroughly used and pleased by you, yes, but in a really good way. I can feel you feeding on me, but I don’t feel weaker because of it.”
When he studied me as if he were trying to discern the truth, I held his gaze and tried to make him understand I wasn’t lying.
“Maybe that’s because you’re my Chosen,” he murmured. “The Chosen bond does make demons stronger.”
“Then you should have told me you needed to feed.”
“No, I shouldn’t have. You had to make your own choice about what this is between us, and you couldn’t do that with additional pressure from me.”
“I had a right to know.”
“No, you didn’t. You’re my Chosen; you’re the only woman I’ll ever be with again, and I will do whatever is necessary to make sure you’re safe and happy, even if it means going without.”
I resisted kicking him for his stubbornness at the same time I almost threw my arms around him and hugged him. Instead of telling me he was suffering, he’d kept it to himself to make me happy.
Something inside me shifted, and this time, my reaction to him had nothing to do with my demon DNA. Instead, it had everything to do with my very familiar, human emotions; I was losing my heart to this man.
“Did you think I would have sex with you again if you told me you were hungry?” I asked.
“I suspected you would; it is amazing between us.”
“You’re pretty sure of yourself,” I said.
He grinned as he rested his hand on my hip, and his fingers slid down to my thigh. His touch instantly brought my body to life. It was as if I’d spent my whole life waiting for him to come and wake me up.
“I am,” he said. “I smelled your desire in the mornings, but I wanted you to come to me because you were ready and not because you felt sorry for me.”
“I don’t feel sorry for you.”
“Hmm,” he said as he ran his thumb over my bottom lip.
“Next time, you’ll tell me when you have to feed,” I said.
“If that’s what you want.”
“It is.”
“And what of us? Do you still need space?”
I still wasn’t thrilled about my demon DNA declaring my single life was over without any warning, but if I was going to be bound to someone for eternity, it would be Hawk. He was a good man who put my needs ahead of his, I liked him, and if I was honest with myself, I felt more for him than just like, but one step at a time.
I could easily see myself spending the rest of my life with Hawk. If we were still human when we came across each other, I would have chosen him. As a little girl, I sometimes dreamed about my future husband, but none of those imaginings compared to this man.
I wasn’t in love with him yet, but it would be so easy to tumble into it with him. Still, I had to keep a part of myself distant from him. I’d never experienced a broken heart, and I wasn’t about to start now. Just because I was his Chosen didn’t mean he had to love me, and I couldn’t imagine anything lonelier than being in love with a man who didn’t love me back.
“I’m not going to let you go hungry,” I said.
His eyes darkened as that vein in his forehead reappeared. I knew I’d said the wrong thing before he spoke and cursed my runaway mouth again.
“I can handle it. I’m not going to have sex with you because you feel sorry for me or think you have to feed me.”
I grasped his arm when he sat up and stopped him before he rose. “That’s not what I meant! I don’t feel sorry for you.”
I gulped when his head turned toward me. He’d never hurt me, but if I
was an enemy and he looked at me like that, I would have tucked tail and run. Instead, my hand tightened on his arm.
“I’m not going to deny myself either,” I said. “We can work through this together.”
His fingers entwined in mine, and he lifted them to kiss my knuckles. “We should return to the others.”
I glanced at the lightening sky and sighed. I wasn’t ready to resume our search for the elusive horsemen, especially since I sensed a distance in Hawk. I’d said the wrong thing, and I couldn’t figure out how to make it better without baring more of myself to him. I wasn’t ready for that.
I let him pull me to my feet and wiped the leaves from my ass before gathering my clothes. We stopped to bathe in a river yesterday, but I stopped at the stream and knelt beside it to splash water on my arms and face. Hawk knelt beside me and scooped some water into his hands to scrub his face.
Leaning back, I studied his profile as water dripped from his chin and onto the ground. Cold dirt slid between my fingers as I resisted the impulse to touch his cheek; I pushed myself to my feet instead. I didn’t know what to do about the realization I was starting to care for him more than I’d anticipated. I’d rather face the horsemen than the turbulent feelings churning inside me.
I jumped to my feet and started tugging my clothes on. The wetness of my skin made dressing more difficult, but eventually, I got my clothes settled in a way that felt okay instead of clingy and twisted.
I finished tying my boot as the distant, lonely howl of something drifted over the land. I froze and dropped my hand to the knife on my belt as another cry pierced the night. “Is that the hounds?” I asked.
“It’s too far away to be them.”
“Are there more hellhounds out here?”
“No. The hounds stay with Kobal unless commanded otherwise, and I know he didn’t leave any of them out here.”
“Then what is it?”
“It could be anything. We live in a world that belongs to Hell too. Whatever it is, it isn’t close, but we have to get back.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Hawk
Aisling stayed by my side as we traversed through the mountainous passes. I didn’t think we had any chance of finding the horsemen out here, but none of us were ready to give up yet.
“Do you know where we are?” Corson asked Wren.
“No. I’ve never been this deep into the Wilds before,” she said.
A shadow blocked out the sun filtering through the sparse trees as Caim flew low overhead. He stayed out of view as he scouted ahead and behind us to make sure the horsemen hadn’t somehow doubled back to come up behind us. The hounds slipped in and out of the shadows as they took turns going ahead before returning to the others.
I watched Aisling as she walked with her head bowed and a pensive look on her face. I’d love to know what she was thinking, especially after our conversation earlier. I didn’t know what to make of this woman who was so eager and warm in my arms but also quick to hold herself apart from me.
Was it a fear of commitment or something more? Sometimes, I swore we were getting closer and then she’d pull back again. I knew women were a mystery, but she was a conundrum I didn’t think I’d ever solve.
Then, she looked up at me and smiled in a way that lit her face and caused her eyes to sparkle in the sunlight. For a second, I couldn’t breathe as the beauty of her struck me. I didn’t care if I never figured her out if she smiled at me like that every day for the rest of our lives. This conundrum had wormed her way into my heart, and I wasn’t going to let her go.
Caim landed ahead of us and settled his wings against his back as he strode toward us with a perplexed look on his face.
“What is it?” Corson asked.
“There’s a town with people in it ahead,” Caim replied.
“People are living in the town?” Wren asked.
I understood her disbelief; during my time in the Wilds, I’d never seen humans living in a town. The Wilders were nomads who moved because of the weather, food supply, or level of risk.
Many of the people living near the gateway were killed during the initial rush of demons fleeing Hell. A lot of the others were cleared out during the mandatory evacuations that followed the gateway’s opening. The Wilders only returned to those abandoned towns to scavenge them or travel through them, but for the most part, they stayed to the woods.
“It appears that way,” Caim said. “There are demons with them, and it looks like they’re living in peace together.”
“I’ve never come across Wilders and demons living in a town, but I’ve never been here before either,” Wren said. “Things might be a lot different in these mountains. The people in town can tell us more about the area, and they might have seen the horsemen or know something about where they’re hiding.”
“There’s also an old mine above the town. It’s set into a mountain, and there are some carts outside it, but I didn’t see anyone working it,” Caim said.
“They probably use it as an escape route or hiding place in case something happens,” Wren suggested. “They may be living in a town, but if they’re anything like Wilders, they’ll have more than one way out. We should talk to them.”
“Should we all go in?” Aisling asked.
“We’ll leave the hounds and Caim behind as backup,” Corson said. “If everything’s okay, they can enter after us.”
“Thank you very much for allowing us to join you later,” Caim muttered.
“You can stroll on in there if you’d like,” Corson said. “I’m sure they’ll all be eager to see a fallen angel. Maybe they’ll pluck and stuff you like the rest of us have wanted to do since meeting you.”
Caim unfolded his wings to reveal their six-foot wingspan. His head tilted to the side as he studied the rainbow colors shimmering through the black feather. “They’re too pretty to pluck and so am I,” he said before closing them again. “And I’ll gut anyone who tries.”
When one of the hounds walked closer to him, Caim absently rested his hand on its head. I expected the creature to move away from him, but it sat beside him and turned into his touch. I clenched my teeth to keep my jaw closed at the sight of a fallen angel and hellhound being so friendly with each other. But then, Caim could turn into a raven, so maybe it was an animal thing.
“We’ll stay here,” Caim said, and Corson rolled his eyes.
“Aisling—”
“I’m coming too,” she said before I could finish speaking.
The humans and demons appeared to be living in harmony, but something didn’t feel right. Nothing, since the gateway opened, had been simple or easy, and I preferred to keep Aisling away from the town until we knew more about it.
“I’m going,” she stated before walking over to join Wren and Lix.
Corson gave me a sympathetic look that swiftly turned into a shit-eating grin as he slapped me on the shoulder. “Welcome to the ‘she’s going to drive me crazy’ club. All new members get a T-shirt.”
When he strolled away laughing, I scowled after him. I didn’t know if I wanted to punch him or tie Aisling to a tree more. She had no idea what the Wilds hid; the fog people were nothing compared to some of the monsters who hunted these lands, but I’d agreed to let her come with us, and I couldn’t hold her back now.
“Let’s go meet some people,” Lix said and drank from his flask before recapping it and heading into the trees.
We followed him through the woods until the backside of a wooden building came into view. Lix slowed his step as we crept out of the trees and crossed the thirty feet of space separating the woods from the town. From my angle, I could see people and demons walking the street.
Some of them stopped to speak to each other, but others kept their heads down as they walked. I didn’t see any lower-level demons amongst them, but my view of the street was limited to fifty feet. I didn’t think they’d be so relaxed if there were lower-level demons with them; unlike some demons and seal creatures who had chosen one s
ide or the other, all lower-level demons sided with the craetons.
The wooden buildings and dusty street reminded me of an old western movie. My stepdad used to love old John Wayne and Clint Eastwood movies. We’d spent many Saturdays on the couch with a bowl of popcorn while we watched the westerns together. They were old and outdated, but I still enjoyed them and my time with Dax as none of the female members of our household had any interest in the movies.
Kneeling at the edge of the town, I felt like I’d been transported back to one of those old movies. I kept waiting for some black-hatted cowboy to turn the corner and start pushing people around, but no evildoer emerged.
The residents of the town moved about freely, but tension emanated from them as their heads moved steadily back and forth like they were searching for something. A woman sweeping the front porch of the building across the street set her broom against the side of the building. When it slid over and crashed to the ground, the people closest to her jumped like a bomb had gone off. A man let out a startled squeak before ducking his head and practically running away.
The woman glanced around before picking up the broom and placing it against the porch railing. She practically tripped over herself as she ran down the steps and strode away.
I clasped Aisling’s hand and squeezed it as I looked to Corson and Bale. “Something’s not right here.”
“No, it’s not,” Corson muttered.
“I don’t think we need anything from the people here,” Bale said.
“I agree,” Lix said.
Drawing Aisling away from the corner of the building, we stayed to the shadows as we made our way back toward the woods. We were almost to the tree line when I smacked into something and staggered back into Aisling.
“What’s the matter?” she whispered.
That was a fantastic question and one I couldn’t answer as I stared at the trees only five feet away from us. I stretched my hand out, but it only made it a foot before it smacked up against an invisible barrier.
Kiss of Death: Hell on Earth Series, Book 3 Page 16