by Lexi Ostrow
She raised a brow at him and hesitated. She had never directly been told not to leave Kellan alone, but it had certainly been implied when they’d first started letting him go on hunts. They had taken two of the bikes out on patrol, and the cleaners were close by.
She chewed her lower lip and shrugged. “If you get me in trouble, I’m going to pull your knickers into your arse next time I see you.”
Kellan laughed at the threat and gave her a little push towards her transport. Still laughing, she grabbed the key from her pocket and slipped it in the bike’s front panel to turn the engine on. It wouldn’t be long before someone realized steam could be used for personal transport, she didn’t want to be the hunter that got them caught them.
Putting her foot on the pedal stand, she pushed off the ground, and the bike took off towards the Alliance.
“You’re back alone?” Odette asked as McKenna walked through the back alley doorway.
McKenna was shocked to see the Guildmaster. “Kellan swore he would be right behind. I could scarcely keep my eyes open. The ride back did a little jolt to my system, but I would love a reprieve from reporting till after morning meal.”
Odette chuckled and walked with her down the hallway. “Only a hunter for two months, and already, you are like the others and looking for shortcuts.” Odette shook her head still laughing. “Very well, there is something that will be demanding your time anyway.”
McKenna almost asked what she was being assigned as she stepped into the great hall and saw Jacob. Her shout of joy echoed off walls and filled the large space. She ran to him, and he pushed off the wall to run to her.
They slammed together a few meters from where they’d started, and even as the pain ricocheted through her, she was kissing him. Her arms wrapped around his waist and their tongues slipped inside each other’s mouths, deepening the kiss. It had been so long since she’d felt anything so warm and perfect.
When the kiss ended, she was winded, and her body was throbbing. She hadn’t realized how badly she missed Jacob, how lonely she had felt, until he was holding her. “When did you get back?” she asked in one breath.
“A little over two hours ago. You were out on a hunt…with Kellan.”
His tone was full of displeasure, and she knew it was because he still shared a secret with Kellan. She couldn’t focus on telling him that everything was well. Her body was screaming for his touch, and nothing was going to stop her from finally making love to Jacob. That’s what it would be this time, making love. Her body quivered at the thought, and when she spoke, her voice was a low and sultry rasp.
“I am going to sound greedy and wanton, and I do not care if it’s unladylike or offensive,” she said as she let her hand trail down the front of his body and rub his prick through his breeches. “You had best get me to my quarters and think about nothing except our naked flesh entwined and sweaty until I am satisfied.”
“Dear God,” Jacob groaned and wrapped his hand around hers. “Keep touching me like that, and we will not make it there.
She laughed and tugged his hand to get them to the staircase at the back of the hall. She’d never wanted to ride in a lift more in her life, but they did not go to the living levels, just to Alliance areas.
Their footsteps thundered through the concrete stairwells until they reached the fourth landing, where McKenna’s new, shared room was. She groaned aloud as she pushed open the door. Thankfully, the girl she roomed with was not present.
“Forgive me, Madeline,” she said as she slipped the dead bolt in place and closed the door behind her.
“A double room?” Jacob asked.
She nodded and fumbled to unhook the front latching corset. Seconds seemed to take forever until the undergarment she wore as a top slipped off. She looked up and saw Jacob’s eyes go dark.
“You’ve never worn a proper undergarment. It’s very tempting,” Jacob said as he walked behind her and began to unclip the tiny eyelet hooks.
Where his fingers touched, she felt sparks. She moaned softly as he pushed the garment off her shoulders, and it joined her corset on the floor. His lips seared her shoulder as he kissed her bare back, and his hand’s spun her round to face him. Her neck lengthened, allowing him to kiss further up it, and she sighed. Her body was wet, ready, and she could feel the band of pleasure deep within her coiling with every glide of his fingers and caress of his lips.
“You have no idea how many nights I fell asleep imagining this,” Jacob whispered against her ear before nipping at it.
“As many as I did, I’m certain.” She arched her breasts into his body as his hands gripped her skirts and pulled them down.
“Good, then it means you have not had a change of heart.”
She put her hands on his belt and ripped it off so quickly, the button that held the trousers fastened, sprung off. “I should say not.”
Abandoning him, she bent down, slid the dagger out of her boot and set it on the dresser before kicking her boots off. When she looked at Jacob next, his body was bare, and she groaned. Her eyes skimmed over every meter of him, taking in the sculpt of his muscles and the blond curls surrounding his ready and erect prick.
She sank to her knees, gripped his shaft in her hand and stroked up the length of him. His hips bucked into her grip, and she squeezed slightly. With her other hand, she massaged his balls and leaned to press a kiss on the tip of his manhood.
“McKenna,” Jacob warned through what sounded like clenched teeth.
She looked into his brilliant eyes and slipped her mouth around him. Her tongue swirled over the wetness on his tip and drew a circular pattern along his erection, even as her mouth moved up and down it. Taking her hand from his balls, she placed it at the base of him and began to stroke in tandem with her sucks. When his hip began to thrust, she sucked harder. With her eyes on his, every second of the way, she felt herself almost come undone at the look in his lidded eyes. Jacob’s hands laced in her hair and gently tugged her from his shaft. It bobbed in front of her, and she reached out, pumping her hands along it, even as Jacob warned her to stop.
His hands jerked her off the ground, and she found her back pinned to the wall a moment later. He took her hands from her side, kissed them gently and pinned them above her head. Using one of his hands to hold hers in place, he used the other to tease the curls at the center junction of her thighs. Her body shook and arched as his fingers played her as if they’d done it a million times, and McKenna wanted to do it a million more.
Jacob’s mouth captured hers in a searing kiss that went so deeply through her, she whimpered against his lips. Jacob used his legs to widen her stance as he continued to place kisses on her breasts, stomach, and finally, right over the cotton of her knickers. Her hips jerked hard as he dragged his tongue along her core through the undergarment. She was panting heavily as she shoved her hands betwixt them and jerked the knickers off.
“Oh Jacob!” she cried, twisting her head as his tongue entered her body.
Jacob’s tongue slid in and out, lapping at her wetness and gliding over her nub and driving her to madness. The room was little more than pricks of blurry light as her body drew nearer and nearer to its release. When she screamed his name as she came, she could feel the smile on his lips, and he licked her one more time before standing up.
“I have missed you so bloody much, McKenna.” He took his shaft in his hand and trailed it over her core as he sucked her earlobe. “I’ve missed your smile, your smart mouth and the way your body feels as it comes undone because of mine.”
He kissed her and guided his prick into her folds at the same moment. McKenna saw stars from the pleasure of it and bucked her hips, urging him faster, harder. His thrusts were deep, and when she slid down the wall just a little, he used his knee to support her by jamming it into the wall. Her hands raked up and down his back as his kneaded her sensitive breasts. She could hear their bodies slapping together and into the wall, but none of it mattered. All that mattered was the tight knot of need growing bigger a
nd bigger.
When his hand left her breast to stroke over her clit, she came undone. Her cry was so fierce, it echoed around them. Wave after wave of release rocked through her, and he continued to wring every last sensation from her body as he thrust to find his own release. When he did, their eyes were locked together, and she came again from the intensity of his gaze, her body just shattered with his.
Their breathing was ragged, and her body felt deliciously tired. Jacob’s knee came off the wall, and as she slipped down it, he removed himself from her body and swept her up into his arms.
“There will never be anything more important to me than you, McKenna. I want you to know that. No matter what happens, these moments with you are the only ones that truly matter anymore.”
He set her gently down on the single bed and curled in beside her. They hardly fit, but it only meant that they had to press closer together. She closed her eyes to force back tears. Hunters didn’t cry, and she didn’t want to ruin the perfect moment with her tears.
Their hands knit together, and she laid her head on his chest. It was covered in sweat, and she could smell months of being stuck on board the submersible as if it were laced into his skin, but she didn’t care.
“You came here when you got home?” she asked as she traced a finger lazily over his abdominal muscles.
“There is nowhere I would rather be. I spent two months with Philippe and Lucius, you are very lucky I did not take my life to get away from their constant bickering.” Jacob placed a kiss in her hair, and she laughed.
“That I am.” McKenna sucked in a deep breath. “This, this isn’t temporary?”
Jacob sat up and looked down at her. His eyes burned with emotion, and she felt every bit of his love for her then.
“I love you. If you will agree, I have a solution. It involves you and me, and a wedding ceremony, if you’ll have me?”
She pressed a kiss to his chest. “I would always have, except when you are arrogant and pigheaded. Which, if I am honest, you truly rarely were. I just wanted to think it of you to like you less.”
“There are no words for the logic there. What I will need is for you to go to Felicia. Borrow a fine dress, do your hair up and meet me in court for the grievances period tomorrow. We will go to my father together, and regardless of if I leave a pauper, we leave together.”
She pushed back a fresh round of tears. “Stay with me for the rest of the day?”
He laughed. “I think your mate might not enjoy that.”
“I might have locked the door. She’s done it to me since we merged rooms last month. She will know what it means.”
“It never ceases to amaze me how differently you live down here.”
“I would be offended by that remark if I weren’t so content from your prowess. And extremely curious about life under the sea. Will you tell me about it? About what it was like to truly travel under the water.”
He lay back down beside. “I will tell you every day for the rest of our lives if you want to hear it.”
To which, they spent the day wrapped together, hearing about the men’s journey home. The next day would bring a challenge she wasn’t ready to face, but for the day, they just enjoyed being back together.
Twenty-Five
Jacob’s arms itched, his feet were restless, and his neck was wrought with tension. It had been over a year since he had worn traditional court garb, and he found his body was not pleased with all the layering and scratchy materials. The red embroidered waistcoat seemed to grab at every tiny arm hair he had. Just one more reason to become a hunter, he thought with a soft chuckle.
The Palace was a sight for sore eyes, though. He had been staying at the Alliance during his training the past year, and whilst the grand hall might be opulent, it had nothing on the corridors and rooms of the palace. Sunshine streamed in through the windows, and Jacob thought he might never get enough after so long cooped up under the waves. He lifted his face into a beam of light and smiled. There was so much in life he had taken for granted. So many things he would never turn a blind eye to again.
Courtiers and those with appointments bustled about him, and it was almost busier than down in the merchant areas of London. He strained his eyes to try to see McKenna, though he wasn’t certain he would recognize her all done up in finery. She was simple, and if he was honest with himself, he couldn’t wait to see how she radiated dressed up like a member of the ton.
A guard opened up the doors to the throne room, and Jacob sucked in a deep breath as his eyes landed on her. He wasn’t the only one either. He heard a few women cackle, inquiring about the woman entering, and a few men whistle. For once, he didn’t care that other people were looking at her because she was only looking at him.
McKenna’s corn silk hair had been set with hot irons, and curls cascaded down to her mid back. A small white flower secured strands from falling into her face, but he loved the way it looked down. She had painted her face, or rather, Felicia had. Her cheeks had a rosy tint, as did her lips, and all Jacob could think about was how much he preferred to be the one to make her lips that particular shade and plumpness. The gown was suitable for any woman in court, and McKenna wore it well as she strutted down the royal red carpet roll as if she did indeed belong. The caramel brown bodice gleamed next to her light hair, and the light green silk bottom flowed as she took each step.
When she finally stopped in front of him, Jacob had to remember to do two things— breathe and not claim her in front of everyone. His gaze never left hers, and amusement shone from her crystal eyes as she laughed.
“You’re staring quite hard, Jacob.”
“Believe me, I am not the only one,” he whispered, his voice husky.
She flushed and looked at the ground. He loved many things about McKenna but seeing her embarrassed was near the top of the list. To see such a strong and confident woman brought to weakness merely by his words filled him with joy.
“Come, ladies of the court do not look at the ground when the walk, and we have a queue to stand in.” He offered her the crook of his arm, and she tentatively slipped her hand into his. “Felicia did an excellent job. There is no way to know you were not born for this,” he whispered as they walked to stand in place.
“Eliza taught me how to walk properly. And slathered this cream all over my face to make it appear as if I have slept because I can assure, I have not,” she said with a sideways smile.
They grew silent, primarily because they had nothing they could truly say to one another with the watchful eyes and ears of the court on them. Not as of yet, at least. The request line for the king seemed to move slower than Jacob had ever seen it, though he had never stood in line with the ton and commoners to gain an audience with his father.
When they stepped up before the king, Jacob’s father’s eyes grew wide, and a smile spread quickly across his lips. “Leave us. Guards, see to it that everyone is given food and libations, but all are to leave at once. My son has returned home, and it appears with a fine young lady on his arm.”
Groans and complaints were shouted around them, and Jacob simply sighed in relief. If the room cleared, it saved him from making the request to speak in private. His father didn’t like being removed whilst doing his duties. The room emptied far quicker than normal, and when the door closed with a boom, his father stood off the throne and walked to embrace him.
“My son.” Tears glistened in his eyes. “I had no idea if I would ever lay eyes upon you again. Have you come to report?”
Jacob cleared his throat, unused to such sentimental displays, and hugged his father quickly. “In a sense, yes. I will give my full report at a later time. For now, the mission was a success. The missing hunter has been returned home, and none in the Alliance party are missing. I had a fair deal of terror instilled in me, but I am well. Better than well, in fact.”
His father smiled and turned to McKenna as he spoke. “As I knew it would be with the Alliance on the job. Now tell me,” his father raise
d McKenna’s hand and kissed it, “who is the beautiful young woman who does not know to bow before her king.”
“Bullocks!” McKenna shouted as she pulled her arm from Jacob’s and bowed so quickly, she almost toppled arse over tits.
Both he and his father laughed, and when she picked her head up, she was glaring daggers at him. He found he rather liked it, it had been many months since she’d glared at him so.
“Father, this is McKenna Caffery, the hunter who was tasked with saving my life and did so more than once.”
“I do not like to hear how many times the act was necessary, but, my lady, you have my thanks for your protection. I might have sown my seed many times, but each child is as important as my legitimate son. Family is family. I must reward you for your deeds, name it, and it is done.”
The unexpected turn had Jacob holding his breath. They had never dreamed his father would come out with a royal offer such as that.
“Your Majesty, my, it seems almost strange saying that without the sarcastic manner I used towards your son.” She shook her head and flushed again. “Your Majesty, all I ask if that you listen to Jacob’s request and consider honoring it.”
His father’s brow scrunched together tightly as he turned back to look at Jacob. “Using a woman to try to manipulate me? Very cunning. It would seem living amongst others has sharpened your wit, and maybe even found you a viable political match in this young lady. I had no clue any other than Kellan were high born in the Alliance ranks.”
McKenna coughed, and Jacob cleared his throat. “Father, I wish to join the Alliance.”
“You already have a title within them.”
“I wish to be a hunter. After the things I have seen, the lives I watched stolen from right in front of me, my place as a figurehead on a council will not suffice any longer. These demons are more of a threat than I ever contemplated, and I cannot go back to sitting willing on the sidelines whilst everyone in the Alliance runs about risking their lives to save people who have no clue what goes on.”