by Sharon Kay
Ria noticed too, tracing a finger around a knot in one panel and pressed her hand against the wood. “Interesting. Wonder who lived here?”
“Only one way to find out. I’m betting whoever it was has been gone a long time.” He led her toward the front of the house.
He pushed the front door fully open and paused, checking. Still no wards. There was no sound, no movement, no light. He pulled Ria inside.
The interior all but announced that it was well and truly abandoned. A layer of dust covered the wood floor and the place didn’t have much furniture to speak of. A stove sat at the back of the structure, and near it was a round wooden table and two chairs.
“Cozy,” Ria murmured. She stepped away from him and walked the length of the floorboards, inspecting each one, as he trained all his Watchers to do. You never knew when there would be a trap door or hidden space under a loose plank.
Arawn pushed the front door closed, surprised to see it had a lock. Not that it would keep out a determined predator, but it was marginally helpful. He slid it into place, then checked and locked the windows.
One corner at the back of the house had been walled off and held one more door. A bathroom, he guessed. Walking closer, he spotted a sink, toilet, and shower. Curious, he cranked the faucet in the sink, and clear water sputtered, then flowed steadily.
“See, it’s not so bad.” Ria’s voice came from behind him. “Doors, locks, no creepy basement. And a bathroom. We can wash this dried wolf blood off of you.” A slender finger traced down his spine.
Her touch was an arrow of fire to his heart, and the crazy need to have her close for the purpose of safety morphed into something altogether different. Blood rushed to his groin and a growl vibrated from his chest. He turned and grabbed her hips.
Slowly, he bunched the fabric of his T-shirt, pulling it up. “No, not bad at all. I kinda like it.”
Her hair tumbled around her face and her eyes glowed with an azure light. “Looks like spending the night in a deserted house is about to get crossed off my bucket list.” Her voice hitched, her lips parted, and she never broke eye contact with him.
He slid one hand to her nape, knotting his fingers in her locks. And that action reminded him that what he was about to do might be televised to his whole team. He leaned closer to the crown of her head. “Where’s that damn camera?”
“Oh!” She reached up, combing through the front of her hair. “I positioned it right here, in the center…I don’t feel it now. Wait.” She leaned back and searched with both hands, shaking out her hair, checking the many sections of curls. “It was there after we came through the portal. It must have fallen out when we fought the wolves.”
“Never been so glad to lose a tech device.” He wrapped one arm around her waist, cupped her jaw, and covered her mouth with his.
She gave a squeak of surprise, then melted against him, sighing, opening wide for his kiss.
Gods, she was perfect. The scent of orange blossom washed over him and he tightened his hold, needing her as close as possible. His tongue plunged into her mouth, sweeping the deepest recesses, and he found the hem of the shirt again. With teasing fingers he dragged one side up to expose her hip.
She broke away, breathless, a question in her blue eyes. “Should we be doing this? We don’t have wards. Something could track us here.”
He reversed their positions so that her back was to the sink. “Nope. We definitely shouldn’t be doing this.” Through the cotton T-shirt, he dragged one finger down the slope of her breast.
She shivered. “Um…then…oohhh.” Her eyes slid shut.
He grabbed her hand and brought it to the fly of his pants, where his cock was engorged and throbbing. “But I don’t feel like stopping.”
Her eyes flew open and she palmed his length. “Oh.” She licked her lips, and the unmistakable glow of pure carnal hunger shone from her eyes. “Well, then…how about you tell me what I shouldn’t do next?”
Without warning she leaned forward to kiss his neck. Her lips were warm, wet, and the perfect pressure made his hips flex of their own accord. “You definitely shouldn’t bite. That’s an order.”
Tiny teeth promptly clamped down on his skin. Hard. Not enough to break through, but enough to bring a growl from his throat. She released him and sucked the skin, swirling with her tongue. “You smell like smoke and a good brawl,” she whispered.
“You smell amazing. Everything about you. Fucking perfect. Except this.” He grabbed the hem of the shirt and pulled it up.
She raised her arms to assist. He tossed his shirt to the ground and feasted his eyes on her body. The shirt had completely smudged the body paint. Most of it was worn off and the rest was reduced to streaks of black and silver. But she had never looked more sexy. And now the facts of their situation screamed in the simmering air between them.
No team.
No orders to give.
Cut off from communication.
Alone.
He couldn’t possibly have planned this string of events. Yet this had been one of his deepest wishes. To disappear with her.
Hell if he’d let this chance slip by.
He traced her delicate jaw again and tilted her face up. She met his eyes with a stare so full of desire that he wanted to pound his chest. He dipped his mouth to her ear. “You looked so goddamn sexy tonight. It was all I could do not to break down a door and haul you outta there.” He traced the shell of her ear with his tongue and goose bumps danced down her bicep. “Better have been a female who painted you.”
She swallowed hard. “It was. A pixie.”
“Good. One less creature I have to kill.” He cupped one full breast, caressing the soft underside, and she moaned. “No one else touches you here.” He skated his knuckles up, one by one, across her tight nipple.
She gasped and grabbed his head, hauling him down to her eager mouth. “You’re making me crazy,” she murmured against his lips, before kissing him hard.
He let her take control, loving her aggressive side as much as he loved her sweet side. She captured his tongue and sucked. Gods, her mouth was heaven. Her tongue slid against his, warm…as warm as she would be lower down…
The last thread of his control snapped. He scooped her up, palming her sexy ass and depositing her onto the cool stone of the sink counter. She whimpered but kept exploring his mouth, her tongue dancing with his like she couldn’t get enough. Her long legs wrapped around his hips, creating the perfect angle for her heat to rub against him. His cock ached with the need to get at her. She was warm and pliant, sexy and tough, and his body burned to feel every inch of her pressed to him. Her fingernails scraped his scalp and he rumbled his approval.
He cupped her breasts, loving the warm weight that overflowed his hands. Her nipples stood out, stiff and begging for his fingers. He pinched and held each one between his thumb and first fingers.
She gasped and gazed up at him, looking so turned on and vulnerable he wanted to roar loud enough for the whole damn realm to hear. He was about to fuck this gorgeous female. Here. Now.
Then she seemed to recover some of her assertiveness, squirming. “More,” she panted. One hand dropped to his waistband and yanked him closer. The other reached down to stroke him over his pants. “Want you.” She tightened her legs and the sharp tips of her heels grazed his lower back.
Her touch made him curse and he dropped his hands to undo his pants. No way he could wait. He’d held back before. Now, it felt like fate had finally slammed some sense into him. This woman, his warrior…his. Period.
C
HAPTER 14
RIA WAS ABOUT TO COMBUST if Arawn didn’t hurry up. Her lower abdomen ached with need. Her skin was on fire everywhere he touched. She needed to be consumed by him, fucked hard, then held. And repeat. And she knew he’d do it.
Arawn lowered his zipper and freed his impressive cock. Ria stared in admiration, biting her lip. Thick and so long, it jutted straight out. “Gods,” she murmured, reaching for him.
She took him firmly in her hand, savoring the velvety skin over the rigid steel of his shaft. “So hard for me.”
He jacked forward into her palm. “Stroke.”
She did, greedily pumping him. “I want to taste.”
“Next time.” His eyes glowed with a ring of gold surrounding his brown irises.
“I’m gonna remember you said that.” She grabbed his shoulders and leaned forward to kiss his pecs, thick slabs of muscles that had taunted her since he’d given her his shirt. He tasted of earth and salt, with the faint residue of demonfire smoke clinging to his skin. She licked and nibbled her way to his flat nipple, biting gently.
A growl filled her ears and both his hands moved to the sides of her head, guiding her up. “Naughty mouth.” He slid one hand to cup her nape, knotting his fingers firmly into her hair, and tilted her head. Before she could register what he was doing, his lips were at her throat, sucking.
She tried to pull him closer with her leg around his hips. He didn’t budge. Instead, he dipped a hand between her legs.
Ria moaned at the delicious friction of his fingers. He dragged them through her hyper-sensitive skin and back, gliding easily.
“So fucking wet for me,” he growled.
Frenzied lust wracked her body and she could only whimper in response, trying desperately to get closer.
He bit down where her neck met her shoulder, and at the same instant he thrust two fingers inside her.
“Arawn!” she cried out. She was so ready, so primed, that she nearly came right then. The wicked suction at her neck and his touch inside her body, gods, there was nothing like it. She was stuck, held in place with his hands and mouth, his huge cock tantalizingly close. Her body screamed with need. “Please…”
“I’m gonna fuck you hard. Fast. As many times as I can tonight.” His voice was feral, his eyes wild. “You ready for me, Princess?”
“Yes.” She’d never wanted something so much in her life. This man. Right this second. She locked her hands behind his neck.
He slid his hands under her ass and lifted her into position. He held her over his cock, sliding the head back and forth before nudging the tip inside.
Ria shivered, her body on a razor’s edge of combustion. “Please. Now.”
Arawn surged forward, pulling her hips down at the same time. His thickness filled her, so deep and full she gasped.
Amber-ringed eyes met hers. “You okay?”
Stretched…impaled…full. That’s how she felt. “Yes.” She wiggled, seating herself deeper as her tissues adjusted to his massive size. “Gods, yes. You’re so big.”
He drew back slowly, releasing a torrent of sensation that emanated from her core and spread out to every cell. Their fertile season had ended with the winter solstice, so they had no need for condoms, thank the gods. His bare cock rubbed along her channel, every ridge of him hitting a matching sweet spot within her, until only the thick head remained lodged in her body.
“More.” She tried to press down, tried like crazy to recapture that amazing feeling.
He slammed home again, hitting a spot far inside. Deeper than any male had ever touched her. Stretching her wider than any other. She felt…claimed. Owned. Like sex with anyone else would never ever compare to this.
Arawn withdrew and pushed in deep again, shorting out her thoughts. She raked her hands down from their clutch at his neck, scratching with her fingernails.
He hissed and brought one hand up to play with her breast, rubbing his thumb over her aching nipple. “You.” His breathing was harsh. “Feel so damn good. So hot and wet and…”
Mine?
Ria blinked, confusion springing through her lust-fog. Had he said mine? No…he must’ve said tight.
Right?
He pumped harder, circling his hips as he slammed into her, hitting exactly where she needed it. “Need you to come, baby.”
Her breasts bounced from the force of his thrusts, providing the perfect friction as her nipples abraded his chest. She was so close…she whimpered, loving this moment, loving this huge demon who commanded her body like it was made for him.
Alone with him. It was a surprise gift she’d grab and run with.
“Arawn!” she gasped into the dark empty house, as shimmering waves of pleasure raced down her skin. Her body gripped him, squeezing and spasming, desperate to prolong this lightning bolt of sexual perfection.
“Fuck, Ria!” he bellowed as he came hard, powering into her with more force than before. “Fuck!” His hands grabbed her hips and moved her the way he wanted. He was holding so tightly she was sure she’d bruise and her teeth knocked with each collision of their bodies.
But his face, intense and lost to lust, lost in her, had never looked more handsome. His muscles stood out in sharp corded relief and a light sheen of sweat dampened his skin. His hard abs flexed as he pumped into her in a dizzying, pulse-pounding rhythm. Every inch a warrior. Every inch focused on her.
With a final push, he stopped and wrapped one arm around her shoulders, one under her bottom. Ragged panting reached her ears as his lips kissed between breaths, dotting affection across her shoulder and neck.
She slid a finger under his jaw and brought his sinful mouth up to hers, kissing him tenderly as they both fought to regulate their breathing.
He pulled back, eyes locked with hers. Dark brown, swirled with amber, intense…eyes she could gaze at all day. Slowly, he rubbed his thumb over her lower lip. “Fucking amazing.”
“You are,” she whispered. She ran her fingers through his hair. “I love doing this.”
He nipped her ear. “Touching my hair or fucking?”
She playfully smacked his chest. “I was going to say, touching your hair.”
“Then you realized—”
“— that fucking you isn’t bad either.”
Now he slapped her rear. “Smart ass.”
She giggled. “Much as I’d love to keep your cock inside me all night…”
He growled and flexed.
“This isn’t the most comfortable thing to sit on.”
Strong hands lifted her off the sink and set her on her feet, which were still in heels. “Was it your plan all along to get me naked in these shoes?”
He cocked his head and made a show of perusing her body as he reached to grab his pants from around his ankles. On the way up he kissed a line up her quadriceps.
She gasped as his hair tickled her hyper-sensitive skin. His lips were so warm, his teeth sharp as he nipped her. “Naked, definitely yes.” He straightened and fastened his pants. “The shoes…those were a nice addition.” His dark eyes glittered with sensual promise as he snagged his T-shirt off the floor and handed it to her.
Ria pulled it on, and held the collar to her nose for a second, inhaling his scent of man and forest and wild grass, before letting it fall against her sternum. “I like how you smell.”
His eyes flared with an intense look that she could swear was smug, then he grinned. “Good.”
They walked into the main room. Ideally, since all four sides had windows, they would take position on opposite walls to watch each other’s backs. But Arawn seemed to have no desire for that. He pulled her down beside him at the base of one of the bathroom’s bumped out walls.
“So we wait?” she asked.
“Yup.” He wrapped an arm around her, tucking her close. “At least until morning. Let’s hope we don’t meet any more nocturnal friends.”
“If that hairpin camera was still working after coming through the portal, Wolfe may have seen where we are. And if the tracking part of it still functioned, he’ll know for sure.”
“Let’s hope. Otherwise, you and I will be walking around until we find a town.”
She wiggled her toes. “In heels.”
He chuckled. “I’m not complaining.”
Ria fiddled with one silver strap, partly wanting to relax into him and not think about the rest of the world or their responsibilities. But part of her knew that once they
were found, their tryst would be public. Their scents were all over each other. No one would doubt what had happened.
“So…we should be ready for questions.” She flicked an imaginary speck of dirt off her strap.
“Hell, I’ve got a ton of my own, Princess.”
She shifted to look him in the eye. “I mean, about us.”
“That’s no one else’s business.” He shrugged.
“They’ll know we slept together.”
He scrubbed a hand over his jaw where a line of stubble darkened his skin, making him look even more lethal. “Just because they know doesn’t mean they’ll have the balls to ask.”
“Mathias will. You know it.”
“You and I are consenting adults. We can do what we want.”
She tilted her head. “You know it’s more complicated than that. You’re…you. You aren’t known for having relationships.”
He snorted. “Not sure why that’s a problem. And neither are you, by the way.”
“Everyone knows you. Everyone in the whole realm! You’re larger than life. A hero to some. And our species looks up to you, for guidance and protection—”
“No one ever gave me shit about my personal life before.”
She shifted to face him. “That’s because you didn’t have one before.”
He arched a brow. “And now I do?”
Hell yes, you do. An ember of taunting assertion sparked in her heart. Her eyes dropped to his lips and she leaned in close to his ear, inhaling the potent mix of their combined scents radiating off his skin. He’d teased her, played with her, made her shatter in bliss. If he thought this wasn’t personal, she had several things to say to him. “Do you want to kiss me again?”
A growl started deep in his chest.
She traced the curve of his ear with her tongue. “Touch me again?”
Hands strong enough to break bones grabbed her biceps. His growl morphed into a heated hiss.
“Fuck me agai—”
With a snarl, he yanked her onto his lap and pushed her legs wide to straddle him. His hungry mouth captured hers in a savage kiss as he pulled her forward over the bulge of his erection. A double shot of satisfaction poured through her at his response. She loved playing with him, loved his growly side, loved his unrestrained sexual appetite. Unfamiliar possessiveness washed over her as she clutched his shoulders, losing herself to the pleasure of his tongue thrusting deep into her mouth.