by Sharon Kay
She giggled and kicked her legs. He heard the thunk of her boots hitting the floor. She shimmied up his body, brushing her chest against his. “My turn.” Pushing his arms above his head, she lowered her mouth to kiss him.
“Mmm, bossy,” he said between kisses.
“You like it.”
“So do you.” He flipped them over so he was on top. “My turn again.” He kissed a line down her sternum, nuzzling the soft skin between her breasts. Her scent was more concentrated, enticing him like a drug. He could stay there all day. But he had other plans for his little Solsti.
Reaching her pants, he popped the button, then took the zipper in his teeth and pulled it down. She sucked in a breath and raised her head, her eyes radiating green heat as they tracked his mouth.
He slipped his hands under her ass to tug her pants off and left them where they pooled on the floor. Skimming his hands along her legs, he prowled up, dropping kisses on her skin. At her hip, a tattoo peeked out from under the pale blue of her panties.
He licked her skin, tracing the edge of a moon engulfed in flames. “I want to hear the story behind this.”
“Later,” she murmured, dropping her head back down on the duvet.
He chuckled and moved to her other hip, sliding her panties down an inch to trace lazy circles on her skin. He tugged them lower, moving to the center of her body. She lifted her hips, eyes hungry, teeth biting into her lower lip.
He yanked her panties down. They caught on one leg and she kicked them somewhere behind him, a soft swoosh reaching his ears as they brushed against the wall.
But he was riveted to the sight before him. Gin was breathtaking. Toned but not bulging with muscles, her body lay like a feast before him. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered.
She pushed up on her elbows and shot him a mischievous look. “Come here.”
He grinned and slinked up toward her, capturing her lips in a hungry kiss. Cinnamon washed over him, her sweetness and playfulness wrapping him up along with her bold determination. Holy hell. He needed to savor this moment. This amazing myth-come-to-life was giving herself to him. Again. And he didn’t deserve her.
He resolved not to screw up again. No more hiding things. She may not be a Watcher, but she was a key to the balance in the realms.
Her hand brushed his fly, breaking through his thoughts and making his cock twitch. He groaned and she circled his shaft through his pants, sliding up and down his length.
“I want to taste you,” she said, shifting so she lay next to him on the bed.
“You do, and this will be over in two seconds.”
She made a kissy face. “I bet you can last longer than that. On your knees.”
His cock throbbed at her order. So fucking hot. He knelt in the center of the bed.
She unbuckled his belt, popped his button, and unzipped him. Fast.
“Eager?” He sifted his fingers through her hair.
“Like you wouldn’t believe.” She pulled his pants and boxer briefs down, freeing his cock.
She stared at it, licking her lips. “I missed this.” Pulling a pillow under her head, she lay on her side facing him and took him deep into her mouth.
Her mouth was an inferno of sensual heat. “Fuuuck, baby,” he groaned. Still kneeling, he was able to thrust better from this angle. He didn’t want to overwhelm her with his size, but she slipped a hand between his legs. Dragging it slowly up his inner thigh, she reached up to cup his ass.
Keeping one hand there and one at his base, she held him prisoner. All his super-senses distilled down to this one woman. Naked skin gleamed and feminine arousal scented the air. She sucked hard, her cheeks hollowing, and flicked his sensitive tip with her tongue.
He couldn’t help but thrust. Her confidence, the wet heat of her mouth, and the visual of her at his cock pushed him close to his peak.
He grabbed the hand at his ass and tugged it away. “Ginger. God, woman, you’re so fucking good. But I need to be inside you.”
Green eyes flicked up to meet his and she pulled back oh-so-slowly, sneaking in one last lick around his plump head. He let out a breath through gritted teeth. “Naughty girl.” He dug a hand into his pants pocket and pulled out a foil packet.
She grinned. He rolled the condom on and she rolled to her back, moving to lock his body between her legs.
He couldn’t wait. Her body, hell, something more, called to him on so many levels he couldn’t think straight. He positioned himself at her entrance and rocked in slowly.
He paused, giving her time to adjust. It had been a few days since they’d had sex. He didn’t want to hurt her.
“I’m okay,” she said, skating her hands up his biceps. Her fingers traced his tattoo and she thrust her hips up. “I want all of you.”
Magic words. He still didn’t want to be too rough. Pushing in deeper, he circled his hips, watching her face.
“Mmm,” she purred. “That feels good. But you’re still holding back.” She dragged her fingers down his chest, raking her nails across his nipples.
That was all it took. He plunged in the rest of the way, feeling his balls brush her ass. Her breath hitched. But her soft moan told him everything he needed to know. She was ready.
He stayed kneeling and dragged her thighs up to rest on his own. Holding her knees wide, he began a steady rhythm. He dropped one finger down to the soft hair at the juncture of her thighs, tracing patterns to her most sensitive spot.
She panted, her eyes darkening with need. Green embers danced within them. So beautiful. “Don’t stop,” she whispered.
He felt his orgasm building, but needed to satisfy her first. He slowed his strokes, pulling out almost all the way and sinking back in, savoring the feel of her body parting for him. He circled her clit with his thumb as he pumped.
Her breathing came fast and her hips rose to meet his. Her body was slick, telling him what her scent already had. She moaned.
Sensing she needed more, he brought his thumb to his mouth and licked it, then dropped it back to her clit. He pressed against her, circling again and testing how much pressure she needed.
“Yes,” she breathed, rocking faster into him. “I’m close.”
Her breasts bounced from his thrusts. Such a tempting sight. He let go of her legs and slid his hand up the center of her body, capturing one pebbled nipple between two fingers. Turning his hand over, he dragged the back of his fingers across it, feeling it grow impossibly harder.
Gin writhed beneath him, clutching his thighs, her nails digging in. He repeated the motion on her other side, and she shattered. Her scream echoed off the walls, a blissful urgent sound that ripped through the last of his restraint.
He grabbed her legs again and pounded into her furiously. A light sheen of sweat coated her skin in the humid air, visible to him in the dark room.
Still panting, she dipped one hand under her ass to massage his balls. He groaned. “Fuck yeah, baby.”
Then she took her other hand and fluttered naughty fingers over her clit. Holy hell. As if watching her wasn’t hot enough…watching her touch herself was the hottest thing he had ever seen.
His body detonated, shooting hot and fast in time with his thrusts, every muscle buoyed in a Gin-infused bliss. She came again, screaming his name.
He collapsed on top of her, spent and breathless.
“Oh my God,” she panted as her breathing slowly regulated. The beat of her heart pounded against his ear.
He got up to dispose of the condom, then laid back down, drawing her into his arms. She threw an arm over his chest and a leg across his thighs.
“Wow.” She kissed his tattooed bicep. “I’ve never had two orgasms in a row before.”
His smug sense of satisfaction was tempered with the knowledge that there had been others before him. What did I expect, that she’d still be a virgin? She was twenty-five years old. He pushed the thoughts out of his mind. Right now, she was his. “Glad to satisfy you, Ginger.” He propped himself up on
an elbow and traced the length of her back, moving to her hip. “So what’s the story here?”
“Hmm.” She pressed her lips together. “It’s a lot easier to explain now that you know about me. Well, you knew before, but I didn’t know you knew…” she rolled to her back. “You know how I felt about using my ability.”
He nodded and rubbed his thumb over the jut of her hip bone.
“I decided I could never use it. I decided no good could come of it. Ever. Anything good was impossible. Then I ended up going into science, and decided to focus on water, on purifying it and helping dry areas have sustainable sources.
“I had this dream that the moon was on fire and somehow it was my fault. I don’t know why. Maybe because back in high school I loved learning about mythology, and the goddess of the moon is also the goddess of hunting. Her name is Diana, or Artemis in Greek. She’s a badass, but she’s a myth.”
She dropped an arm over her eyes and sighed. “You probably wonder where the hell I’m going with this.”
He gently lifted her hand so he could see her eyes. “I like hearing about you. Go on.”
“So the moon controls the tides. And I was going to work with water. And, well, using my fire power was impossible. And it’s impossible for the moon to burn. There’s nothing to fuel it. No oxygen in space. So, the moon on fire is a symbol of what can never be.” She gazed up at the ceiling. “Or what I thought could never be.”
He smoothed her tousled hair. “I think it’s telling that you were drawn to a mythical tough girl.”
She smiled and reached up to run her fingers through his hair, then caressed down his neck to his tattoo. “What about yours?”
He’d expected her to ask. “It was for an assignment. I had to go deep under cover to infiltrate a band of dark elves. Criminals. Their group all had this tattoo.”
“Oh my God.” Her eyes widened. “And now you’re stuck with their symbol forever?” She slapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh no. That sounded bad. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. It’s not the first time I’ve heard it, believe me.”
“How long was your assignment?”
“A year. Another reason I had to get it was because I’m obviously not a dark elf. And they wanted extra proof of my loyalty.”
She nodded, resting her hand on his forearm. “Makes sense.”
He blew out a breath. She didn’t know the worst part of it. “All the demon species heal rapidly. Some of the fae and other species too. Cuts, scrapes, stab wounds. They’re not fatal. They don’t last. They don’t even scar, unless…”
She looked at him expectantly.
“Viper demons have venom in their fangs that prohibits healing. That’s how they like to incapacitate their opponents. But it’s also the only way to cause scarring and, with tattoos, the only way to make the ink sink into the skin.”
Her fingers dug into his arm. “They…mixed this venom into the ink?”
He nodded.
“That must have been torture for you. I’m so sorry.” She gazed at the black swirls. “And that first night in my apartment, I was saying how hot it looked. Way to go, Gin.”
He dropped to his back and pulled her on top of him. “You didn’t know. And I wasn’t about to volunteer the story at that point.”
“I would’ve thought you were crazy.” She snuggled against him, burying her face in his chest. “Do you have to go undercover a lot?”
“No. I usually get tracking jobs.”
“Good.”
He stroked a hand down her back. “Why’s that good?”
“Because if you were undercover, you’d be with dangerous people.”
“I thought we covered this. My line of work gets violent. I’m around predators all the time.”
“Yeah, but…I’d worry about you.” The last part was spoken so quietly he’d bet she didn’t realize he heard it.
“Did your sisters tell you demons have enhanced hearing?”
Her head popped up. “What? Crap! If they did, I forgot.”
“So you’d worry about me, huh?”
“Well, yeah. I wouldn’t want you or Ria to get hurt. You’re both strong fighters and obviously valuable to your leader, Arnold, or whatever his name is—”
“Arawn.”
“Yes. Arawn. And I was mad at you and Ria, but now I understand why you did the things you did. And…I care about you. Both of you.”
His heart swelled under her words. She hadn’t declared undying love or anything, but knowing he mattered to her sparked something deep inside. A feeling of rightness that was unlike anything he knew.
“Ria cares about you. She values your friendship. She actually kept pushing me to tell you the whole story sooner.”
Gin smiled. “She feels like another sister to me.”
“And,” he paused to get her attention, “I care about you too. Your safety and happiness is my goal.”
Her eyes widened and she blinked rapidly. “Oh. Um, thanks. I-I don’t know what to say. I can’t keep you safe.”
“I bet you could. You’d be surprised. Ask Brooke to tell you how she saved Kai’s ass twice while they were here.”
She smiled and her eyes got a faraway look. “Brooke doesn’t put up with shit from anyone. Wow, I miss her. And Nicole.” She slid to the side of the bed and stood. “I need a shower.”
She looked around, grinning, and tapped a finger on her chin. “Where did all my clothes end up? Ah, I see my underwear.” She picked the blue scrap off the back of the wicker chair. “Pants.” She grabbed them from the floor and gave them a shake.
A glass tube flew out of her pocket and dropped onto the bed, landing next to Mathias. “What’s this?”
“Oh! I’ve been carrying that around all day. I totally forgot about it. I meant to ask someone if it means anything.”
He turned it over. Empty. Black numbers were written on it in neat rows all along the sides. “Where’d you get it?”
“Xavier’s. I saw a rack of test tubes when he brought me in, and then when we left I wanted a closer look, but Ria rushed me out. I only grabbed this one.”
The numbers were written in groups of six. Some seemed to be broken up by threes, some by twos. A cold feeling of dread crept up his spine. “These look like coordinates.”
“For here? Or…Earth?”
He sat up and reached for his phone. “Not sure. I’ll check while you shower.”
“Your phone can check Earth coordinates?”
“Yep. All our phones recognize Torth coordinates, but there’s a program some of us have that identifies coordinates for other realms. Including Earth.”
She nodded and wrapped her arms around herself. “Okay. I’ll just be a few minutes.”
Much as he’d love to join her, these numbers screamed trouble. Especially after Rosa’s warning about Elegia extending her vampy claws to Earth.
He checked Torth first. Some locations weren’t valid. The ones that his phone could pinpoint were remote. Worth noting, just in case, but they didn’t ease the trepidation in his gut.
He tapped the first set of numbers into his Earth coordinate program. It popped up a location in northern Illinois. Shit. He entered the next series of numbers. Same thing. He entered the rest. Fuck.
Each set of numbers matched a city in Illinois, most near Chicago. The rest of the pieces of the puzzle crashed together in his mind like boulders.
Gin had said Xavier had a tail and horns. A Deserati.
And he’d seen clear Deserati tracks at the water treatment facility he’d been to with Rhys and Kai. Xavier’s.
Rhys had said the portal activity could be traced to cities with water treatment plants.
Holy hell.
He dialed Arawn.
Ana’s chipper voice trilled through the phone, but he had no time for pleasantries. “I need Arawn right now. Interrupt him if he’s with someone.”
“Okay.” Ana had worked with Mathias long enough to surmise the tone in his voice mean
t trouble. He never talked like this. In a second, Arawn’s gruff voice growled in his ear.
“What is it, Hunter?”
“Good news and bad news.” Mathias reported the coordinates and what they meant, as well as Rosa’s visit and Gin’s cooperation.
“Get your asses back to Earth. You, Ria, and the Solsti. Now. Do you need backup?”
“We should be good. With the Watchers from the Chicago house, plus the Solsti there.”
“Don’t involve them unless you have to.” Arawn barked.
“Yes, sir.” He couldn’t even get the last word out before he heard the beep-beep that signaled the end of the call. He dialed Ria and paced the small room while he waited for her to pick up.
“What’s up?” her voice came through the line, breathless. A male voice rumbled in the background.
Mathias stifled a groan. He didn’t want to know what his sister was doing. “We have to go. Right now.”
“Okay.” Her tone changed and he’d bet money she was up and grabbing her things. “Where are we going?”
“Back to Earth. To Gin’s sisters and the Chicago Lash group.”
“Got it. Meet you in five.” She ended the call.
The shower turned off. Gin had left the door mostly closed, and the scent of cinnamon and soap wafted out to entice his nose. He waited a minute, then knocked once and eased the door open.
Damn. She stood wrapped in a towel, skin glistening, hair dripping. “It took every ounce of energy not to get in here with you.” He grabbed another towel and began drying her hair.
“What’d you find out?”
“Nothing good.”
Green eyes widened. “Those were Earth coordinates?”
“Yeah. We need to go back right away. To Chicago.”
“Oh my gosh. Okay. I’ll be dressed in a minute.” She flicked a glance down his torso. “Um…”
He was still nude. And walking into this bathroom, into her personal space, had him semi-hard. Fuck. It would have to wait. “Later.”
She blushed and nibbled her lower lip. “Later.” She walked past him and into the main space, where she dropped her towel and started dressing.